Antibiotic Question for My Fellow Crunchy Mamas

We avoid them as much as possible but infections in the mouth can become very dangerous very quickly as they are super close the brain! I would strongly consider using them in this case AND following the directions - complete the entire treatment as directed.

Don't mess with an abcess. That is serious and way too close to the brain, plus direct return to the heart. My husband has a couple of kids die every year from untreated or mal-treated sinus infections and abcesses that cross over into the brain. Parents just thought it would get better on vitamins too.

Get the antibiotics. Now. Borrow money if you have to.

I'm not a "crunchy mama," (although I certainly agree antibiotics are often overused) but I've had a tooth abcess and those can turn very severe very quickly. I would be very cautious, careful and keep a close eye on it. I almost ended up in the hospital with mine and it turned ugly quickly. I had to be seen on an emergency basis which was very expensive. Also, not all antibiotics work on dental infections (which I learned the hard way). They require a specific antibiotic so it is important to be seen by a dentist or peridontist, which it sounds like he did. I don't know what else you can do, but in my case lancing was needed. Good luck. I don't wish a bad tooth abcess on anyone. I ended up having 3 root canals because of mine and it cost us thousands of dollars, not to mention the severe pain and near hospitalization. I hope your husband's is resolved much more quickly and easily.

I don't use antibios unless I am on death's doorstep. Pretty much the pain of a UTI will do it, or knee surgery since I don't want to lose a leg.

If I had an abscess I would be all over the antibios. It will not heal without them and a continued infection can cause the tooth to die. You think regular dental is expensive wait till you have to pay for a root canal.

So to answer your question I would use the antibiotics for this case.

Oh I have no idea what a crunchy mom is but I am not crunchy. A little dry from the winter but not crunchy.

Sounds like you're doing just about everything there is to do. You might add swishing with warm salt water several times a day but he'll still need the antibiotic. An abcess will not clear up on it's own, so you're making the right choice here.

I'm really surprised though, that he said to wait on the antibiotics. It would make sense to start now so that the infection has actually cleared by the time they do surgery. If it starts Monday, he'll have to skip Tuesday morning so because he probably needs an empty stomach for anesthesia... and skipping doses defeats the purpose with antibiotics.

Call the dentist and express your concerns. Your husband should not live with this infection another week.

HTH
T.

Cruchy? Meh.
I certainly don't like overusing antibiotics.
But an infection in the mouth is close enough to the brain that I wouldn't hesitate in that case! That infection is going to go somewhere to get out of the trapped area.

You really don't want to mess around with a tooth abcess, they can get serious. I had one before I got my wisdom teeth out and had to have it drained followed by antibiotics. You should probably do the antibiotics for this one. Not sure what the steroids would be for.

I'm not totally 'crunchy', but ever since I had a bad reaction to Bactrim, I, too, am cautious with meds (even though I'm fairly certain I need to be on one NOW! but am overdosing on vitamin C instead).

I personally don't like the way steroids feel, but an abcess is pretty serious - my coworker's husband has been in the hospital for one that needed surgery. So, if an antibiotic can prevent surgery, I'd say that's the lesser of the two evils! Does your dentist know about your holistic approach to offer any suggestions?

It's not like you get the sniffles and get a Z-Pac everytime. There are always exceptions to certain situations. Good luck!

It does sound like you're doing a lot of the right things. My only suggestion would be for him to eat raw garlic (which is a tough one, I know). Garlic is a natural antibiotic (there are capsules that you can take that might work too, but raw is probably best. Olive leaf extract and Oil of Oregano are also good for fighting anything bacterial. Maybe up his dose of colloidal silver too... When my hubby gets a flare up with his wisdom teeth and sinus, he goes raw (juices kale, carrots, lemons, cilantro and ginger, which tastes better than it sounds, LOL!) But he notices a big difference when he does. Good luck!

P.S. To the woman who wants to know more about colloidal silver, it clears up eye infections too (I put the drops in my eye several times a day, just last week, and was clear in 48 hours). It's good stuff to have around.

I did an oil pull with olive oil with a few drops of clove oil and melaluca (tea tree oil) to get me by till my appointment...but I would get it taken care of...expensive tho' it may be - they can turn deadly :(.

I would have just increased probiotics with some kombucha.

Not being a "crunchy" person (and recognizing you have some excellent advice and I am completely facinated by all this knowledge). Have you discussed all this with your hubby's dentist? I admit to being ignorant on this, but some "natural remedies" don't mix well with traditional medicines or lessen their effectiveness (the old St John's Wort and BC) or are a deadly combination (Vitaming E before surgery, etc). My 2 cents - if you haven't just call and make sure the orthodontic surgeon is aware. It'd be aweful if the remedies lessened the effectiveness of the job the antibiotic is trying to do:)

Your doing great---I have something else to add but am going to private message you.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things! I have never heard of using colloidal silver thoug...will have to look into that.