Is Pulpitis dangerous?

Question

Please help I am so stressed out with pain and worry at the moment. I have had a dull throbbing and really bad pain when I bite in one of my teeth. Last time this happened in another tooth I needed root canal .

Anyway its been like this for 2 days now my usual Dentist is off and the other one only prescribed Erythromycin and said make an appoint for next week. Erythromycin makes me sick. Will I be OK till Monday if I dont take the antibiotic or will it abscess and cause major problems.

Would an emergency dentist start the root treatment instead or should I just take ibuprofen and wait till mon. Any Dentists out there? Please advise.

Answer 1

If you are able to get back to the dentist today then do so and get them to give you a different anitbiotic.  This is probably what any emergency dentist would do today (saturday)  .

unless   it were very urgent, they wouldn't start the root filling.  If it is very swollen, then they would just open up the tooth (and leave it open) and let any puss drain out, to take away  the pressure  of the infection building up.

If you are not able to get to the emergency dentist then i  think you could chance it until Monday to start treatment or change you antibiiotic especially if  buprofen is helping.

Pulpitis is only dangerous if the infection is left to an extent of it building up to a large abscess and the poison of the infection pumping around the blood stream.  But it is very exceptional and i am sure yours is not to this level yet.

good luck for monday. x

Answer 2

Pulpitis is painful inflammation of the tooth pulp, the innermost part of the tooth that contains the nerves and blood supply.

The most common cause of pulpitis is tooth decay; the second most common cause is injury. Mild inflammation, if relieved, may not damage the tooth permanently. Severe inflammation may cause the pulp to die.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Pulpitis can cause intense tooth pain. To determine if the pulp is healthy enough to save, a dentist can perform certain tests. For example, a dentist can apply a hot or cold stimulus. If pain persists after the stimulus is removed or if pain occurs spontaneously, the pulp may not be healthy enough to save.

A dentist may also use an electric pulp tester, which indicates whether the pulp is alive but not whether it is healthy. If the person feels the small electrical charge delivered to the tooth, the pulp is alive. Sensitivity to tapping on a tooth often means that inflammation has spread to the surrounding tissues.

Treatment

The inflammation stops when the cause is treated. When pulpitis is detected early, a temporary filling containing a sedative can eliminate the pain. This filling can be left in place for 6 to 8 weeks and then replaced with a permanent filling. Often a permanent filling can be put in immediately.

When pulp damage is extensive and cannot be reversed, the only way a dentist can stop the pain is by removing the pulp by root canal treatment or tooth extraction.