Quiz: Can You Use Antibiotics For My Tooth?

Do you ever spend time wondering why we need to treat your tooth with restorative care such as a root canal treatment instead of simply addressing the problem with antibiotics? After all, when you have other types of problems, your general practitioner often provides you with medicine, particularly if there’s a bacterial infection involved. While this would be a wonderful alternative – and while antibiotics may help limit the severity of infection – it’s not a final solution to many dental problems. Find out why with a brief quiz.

Questions: True or False?

1. True or False: It’s possible to use antibiotics in a topical form to assist with clearing the presence of periodontal problems – however, antibiotics alone will not solve the issue.
2. True or False: We cannot swap out antibiotics in place of a root canal treatment because antibiotics cannot sufficiently clear the bacteria and infection within your tooth.
3. True or False: Restorative dentistry treatments are often necessary because some of your tooth tissue is missing or your tooth is significantly damaged. You cannot simply take a pill.

Quiz Answers

1. True. If you have an existing infection, applying antibiotics to your gum pockets is often necessary. However, deep cleaning and the potential for additional periodontal treatment may be necessary (because you also require the manual removal of plaque and tartar accumulation).
2. True. Antibiotics may be of some use to control the severity of the problem but cannot remove the problem completely. Once the pulp has become infected or in some other way inflamed or damaged, it requires removal (with root canal treatment).
3. True. When you end up with a broken tooth, we cannot heal or replace tissue with medication. You will require the physical repair of restorative care to accomplish goals like removing decay and restructuring your tooth.

Share this Article