Hello! I've got a question about dental abscesses- what's the record

[Iatrophobe]

I've had one for about 2 years. The tooth has been long gone, but the darn abscess is still there in my upper jaw. I am wondering what will happen if I never deal with it. If it ever gets painful I chew on raw garlic and that takes care of the inflammation, but the abscess still stays there. So, what if I do nothing, will I be okay or what? Did you ever see anyone who had an abscess for like 20 years and didn't have any health problems?

I am sort of exhibiting a *few* symptoms of infective endocarditis just a few and I'm sure that's not what it is anyway, like teeny tiny black streaks near the edge of my fingernails, some weird heart things going on (but I've had that happen before I got the abscess) where my heart feels like it stops, I can't breathe for a second, and then it does double time to pick up from where it left off. I never passed out from it though. I also get occasional night sweats (I'm not pre or post menopausal), headaches, tiredness, and I sometimes now get a dull ache in the middle of my back on the left. Other than that, I feel great!

 

[Stupiddentalfear]

Hello,

I'm not quite sure if I can offer anything but...I had a dental abcess for about 18 months. I was told by the endodontist that while it's draining it will cause no further problems but it can do if it can't escape and builds up around the bone. Luckily mine was draining and I didn't get any problems at the time. However a friend of mine had one under a filling and was in excruciating pain. She told me that if the emergency dentist hadn't treated it she would have done something to herself. Anaesthetic wouldn't numb the tooth and being so desperate she endured the agony and had it out without any numbing relief! Aside from pain there are many links between dental infections and bodily health.

I hope you manage to get it sorted out soon.

 

[Iatrophobe]

Thank you for you comment SDF! It's not stupid to fear the dentist...or doctor for that matter. I only fear those who are not competent, and it's hard to find out who is or isn't competent! I'll keep people posted as to how long I can go without any health problems. Though I have some sort of weird thing going with my sinus on the same side as my tooth, feels like I'm getting a cold, but so far no cold symptoms other than feeling chilled.
Though if my abscess was horridly painful like a nerve pain, that'd be different, but thankfully it was never that horrible of a pain, otherwise I'd be heading to the ER.

I try to keep my health up as much as possible, I slowed down changed my diet.

I'll try to keep everyone updated as the years go by as far as what (if anything) happens with this abscess. The only way I can be dragged into the hospital is if I'm unconscious or else the pain is so bad I can't see straight.

 

[Iatrophobe]

Tooth abscess Update!
Well I guess it's been 6 years now so far. I still have the abscess, but it has gotten better I think?
It is not draining as much as it used to. I still get bad headaches at times though, a week ago I was spinning my kids and I got one, it was terrible, it made me vomit a few times, the pain was in the center/right of my head, so I prayed to God, took some black tea (helps with headaches) and got a hot water bottle. Mostly I'm doing good, I have been taking Neptune Krill Oil pills, staying off most sugar, eating a lot of meat and taking cod liver oil when I can afford it.
Except for the occasional headache (with pain radiating down my spine), so far so good. It's not completely gone yet, but it is much less pus than before.
I get heart palps but I think that is due to hypothyroidism, I take sea weed for that, every few days. After I had the bad headache I did get a splinter hemorrhage, but not sure why.
Until next time, Ciao!

 

[Enarete]

Iatrophobe, thank you for updating us! I am almost afraid to ask you that, but do you by now have a dentist who would have a look at that? The symptoms you describe sound so heavy that I cannot imagine how you can live with that

 

[Iatrophobe]

Iatrophobe, thank you for updating us! I am almost afraid to ask you that, but do you by now have a dentist who would have a look at that? The symptoms you describe sound so heavy that I cannot imagine how you can live with that

Hi Enarte!
Sorry took so long to reply- no so far no dentist for me! I mean if I felt horrible like that every single day I'd probably go do something about it, but it's not so bad.

 

[Sol]

It's apparent from your post you prefer going at this through self treatment. Hope you consider seeking out care from a dental professional. Having lingering or repeat infections is not good for your health. It's concerning as well since you mention having heart related issues.

 

[MountainMama]

Just a word of warning. I had an abscess for two years without any symptoms. No pain, nothing to indicate an issue. I had a few more illnesses than usual, because apparently my immune system was working overtime to control the infection. I only discovered it when the tooth it was from became a little tender when I bit with it. It was never super painful and never bothered me much. I went in as a "well this is a little sore when I bite" issue and found out I had a massive abscess. It had eaten away quite a bit of my jawbone, and had tunneled back into my hard palate in the roof of my mouth. I had a root canal, and apicoectomy but the infection persisted. I am now getting the tooth extracted and the oral surgeon is going to have to go in and clean up the area where the abscess was, and I have to have bone grafting and a bone wrap to prevent my jaw from "shrinking" and collapsing inward.

I know it sounds like you don't want to deal with it until it becomes painful, but what if it never does? Mine never got that painful, but it did a lot of damage. The endodontist who did the apicoectomy said it was within millimeters of getting into my sinus cavity (it was my front tooth, so not super close to sinus like the molars). If it had done that, it could have easily spread to other areas, even the brain.