Tooth pain, the man did not care
Wuhan man Zhou Han (a pseudonym), in his 40s, had previously been working in Yangzhou. Some time ago, Zhou Han had a problem with a decayed tooth, and the pain was very severe. At that time, he did not take it to heart, thinking that the pain would get better in a few days. Unexpectedly, four days later, Zhou Han’s toothache became more and more severe. The area around the painful tooth had started to become red and swollen and somewhat inflamed.
Although the toothache had lasted for several days, Zhou Han held on for another day in order to save money on medical bills. Thereafter, the problem continued to worsen, the pain in the tooth and the swelling of the gums became more and more severe, and the patient also developed a high fever. Only then did Zhou Han realize the seriousness of the problem and rushed to the hospital for a checkup. At this point, it had been a week since Zhou Han first noticed the toothache.
Fever all the time, found to be mediastinitis
By the time he arrived at the hospital, Zhou Han’s condition was so severe that even his jaw and face were affected and red and swollen. As a result, the doctor took it very seriously and took a series of measures right away. However, what struck the doctor as strange was that while the treatment partially relieved Zhou Han’s toothache, the high fever in his body remained uncontrollable.
”At first, he saw the dentist, and then he felt that the problem was not right before he was referred to our side.” Faced with Zhou Han’s condition, the dentist was at his wits’ end, and considering the possibility of further spread, the patient was then transferred to cardiothoracic surgery. “We found that there was fluid inside his mediastinum, which was already severely inflamed.” According to Bao Yang, further examination revealed that Zhou Han was suffering from severe mediastinitis, which was the cause of his high fever.
The final untreated, it is the disease teeth to blame
”After we found that there was mediastinitis, we rushed to clean up the fluid, but it still didn’t work.” Bao Yang said that although the hospital took measures to save, unfortunately, because the patient missed the best time for treatment, the infection around the mediastinum was serious and had developed into necrotizing mediastinitis. After several resuscitations to no avail, the family chose to give up treatment, and Zhou Han lost his life.
The direct cause of Zhou Han’s death was odontogenic downstream necrotizing mediastinitis, and the culprit of this condition was the diseased tooth in his mouth. Bao Yang analyzed that there are three potentially important gaps in the human body: the anterior tracheal space, the prevertebral space, and the retropharyngeal space, all of which lead to the mediastinum located between the two lung lobes.
Zhouhan did not treat the condition of his tooth in a timely manner, which in turn became diseased and inflamed, and an abscess developed. Thereafter, the abscess virus around the teeth traveled down the posterior pharyngeal space and the anterior tracheal space to reach the mediastinum, thereby infecting the area and inducing odontogenic downstream necrotizing mediastinitis, which eventually took Zhou Han’s life.
In fact, in addition to abscesses in the teeth and mouth that can travel down the interstitial space to induce mediastinitis, abscesses in the throat can also induce this condition. For this reason, he reminds readers that although the probability of similar cases is small, they should be taken seriously. When toothache and gum redness occur, it is important to seek medical attention to control the condition.
Three types of toothache should not be tolerated
Toothache may seem like a small thing that many people just put up with, but in fact, there may be deeper causative factors lurking behind it that should not be ignored. Here are three types of toothache that cannot be ignored.
1. Pain when it’s cold
Some people’s teeth hurt when they eat cold drinks, which indicates that the teeth are sensitive to cold. If the pain lasts for 5 to 10 seconds and disappears, it means that the problem is not serious, but you need to use desensitizing toothpaste. If the pain persists and does not subside, there may be a problem with the gums.
Infrequent brushing and flossing can cause plaque buildup, leading to periodontal disease, gum recession, exposed roots, and toothache when stimulated by cold. If the protective layer of tooth enamel is corroded and peeled off, it will also cause toothache when it is cold. In this case, you should correct the eating habits that will wear the tooth enamel, such as drinking coffee.
2.Gum swelling and pain
Gum swelling and pain may sometimes be caused by small bone scraps stuck between the teeth, stimulating gum inflammation. Therefore, it is important to brush and floss your teeth after meals, remove food debris between your teeth in a timely manner, and have your teeth cleaned by a professional dentist on a regular basis, with the American Dental Association recommending a 6-monthly checkup and cleaning.
Inflammation of the dental pulp may also cause swollen and painful gums, which contain blood vessels, connective tissue and nerves and are more sensitive.
3. Pain when chewing
A toothache when chewing may be a crack in the tooth, which should not be taken lightly and a visit to the dentist is recommended. This is partly attributable to excessive cleaning of the teeth, such as the number of brushing and flossing, long and vigorous brushing, etc. Day after day, the wear and tear caused to the tooth surface may cause tooth cracking.
In addition, excessive bite strength when chewing, gum infection, etc., also need to see the dentist promptly.