A tooth infection occurs when germs penetrate the tooth's nerve or soft tissue, known as the pulp. This might happen due to tooth decay, damage, or past dental operations.
Most tooth infections are solved with a minor dental treatment like a root canal or tooth extraction. However, left untreated, the affected tooth infection can be fatal. When untreated tooth infection spreads to other tissues in your body, it can cause severe infection and potentially life-threatening problems within days to weeks.
We'll go through how a tooth infection spreading past the affected tooth can lead to death, how long it might take, and when you should go to the hospital or emergency dentistry for immediate treatment when serious symptoms are present.
WHAT IS A TOOTH ABSCESS?
A tooth infection, aka a tooth abscess or dental abscess, is a pocket of pus caused by a bacterial infection beneath the surface of the teeth. A bacterial infection into the pulp, which is the deepest area of a tooth containing blood vessels and nerves, causes it.
Bacteria often enter the pulp through a gum infection or tooth crack and spread to the root of the tooth through fissures, cavities, or cracks in the tooth. This might result in swelling and inflammation, which causes the agonizing sensation of a toothache.
Tooth decay can be caused by three types of infections:
- Periapical abscesses are produced by bacterial infiltration through a hollow or fracture near the tip of the root.
- Periodontal infections are infections that arise in the bone and tissues that support the tooth. It is mainly present in patients with gum disease.
- Gingival: An infection that originates exclusively in the gums and does not generally impact the teeth.
When you have a tooth infection, you will often experience intense or shooting pain and throbbing sensations in the impacted tooth. Similarly, you may have heightened sensitivity to hot and cold, a bitter taste in your mouth, edema, tooth loosening, and gum redness or swelling.
A number of variables might raise your chances of having a tooth abscess. Poor dental hygiene caused by not brushing or flossing your teeth regularly can weaken the protective enamel on the outside of a tooth, leaving the interior vulnerable to injury.
Furthermore, consuming sugary and starchy meals can encourage bacteria in the mouth to create additional acid, causing protective enamel to erode away. This might make you more prone to tooth decay and infection in the future.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO DIE FROM A TOOTH INFECTION?
You may wonder how it is possible for a tooth infection to kill you. When you think that germs from severe periodontal disease may enter your bloodstream, lungs, or brain, the idea isn't as far-fetched as it seems.
A tooth infection may kill you by allowing bacteria to spread throughout your body. Infection involving the brain and blood (sepsis) is particularly dangerous.
Imagine you have an abscessed tooth for a moment. Cysts at the root of these teeth house millions of harmful germs. This cyst or tooth abscess will gradually infiltrate the bone structures and soft tissues surrounding the tooth. It has the potential to enter your circulation, nasal sinuses, nerves, face, and even your brain.
Gum infections are not much different. Even if you don't have a tooth abscess, you can have severe inflammation, bleeding, and facial swelling from bacteria colonies beneath your gum tissue's surface
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE A TOOTH ABSCESS TO FORM?
Abscesses caused by tooth decay might take months to develop, and this is due to the fact that the decay process might take a long time to reach and destroy the pulp in the center of a tooth.
Meanwhile, a tooth injury or trauma may allow germs to enter the tooth quickly. This can occur as a result of an injury, such as a cracked or chipped tooth.
WHAT OCCURS WHEN AN ABSCESS FORMS?
When an abscess forms, you may notice swelling and intermittent, throbbing pain around the afflicted tooth. This is a red flag indicating something is wrong. However, you will most likely have dental discomfort in your tooth from the cavity before it develops into an abscess.
It is possible for significant disease or death caused by a dental abscess to frequently report chronic toothaches that last weeks or months before seeking urgent or emergency care.
Antibiotics are often used to treat toothaches in several cases. Antibiotics alone, however, are rarely useful in treating a tooth abscess. Tooth decay must also be addressed by extraction or root canal therapy if your tooth is salvageable.
When a tooth abscess goes untreated for weeks or months, it can spread to other parts of the body, including the jaw, neck, and brain. This might result in significant symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, and the inability to open your mouth.
If treatment is not provided at this stage, it won't be long before a tooth infection can potentially lead to hospitalization and death, possibly in days.
WHAT RISK FACTORS MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO ABSCESS COMPLICATIONS?
Various populations may have a higher risk of experiencing dental abscess problems, including:
- Elderly people
- People with diabetes
- Those who are immunocompromised
- Malnourished
Other causes of fatal tooth bacterial infection
Here are a few life-threatening conditions that can be traced back to a toothache and why you should not avoid needed dental work:
1. SEPSIS:
Sepsis is a potentially fatal illness in which a bacterial infection overruns your body. It can cause tissue damage and organ failure by killing otherwise healthy tissues within your body. If your tooth abscess drains into your sinus cavity or blood circulation, it might cause sepsis, which is typically deadly.
2. LUDWIG'S ANGINA:
Ludwig's angina is an infection that affects the floor of your mouth, affecting regions such as jaw and neck pain. It is a type of "cellulitis." A dental abscess, dental infections, or a physical injury to the jaw are the most common causes of this serious condition.
