tooth infection Archives - Kokopelli Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Can’t Afford to Get My Wisdom Tooth Out

Posted on July 7, 2026 by writeradmin.

I have an infected wisdom tooth but I can’t really afford to do anything about it. My tooth is killing me and the tooth next to it is starting to get decay. Can I go to the ER and get antibiotics and then deal with the infection that way? ERs have to treat you.

Luke

Dear Luke,

I am sorry that you are having to deal with this pain while you are also under financial stress. Some ERs will give you an antibiotic and tell you to call your dentist, but some will just send you away with a $400 ibuprofen and tell you to call your dentist. Either way, the dentist part is essential. They will not treat a tooth infection.

Even if an ER did prescribe you an antibiotic that would not solve your dental infection. To do that, the infected pulp have to be physically removed. This would require either a root canal treatment or a tooth extraction.

Because your tooth is a wisdom tooth, a tooth extraction is the best way to go. If it were another tooth, then you would want a root canal treatment if at all possible because this saves the tooth. If that is not possible then an extraction would be what you’d go to in that case as well. The difference being that with a regular tooth, you will also need to replace the lost tooth.

If you don’t, then the adjacent tooth will slip or tip into the empty space. This throws off your bite, which can lead to headaches or even TMJ disorder.

I get that you are in a financial pinch. There are dental charities that will remove your teeth for free. I would call around in your city and see if a local dentist can point you in the right direction. If for some reason, your area does not have one, I would look for a dentist who advertises as an affordable dentist. They are generally more willing to work with patients under financial duress, especially in situations like yours. I am confident you’ll find someone who’ll be willing to remove the tooth to get you out of agony and danger, then let you pay the cost out.

What you don’t want to do is leave this, because the tooth infection can spread out of your jaw area. Then a dental emergency can turn life threatening.

This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Ahwatukee, Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Should I’d get all My Wisdom Teeth Out or Just the One Causing Problems?

Posted on May 22, 2026 by writeradmin.

I have four impacted wisdom teeth. One of them is infected and my dentist says it needs to come out. I”m 26 so am a bit worried I waited too late. I’ve been told I should have taken them out when I was a teenager. I know I have to take this one out. Is it a good or bad idea to get the rest of them out at the same time?

Laura

Dear Laura,

While the ideal time to have your wisdom teeth out is in your late teens or early twenties, you are still young enough where I don’t think you have much to worry about. I don’t start worrying about too many complications until a patient reaches their 40s. Either way, when a wisdom tooth is infected, you would have to remove the tooth.

I also think you would be best served by removing all of the impacted wisdom teeth at the same time. At some point, they will become infected themselves. You don’t want to wait and then either have it become a dental emergency where you have little control of the circumstances then or who treats you.

You also would be better served having them removed while you are still young. I recommend you have them all done at once.

This blog is brought to you by a gentle Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.
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How Long Can You Go Before You Have to Get a Root Canal?

Posted on November 16, 2024 by writeradmin.

Can you tell me how long it is possible to put off getting a root canal treatment?

Cecilia

Dear Cecilia,

This is tricky to answer because so much of it depends on the situation. However, I do think that I can give you some GENERAL advice. I’ll start with when you should do it right away because that is important.

If the tooth is in pain, even just a little bit you need to get seen. Another instance is if there is a pimple on your gums. These are both instances of an active infection. You will need to get this taken care of as soon as possible. There are too many people every year who die from a tooth infection they waited too long to treat. Dental emergencies can turn life threatening.

On the other hand, if the tooth is not hurting and hasn’t for a while, you are safe to put off getting the root canal treatment. It is likely an arrested infection. While it still has an impact on your general health, you won’t be in danger. You will find that after you finally have the root canal done, you feel much better in general.

The one thing you have to beware of here is that you will run the risk of external resorption. This is when the infection slowly eats away at the root of the tooth. Eventually, the tooth becomes unsavable. Then, you’ll end up needing a tooth replacement, such as a dental implant.

Please make sure you are also keeping up your regular dental appointments because things can change quickly.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Did Crest Whitestrips Cause Her to Need a Root Canal Treatment

Posted on November 27, 2023 by writeradmin.

