An Emergency Dentist And The Role Of Antibiotics

Seeing an emergency dentist is never fun, certainly not at the top of anyone’s "Most Favorite Places to Visit" list. We know this. People coming in to see an emergency dentist are typically in a great deal of discomfort, either because they have caused trauma to their teeth or are in pain from an infection. Often, these kinds of infections tend to rear their ugly heads when you least expect, despite the fact that they have been an underlying problem for a long time. When this happens, the pain can be extremely hard to bear, which is why people come in to see an emergency dentist. We have a number of ways of helping you deal with this infection. Sometimes, more extreme measures are required, but on the whole, we prefer to first treat the immediate problems in two ways. First, we want to take away the discomfort or pain, which we can do with pain medication. Second, we want to start removing the infection, which can happen through surgical means or the use of antibiotics. Since 1928, when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, we have used antibiotics to fight and reduce infections. This allows us to then target the root cause of the infection. This also helps you to stop experiencing the symptoms of the infection and gives you the relief you seek. It is important to remember that when you take antibiotics, you are on a short-term fix, meaning you will need to see your dentist for a long-term solution that involves finding and treating the cause of the infection. There are many urban legends around the use of antibiotics; here are a few we bust on a frequent basis.

As an emergency dentist, we know that people truly believe in the healing power of antibiotics. Why would they not? When you come in to see us with a terrible toothache, we give you antibiotics, and within a short time, the pain is gone, the swelling is reduced, and any fever is also removed. What is important to note is that the antibiotic itself does not actually cure you, your body does this all on its own. The antibiotic helps to reestablish balance between the invading infection and your body’s antibiotics, so your body can regroup and work to eliminate the infection. At the same time, your body also learns about this particular infection, and so if it ever comes back, your body knows exactly how to deal with it quickly and effectively. The most powerful mechanism for fighting any disease is your own antibodies.

It is also important to know that when you are using an antibiotic to fight an infection, you need to follow up by seeing your dentist after you are done with the emergency dentist. Your dentist will need to make sure that they entirely explore the cause of the infection so they can treat it at its root. Without this kind of treatment, the infection may reoccur, and we want to make sure this does not happen.