What it is?
Odontogenic periostitis is often called a flux. This is inflammation of the soft tissues and purulent accumulation in the gums. By the nature of the inflammation, the flux can be called an abscess, the only difference is that it is limited to the periosteum.
Reasons for the appearance
As a rule, the cause of this disease is an inattentive attitude to one's health, the patient's unwillingness to visit a doctor in a timely manner.
- The most common cause of odontogenic periostitis is an advanced form of caries. When a pain syndrome occurs, a person does not turn to the dentist in time, resulting in inflammation of the gum tissue around the root of the tooth.
- The cause can also be an injury resulting from unskilled actions of a doctor or from a blow, accidental biting of the cheek.
- When food remains get into the gap between the tooth and gum, inflammation can begin.
- If, after installing a temporary filling, a person does not replace it with a permanent one in time, the tissues inside the tooth may collapse, which will lead to inflammation. This is especially true for temporary fillings with arsenic.
- Infectious diseases that affect the mucous membrane, such as purulent tonsillitis, can give a complication in the form of a flux.
- If the tooth is broken, bone fragments can irritate the gums and lead to inflammation.
Symptoms
The first symptom that accompanies the flux is severe aching pain in the area of the irritated tooth, which grows over time and becomes even more intolerable. As a rule, the pain does not subside even after taking painkillers. If the affected tooth is located on the lower jaw, the pain can spread to the lymph nodes, while their size increases.
As a result of suppuration, tissue edema occurs, it can capture the entire face or its individual parts. Most often it is the cheek, but it can also be the chin and eyelids. Often the patient complains that the pain is pulsating and radiates to the eyelid or auricle. The gum itself in the sore spot swells, turns red and fills with pus, and when touched, the pain intensifies.
A very serious symptom is an increase in body temperature to 38 degrees and above. Patients have general weakness, they feel unwell, lose their appetite and feel dizzy.
The condition of the sufferer can only be alleviated by a doctor; in the event of a flux, in no case should you self-medicate. It is impossible to delay and postpone going to the dentist, since the lack of treatment can lead to extremely serious consequences and unpleasant complications, in especially advanced cases, a fatal outcome is not ruled out.
stages
Odontogenic periostitis has three stages of development.
- The first stage is the onset of pain. At the same time, there is still no abscess outside. Dental treatment at this stage is carried out by medication; when observed by an experienced doctor, there are no risks of complications.
- The second stage is the appearance of pus. An abscess is formed around the root of the diseased tooth, while the pus does not go beyond the jaw periosteum. Swelling of the gums and face is formed.
- The third stage is the most dangerous. In the absence of treatment in the early stages of the development of the disease, phlegmon is formed - the divergence of pus through muscle tissues. And if you do not start treatment at this stage, the disease will lead to death.
Traditional Treatments
It is very important that the diagnosis is made correctly, since there are other diseases that are very similar in symptoms to periostitis, but the treatment for them is completely different. The dentist must conduct an examination, it is possible to use special tools. X-rays and some tests are often prescribed.
Doctor's prescriptions can vary significantly depending on the stage of the disease. With early detection of the flux, surgical intervention can be avoided. The doctor prescribes antibiotics and other drugs for action in the complex. Which medications should be taken can only be determined by a specialist, since different drugs can be effective for different cases. It is also possible to prescribe physiotherapy.
If the disease has already progressed, and pus has formed in the gum, the treatment is carried out exclusively by the surgical method. An incision is made in the gum, after which the pus is removed and a special drainage is placed inside to prevent its re-accumulation. The operation is performed under local anesthesia. In the postoperative period, it is recommended to take special pain relievers and antibiotics without fail. In some cases, in the absence of the possibility of treating a diseased tooth, it is removed.
After all the necessary manipulations, a second x-ray is performed to make sure that the pus is finally removed, if necessary, additional procedures are prescribed, such as iontophoresis, ultrasound, and others.
Folk methods of treatment
In the early stages of odontogenic periostitis, treatment with folk methods at home is allowed, but in any case, a doctor's consultation is required.
- An infusion of herbs can help relieve the symptoms of the disease. You need to take 4 tablespoons of St. John's wort, 2 - oak bark and 3 - sage. Mix the herbs and pour 3 tablespoons of the resulting composition with a liter of boiling water, leave for three hours, then rinse your mouth with this infusion as often as possible.
- You can also brew chamomile flowers, add honey to taste and take the resulting drink inside.
- Honey propolis is able to relieve inflammation, for a therapeutic effect, you just need to chew it throughout the day, with short breaks.
- You can rinse your mouth with a solution of 1 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of calendula tincture.
All of the above ingredients can be purchased at any pharmacy.
When a toothache occurs, it is extremely important that a person reacts quickly and turns to a qualified specialist in time, because in the early stages of the disease, a lot of suffering can be avoided and treated in a lighter form.
