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What Causes Swelling In The Neck And Lower Jaw While On Treatment For Infected Tooth?
My husband went to the hospital 2 days ago for tooth pain. They gave him some antibiotics (Clindamycin) and gave him a shot in the back of his hip & said he had an infection in his tooth. He's been taking the antibiotics for 2 days now and each day his neck & lower jaw have became swollen, not getting my better. He can hardly open his mouth to eat or anything. We are getting concerned and not sure what to do, do we just wait and see what the antibiotics do or go back to the hospital? Any advice is greatly appreciated -Holly
Thu, 12 Jan 2017
Hi,
As per your complain it seems that due to tooth infection your husband has developed Cellulitis leading to swelling and pain. Swelling is the cause for difficulty in opening mouth. I would suggest you to consult a Dentist and get evaluated and he can advise you a course of stronger antibiotics and anti inflammatory painkillers and along with it a steroid shot can be given to reduce swelling.
You should also do cool compresses over the swelling. Once the swelling reduces, an x ray of the tooth can be taken to check whether the tooth can be saved or not. In case if tooth can be saved then Root Canal Treatment can be done followed by capping of tooth. In case if there is gross decay, extraction is advisable.
Hope this helps. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Honey Arora
As per your complain it seems that due to tooth infection your husband has developed Cellulitis leading to swelling and pain. Swelling is the cause for difficulty in opening mouth. I would suggest you to consult a Dentist and get evaluated and he can advise you a course of stronger antibiotics and anti inflammatory painkillers and along with it a steroid shot can be given to reduce swelling.
You should also do cool compresses over the swelling. Once the swelling reduces, an x ray of the tooth can be taken to check whether the tooth can be saved or not. In case if tooth can be saved then Root Canal Treatment can be done followed by capping of tooth. In case if there is gross decay, extraction is advisable.
Hope this helps. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Honey Arora
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