Patients with tooth abscesses benefit significantly from having an oral surgeon drain those abscesses or extract the infected tooth. In addition to the symptoms that are directly caused by the abscess, surgical intervention can reduce the risk that the inflammation will spread to other areas of the body.
Mediastinitis is yet another potential negative outcome that can be associated with dental abscesses, although it is rare.
The area between the lungs, which contains the heart, windpipe, esophagus and other related structures, is known as the mediastinum, and inflammation in that area is called mediastinitus.
That inflammation is typically caused by some sort of infection, and it is most often found in patients who recently had surgery in the chest cavity or an upper endoscopy. Nonetheless, bacteria that originate in a dental abscess can also be at fault in mediastinitis. It is a serious and life-threatening condition. A delay in diagnosis or treatment can cause death.
If you have this condition, you may notice chest pain or shortness of breath. You may also experience chills and/or fever.
For patients with a dental abscess, an outpatient visit to our Chicago oral surgery practice can cut the chances that a patient will come down with mediastinitis or any other systemic infection.
As with Ludwig’s angina, mediastinitis may respond to aggressive I.V. antibiotics. In some cases, however, surgical intervention is needed to eliminate the source of the infection and debride tissue.
Because the organs and glands contained in the mediastinum are essential to circulation and respiration, mediastinitis can have serious consequences. The patient’s airway may be restricted due to swelling, affecting the patient’s ability to breathe.
Of course, if left untreated, this condition could spread and lead to a blood infection and sepsis, as well.
Seek treatment for your tooth abscess as soon as you realize that it is present. Dental abscesses are yet another example of the link between your oral health and your overall health. To avoid potentially fatal outcomes, it’s best to have an abscess drained, and an abscessed tooth extracted under the care of an expert in head and neck infections –which is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
Contact ORA® Oral Surgery & Implant Studio at 312-328-9000 for more information.
Patients who have a tooth abscess anywhere in the Chicago-land area have a compelling reason to visit a Chicago oral surgeon. Many times, a dental abscess must be drained through a surgical procedure in conjunction with a tooth extraction in order to avoid more dangerous local or systemic issues developing elsewhere.
When the bacteria travels to other sites in the body, more serious problems can develop, including Ludwig’s angina. This is why it’s important to visit an oral surgeon as soon as you suspect you may have a dental abscess.
Not to be confused with the most common meaning of angina, which is pain in the chest, Ludwigs angina is an infection that affects the connective tissues found in the floor of the mouth, neck and encompassing the airway.
Ludwig’s angina is not very common, but it can develop when a tooth abscess in the lower jaw extends and travels within the soft tissue spaces in the floor of the mouth and quickly spreads further from there.
In Ludwig’s angina, the tongue may become swollen and painful, and swelling may also become evident in the neck and chin or under the tongue. A condition called trismus develops which causes limited range of mouth opening due to pain. As the condition progresses, patients begin to have difficulty swallowing and even breathing becomes labored due to upper airway constriction.
Make no mistake, this condition is a surgical emergency and can be quickly fatal due to airway compromise. That is correct, you can die from a tooth abscess! In Chicago, it requires the expert care of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who will aggressively treat this life-threatening emergency with the placement of multiple drains and incisions, removal of the offending tooth or teeth, and I.V. antibiotics in the operating room. The oral surgeon may even need to perform a tracheostomy to maintain and protect the airway and prevent fatality. Patients whose airways are compromised may also need mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit until the acute infection phase has abated.
It can be difficult for patients to tell the difference between a typical toothache and an abscess, so you should become familiar with the signs of abscess. With an abscess, the toothache may be more severe and enduring and it’s likely to be accompanied by fever and swelling. Wisdom teeth are notorious for developing abscesses, but it can happen with any tooth in the mouth.
An oral surgeon can use various methods to eliminate a dental abscess, and the surgeon will take steps to make the procedure as smooth as possible, including comfortable sedation. Anxiety should not keep you from seeking treatment for a dental abscess, but if it does, consider the possible adverse effects of postponing treatment.
To learn more and to schedule a consultation, please contact the Chicago oral surgery practice of Drs. Steven Koos and Brian Shah today.
DR. STEVE IS TALL AND VERY VERY SEXY. Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, on to the actual review of the services I received.
I went here for a consultation recently and didn’t have to sit for long, maybe 10 minutes if that. I went over to the 360 X-ray machine and got my X-rays done, then sat in the chair in the office waiting for the doctor. The chairs are very comfortable and I really appreciate being able to watch TV and control the channels! How many other people can say they found out he was NOT the baby daddy while trying to figure out what was wrong with their teeth? Not very many. Dr. Steve Koos walks in and introduces himself, and I realize that my goal of not having a really hot guy look at my f***** up teeth is not reasonable and is not going to happen. We go over my X-rays, he on the computer and me on the TV screen and he explains EVERYTHING. He is the most thorough dentist I’ve ever had and he actually talked to me like I was a human being with feelings.I made it clear to him that I had horrible anxiety about the dentist and that nothing could be done without me being knocked out and he did an awesome job of alleviating my fears. He completely understood and didn’t make me feel stupid. I had no questions after he spoke with me and he did a great job of re-explaining the various processes and issues to my mother who controls all the money.
