Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bolga bam here. Once among the
Speaker 1: world's most vexing health problems, a toothache hardly even bears
Speaker 1: mentioning these days, but that wasn't always the case. In
Speaker 1: the early six hundreds, teeth were often cited as a
Speaker 1: leading cause of death. Catholic toothache sufferers prayed to Saint Apollonia,
Speaker 1: the patron saint of dentists, for intercession on behalf of
Speaker 1: their aching mouths, and in Scottish poet Robert Burns immortalized
Speaker 1: the condition in his Address to the Toothache, in which
Speaker 1: he slightly exaggerates what air that place be. Priests call Hell,
Speaker 1: where all the tones of misery yell, and ranked plagues
Speaker 1: their numbers tell in dreadful row, Thou toothache surely bear
Speaker 1: the bell among them all. Thanks to policies like widespread
Speaker 1: water fluoridation in the United States, plus educational cartoons like
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four Is the Toothbrush, family and oral hygiene
Speaker 1: programs in public schools, and easy access to dental products, overall,
Speaker 1: dental health in the United States has vastly improved. Nevertheless,
Speaker 1: tooth decay is still cited as the most common childhood disease.
Speaker 1: Fifty percent of children ages twelve to fifteen are affected
Speaker 1: by cavities. The problem is often worse among lower income families,
Speaker 1: who are less likely to have affordable access to dental care.
Speaker 1: People today tend to be cavalier about tooth decay, dismissing
Speaker 1: cavities and minor toothaches as insignificant. However, even with modern
Speaker 1: improvements in dentistry, cavities can still lead to oral infections
Speaker 1: and more serious complications, including death. In nineteen seventy nine,
Speaker 1: John Glassock, bassist for the rock band Jeff bro Tull,
Speaker 1: died of endocarditis, a heart infection. His doctor's belief originated
Speaker 1: from an abcessed to tooth. And if you watched the
Speaker 1: TV show Angel, actor Andy Hallett, who portrayed the caryo
Speaker 1: key demon Lorn, died in two thousand nine after a
Speaker 1: case of cardiomyopathy resulting from a dental infection. Recent studies
Speaker 1: have also linked oral infections to other serious medical conditions
Speaker 1: like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. So what exactly is
Speaker 1: an abscessed tooth and how can you avoid getting one?
Speaker 1: An abscess is a type of infection that's identifiable by
Speaker 1: inflamed tissue surrounding a localized collection of yellowish white fluid
Speaker 1: called pus, which is made up of white blood cells, tissue,
Speaker 1: and microorganisms. A tooth abscess is most commonly caused by
Speaker 1: severe tooth decay or cavities, other culprits, argent vitis, gum disease,
Speaker 1: and damage to the teeth like breaks and chips. An
Speaker 1: abscess starts when openings in the tooth enamel allow bacteria
Speaker 1: to travel to and infect the pulpy center of the tooth.
Speaker 1: In severe cases, the infection can affect the jawbone as
Speaker 1: well as the soft tissue in the mouth the left bend.
Speaker 1: Treated infection from an abcessed tooth can even spread to
Speaker 1: other parts of the body and cause abscesses in the brain, heart, infections, pneumonia,
Speaker 1: and other complications. The main hallmark of an abscessed tooth
Speaker 1: is a painfully throbbing or stabbing toothache. It will sometimes
Speaker 1: be accompanied by a bitter taste in the mouth, bad breath,
Speaker 1: swollen glands, swelling in the mouth, and fever. Paradoxically, as
Speaker 1: the infection spreads and worsens, it may kill the nerve
Speaker 1: root of the tooth, and the toothache may go away
Speaker 1: or subside. So if you have had a bad toothache,
Speaker 1: even if it does subside, you should still see a dentist.
Speaker 1: Treatment of abscessed teeth involves draining the infection. The dentists
Speaker 1: usually also prescribe a course of antibiotics to fight any
Speaker 1: lingering infection. To reduce the risk of developing abscessed teeth,
Speaker 1: follow the advice of good old flash fluoride and the
Speaker 1: rest of the toothbrush family gang, or you know your
Speaker 1: local dental hygienist and brush carefully after eating, use floss,
Speaker 1: use mouthwash if recommended, and definitely consult a dentist right
Speaker 1: away if you find yourself with a toothache. But today's
Speaker 1: episode is based on the article what is an abcessed
Speaker 1: too on how stuffworks dot com written by Gerlinda Grimes.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership
Speaker 1: with how stuffworks dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Cline.
Speaker 1: Or more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.