How long before gangrene sets in?

[Guest]

I would like to know how long it would be until a tooth scheduled for extraction turns black or gangrene sets in .

 

[Guest]

Hi there,

Obviously the urgeny for an extraction is totally dependant upon the current condition of the tooth. For example some teeth (or indeed roots) which really would be best removed may last for months or in a few cases even years before becoming a problem. On the other hand delaying having a tooth out which has the potential for becoming infected can be a bit of a time bomb, and they do tend to go off on holidays, christmas, easter, or any other really inconvienient time (to both patient and dentist!!!).
My advice would be to get it sorted out asap. Not only will this mean that you won't have potential future infection, but you will be extremely relieved to get it over and done with so that you can get on with enjoying life and not worrying about if and when the tooth will 'go off'.

Gangrene tends to only happen in extremities like toes, or feet and is the death of tissue which the blood supply can no longer keep alive. The structure of a tooth is not living so cannot become gangrenous. It can become infected however. The inside of the tooth root(s), once the nerve (or pulp) has died can become infected or re-infected with bacteria causing an abscess. This can happen quickly after the pulp has died or may take some time - it is quite unpredictable, but is the usual outcome if things are left too long. An abscess can be acute (ie active - this is when people seek help with pain, swollen face, etc) or chronic (ie inactive- whereby the abscess is present, but only grumbling away or is able to drain into the mouth through the gum or tooth). A chronic abscess doesn't often bring people in to seek treatment, but can easily become acute and cause problems, or may grumble away getting bigger and possibly causing problems with the other teeth.

I hope that this clears things up a bit.

I hope that this finds you well and that everything works out for you,
Regards,
Mike