Bad Tooth Abscess With Facial Swelling - Will Amoxi-clav Help?
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I started with a tooth abscess in one of my front teeth where I had a crown/cap put on after a root canal years ago. I can see where food can get under the crown but I also have a swelled throat, neck, and top lip. I have taken Amoxi-Clav 875-125 3 times so far, two yesterday and one today. I am supposed to take them twice a day but I don't feel much better and now my top lip is swollen. When I sleep I wake up feeling like there is a bump in the back of my throat that I cannot swallow nor spit it out. Am I doing the right thing? Or does it sound as though the med is not strong enough to handle the infection that I have? Any suggestions are welcome. I have been brushing teeth, rinsing with peroxide (which of course I spit it all out) and warm salt water. Let me know what you think please.

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Thank you everyone for your helpful comments. The crown seems to be ok and I haven't been to an oral surgeon due to the cost but if it happens again then I will definitely be going. I think we can close this conversation. Again, thank you all for your helpful comments:)

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Re: sam0531 (# 4)

It’s not actually “poison” that you would be swallowing. It’s called pus which is an infection due to your tooth being infected. So, although it is gross. It’s no more than swallowing the pus from your tooth. I used to get strep throat when I was younger which also makes pus on your tonsils which you had no choice but to swallow until the antibiotics started working. I understand that this is an old post but the decay from a tooth or anything else that is in your mouth is something that you have no choice but to swallow until the antibiotics start working. Pus will not make you sick by having to swallow it. It’s just an infection which you already have going through your body anyhow. That’s what the Amoxicillin is for. It does take 3 full days for any pain to subside as it needs the full 3 days for the medication to take full effect. You also need to take it up until the time that you get your tooth extracted or the pain will just come back within a day or two and you’ll have to start all over again. I hope that I cleared that up a little for anyone else that reads the post for future reference.

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I visited my family doctor and he checked my mouth out and seems to think I may have a stone in a spit gland so he gave me more antibiotics as well as steroids. He also recommended a catscan of my jaws which I'm doing this week. Thankfully I have not had any additional swelling or infection yet, hopefully I won't have it all. I'm thinking about going to see a dental surgeon to see what the cost is tone have my teeth pulled and get dentures. I seem to remember that dental surgery is covered by my medical insurance as opposed to my dental which covers nothing. Thank you everyone for all of your advice.

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Hi Zed, thanks for the info, most especially that I won't get sick from swallowing the poison that is coming out of my tooth abcess. I was very worried about getting sick from the poison. I have 4 days left of antibiotics and doubt that I will be better. I guess I will have to end up going to a dentist just in case the problem is the crown cuz I do see a small line the front of my crown where things could be going in. Thank you again, I'll let you know how this ends up.

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sam,

Hi there, sorry your experiencing these issues. Although not pleasant you shouldn't fear accidentally ingesting this discharge as it won't kill you. Verwon gave you some solid advice. I understand the challenges of the under-insured dental patient all too well. Visiting an oral surgeon for the purposes of extraction may be the best option for you. Many who consistently medicate with antibiotics and pain reliever's can develop other systemic issues that may pale in comparison to what condition you're dealing with presently. I've been there and it's beyond frustrating, Antibiotic resistance issues and dependence on pain relievers is a common result, as it was for myself. If I can assist you in anyway please feel free to post back. Warmest thoughts, Zed.

P.S: In addition to the antibiotic, a soft diet, rinsing with warm salt water, and OTC NSAIDs like Ibuprofen or Aleve will assist you until your oral surgeons appt.

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Thank you for your answer and I do think the whole thing has to do with the crown as I have noticed a small spot in the front of the crown where my gums aren't pressed against the crown as the rest of my gums are around it. I don't have a dentist as my so called insurance only pays 20% of my bill. I'm thinking of going straight to an oral surgeon and having him knock me out and get so he/she can get whatever is causing this pulled out. I have horrible teeth since I had braces when I was a child and they were on for about 5 to 7 years cuz everything the orthodontist tightened them I would loosen them. I'm just so frustrated and this tooth is aggravating me, just when I thought it was getting better it got worse. I tried to drain it last night and it seems to have worked but based on your thought about the crown I have a feeling it will happen again soon. I have 4 more days of Amoxi-Clav and once that's done I'll have an appointment with an oral surgeon cuz I'm afraid to go to sleep for fear that it will drain while I'm sleeping and I will swallow the poison by mistake. Thank you again for taking time to answer me. I appreciate your concern. I will let you know what I find out. If you think of anything else that I can do besides brushing, warm salt water, peroxide rinse and mouthwash then I welcome any suggestions you may have :)

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The general rule with antibiotics, according to the NIH, is that if they are working, there shouldn't be any worsening after taking them for a full 24 hours, and you should start to see improvement after taking them for a full 3 days. Based on this, it sounds like this one may not be working for you.

Has there been any change?

If the infection is under the crown, there may be an issue of drainage going on, as in it can't drain, which can be problematic. I had that happen once, with a temporary filling. I actually found small, fine tipped tweezers and pulled it out, myself, since I couldn't get into the dentist immediately and the pressure had built up causing severe pain.

Have you consulted your dentist?

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