Tooth Infection

I need to replace my tooth that I pulled in 2001. It feels fine, its in the back...but the dentist said my teeth could shift. Are there other reasons? Could it cause infection?


Hi, I have a missing bottom back molar on each side of my mouth. I opted not to have a bridge for either hole, after the dentist determined that my bite was not affected by the missing teeth. That was about 10 years ago, & everything's been totally fine. Now I have a new dentist, & he said it looked like there had been some minor shifting, and that I would need to have some sort of bridge or tooth implant in those holes, to keep my bite straight. But, I am totally opposed to having bridges, given my previous dental history. No way am I having the adjacent teeth ground down to stubs as anchors for the bridge. That would ruin those teeth, and I believe it sets them up for future trouble.

So, I opted for a removable bridge, one on each side. Easy, far less expensive, and I only have to wear them a couple of hours a day to keep the teeth from shifting.

And actually, while I was sick recently with the flu, I went for 3 weeks without wearing the bridge (so far, I only have one bridge, the other is supposed to be done in the spring), and when I put the bridge in again, it wasn't at all tight, meaning there had been no shifting in nearly a month without it. So, now I'm revising my idea about how much I truly need to wear it. The dentist said 2-3 hrs/day would be good, but I can see that far less is actually needed. He said I'd know if things were moving by the fit.

I love the bridge because it's easy, I have control about when & even whether to wear it, and best of all, it didn't ruin any other teeth in the process. I don't think dentists really like these things, because they don't make much money off them. My previous dentist only suggested a regular permanent bridge or an implant, but never offered this solution. I'm very glad I changed dentists.


Good to know, thanks!


I do not see any reason why leaving the space in your mouth would cause an infection. It should be healed by now. Choosing the replacement material that you want in your mouth that creates the new tooth may be tricky with any sensitivites that you might have. You may want to see what is available. It may be advantageous to fill in the space in order not to have a major shift in your bite. If the teeth really move a lot, it may affect how your jaw closes and could lead to TMJ or ear pain or uneven wear of the teeth. You may want to get a consult with the dentist who intially pulled it to explore your options.


I was reading about cavitations and collar bone lymph nodes. That's why I asked. All he other things said lung cancer.so I was hoping I had a mouth infection!

My dentist had me do a blood test to see what material I am compatable with when he removed some silver fillings. He didn't pull the tooth tho, it was so painful, I had to go to an oral sureon for something called "light sedation" Yeah right! I was out cold. They said I was awake and talking to them, but I can't imagine that is true. I remember them waking me up.


That is a strange type of sedation. You really arent totally under and it is possible to talk to them but you just dont remember anything. I dont really like the thought of it. I was once given that type of sedation and it was w eird because I actually did remember vauge parts of the ordeal. When I came back to a follow up appointment, I told the dentist what I thought I remembered and asked him if I was correct or was I dreaming and he told me that I had accurately recounted what went on and he thought that was unusual. I also remember when they "woke" me up so obviously, I didnt remember all of it.


I think its called consious sedation. The funny part was when he gave me the IV I said "the ceiling looks like its moving" and he said "thats what everyone says" lol! For the few minutes it took to put me out, I felt goooooood.


When you had your tooth pulled, how long were you on antibiotics? Were there any complications? Did the dentist feel that your healing process was going along normally? I am so glad that you made a doc appt. for the end of this week so that you can get to the bottom of this. I guess that so many things could be causing the inflammation. How has your body temperature been running?normal? I guess you could have a low level infection. Have your tried taking goldenseal? ascorbic acid? MSM? If I were you, I might just wait to start on a program until your doctor has taken your blood tests. You don't want to go through all the trouble of having blood drawn only to have a false result. After you have your visit, you may want to try to treat it as an infection until your tests come back. I think that the outcome will be very positive, and most importantly you will have peace of mind.


Thanks. I didn't take antibiotics after surgery. Things healed quickly, it doesn't hurt or anything.

I am taking Primal Defense and RM 10. It took me so long to build up to the amount I'm on now, I would hate to stop. I'll see my acupuncturist (md) Tuesday and ask him if I should stop before I see the other doc. I might get in touch w/the oncologist I saw a few years ago. I think he would know much more. he will want to do a bone marrow biopsy and I'm such a chicken!


LEt us know how things go Sheryl. It is so hard to try to determine what is causing symptoms when you have multiple things wrong.