Our body has their own army to fight of infections, which we call it the immune system. It is very fortunate that in normal circumstances our body will fight off bacteria and other harmful substances that harm our body, it is a normal natural process. Our body is gifted to have those. That is why people take supplements or monitor on their diet to improve those immune systems so that it can fight off diseases. In SmileWay Dental Clinic USJ, we do see different healing time for different people. Some people heal faster as some people take a longer time. The length of full healing can also depend on your immune system.
So, if we have all those immune systems, why would a tooth ache eventually cause swelling? Well, swelling is your body’s reaction to injury. Any decay teeth, severe gum problems (Periodontitis), or any irritation to the teeth can damage the nerve. For example, bacteria from the decay teeth can penetrate to the nerve and blood vessels of the tooth. As a normal reaction, your body will fight off these harmful bacteria. These will cause your white blood cells to attack the bacteria releasing other fluids and chemical causing swelling and therefore compress the nerves in the area causing pain. That is why after an acute tooth ache people can also develop swelling at the gums area. A badly decayed tooth without any treatment has a high incident of tooth swelling, and if not treated and depending on where the swelling is located it can be life threatening. If it is severe especially located at the bottom of your tongue can block the airway passage, making breathing difficult. In this case please call the hospital and gets an emergency treatment, as it can be life threatening. Swelling which is located below your eyes due to a toothache can cause bacteria to travel to your brain causing damage. Gum swelling can be caused by dental plaque build up through time causing calculus and it is your body’s way of fighting harmful bacteria in that region. It is best to get rid of the calculus early so that it will not progress to a severe form of the disease. So if you see any swelling build up on your tooth area, best to have a quick consult with your dentist and get the treatment done early to prevent other diseases like periodontitis.
Not all swelling is bad. Especially after surgeries, swellings are expected but have no worries as it will reduce after 4th to 5th from the day of your surgery. In this case swelling is the healing process after the surgery. Your dentist will prescribe you with some medication to speed up the healing process and making it more comfortable. This is usually covered with some antibiotics and painkillers. Keep in mind tooth swelling without any dental treatment is not advisable. By just taking medication to reduce the swelling is only a temporary measurement. Remember that full dental treatment is still better than taking medication to reduce swelling. Without any dental treatment and just taking medication to reduce swelling we are not eliminating the root cause of the disease, therefore tooth swelling will reacquire.
There are times where swelling is so large that a surgical procedure to drain the pus is required before it does more harm. So it is recommended to get those swelling treated as quickly as possible before it does more harm to our health. Do come and have a check up with our doctors in SmileWay Dental clinic USJ, as we love to help others achieve great health.
