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