Dental question..I was wondering if an infection after dental surgery can cause severe facial swelling?

My partner has severe pain in his tooth and on one side of his face. He had a root canal about a month ago and went to his regular dentist with the problem 2 days ago. They did an x-ray and nothing showed up. She re-did a filling %26amp; sent him home with some Keflex antibitotic and Viacaden. After he came back Tuesday afternoon his whole left side of his face had swollen where the work was done. He had a fever and severe pain, %26amp; also trouble and pain urinating. When our regular doctor was in yesterday, I took him in there he examined him and said he had a bacterial infection %26amp; gave him Biaxin (generic) and drew his blood. The blood test came back normal today but his face is still swollen and in pain on the one side and it doesn't look like it has gone down at all despite the antibiotics. A family member who was married to a dentist said the infection could spread to his brain or he might be having kidney failure with the urinating pain issue which panicked me. What can we do now for him?

Dental question..I was wondering if an infection after dental surgery can cause severe facial swelling?
you really need to communicate with this dentist. sometimes things don't show up right away but regardless someone needs to get to the bottom of this swelling pronto and the dentist will know where to start
Reply:Yes. go to a better dentist
Reply:I had a similar issue a year or so.. I was given Clindamyacin? not sure of the spelling... the cause of my swelling was an abcess that formed under my gums in the space where the tooth had been after they began to heal... abcesses are said to induce a form of toxic shock if they rupture and cause an adverse reaction with the body's natural process for digesting food through the intestines or liver and processing waste to be expelled.. it can really mess ya up.. get it taken care of... quickly :)
Reply:Your partner might be having a periodontal abscess. It means that there is an infection of dental origin which spread to the face and even to the maxillary sinus as manifested by the fever, pain and swelling. However, the pain in urination might be a different problem. Have him checked by an otolaryngologist. He might need intravenous antibiotics if he is not responding from oral medication. There is a danger for the infection to spread intracranially and cause more harm.
Reply:Get another dotor. You seem to have a serious problem if he is still being effected after one month! A mouth infection is a serious thing. YOU need to get a doctors attention quickly. Sounds like your dentist passed the buck on this one. Make sure the MD has all the facts, time passed since the surgery, fevers, meds given, any alllergies. Even food eaten to soon after the surgery can be important.
Reply:Getting a better dentist is not what you should be thinking. All dentist have patients that have complications now and then for numerous reasons. EVery dentist I know would rather hear from a patient before a serious problems develop and get it taken care of earlier than later.





Make an emergency call to your dentist tell him the current state of your partner. Tell him your concern. Once severe facial swelling sets in the location of the swelling and size is very important. You should be a bit more concerned if it is migrating around the eye or down the neck. Then I would see if you can be reffered to an oral surgeon. If it gets worse or systemic your friend could end up in on IV antibiotics for a few weeks even.





This type of problem could potentially lead to life threatening state quickly. Keep your dentist informed of the current state. It's much easier for a dentist to treat a commplication in it's early state than it's later stages.
Reply:yes
Reply:Yes it can, Kelfex is a very strong anti-biotic. It will get rid of just about any infection there is unless there is a sponge or a something foreigh left in the wound.





2 days is a long time. I would go to the emergency room or contact the doctor. This seems very serious for someone whic have the surgery 2 days ago and is on such strong antibiotics 2 days ago.
Reply:yes , its just when u doing body surgery it will swell for couple of weeks, but body surgery may take a few months.
Reply:Go to a medical doctor and get an opinion from him, a dentist can't do much to help fight infections.
Reply:yes of cource it can
Reply:It's very normal to swell where the infection is mainly held. The bacteria could get into his blood stream though. That's why the doctor did a blood test. It's not common for this to happen when dental work is done, but it is very normal. Even for something as routine as a root canal and filling, things can go wrong. Don't worry about the swelling for now. It came with the infection and it will go away with the infection. If it doesn't go down after taking the antibiotics for a few days or if it gets much worse, then I would go back to the doctor. And don't count out the doctor or dentist if they can't figure it out right away. Some things just take a while to take face in our bodies. If it is something different, it make take a little while for them to detect exactly what it is. Just keep a close eye on it. Keep ice on it. And take the pain medication. No reason for him to be in pain if he doesn't have to be.
Reply:yes, any infection is prone to swelling. get to the doctors, fast.
Reply:It could also be an allergic reaction to material they used. Just in case its not just an infection!