Dental emergencies seem to appear at the most inappropriate times.  Toothaches, broken teeth, abscesses and infections seem to happen when a big event is ready to take place usually when your immune system seems to be at its lowest point.

Toothaches develop usually when the nerve becomes exposed.  Cracks in the teeth or cavities make the tooth vunerable to infections.  As the tooth is left open food and bacteria come into close proximity to the nerve and small blood vessels.  The bacteria penetrates the nerve and transfers down into the deeper part of the tooth and eventually deeper into the bone.  The pain associated with this shifts from a sharp short term type of pain to a deep throbbing sensation.  If the area is not treated the dental infection in the bone continues to grow creating pressure in the bone.  After a while the pressure from the puss starts pressing and decomposing the bone until it hits the soft tissue that covers the bone.  When the dental infection reaches the soft tissue there is no way to contain it and this is when you can become very swollen. This becomes dangerous  as the infection can get not only into the blood system, but can invade the neck or even the brain.

The progress of this can be very short for some people or longer for others.  The body’s immune system is what keeps infections under control.  During stressful times the immune system becomes challenged and then the infections that seemed to not be a problem all of a sudden seem to take over.  The key is to treat the problem before it takes over.

I had a patient I recently treated who was going on vacation the next day and flying.  She developed a large swelling in a cheek area from teeth that