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Original poster

If you have an infection under a tooth, does it ever go away by itself or will I have to see a dentist?

13 replies

neolara · 11/08/2011 18:43

I still have a surviving baby tooth. It's on it's last legs having lasted 35 years longer than it really should have done. It's sore when I bite on it and I suspect there is an infection underneath. It's not very painful, but it's uncomfortable. Any chance it will just get better? I could go to the dentist but will have to take all 3 dcs and I had to go about 2 months ago for almost exactly the same thing so I feel a bit silly turning up again. I think if I do go, the dentist will probably recommend taking the tooth out, and I'm a complete wimp about things like this.

OP posts:
Bunbaker · 11/08/2011 18:46

Go to a dentist

Sorry about shouting, but only a dentist can sort this out for you.

LeMousquetaireAnonyme · 11/08/2011 18:49

You have to go now
(DH is an escapist it does get better and then much much worse and then you really HAVE to go)
I am surprise that they let you the baby teeth it should have been replaced a long time ago or my Gdad dentist is an con Confused

Kormachameleon · 11/08/2011 18:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thisisyesterday · 11/08/2011 18:51

nope, it won't just get better by itself.

but, ftr an extraction on a baby tooth really shouldn't be that bad. i had one out as a child and i didn't even realise the dentist had done it! it's totally unlike having an adult tooth out which has a big long root etc, and if it's already damaged/decayed then i think it should be quite easy

good luck!

thenightsky · 11/08/2011 18:52

If it is a baby tooth it should come out really really easy.

Grumpystiltskin · 11/08/2011 20:39

It's acting like a nasty splinter and the infection will not go 'til the splinter is treated.

JemimaMuddledUp · 11/08/2011 20:41

Baby teeth come out really easily. I had to have 8 taken out as I had o adult teeth coming behind them to push them out, and as they weren't designed for more than 7 or 8 years of use they were starting to sink into the gums. They don't have long roots so don't hurt when they come out.

Grumpystiltskin · 11/08/2011 20:44

Well, I hate to rain on anyone's experiences but, if they aren't infected, (infection can cause bone resorption so makes teeth easy to remove) baby teeth in adults can be fused to the bone and harder to take out than adult teeth. Infection can remove almost all the bone around a tooth though so OP please don't worry.
(It's called ankylosis)

QuintessentialShadow · 11/08/2011 20:48

It wont get better. It can cause other more serious problems for you, so you need to get it seen.

dental infections and strokes

The neurologist who saw my dad after his stroke asked if he had recently been treated for infections in his teeth...... He had. Sad Get thee to the dentist!

Original poster
neolara · 12/08/2011 11:24

But it feels better today! I've seen an X-ray and the root is teeny tiny compared to my adult teeth. I don't particularly think it will be painful to have out, but I don't want another bloody great gap in my mouth. This is the last of 4 baby teeth that I had to adulthood (no adult teeth behind) and I'm already very self-conscious about the existing gaps.

Grumpy - Does that mean it's better to have it out while there is an infection?

Jemima - what did you do with your gaps, if you don't mind me asking?

OP posts:
JemimaMuddledUp · 12/08/2011 15:55

I had dentures but they were really annoying so I don't wear them very often! The gaps are at the sides (the teeth which didn't come out were all the premolars) so unless I do an enormous cheesy grin you can't actually see the gaps. If they were right at the front, or all 8 were all together rather than in pairs, then I would be more self concious!

Implants are an option, but are expensive and I'm a bit squeamish at the idea TBH.

Pawsnclaws · 12/08/2011 21:44

Ds1 (8) has a persistent abscess under a tooth (he has poorly formed enamel) - it will worsen over the course of a week, then we get abs and it gets better - but always comes back. The dentist is trying to keep the tooth for another year or so until the adult one is ready to come through.

Honestly in your situation I would get it extracted. It won't resolve properly until you do. If there is an infection you might want a course of abs first. As someone else said, dental infections can have other serious health consequences.

Choconellie · 12/08/2011 22:42

I've just been to the dentist as I had recently suffered from discomfort around one of my teeth. I explained it to him and he stated that the fact that it only lasted a couple of weeks then went away on its own it was likely that it was either a minor infection that ran its course and cleared up. Or that a small piece of debris had been stuck and once dislodged it stopped the discomfort.

What did your dentist tell you 2 months ago?

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