5 year old with likely abscess

[Gimaro1111]

Hi,

My kiddo has developed a white pocket underneath a tooth that has had a cavity in for a bit of time. She has sensory issues so it has been a struggle to get anything done without sedation, which we will finally be able to do next month. The sedation dentist is very much against antibiotics and will only prescribe “if her face swells.” Is this drastic? Hasn’t the infection become quite problematic at this point or am I misunderstanding? She has no pain, never has with her dental problems. I am getting a second opinion tomorrow at a regular dentist, but sedation pediatric dentistry is not easy to find around here and getting a tooth pulled isn’t a viable option for her without going that route. Thanks.

 

[Dr M]

The white spot is called a draining sinus. The infection is draining through that opening and no pressure is building up. That is why there is no pain. I would monitor it and if you notice any symptoms or swelling, contact your medical GP for antibiotics if the dentist does not want to prescribe.

 

[Gimaro1111]

The white spot is called a draining sinus. The infection is draining through that opening and no pressure is building up. That is why there is no pain. I would monitor it and if you notice any symptoms or swelling, contact your medical GP for antibiotics if the dentist does not want to prescribe.

Thank you. The dentist we saw today also mentioned it was self-draining, is it common for the self-draining aspect to stop? We are not able to get it extracted for 5 weeks.

 

[Dr M]

There is unfortunately no time frame that can be given with regards to it stopping to drain. Best advice would just be to monitor it.

 

[Gimaro1111]

There is unfortunately no time frame that can be given with regards to it stopping to drain. Best advice would just be to monitor it.

Thank you. The abscess is now gone entirely, no pain or any other symptoms. Do you think this would indicate that we can just monitor or should we move forward with extraction ASAP?

 

[Dr M]

Still move forward with the extraction.