Hello doctor, About a month ago, I got a filling on one of my front teeth, they called it a surface cavity but filled it like a normal cavity. For the first two weeks, I could barely drink room temperature drinks without being in agony. I made an appointment after two weeks to have my dentist look at it to make sure it was not cracked or anything. He never even looked at it, he gave me an antibiotic and said if it did not get any better, I would need a root canal. A few days later the sensitivity went away and I thought it healed. Last week, I noticed the gums above it have changed color. They are a slight red, purple and the gum itself is very sensitive. Under my nose and some of my cheek, I can feel where it is swollen (the gum). It also throbs sometimes. Should I take the antibiotic that my orginal dentist prescribed or should I just wait it out until I see the new dentist to see what they say? I am just scared. Is it an abscess and I do not want it to become more infected.
Hi. Unfortunately, your doubt is true about it. The swollen gum and change in its color right above the tooth in question indicate that your tooth is infected and you need a root canal treatment now. Immediately, start taking the antibiotics from now, before starting take a picture of the color of gums and tooth so that you may show it to the new dentist that at this condition you started with antibiotics to avoid severity of infection and he might not give you this antibiotic coverage again and start treatment from the next step. Feel free to ask if you have any further question in mind. Stay happy and blessed. Take care.