Expert answers
We know how daunting dental treatment can be. Our Dental Phobia certified experts are here to help ease your mind before treatment by answering your questions.
What is the smell coming from my wisdom tooth?
I have a wisdom tooth that has a huge cavity in it, the nerve probably died a while ago as I experience no pain whatsoever when cold or very hot stuff touches the tooth. About a month ago however I had a huge pain that was redirected in my ear, I went to the doctor convinced I had otitis and she told me its actually the cavity in my mouth that was causing the pain. After that I had no further pain.
Yesterday I noticed a funny, unpleasant smell and taste coming from that tooth. Brushing my teeth doesn’t make it go away for long. I am very scared of the prospect of this situation building up into a need to go to the emergency where I can’t even chose my doctor.
As you can imagine I am petrified. I have the worst kind of dental phobia, all my hair stands up just thinking about it. In fact I am so scared that I was unable to eat since I realized the smell, I completely lost my appetite and I can’t focus on work.
Please tell me, what could it be ? Infection ? What are the possible outcomes and what can I do about it to prevent an emergency type situation ?
Hello
The rational way to deal with this is to take action before it becomes a crisis .
When wisdom teeth blow up ( dont know if yours is a stuck one ) the usual thing is to be given antibiotics , or to get the tooth out straight away .
However if you feel that you might need sedation or even a GA to have this out then its much easier and simpler for all if you are not in pain when you finally get to sort it out .
If you can pluck up the courage to see a dentist then you can explore the options , and then work out how you might have the problem sorted out when it suits you . You wont have anything done at the first visit except X rays if needed .
Without this knowledge then all you can do is imagine the worst , and the problem wont go away .
There is nothing you can do to prevent an emergency m its just waiting to happen if you leave it .
Hope this helps you to tackle the problem
Jenny
