Decayed Wisdom Tooth caused infection

[LazyLittleBoy]

I have a few concerns about my condition. I read the sticky on cracked molars and it gave me some comfort. I have a decayed upper wisdom tooth (#16) and it is basically deteriorated and gone except for two sides of it...so it's kinda like a crater. About two weeks ago, I felt aching pain when I bit down on that side of the mouth. I went to see my dentist and he said, my gums were infected because of the decayed tooth and prescribed me Penicillin and referred me to an Oral Surgeon to remove the decayed molar. He said the nerve was dead since I didn't feel pain when drinking hot or cold. My gums were really inflamed around that area and the tooth next to it. I took the antibiotics for 5 days and believed infection went away. No pain when biting, gums were not as red and swollen. My last day on the drugs was last wednesday.

Yesterday, sunday, I felt a tightness in the area and took a look and found a white bump on the gums above the area between the decayed molar and neighboring tooth. I started on the Penicillin again last night and today the white bump was gone. However, today, I felt the same pain when biting when I ate dinner. My appointment for the extraction is this Thursday, should I be concerned about this returned infection and pain conflicting with the extraction or should I expect the antibiotics to lower the infection by then. Could the bacteria have adapted and built a resistance to the Penicillin?

Also, this will be my first extraction and major dental work ever done. I'm 32 and never had a cavity until this decayed tooth. My anxiety with going to doctors has always been high. I don't know if I should pay the extra money for Nitrous Oxide for the procedure as I read there is a chance of nausea with it. As it is a surgical extraction, will i feel any of the cutting even after being numbed by the local anesthetic?

 

[brit]

I'm not a dentist but I'd phone the oral surgeon, explain the history and ask what he wants you to do i.e. whether you should try a different antibiotic beforehand. Maybe you need the dose upping slightly. Tell him you are concerned about the numbing working if infection is still present and hopefully he will be able to reassure you.

If you are properly numbed, you should feel no pain whatsoever during the procedure. Nitrous if it's available would probably make for a more pleasant experience. It also has a slight numbing effect on the soft tissues which is also a bonus.
So long as they titrate it to you, you should not become nauseous is my understanding. If it does cause nausea that means the concentration of the gases was wrong but the modern machines have safety features to prevent you being overdosed.
Best wishes with it. Let us know how it goes.

 

[LazyLittleBoy]

Thanks for the response. I really just want to get this over with and was hoping for a sooner extraction appointment, but this Thursday was the earliest. Hopefully the antibiotics kick in and do their job again...I had a feeling maybe I decided to stop taking them too early.

Nitrous is sounding more and more appealing. I think I will have to pay for the Nitrous out of pocket, but I don't know how much the average cost is. After reading the sticky at the top i got the impression a cracked molar is easier to extract, I would think it would be harder. I will post how it all went.

 

[brit]

Thanks for the response. I really just want to get this over with and was hoping for a sooner extraction appointment, but this Thursday was the earliest. Hopefully the antibiotics kick in and do their job again...I had a feeling maybe I decided to stop taking them too early.

Nitrous is sounding more and more appealing. I think I will have to pay for the Nitrous out of pocket, but I don't know how much the average cost is. After reading the sticky at the top i got the impression a cracked molar is easier to extract, I would think it would be harder. I will post how it all went.

I would think for an oral surgeon, any single tooth extraction is going to be pretty much a doddle...after all in many countries outside USA, General Dentists do the bulk of extractions themselves with only the most difficult impacted wisdom teeth being referred to oral surgeons at the local hospital.
You should always take the full course of antibiotics even if the problem clears up quickly.
The nitrous is purely for your benefit...to calm your anxiety....money well spent I am sure...even out of pocket.

 

[LazyLittleBoy]

Got the wisdom tooth out and it was fast and painless. I'm starting to feel the pain now. Was told to take 800mg of Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours...that sounds like alot to me. Any idea when I can stop changing out gauze?