What Are the Symptoms of a Tooth Infection Spreading?

Tooth infections are prevalent dental issues among children and adults. If you are not careful, a tooth infection is the reason you will lose your natural teeth prematurely. Although there are various treatments for tooth infections in dentistry, patients hardly benefit from them. The reason is that many people let the infections go untreated for very long, allowing the infection to spread and cause many other dental complications.

What Causes Tooth Infections?

Tooth infections can occur due to different factors, the common ones being:

• Poor oral hygiene – if you need dental hygiene long enough, plaque and calculus will build up on teeth surfaces.
• Tooth cavities – if you leave your dental cavities untreated long enough, they will result in dental decay.
• Gum disease – is an infection in your gums that can begin to infect your teeth.
• Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.

Is Your Tooth Infection Spreading?

Unfortunately, we have more patients visiting our dental offices at Thumbs Up Dental – Caro when their oral infections are far spread and advanced. In such cases, the patients would require emergency dentists near you instead of regular restorative dental care. If you want to know that your tooth infection has spread, consider the following symptoms:

• Excruciating pain levels – if you are finding that your dental pain is unbearable and preventing you from going about your day-to-day activities, your tooth infection has advanced.
• Heightened tooth sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures – the sensitivity is not usually limited tooth infected teeth. You may start experiencing discomfort in all the teeth adjacent to the infected one.
• Abscessed tooth – features a pocket filled with pus and other fluids that accumulate at the base of tooth roots near the gum line. At this level, the infection has spread to the soft tissues of the tooth, which can potentially begin to damage the surrounding healthy tissues.
• Inflammation in the mouth and the surrounding facial features – initially, when you have a tooth infection, only your gums swell and redden. As the infection spreads throughout the mouth, you will notice swelling in other parts, like the neck and cheeks.

How to Prevent Tooth Infections

Any Caro dentist will tell you that prevention is always better than restorative treatment. The good news is that even with tooth infections, you can do something to prevent the advanced complications of the bacteria in the mouth. Some of the tips to prevent tooth infections from developing and spreading are:

• Brush your teeth at least twice every day. Aside from using the right products, master the correct technique. It entails brushing your teeth for at least two minutes.
• Floss daily. Brushing your teeth is not nearly enough to keep your mouth clean. The only way to target the food debris and plaque between your teeth is by using dental floss.
• Visit your dentist routinely. Do not be a stranger in a dental office near you. Instead, purpose to visit your dentist once every three to six months. Routine dental visits are necessary for dental cleanings and exams that help maintain a healthy mouth.
• Eat healthily. Your food choices will directly impact your oral health. Leaning more toward sugary foods will be detrimental to your teeth, causing oral infections. Stick to the basics of eating healthily, that is incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your diet.
• Drink a lot of water. Do not get tired or bored of drinking plain water. It is good for your oral and general health. If anything, make water a substitute for your preferred drinks, like sodas and fruit juices.
• Get dental sealants. There is no shame in needing a little help to maintain a healthy mouth. Dental sealants are types of dental fillings that protect your mouth from bacteria and acids that cause tooth cavities. If you are highly prone to oral cavities, dental sealants would be a good preventive measure to resist infections.
• Get fluoride treatment. Fluoride is a natural mineral that strengthens teeth’ enamel and heightens their resistance to acids and bacteria that cause oral cavities.