Is it possible to treat teeth for a cold, and in what cases?

Toothache is the most common occurrence in dentistry. But this pain is not always understandable to the patient himself, because even an apparently healthy tooth can hurt. There are several reasons for this phenomenon: it can be either hidden caries or diseases of the throat or lymph nodes. To find out for sure why a healthy tooth hurts and what to do about it, you need to see a dentist. The doctor will examine your teeth, take an X-ray if necessary, and be able to prescribe appropriate treatment. Often, a seemingly healthy tooth can become ill for the following reasons:

Content:

1. When treatment is necessary
2. When is it not recommended to treat teeth for a cold?
3. High fever and toothache control
4. What to do if you had to postpone your visit to the doctor due to a viral disease

Treatment of toothache during acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections has a number of features.
Due to the disease, a person’s immunity decreases, which means that the body may respond inadequately to any intervention. It is especially dangerous to carry out drainage and other invasive dental operations at this time. Therefore, dentists usually do not recommend coming for an appointment if you are not feeling well. The difficulty lies in the fact that with a runny nose or headache (and these are quite common signs of ARVI), it is difficult to sit for a long time in a doctor’s chair with your mouth open. But it is not always possible to postpone a visit to the dental center.
If a doctor’s help is needed urgently, it is recommended to come for an appointment, regardless of the symptoms of a concomitant illness. The doctor will conduct an examination and tell you whether your teeth can be treated for a cold or whether therapy should be postponed.

Features of dental treatment during a cold

If you need to go to the dentist during a cold, you should consider the following:

1. ARVI is a disease commonly called a cold that is of viral origin. The presence of any pathogenic microorganisms in the body significantly weakens the immune system. Consequently, any dental treatment may be complicated and the recovery period may take longer.
2. Any disease, including a cold, is stressful for the body. Therefore, the response to dental treatment can be unpredictable. For example, the effect of the anesthetic may be weaker, and the pain after tooth extraction or depulpation may spread to the entire face.
3. Due to general intoxication of the body, the immune system becomes hypersensitive. She may react to the anesthesia with allergies.

When treatment is necessary

Among the situations when treatment of an oral disease is urgently needed:

• The ailments appeared a few days after the toothache began or simultaneously with it. This may indicate that a condition mistaken for a cold is, in fact, a sign of the progression of dental pathology. For example, weakness, migraine and high body temperature often indicate the progression of pulpitis, inflammation of a dental root cyst, and damage to soft tissues.
• The pain in the unit is so severe that it cannot be reduced with modern analgesics. Then the person takes one tablet, followed by a second. Then he changes the painkiller to a stronger one, but all attempts made are in vain. Most often, severe discomfort occurs during purulent processes. These are always difficult and dangerous conditions. If they are not diagnosed and treated in time, pus can spread through the bloodstream throughout the body. The consequences of this will be sad - even death.
• Pus is released from the diseased unit, body temperature is constantly elevated and practically does not decrease after using an antipyretic. This symptom complex indicates a serious inflammatory process. It needs to be stopped as soon as possible.
• A jaw injury was sustained. In the first hours after damage to the dental crown, certain measures can be taken to restore it. If you wait, then it will not be possible to restore the integrity of the surface of the unit in a natural way - you will have to carry out prosthetics in the future.

In these situations, the dentist will definitely provide treatment, regardless of the patient’s cold symptoms.

Possible risks and complications

As a rule, the virus enters the body through the mucous membrane of the throat or nose, therefore the tissues of these organs become inflamed first. Since the treatment site is close to the source of infection, the virus can easily penetrate the tooth tissue along with saliva. It can slow down the recovery process and cause complications after procedures, for example:

