Antibiotics is a common way to treat oral infections in dental emergency situation. There are many types of dental antibiotics and each type of antibiotics targets specific group of bacteria. For example, antibiotics for treating periodontitis is not the same as the antibiotics for treating the root canal infections. When the patient comes in with an infection, I would diagnose the type of infection and then prescribe specific type of dental antibiotics for that type of dental infection.
When people have toothache, they would come in for dental emergency visit and ask for antibiotics. For some people, they want to save money by postponing necessary treatment such as periodontal treatment for periodontal infection or root canal therapy for root canal infection. Or some people would ask for extra antibiotics for storing them at home. Or they would ask for antibiotics before they go on a extended trip simply for the sake of “just in case” they become sick during the trip. These are examples of wrong uses of antibiotics.
Antibiotics is not a cure-all medicine for infection. They cannot be substituted for necessary dental treatment. Antibiotics abuse can lead to more severe health problems. Common antibiotics misuses are: wrong dosage, taking the pill at the wrong time, skip a dose or simply just take the antibiotics for a few days and then stop taking the remaining prescribed pills. Antibiotic misuse or abuse can lead to antibiotics drug resistance. Repeated misuse of antibiotics can lead to decreased efficacy of the antibiotics drug with each subsequent regimen. In the worst case scenario, a person may become resistant to the antibiotics and the antibiotics have no therapeutic effect. Bacteria become resistant to the antbiotics and the surviving bacteria become much harder to kill. This is when super bacteria develops. Annually, many people die from unstoppable bacteria infection.
If you have mouth infection, the most important thing is to seek professional help. Always take the medicine, including antibiotics, according to the prescription and take all pills to completion, as directed by the dentist. Please do not abuse antibiotics. For further information on tips for antibiotics usage, click here.
Written by Daniel Tee, DDS, MS
Practicing Family Dentist Serving the city of Tempe, Chandler, Phoenix, Gilbert, and Mesa in Arizona.