The woman who explained the prices,co-pay and insurance stuff whose name I unfortunately do not remember was thorough and didn’t do anything shady which I also appreciate. We were able to get an appointment for a tooth extraction the next day!
I show up for my appointment and I wait in the lounge area for maybe 5 minutes then go straight back to the operating room. Every single thing the dentist(Dr. Steve Koos and who I am assuming was his assistant) did was explained in detail to me. He played some Drake while we waited for the laughing gas to kick in and the next thing I know I’m being woken up to go home.
It is also worth noting that he called my mom the night of the surgery or the night after and told her if we had any questions we could call his personal number! It’s so nice having a dentist who actually gives a damn I don’t know what to do with myself. Best dental experience ever.
Not only does a dental abscess—a severe infection located beyond a tooth’s root or between the gums and the teeth—cause pain in a patient’s mouth, the condition can also lead to broader systemic problems throughout the body.
If the dental abscess is not treated, the bacteria from the infection can spread via the bloodstream to other parts of the body. Fortunately, a tooth extraction can protect Chicago patients from such an outcome.
An oral surgeon may also recommend treating an abscess by making an incision, or several incisions in the gum, soft tissue, and muscles of the face and neck to allow the abscess to drain.
Certain complications can arise if an abscess is not treated in a timely fashion, and two of those are bacteremia and septicemia.
Bacteremia is the introduction of bacteria into the blood. The blood is typically a sterile environment, so it is problematic if bacteria from the abscess enters the bloodstream because it can have distant effects. Signs of bacteremia could be slight fever, nausea and distal infection.
Rarely, bacteremia may resolve on its own. It also may progress into septicemia, a more serious blood infection that is always accompanied by symptoms such as chills, high fever, rapid heartbeat, severe nausea, vomiting and confusion. These symptoms indicate a more widespread inflammatory response by the immune system to the microbes in the blood, tissue, gums, or bone from a tooth abscess. A lay term for sepsis is blood poisoning, also used to describe septicemia.
If the septicemia is not controlled, sepsis, which is often fatal, comes next. Severe sepsis is the systemic inflammatory response, plus infection, plus the presence of organ dysfunction. Sepsis causes shock and organ failure, ultimately resulting in a patient’s death. It is very difficult to reverse sepsis after it has begun its course.
Fortunately, bacteremia and septicemia can be prevented if a tooth abscess is treated quickly. Patients should not wait for the abscess to rupture on its own or become worse. Some abscesses can remain pain free and be in a chronic state, but a patient is equally at risk for bacteremia and septicemia from a chronic infection too. Any dental infection in Chicago needs the prompt response of our oral and maxillofacial surgeon, which will reduce the likelihood of complications like bacteremia and septicemia.
Additional signals like fever, swollen lymph nodes and extreme tooth sensitivity can all indicate that an average toothache is evolving into something more serious.
If you’ve been plagued by an enduring toothache accompanied by the other symptoms of abscess, schedule an evaluation with our dual-degree oral surgeons at ORA® Oral Surgery & Implant Studio in Chicago to determine if you have an abscess that requires an intervention. Call 312-328-9000 for your appointment.
This is the third of a three part series on real life examples of how having your wisdom teeth extracted can actually be a fun experience and sometimes a hilarious one. The Ellen Show has really taken a liking to the whole process, especially the initial recovery period, where some rather amusing things can happen. Some of the medications that a patient receives are sedatives and relaxants that can make you a bit forgetful, euphoric, and un-inhibited. The medications are very well tolerated and metabolized quickly and everyone’s experience is unique, but in general, patients awaken surprised that the procedure is finished and in a pleasant, mellow, and super happy state.
The whole process at ORA Oral Surgery & Implant Studio in Chicago begins with a trip to to oral surgery suite on the day of your wisdom tooth removal procedure. You will have one of the very comfortable, peaceful, sterile operating rooms reserved for your oral surgery procedure. Patients have the choice to listen to whatever music that they like, and are able to pick from any genre and from over 40,000 songs (and always growing) residing on an Apple i-Pod that has an in-wall docking station. A patient’s personal music selection is played overhead through a premium sound system and then the procedure commences with some nitrous oxide (laughing gas) which is the first step in the dental sedation process. Patients awaken in a pleasant and euphoric mood, with their favorite musical artist still playing and often not believing that their wisdom teeth removal procedure is complete. Some patients are super euphoric and very talkative, and in this case here, where a young girl was featured on the Ellen Show, she actually thought Ellen Degeneres was present filming her!
Patients with tooth abscesses benefit significantly from having an oral surgeon drain those abscesses or extract the infected tooth. In addition to the symptoms that are directly caused by the abscess, surgical intervention can reduce the risk that the inflammation will spread to other areas of the body.