I was in an accident that caused a tooth to become recessed. An oral surgeon put it back into place, but it slowly turned dark and the gum is a bit recessed. I went to my dentist to ask about whitening the tooth. He suggested Crest Whitestrips. I used it for a little over a week before I started having some pain in the darkened tooth. I stopped using the strips, but that did not stop the pain. It’s been a week since I stopped the white strips. It does not hurt with pressure but is sensitive to hot and cold. My dentist thinks I need a root canal treatment. Was this caused by the whitening? If so, is that a risk my dentist should have warned me about?

Allie

Dear Allie,

teeth whitening tray being placed on teeth

Professional teeth whitening with custom trays

The sensitivity to cold indicates the tooth is irritated. The sensitivity to heat tells me the tooth may need some help. Your dentist’s suggestion to whitening the teeth, especially with Crest Whitestrips, was not a great one. Your dentist does not seem to have an understanding of how teeth whitening works. First, teeth whitening will bleach your teeth evenly. That means this tooth would still have been darker than the rest of them. Second, while Crest Whitestrips work, they are very weak. It would take them a long time to make any difference at all in the teeth.

A tooth infection leading to a root canal treatment is not really a risk with teeth whitening. There are some reports of an already compromised tooth being pushed over the cliff when teeth whitening took place. Your tooth was already compromised, but Crest Whitestrips are so mild that I would have a hard time thinking that would be the issue.

You did say there was some gum separation. It is more likely that some bacteria got in there which caused the issue. My recommendation is for you to get a second opinion. You can go to another dentist or a root canal specialist.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

She Needs to Switch to Another Dentist

Posted on April 27, 2020 by writeradmin.

I am in so much pain and need some help. I had a root canal treatment three years ago. It started to hurt again a few weeks ago. I went in to see my dentist and he said it is re-infected and did a root canal re-treatment. He prescribed me some antibiotics. It got better for a little bit, but now I’m even worse. I called back and he said some people take longer than others to get better. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t take the pain. What is my next step because I’m not sure my dentist is on target here?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

While it is not unheard of for a root canal treatment to need re-treatment, the chances of the re-treatment being successful go down each time it has to be done. Your dentist started out with a good plan, but has gone downhill from there.

It is true that some people take longer to heal than others. However, they don’t start to get better and then get worse again. That is a sign there is still an infection present. The only reason you likely felt better at first was because of the antibiotics. Once those wore off, the infection flared back up.

In this case, I think you need to forgo your current dentist and see a root canal specialist. If you have insurance, they will be listed as an endodontist. Let them know what is going on and they should schedule you for an urgent care appointment. Don’t put this off. Tooth infections are considered dental emergencies and you don’t want this to spread.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Antibiotics Not Working for Tooth Infection

Posted on October 12, 2019 by writeradmin.

I developed a tooth infection a couple of weeks ago. I saw the dentist and he prescribed me an antibiotic. I’ve been on it for almost that length of time. While things seem to have gotten better at first, now it seems worse than ever. In fact, it feels like it has spread up to my eye. There’s a nice red streak and my eye is goopy. Am I on the wrong antibiotic?

Emily

Dear Emily,

I’m hoping because you were in pain you missed some of your dentist’s instructions. Otherwise, he (or she) has a profound misunderstanding of how dental infections work. Antibiotics are only useful as a temporary measure. They will not heal the infection the way you get with a typical bacterial infection. Eventually, the pulp of the tooth which has been infected dies. This no longer has blood flow so the antibiotic doesn’t get to that part of the infected tooth structure.

At that point, the only way to truly deal with a tooth infection is for the dentist to physically get in there are remove the infected pulp. Without that, the infection will rear its ugly head and then will spread like wildfire. This seems to be what you’re experiencing now. This is considered a dental emergency.

To fix this, you will need a root canal treatment. The sooner the better. Otherwise, your infection will spread. If you think about how close your jaw is to both your heart and brain, you can see how quickly a dental infection can turn life-threatening. It’s hard to believe but some people still die from tooth infections.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.