Worried about complications while waiting for wisdom tooth removal

[Nutfig1]

My lower left erupted wisdom tooth has a gaping cavity in it that I'm scheduled to have removed (probably by surgical extraction) by the best dentist in my town on August 21st. I've been taking good care of the area, but I'm starting to notice occasional sharp pains in my surrounding jaw and ear and a dull ache that occasionally has been worsening lately in the surrounding gums and teeth. I've read that this could indicate the nerve of the tooth is dying which could soon lead to an abscess. I had been taking Cipro since July the fifth to ward off any infection but recently ran out of it and can't get it refilled.

The reason I have to wait so long for an appointment is because the dentist I saw on July the fifth doesn't have an orbital X-ray machine and couldn't get an X-ray of my tooth because the device she put in my mouth made me gag repeatedly.

I made an appointment with yet another dentist for this Wednesday (he also has an orbital X-ray machine but doesn't do surgical extractions) so he can go ahead and get an X-ray of the tooth and maybe pull it. But I have a small mouth, and I've got a feeling that he will recommend that I wait for the dentist in August to pull it.

I'm worried that I will develop a severe infection or complications in the meantime. Everytime my mouth starts to ache a bit worse than usual I panic. There's been a couple of instances where I had to take Tylenol. Lately I've been rinsing with warm salt water whenever the pain worsens which always helps tremendously.

What do you guys think? Will it be safe to wait until August if it's recommended that I do so? If the dentist I see on Wednesday doesn't do anything but writes me another prescription for Cipro should I just resume taking it, relax, and wait for my August appointment?

I have a heart condition and called my cardiologist a while back to ask his opinion on whether I should get the tooth removed now or wait until August. He said it's okay to do either. But I'm still paranoid about developing complications in the meantime if I wait.

 

[MountainMama]

If you are on antibiotics, and the pain isn't severe enough to have to take ibuprofen around the clock, you are probably going to be fine to wait. When my nerve was dying in my upper 2nd molar, it started out with shooting pain that tylenol or ibuprofen didn't even really touch. Antibiotics helped, but I had to wait three weeks to get a root canal done, and it never did abscess in that time, although it was super painful. I was taking 600 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours.

Salt water rinses are great for fighting infection and managing pain.

I know how scary it is just waiting and imagining the worst. I was terrified of an abscess as well.

 

[Enarete]

Here is a link from the FAQ section, regarding an abscess (which you do not have):

Can infections from teeth spread to the body?

Find out if dental infections and abscesses can move to other body parts, spread to the rest of your body, or even kill you.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

There are a lot of people who haven't seen a dentist for ages and have a lot of dead teeth without even knowing. Mostly there was pain for a month or so as the nerve was dying and then it disappeared and the tooth made no issues anymore. So thinking of this I cannot imagine that you would get into any troubles waiting till August. Also, if your dentist scheduled you for August it must mean that it's not a problem. Also, if your cardiologist told you waiting is fine than he / she must be right.

Reading your posts I feel that it's not really about getting information or opinion - after all, you have an opinion of a cardiologist and a dentist and still keep worrying and asking. So if this is the case, then taking the tooth out on Wednesday might not be a bad idea either as it gives you peace of mind and makes you pain free.

All the best wishes, may you calm down and make a decision that makes you feel better soon.