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If you have a dental abscess, it is important to look into getting treatment sooner rather than later, even if you otherwise feel okay.
The sooner you get a consultation and treatment using a combination of dental care and amoxicillin antibiotics, the faster you will recover, and the fewer long-term effects could arise as a result of the infection.
As the NHS notes, a dental abscess will not go away on its own, but a dental infection progresses at different rates depending on the nature of the infection, your overall dental health and lifestyle choices.
However, there are some complications that can arise as a result of a dental abscess that can lead to much more serious consequences. Of these, one of the most potentially life-threatening is sepsis.
What is sepsis? How can a dental abscess cause it? What are the warning signs you should look out for? And when do you need to call 999 and head to an accident and emergency department?
What Is Sepsis?
A life-threatening response to infection, sepsis occurs when the body’s immune system and infection control reacts far too strongly to an infection, causing damage to your tissues and organs.
This overreaction is caused by an infection that is otherwise localised spreading beyond the original site of infection, usually caused by either a particularly dangerous infection or a weakened immune system.
The immune system causes inflammation as part of its process of destroying infection, and this swelling of tissue can affect blood flow, causing dangerously low blood pressure and a rapid complication of symptoms.
It can progress into septic shock, which can lead to life-threatening organ failure.
How Can A Dental Abscess Cause Sepsis?
Any bacterial infection can cause sepsis, and a dental infection is no exception to this if the bacterial infection is allowed to spread beyond the mouth.
It must be noted that this is relatively rare, and it is not guaranteed that any dental abscess left long enough will progress into sepsis.
In general, the factors that can most commonly lead to sepsis include a weaker immune system or being immunocompromised, an infection close to major blood vessels or deep in the jaw where it can more easily break off and enter the bloodstream, and avoiding dental treatment.
What Are The Early Warning Signs Of Sepsis?
Persistent pain, swelling and difficulty opening your mouth are all signs of a tooth infection that is potentially progressing further and may require intervention from an emergency dentist.
Early signs of sepsis can often be mistaken for a dental infection or other conditions, but you should be wary and consider consulting your doctor or dentist if you start to feel any of the following:
- High fever, particularly if it appears suddenly. A fever can be a sign of the body fighting infection, but if it arrives suddenly and progresses particularly quickly, it is more likely to be the result of sepsis.
- Chills, shivering and a particularly low body temperature. Similarly, a case of hypothermia is often caused by battling an infection, with the body using the energy typically used to generate heat to fight it.
- Rapid heartbeat.
- Shortness of breath or hyperventilating.
- Extreme fatigue.
- Abnormal muscle weakness.
- Disorientation, confusion or slurred speech.
- A meningitis-style rash that does not go away if you roll a tumbler glass over it.
- Vomiting constantly and being unable to keep any food down.
Many of these symptoms can be caused by other conditions, but more than one of them is a cause for concern that it might be sepsis.
When Should You Go To A&E?
If you suspect sepsis at all, you should go to A&E or call 999 if someone cannot drive you there. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition because of just how quickly and how seriously its symptoms can progress.
Much like how any sign of a dental infection usually necessitates the attention of a dentist and the prescription of antibiotics to help treat it, any symptom of sepsis is serious and needs to be treated in a hospital.
What they will provide is a course of antibiotics in order to fight the bacterial infection, either before you get to the hospital or once you make it. This should take place within six hours of you making the call and commonly in less than an hour once tests confirm that sepsis is causing your symptoms.
If you have low blood pressure, this is typically treated using a mix of intravenous fluids and vasopressors, a medicine that increases blood pressure and is typically used to treat shock.
In some particularly serious cases, surgery is needed to remove infected areas of the body.
