Is Your Tooth Infected?

Have you ever wondered if you might be suffering from a tooth infection?  Well to start with you should know that there are three different kinds of infection.

The first kind is an infection in the pulp tissue of the tooth it self which is usually caused by tooth decay.  Typically your body can fight infection with antibiotics or through your own white blood cells, however in a tooth this is not the case and once a tooth become infected the pulp will die.  It is for this reason that the much dreaded, and often little understood root canal must take place.  During a root canal the pulp of the tooth is replaced by a material that will not become infected.

Another infection is a gum infection.  When your gums become infected your body has a difficult time killing the infection which can result in the infection listed below.  Gum infections require massive amounts of tricky cleaning.

The next kind of infection is called an abscess and occurs to the bone at the end of the tooth.  Dead tissue within your tooth provides a constant source of bacteria to the bone thus making it difficult for your body to overcome.  In this case you again would need a root canal, since the damage from an abscess can become widespread without  treatment.

Infections can be treated, but after reading the above doesn’t it just seems that prevention is the best medicine?

For more information on comprehensive and cosmetic dentistry, contact Dr. Robert Williamson today!