Ludwig’s Angina is quite common among children. It is usually treated by draining the abscess and administering antibiotics, although it can be deadly in rare cases.
3. NECROTIZING FASCIITIS:
Rapidly spreading bacteria cause this unusual condition, and it causes the fascia inside soft tissues to deteriorate. This issue is also deadly. The symptoms include pain, swelling, fever, ulcers and blisters, and exhaustion.
4. ENDOCARDITIS:
Endocarditis occurs when the heart becomes inflamed due to dental infections or fungus. And it can be lethal.
People wonder if a tooth infection can cause endocarditis. That answer is yes. In fact, health professionals advise persons at risk for infective endocarditis to practice good oral hygiene practices to avoid tooth abscesses or gum infections from migrating into their bloodstream.
5. CAVERNOUS SINUS THROMBOSIS:
A blood clot within the "cavernous sinuses" (the hollow nasal sinuses above your teeth but beneath your brain and eye socket) can be fatal. Because your tooth roots are right next to some of your sinus cavities, you must be extra cautious not to allow abscessed teeth to transfer infection into those places.
6. OSTEOMYELITIS:
Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bones. It enters the bone through the circulatory system or through an infection close to the skeletal structure, such as an abscessed tooth. It causes excruciating swelling in your bone marrow.
Diabetes patients, small children, and the elderly are especially vulnerable.
7. BRAIN ABSCESS:
When this happens, you have an odontogenic brain abscess. This fatal illness might result from undetected cavities or other oral infections. Brain abscesses can result in death or severe disability.
HOW OFTEN IS DENTAL INFECTION-RELATED DEATH?
In the pre-antibiotic period, tooth infections claimed the lives of 10-40% of people. The mortality rate has decreased dramatically since the discovery of penicillin. There isn't much research on the incidence of mortality from a tooth infection, but one study of 297 individuals with severe head and neck area infections found that the probability was around 0.9%.
Even though survival rates have greatly improved since the Middle Ages, today’s dentists would not advocate allowing an abscess to develop into Ludwig's angina since it can severely disrupt your life for a few weeks.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO TREAT TOOTH INFECTIONS?
The good news is that there are numerous options for treating a tooth infection that can aid in the prevention of infection.
While dental fillings are preferable for correcting cavities or minor cases of tooth decay, they are usually not feasible if an infection has progressed. Once infection begins, the two basic alternatives are root canal therapy or extraction.
The infected pulp from the root of a tooth is removed during a root canal operation. The tooth is then filled with a dental filling to restore its integrity. This is favored over extraction because it preserves the current tooth.
If an infection is too difficult to treat, a dentist may need to remove it. Even after extraction, dental implants, dentures, bridges, and veneers can assist in restoring your mouth's appearance so that it appears as good as new.
If a tooth infection progresses to the point of causing septic shock, sepsis can be cured if you get treatment right away. In addition to intravenous fluids, antibiotic medicines are delivered immediately. If blood pressure remains low after therapy, vasopressors can constrict the blood arteries to raise it.
CONCLUSION
A tooth infection can result in serious or perhaps life-threatening problems. Sepsis, Ludwig's angina, and cavernous sinus thrombosis are a few instances.
Untreated tooth infections can spread to other parts of the body over weeks or months. This might result in significant symptoms such as fever, difficulty breathing, or difficulty swallowing. Without immediate medical attention, death can occur fast.
When you have a tooth infection, you will experience tooth pain and swelling around the impacted tooth. This is an indication that you should schedule an exam with your dentist. Many tooth infections can be adequately treated with a root canal or extraction.
FAQS
HOW DO YOU TELL IF A TOOTH INFECTION IS KILLING YOU?
Untreated tooth infections can spread to other parts of the body over a period of weeks or months. This might result in significant symptoms such as fever, difficulty breathing, or difficulty swallowing. Without immediate medical attention, death can occur.
HOW LONG CAN YOU LEAVE AN INFECTED TOOTH UNTREATED?
An untreated tooth abscess might last for twelve months or more if left untreated. However, unresolved infections may result in potentially fatal consequences such as sepsis or death.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU LET A TOOTH INFECTION GO TOO LONG?
Untreated tooth infection will increase in tooth pain and can eventually lead to bacteria in the bloodstream, often known as blood poisoning, bacteremia, or septicemia. If untreated, septicemia can lead to sepsis, a severe whole-body infection that can be fatal.
CAN AN INFECTED TOOTH CAUSE DEATH?
While it is uncommon, you can have a tooth infection kill you. Untreated tooth infections can spread to other tissues in your body and cause potentially life-threatening problems within weeks or months.
HOW FAST DOES A TOOTH INFECTION PROGRESS?
Abscesses can form in as little as one or two days following the first indications of infection. They can progress undiagnosed and so untreated for months or even years.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF A TOOTH INFECTION HAS SPREAD TO THE BRAIN?
The symptoms of a dental infection spreading to the brain are similar to those seen when the infection spreads throughout the body. But brain abscesses also have distinct warning signs: Irritability or confusion. Nerve function problems, such as muscular weakness or paralysis.
