I am 36 years old. I had a wisdom tooth that was partially exposed and partially under the gum and bone. It had a cavity that has now turned into an infection. My dentist says that taking this out is high risk because of the angle, the fact that it is next to a tooth with a root canal treatment, and I have risk of nerve damage. Now, I am absolutely terrified of extracting this and having something go wrong with the tooth or nerve. Because it is at the side of my cheek, I’m worried my face will look sunken in as well in that area. I’m attaching an x-ray. Can I just treat the infection with an antibiotic?
Thanks, Keri
I’m not seeing the infection, but if there is one, you do want to treat it. An antibiotic will not “cure” a tooth infection, only hold it at bay temporarily until you get the real treatment. There are two ways to treat a tooth infection. The first is with a root canal treatment. The second is with a tooth extraction.
For any tooth other than a wisdom tooth, I’d say get a root canal because this means you can save the tooth. A wisdom tooth you just want out. If the tooth is infected and you don’t extract it, you will not only end up with a dental emergency, but could end up with something that turns life threating. The infection will continue to spread to other parts of your body. Your jaw is close to your throat, heart, and lungs. If the infection spreads upward, it can even reach your brains.
Your lower left wisdom tooth does not appear to be impinging on a nerve at all. I would get your wisdom teeth out sooner rather than later. Don’t wait for all of them to develop a problem. The one exception to this is the tooth on the other side of the one bothering you now. That one looks like the roots are very close to the nerves.
I’m going to recommend that you get 3-dimensional scans of your mouth anyway. The dentist or oral surgeon will want to know exactly where all the nerves are in order to avoid them. Plus, he or she will need to be careful about the tooth with the root canal treatment.
I’m not too worried about the tooth that has the immediate problem being an issue. It would have been better if you had this done in your twenties before the roots are fully formed and the bone gets denser, but you’re still in a time where I don’t worry about complications. If you wait much longer, even just a few years, you will be in a danger zone for complications. That is a big reason why I do not want you to wait on the other teeth.
As for your face looking sunken in, that isn’t something to worry about. Your jawbone is more what determines the shape of your face in that area.
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