• Sinusitis. Occurs when a virus or bacteria enters the maxillary sinuses. In the sinuses close to the eyes and brain, pus appears, which causes intoxication of the body. If left untreated, sinusitis can lead to meningitis, otitis media and sepsis.
• Otitis. Occurs when an infection enters the middle ear cavity and causes inflammation. Acute purulent otitis media can contribute to the development of labyrinthitis - the spread of infection to the inner ear. An unfavorable outcome of this disease can be complete hearing loss.
• Pneumonia. Pneumonia begins when an infection enters the respiratory tract. Treatment should not be delayed as the disease can be fatal. The consequences of advanced pneumonia include: acute respiratory failure, abscess, pulmonary gangrene, pleurisy, pleural empyema, obstruction, endocarditis, pericarditis, meningitis, pulmonary edema and sepsis.
• Meningitis. Through the circulatory system, a virus or bacteria can enter the brain and cause inflammation of its membranes. If treatment is delayed, the disease can cause problems with mental development in children or lead to complications such as deafness, epilepsy and hydrocephalus.
• Osteomyelitis. It develops when the infection enters the bone tissue through the bloodstream or infected surrounding tissue. The disease can lead to bone deformation, the appearance of tumors at the site of inflammation, pathological fractures, and ankylosis of the joints.

In order to reduce the risk of complications after dental treatment with fever, it is necessary to follow the doctor’s recommendations before and after the procedure, take medications, and monitor oral hygiene.

When is it not recommended to treat teeth for a cold?

If a person has an appointment at the clinic, but fell ill the day before, he should cancel the visit to the doctor in the following cases:

• Treatment of unadvanced caries was planned. If the unit does not hurt, it is quite possible to shift the therapy to 7-10 days. Usually this period is enough to completely recover from ARVI. During the days of treatment for ARVI, maximum attention should be paid to carious cavity care. It is important to clean it of food debris after every meal. In order to slow down the process of destruction of dental tissues, you need to treat them twice a day with a special remineralizing gel. You can buy it at the pharmacy.
• A high temperature is caused by a cold. Fever is a contraindication to any dental intervention.
• A planned removal is required. The period of illness is not at all suitable for such operations. First, the body may react poorly to the anesthetic drug. Then a severe allergy will develop. Secondly, the immune system spends all its energy trying to defeat the virus. This means that the healing processes in the socket area will proceed more slowly, and the risk of wound infection will increase.
• On the eve of visiting the dentist, the patient took acetylsalicylic acid. A week before dental procedures, you should stop using this drug. This is due to the fact that Aspirin strongly thins the blood. This increases the risk of bleeding even with minor medical manipulations.
• The nose became very stuffy, and nasal breathing became impossible. While the doctor is treating the affected molar, canine or incisor, the patient has to breathe through his nose. He simply cannot take a full breath through his mouth. But, if you don’t want to put off visiting the doctor, you can cheat a little - use an effective vasoconstrictor spray ten to fifteen minutes before entering the dentist’s office. True, the drug for rhinitis will still have to be agreed upon with the dentist. After all, it is possible that it will be incompatible with the medications that the dentist will use during treatment.

It is important to understand that the final decision on the advisability of therapy during a cold should be made by the doctor. If a person doubts that a visit to the clinic can be postponed, he should call the dental center and consult with a specialist by phone. This is a fairly common practice.

Periostitis in children

In children, the inflammatory process usually develops as a result of untreated caries of baby teeth, infectious diseases or injuries. Due to the peculiarities of the physiology and anatomy of the child’s body, as well as due to the immaturity of the child’s immune system, the pathology develops quickly and rapidly, and the infection quickly spreads through the bloodstream and lymph flow, so multiple lesions can form.

Periostitis of the upper jaw in a child requires special attention, which, when localized in the palate, may not change facial features - swelling forms inside the oral cavity and can only be noticed by the characteristic convex swelling on the palate. The abscess gradually grows, capturing the mucous areas of the pharynx and tongue, which causes pain when swallowing and chewing. If a child develops symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, or painful swallowing, it is imperative to check whether such a condition is caused by developing gumboil.

High fever and toothache control

Most dentists agree that when the body temperature is elevated, it is not advisable to deal with dental problems. The body already has a difficult time - it is fighting the virus, trying to destroy pathogenic microflora. Additional intervention may negatively affect the speed of recovery. Moreover, with a cold, any wounds that arise after medical manipulations heal more slowly. Consequently, the risk of secondary infection increases sharply.

