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Terrified of what’s wrong

  • Thread starter Thread starter Electricdaisy
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Electricdaisy

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Joined
Apr 1, 2024
Messages
23
Location
Nyc
Hi, so… 3 months ago I got what I think was a wisdom tooth abscess… a little pimple thing on my gum, bad smell, tooth pain, a sudden misalignment in my bite… bc of my dental phobia and lack of dental insurance I did everything I could to treat it naturally. I treated it with a miriad of herbs, probiotics, red light therapy, I mean you name it. Luckily the pain was minimal and I seemed to keep the condition “under control”. Eventually that little bump disappeared but I noticed how bad my 2 remaining wisdom teeth looked so I booked an appointment to get them removed. But I also noticed 2 spots on my gums (under different teeth) oozed out a whitish yellowish substance when pressed. I was hoping this would go away after wisdom tooth extraction. The dentist I saw for a consult as well as the oral surgeon saw no infection in their 3d cone beam scans. I was relieved but I did not tell them about the stuff under my gums, for fear of the worst. Fast forward one month post extraction, my bite is still slightly misaligned and those spots still exude that substance when pressed. I’m so discouraged… I have no idea what this is and it’s hard to find any info about it online. It doesn’t smell like a typical infection would. It smells more like… plaque maybe? Can a gum or tooth infection manifest itself this way? Without a bump or abscess and without indication on an xray? I’m terrified i have some kind of jaw infection and the bacteria is silently eating away at my jaw bone. Before all of this happened? I was on a popcorn binge. Is it possible that little bits of popcorn kernel skins got stuck underneath my gums (I was diagnosed with and treated for periodontitis), and bacteria is continually building up around them? If anyone can give any helpful insight as to what is going on I would so appreciate it. Thanks for reading ❤️
 
How bad is the periodontal disease? If you have several deep pocketing areas then you could get a purulent discharge from them.
 
The periodontist said it was moderate. Would purulent discharge be a serious condition? How likely is this vs infection? Could it resolve on its own? I have no dental insurance and unemployed at the moment so I’m nervous about needing expensive care but also worried I have an infection that needs immediate attention
 
Not serious as in life threatening or anything like that, but not great for the long term prospects for your teeth.
It doesn't require immediate attention, if that's what it is. Can you manage to see a dentist to at least get a proper diagnosis done? Sometimes dental schools offer cut price treatment over there?
 
I’ve tried the local dental school but there seems to be a long wait list. (I’ve left messages and no call back). Is it definitively an infection? I have a trip to Greece coming up and will be returning mid July. Can a dental appointment wait till then?
 
I can't say for definite without examining you. It seems the more likely thing but you seem to be confusing "an infection" with automatically being dangerous to your general health, it isn't and it's not likely to be.
It can wait till you get back I'm sure.

Enjoy your trip.
 
Thanks Dr. Gordon, what I’m truly worried about is that whatever this is will be affecting the surrounding teeth and that I will lose teeth. I have a terrible fear of losing my teeth
 
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