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Child Diabetic And Have Abscessed Tooth. Complaining Of Tooth Ache. Given Ibuprofen, Have Swollen Cheeks. Suggest?
Question: My 11 year old son is a Type 1 Diabetic and seems to have an abscessd tooth. He began complaining of a toothache a couple of days ago. We gave him ibuprofen and that seemed to help. Last night we noticed that his lower cheek is swollen where the tooth is located. We called the emergency dentist line today and even texted him. No response. %3A%2F I am calling them first thing in the morning. I have some leftover 300mg clindamycin from when I had a tooth infection. Should I give him some%3F I am concerned that the infection will spread or he may become septic since his immune system is compromised due to the diabetes.
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear about the infection your son has. As you rightly said, his immune system may be compromised if he has a poorly controlled diabetes. Infections in diabetics are always treated aggressively because complications are often common and difficult to handle especially when treatment is not timely and adequate. Also, this often makes keeping the blood sugar number under control difficult.
From the information you have provided, your soon most likely has a tooth abscess that has spread to the surrounding soft tissues. Treatment will typically consist in Antibiotics, pain medications and treating the infected tooth an draining any pus collections.
Prompt treatment with antibiotics is of prime importance. However, I will strongly discourage you from administering antibiotics that were not prescribed for him. This is because so much is considered including history of allergies to any substance/drug etc that may suggest that a drug should not be prescribed to an individual. Also, when these drugs are prescribed, measures are taken to address any adverse reaction if they do occur. And the reasons continue. This is to say we cannot make such a decision on the internet. The doctor needs to see him and evaluate before making management decisions. Besides, what dosage is best adapted to your child? Should it be through an injection or orally? etc
Please, tomorrow morning seems a far road ahead. Have you considered visiting the emergency room? This may be important given his history of T1DM. This decision on what to do would be done immediately and he shall be greatly relieved. I know it is expensive but give it a try and more so if you can.
I hope you find this helpful. I wish him the best of outcomes as he battles with this infection. Thank you so much for involving me in his care today. If there are any related follow up questions, please feel free to ask me and i would gladly address them.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
I am so sorry to hear about the infection your son has. As you rightly said, his immune system may be compromised if he has a poorly controlled diabetes. Infections in diabetics are always treated aggressively because complications are often common and difficult to handle especially when treatment is not timely and adequate. Also, this often makes keeping the blood sugar number under control difficult.
From the information you have provided, your soon most likely has a tooth abscess that has spread to the surrounding soft tissues. Treatment will typically consist in Antibiotics, pain medications and treating the infected tooth an draining any pus collections.
Prompt treatment with antibiotics is of prime importance. However, I will strongly discourage you from administering antibiotics that were not prescribed for him. This is because so much is considered including history of allergies to any substance/drug etc that may suggest that a drug should not be prescribed to an individual. Also, when these drugs are prescribed, measures are taken to address any adverse reaction if they do occur. And the reasons continue. This is to say we cannot make such a decision on the internet. The doctor needs to see him and evaluate before making management decisions. Besides, what dosage is best adapted to your child? Should it be through an injection or orally? etc
Please, tomorrow morning seems a far road ahead. Have you considered visiting the emergency room? This may be important given his history of T1DM. This decision on what to do would be done immediately and he shall be greatly relieved. I know it is expensive but give it a try and more so if you can.
I hope you find this helpful. I wish him the best of outcomes as he battles with this infection. Thank you so much for involving me in his care today. If there are any related follow up questions, please feel free to ask me and i would gladly address them.
Dr. Ditah, MD.
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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