But the situation is completely different if the temperature is not a symptom of ARVI, but a consequence of tooth inflammation. Here, waiting for a runny nose or cough to go away is unacceptable. You should visit a doctor as soon as possible. Even a tiny dental root cyst can cause problems that lead to partial edentulism.

Visiting a doctor during a cold – what you need to know

Professionals recommend rescheduling your appointment with the doctor to a later date. During a cold, the body experiences serious stress, and treatment can become additional stress. But if tooth pain prevents you from sleeping, then it is unreasonable to postpone the treatment procedure. What to do? Call the doctor, explain the situation and get detailed recommendations from a professional.

Why do dentists refuse treatment for colds?

1. There is a high risk of contracting an infection through wounds in the oral cavity. A body weakened by a cold will not be able to resist viruses, which can lead to a worsening of the patient’s condition.
2. The procedure under anesthesia reduces the protective functions of the immune system.

If ARVI is accompanied by constant nasal congestion, inflammation of the sinuses, and throat, there will be no dental treatment. The exception is the presence of acute pain, rapid development of the inflammatory process, and a high risk of flux formation.

What to do if you had to postpone your visit to the doctor due to a viral disease

Doctors most often do not recommend self-medication at home. But, if there is a dental problem, and it will be possible to visit a specialist only after some time, the patient needs to take responsibility for his health.

Following a number of rules will help here:

• Put oral hygiene first. Use the brush and paste morning and evening. After each meal, rinsing with warm water or a special rinse is recommended.
• Drink plenty of fluids. This will reduce the symptoms of intoxication, which may be a consequence of viral disease and tooth inflammation.
• Take medications aimed at relieving ARVI symptoms. They usually contain painkillers and anti-inflammatory compounds that quickly relieve pain (including dental pain).
• Dissolve menthol tablets. They reduce discomfort in the throat and distract if only one is aching. Menthol provides a weak anesthetic effect, but is safe for health. The only thing is that the component cannot be used by people who are allergic to it.
• Make mouth baths with soda and salt. To prepare a medicinal solution, half a teaspoon of one of these compositions is dissolved in a glass of warm water. Take the liquid into your cheek (from the side of the painful tooth) and hold it for several minutes, then spit it out. Repeat the procedure several times in the morning, lunch and evening. Baking soda and salt perfectly relieve inflammation, destroy bacteria and “pull out” pus. It is very important that the water in which they are dissolved is warm and not hot.

• Avoid eating sweets, sour and spicy foods. When the enamel is thinned, such food aggravates the course of the disease.
• Don't chew anything hard. Nuts, candies, crackers - these and other hard goodies are prohibited until a doctor cures an oral disease.
• Chew food on the healthy side of the jaw. It is advisable to try to temporarily reduce the load on the “culprit of pain”.

As soon as your health returns to normal, you should immediately go to the dentist. Then the doctor will safely treat the affected unit.

Take care of yourself and do not develop dental diseases. Visit your dentist annually, even if you don't have a toothache or notice any new cavities. Regular examinations are the best preventative measure.

How to help yourself at home

A cold does not mean that you have to wait for recovery and endure toothache. To get rid of unpleasant sensations and minimize the likelihood of complications, you should:

• Do not ignore the requirements for careful hygiene of teeth and gums. Even if you feel unwell, you need to brush your teeth twice a day, and after each meal or sweet drink, rinse your mouth with clean water.
• Take symptomatic medications that are used for ARVI, as they contain painkillers that will help eliminate pain.

Try not to chew hard food on the side of the diseased tooth until you go to the dentist; it is better to switch to soft food for a while.

Diagnosis of “dental” sinusitis

Inflammation of the antrum can have several causes and does not necessarily have to come from the teeth. Since treatment should always be cause-and-effect, the doctor must make an accurate diagnosis. In the context of odontogenic sinusitis, unilateral onset of symptoms is typical. Other complaints, such as pain, which is usually worse when bending over, are additional symptoms.

Further investigations include rhinoscopy (nasal endoscopy) and imaging techniques:

• X-ray examinations;
• CT (computed tomography);
• DVT (digital volumetric tomography);