I have an absess on my tooth... should I go to the GP or the dentisit? What wil!
Question:
I have an absess on my tooth... should I go to the GP or the dentisit? What will they do?
I have a very bad tooth and it is all inflammed and sore... I don't know whether I should go to the Gp for anti biotics first or should I just go straight to the dentist... can a dentist perscribe antibiotics?
Answers:
Go to your dentist as soon as you can. He/she is licensed to prescribe antibiotics related to dental disease. Usually, some form of penicillin is prescribed, but if you are allergic to penicillin you must let your dentist know so that another medication can be prescribed. As far as the treatment, there are basically two things that can happen. If your doctor thinks that the tooth can be saved, he/she will usually perform the first few steps of a root canal (extirpation). The tooth will be anesthetized, opened up, the necrotic matter removed, the root canals flushed with medication, and the tooth will be temporarily closed with a rubber-like material until the root canal can be completed later. In the meantime, you will have a prescription filled and take a course of antibiotics if your doctor deems it necessary. The other course of action, if the tooth is deemed unrestorable, is to extract the tooth and follow up with antibiotics. After it has healed, you can consider an implant or bridge (implants are usually preferable) to replace the missing tooth. Hope this helps