Toothaches are a common nuisance that we’ve all come to know and most definitely hate. They’re uncomfortable, that’s true, but like muscular pain, they could be an indication of a much more malevolent problem that’s just beginning to form. And in a similar manner that you visit your chiropractor when you experience muscular pain, you have to visit your dentist when you experience a toothache.

Toothbrush

Now, while you might think that the concept that death could come from a toothache is far-fetched, it is not. While the toothache isn’t the direct cause of death, it is, in fact, the precursor to a much more sinister problem.

Infection

Whenever a pathogen is able to enter your body, that is considered an infection. And, where else would the point of ingress be besides a break in the skin? Vadim Kondratyuk, the truck driver in the above cited article, died from what started out as a toothache, which was later found to be an infection. The infection spread to his blood and lungs, which sadly became the cause of his death.

Decay

Now, we’ve already established that an infection is only the beginning. If left untreated, the infection could spread and by doing so, it could cause several of your teeth to deteriorate. This is why dentists, are very particular with tooth cavities because these are means of ingress that will surely lead to an infection, especially when food gets into the cavity. The stuck food will literally rot in your tooth.

Abscesses

An abscess will form when the infection is left untreated long enough for swelling to occur. The swelling is caused by an accumulation of pus — yes, you should shudder at the thought. This is because the infection can spread directly to the brain via the abscesses. And you don’t need a medical degree to know that a brain infection will surely cause irreparable damage, if not death.

No Safe Quarter

Anybody can die from tooth decay. The danger is that there are a lot of people who choose to neglect dental hygiene. The problem here is that society doesn’t view the lack of dental hygiene as seriously as it should. To most people, neglected teeth are nothing more than a major turn-off when in fact, these are actually indications of an infection waiting to happen.

Treatment

Dentists recommend that you get your teeth checked regularly, apart from adopting good dental hygiene practices. There’s a really important reason that dentists recommend tooth extractions when they find decaying teeth, and now you know exactly why.

Cases

But don’t just take my word for it. There are a lot of recorded cases from the past 20 years of people who died because of an untreated tooth infection. An 80-dollar tooth extraction, as well as observing proper dental hygiene, could save you great medical expenses, and more importantly, your life.  When this happens, it is imperative to find a good and reliable dentist to help you and offer you the best treatment services. If you need a recommendation, be sure to consider this reputable Dental surgeon.