Antibiotic for inflammation of the tooth root

Treatment of root canal inflammation with antibiotics

If a tooth is suffering from an inflammation of the root, it is treated with a root canal treatment. Depending on the severity of the root inflammation, which is mostly caused by bacteria, the dentist prescribes an antibiotic in addition to his therapy, which is supposed to support the body’s immune defence. An inflammation of the root of a tooth, on closer examination, develops an inflammatory process at the tip (apex) of the root, which is why it is also called root apex inflammation (apical periodontitis).

It is caused by the penetration of bacteria into the tooth tissue. These bacteria migrate through the inflamed root canals to the root tip and cause inflammation there. In some patients, however, bacterial colonization of deep gum pockets is also the cause of inflammation of the tooth root (apical periodontitis).

These deep gum pockets are usually caused by a long-lasting, untreated inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) or in the course of periodontal disease (actually, the disease known as periodontosis is called periodontitis). Basically, it should be noted that the treatment of dental root inflammation with an antibiotic only makes sense if a disease (in this case dental root inflammation) is caused by bacteria. Antibiotics have no effect against viruses or fungi.

However, since in about 99% of the cases of an inflammation of the tooth root it can be assumed that an inflammation of the tooth root (apical periodontitis) is caused by bacterial infestation, the administration of an antibiotic is in no case wrong. Nevertheless, the intake of an antibiotic always leads inevitably to side effects. Many patients report diarrhea, which is due to a damaging effect of the antibiotic on the intestinal flora.

This means that also the enormously important bacteria occurring in the intestine are fought by the medicine. Furthermore, allergies or fungal infections can occur in connection with antibiotic therapy. The treating dentist should therefore carefully consider whether the dental root inflammation must be treated by taking an antibiotic orally or whether it might not be sufficient to introduce an antibacterial drug into the tooth root.

However, in the course of a root tip resection or tooth removal, the maxillary sinus may be opened. This often occurs in patients with very long roots of molars in the upper jaw, because these roots can reach into the maxillary sinus. If such a tooth is extracted or its root tip removed, a connection between the maxillary and oral cavities is created. It is important to avoid that bacteria living inside the oral cavity migrate into the maxillary sinus. For this reason, it is necessary to take antibiotics in this case.