I am in misery. I have a couple of missing teeth, which is bad enough. Now I have an infection in one of the teeth I do have. It is making me miserable. My cheek is swollen. The problem is I was laid off and have no medical or dental insurance. Is there anything I can do to deal with this?

Misty

Dear Misty,

I am sorry for all you are going through. With your cheek swollen, it tells me that your tooth infection is quite advanced. In fact, it is a dental emergency.  Treating this with antibiotics alone will not solve your problem. You will feel better for a short time and then the infection will expand rapidly.

The danger here is that it will spread to your brain. It can even reach your throat and close off your breathing.

I know you do not have money, but there are places that are willing to help you. I would call your local dental society and ask if there are clinics that will see patients in your situation,

If they can’t help you, I suggest you call around to some local dentists. Most dentists went into their field because they wanted to help people. I feel certain if you explain your situation there will be a dentist willing to help.

They can give you the emergency treatment you need and then allow you to pay it out as you are able.

Ideally, you should get a root canal treatment, which could save the tooth. If you can’t then the next option is a tooth extraction. The problem with that is that then you will need to replace the tooth, which is another expense. But, an extracted tooth is better than a serious tooth infection that can kill you.

Please call the dental society.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesh.