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The first line of treatment is the removal of the source of inflammation or infection by local operative measures. [9] Generally, the abscess can be eradicated through surgical drainage alone; however this is sometimes inadequate. Therefore, systemic antibiotic treatment may be required, but only if there is evidence of spreading infection. [9]
After stabilizing the patient's airway, extracting the infected tooth will typically promote adequate drainage and the infection will resolve shortly thereafter. If the infection involves multiple primary spaces or any of the secondary spaces previously mentioned, then incision and drainage with culture-guided antibiotics may be indicated.
With the advent of antibiotics in 1940s, improved oral and dental hygiene, and more aggressive surgical approaches for treatment, the risk of death due to Ludwig's angina has significantly reduced. It is named after a German physician, Wilhelm Frederick von Ludwig , who first described this condition in 1836.
Tooth #5, the upper right second premolar, after extraction. The two single-headed arrows point to the CEJ, which is the line separating the crown (in this case, heavily decayed) and the roots. The double headed arrow (bottom right) shows the extent of the abscess that surrounds the apex of the palatal root.
There is evidence that use of antibiotics before and/or after impacted wisdom tooth extraction reduces the risk of infections by 66%, and lowers incidence of dry socket by one third. For every 19 people who are treated with an antibiotic following impacted wisdom tooth removal, one infection is prevented. [19]
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If the tooth is to be removed, drainage will occur via the socket. Otherwise, if pus is already discharging from the periodontal pocket, this can be encouraged by gentle irrigation and scaling of the pocket whilst massaging the soft tissues. If this does not work, incision and drainage is required, as described in Dental abscess Treatment.
The most common location of dry socket: in the socket of an extracted mandibular third molar (wisdom tooth). Since alveolar osteitis is not primarily an infection, there is not usually any pyrexia (fever) or cervical lymphadenitis (swollen glands in the neck), and only minimal edema (swelling) and erythema (redness) is present in the soft tissues surrounding the socket.