How Ear Infections Can Lead to Tooth Abscess in Children

Infections in children can lead to a variety of health complications, including secondary infections in the mouth - leading to complications of the gums, tongue and teeth. If you are concerned about your child's health complications in relation to recurring ear infections, it is also important to be concerned about the risk for tooth damage and the complications associated with tooth abscess in children.

A tooth abscess is a health complication that affects both adults and children but, in children, can lead to long term complications with not only baby teeth but also adult teeth. When not properly treated, damage to the tooth crown, tooth root, and nerve can lead to pain, bone loss and complications involving permanent loss of teeth.

If your child has complications involving recurring ear infections, it is important to ask your pediatrician for a referral to a dental specialist who can evaluate your child's tooth health. In children who have recurring ear infections, it is not uncommon for the infection to travel into the nerves and blood supply of the teeth and gums and, where teeth may already be damaged or infected, further oral health complications manifest.

To mitigate this risk in children, most pediatricians will recommend that your child be followed by a pediatric dentist who can supply not only oral antibiotic treatment for a tooth abscess but also prescription anti-microbial mouthwash that will alleviate tooth pain and further infection development. When your child is suffering from a tooth abscess, you will often know immediately as pain complaints of the ears will often expand into pain of the mouth and into a particular quadrant to the oral cavity.

Most complications involving oral health and the development of tooth abscess can be prevented or, when developed, can be treated promptly. The key to your child's optimal health when suffering from recurring ear infections, is to keep in mind that infections may expand into other areas of the body with the teeth and gums at the greatest risk.

Sources: Healing Childhood Ear Infections, by Michael Schmidt