Wisdom Tooth Infection

iklan 2

Wisdom Tooth Infection (Pericoronitis)

Wisdom Tooth Infection

What Is Wisdom Tooth Infection?

Pericoronitis associated with the lower right third molar (wisdom tooth)

Your wisdom teeth (third molars) usually start to erupt (enter your mouth) during late adolescence. Sometimes, there's not enough room for them, and they come in partially or not at all. This condition can lead to pericoronitis, inflammation of the tissue surrounding the tooth. When only part of the tooth has erupted into the mouth, it can create a flap of gum tissue that easily holds food particles and debris and is a hotbed for bacteria. Pericoronitis also can occur around a wisdom tooth that has not erupted at all and is still under the gums.

Symptoms include:

·         Painful, swollen gum tissue in the area of the affected tooth, which can make it difficult to bite down comfortably without catching the swollen tissue between your teeth

·         A bad smell or taste in the mouth

·         Discharge of pus from the gum near the tooth

More serious symptoms include:

·         Swollen lymph nodes under your chin (the submandibular nodes)

·         Muscle spasms in the jaw

·         Swelling on the affected side of the face

Infection can be painful around the swollen area

Diagnosis

Pericoronitis is diagnosed during a clinical exam. Your dentist will see inflamed gum tissue in the area of the unerupted or partly erupted wisdom tooth. The gums may be red, swollen or draining fluid or pus.

Expected Duration

Pericoronitis can be managed with antibiotics and warm salt water rinses, and the condition should go away in approximately one week. However, if the partially erupted tooth fails to completely enter the mouth and food debris and bacteria continue to accumulate under the flap of gums, pericoronitis will more than likely return.

Prevention

You can help to prevent pericoronitis by practicing good oral hygiene on any erupting wisdom tooth to make sure that food particles and bacteria do not accumulate under the gums. However, if these steps do not work and pericoronitis returns, it may be necessary to have the overlying flap of gum tissue removed. In some cases, the wisdom tooth may need to be extracted.

Treatment

Pericoronitis can be tricky to treat because the flap of gum tissue won't go away until the wisdom tooth emerges naturally or until the tissue is removed.

Your dentist will clean the area thoroughly to remove damaged tissue or pus. If the area is infected, you'll be given oral antibiotics.

Your dentist will give you instructions for keeping the area clean, which is the best way to prevent the problem from returning. This usually involves brushing and flossing daily and rinsing your mouth with water several times a day. This will help prevent food particles from accumulating in the area.

In some cases, your dentist may suggest you have your tooth extracted once pericoronitis is under control. If your dentist thinks the tooth may erupt fully into the mouth without problems, he or she may leave it alone. However, if pericoronitis recurs, the tooth may be extracted.

Pericoronitis that causes symptoms should be treated as soon as possible. If it is not, the infection can spread to other areas of your mouth. The most severe cases are treated in a hospital and may require intravenous antibiotics and surgery.

When To Call A Professional

If you are experiencing symptoms of pericoronitis, make an appointment to see your dentist. If your wisdom teeth are coming in, visit your dentist at least twice a year for regular checkups. During those visits, he or she can check on the progress of your wisdom teeth.

Prognosis

Pericoronitis does not cause any long-term effects. If the affected tooth is removed or erupts fully into the mouth, the condition cannot return. For advanced cases requiring hospitalization, antibiotics usually will treat the infection, after which the tooth can be removed.

Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, do not always come into the mouth properly. Sometimes, a tooth comes in part of the way and a flap of gum tissue covers part of the tooth. This happens more often with the lower wisdom teeth than with the upper ones. Bacteria and pieces of food can get trapped under this flap. The gum may swell and become irritated. This is an infection called pericoronitis.

What You Can Do

The symptoms of pericoronitis may include:

• A bad taste in the mouth (this often happens when there's an infection)
• Bad breath (halitosis)
• Pain in the area around your back teeth
• Swelling of the gums behind your back teeth (you may not be able to bite down without pinching the swollen gums between your teeth)
• Not being able to open your mouth all the way

Do not use warm compresses on your face. You can swish warm salt water around in your mouth. This may help to reduce the swelling, but it will not solve the problem. Visit a dentist as soon as possible.

What Your Dentist Will Do

The inflammation — that is, the pericoronitis — won't go away until one of three things happens:

• The flap of tissue is removed
• The wisdom tooth is removed
• The wisdom tooth comes into your mouth the rest of the way

Your dentist will rinse under the flap of tissue with water to clean the area. If the area is infected, your dentist most likely will prescribe antibiotics.

Your dentist will tell you how to keep the area clean. This is the best way to keep the problem from coming back. You will have to brush and floss every day, and rinse your mouth several times a day. This will help to prevent bits of food from building up in the area. Even with good oral hygiene, the problem may occur again.

If the condition returns, your dentist probably will send you to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, who may suggest that you remove the flap of gum tissue or the tooth. Removing the flap of tissue may not solve the problem, however. In that case, you will need to have the tooth extracted.

Once the tooth is out, you rarely have the problem again. If the problem is caused by an upper wisdom tooth biting the gum that covers a lower wisdom tooth, the upper one may be removed. The oral surgeon may recommend that you have the upper wisdom tooth removed to prevent it from biting into the lower gum after the lower tooth is extracted.

iklan 3

Tweet