When people say “oral infection” they usually refer to what’s called periapical or tooth abscess. Bacteria accumulated within the dental plaque create a hole in the dental enamel and get access to the inner part of the tooth.

At this point the patient feels a severe toothache because the infection is killing the nerve. When the pulp has been destroyed, bacteria tries to exit the tooth via its root causing the infection to spread to the supporting tissue of the tooth

Our body reacts creating a kind of barrier to limit the infection spreading. Since the necrotic material increase as well as the pus, a bump forms and the patient may notice a swelling within the mouth. At this stage the pain is caused by the pressure inside the abscess.

Here is where the dangerous part comes into account. If leaved untreated, the tooth infection doesn’t go away on its own and tends to affect other neighbouring organs such as neck, ear and mandibular articulation. In addition, if bacteria can get access the blood stream, the infection may cause severe health problems in body zones far from the mouth.

Cardiovascular disease, dementia, respiratory infections, diabetic complications are pathologies linked to gum and tooth infections.

Just to get you an idea about how many people needed emergency room visits in the last years, let’s see the following data.

A Boston research shows that In 2000 5,757 people were hospitalized due to dental abscesses while in 2008 the number of patients who looked for help by the Hospital were 8,141. In addition 66 patients died after they were hospitalized.

It is easy to calculate an increment of 40%. The health system spent more than $860 million to cover these services.

The most known case of dead caused by tooth infection is a 12-year-old boy in Maryland, died after bacteria from an abscessed tooth spread to his brain (it happened in 2007).

What are the reasons why people do not go to the dentist to prevent all these health diseases caused by teeth ?

There are two main reasons: first the lack of money; second laziness !!!

Studies reveal that each year the number of people that are not covered by dental insurance and cannot pay for dental treatments increases.

In the previous paragraph we mentioned laziness. In fact a lot of patients skip routine dental visits and professional cleanings by the dentist or made by dental hygienists. These people expose them self at high risk of tooth cavities that may lead to abscesses and periodontal diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. These patients look for a dentist or hospital room visit only in case their faces are swollen, they feel a terrible toothache or they can’t breathe.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, tooth infections come from poor oral hygiene therefore, in order to prevent them, it is necessary to pay much more attention on how to clean our moth, teeth, gums and tongue.

Here are the most simple oral hygiene practices suggested by dentists:

• brush and flossing every daily two times a day;
• Use fluoridated toothpaste;
• Avoid sticky and sugary snacks and eat only healthy foods containing vitamins and minerals;
• Quit smoking and do not chew tobacco;
• Consider using an antiseptic mouth rinse (with chlorhexidine) to give your mouth additional protection against bacteria;

If you are pregnant or your menopause just started visit your dental office more often to get your gums checked. In these periods of life, hormonal level changes causing problems to gingival tissue and favoring gum diseases.

If you are senior, you should also pay more attention to the soft tissue around the dental elements because with the age it tends to separate from the teeth leaving enough space to allow bacteria to accumulate and to create gum pockets. If that happen, you cannot remove plaque and tartar by yourself because they are too hard. At this point you need the help of the dentist that will remove the tartar with ultrasonic tools avoiding tooth infection to form.

If you are lazy, think about how much money you can save by visiting the dental office for dental checkups. A complete mouth examination including x-rays exam and cleaning, costs around $180 that is a reasonable price for your mouth health. If your teeth get deep decay, the cost a single tooth extraction is more costly, about $150 to $400. In case the root canal treatment is required, you will pay even more: $400 to $1400. In addition, the prices listed above do not include the cost for tooth replacement with a prosthetic crown and a dental implant.

Now you can better understand why it is necessary to prevent tooth infections keeping your gums and teeth as much clean as possible buy brushing and flossing every day and do not skip professional cleaning at the dental office as well as full mouth examination and x-rays exam.