A Family Dentist In Palatka, FL Take On Antibiotics

We are a family dentist in Palatka, FL, which means our focus is on finding the most effective ways of treating families dealing with dental challenges. One of our commitments is to find relief for discomfort as quickly as possible, especially when dealing with younger or elderly members of your family. Often, we have to reach into our tool box and pull out one of the most powerful tools that any dentist, including your family dentist in Palatka, FL, has at their disposal for fighting the microorganisms causing your problems. Antibiotics have made a huge impact on medicine, including dental medicine, since penicillin was first discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Since then, we have used antibiotics to successfully remove all kinds of bacterial infections, and this has allowed modern medicine to make huge leaps of advancement in all kinds of treatments.

As with any great cure, however, there are limitations. When you come in to see your family dentist in Palatka, FL, one thing you can expect is this: While we have antibiotics as an option and it could never be taken off the table due to its effectiveness, it is often not our go-to option. We tend to ask the question, “Are antibiotics needed?” rather than, “Which antibiotics are needed?” when addressing any problem our patients have. This is because we are very aware that overuse of antibiotics can cause more problems than they can solve. Recently, there has been a great deal of news about antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms that have been found in increasing numbers across the medical spectrum. This situation has arisen in part due to the over-proliferation of antibiotics, which has allowed bacteria to develop a resistance to them. Our goal is to make sure that when we prescribe an antibiotic, it is because it is absolutely necessary, and that it is a targeted approach that ends up being very successful.

Sometimes as a family dentist in Palatka FL, we have to educate our patients that antibiotics, while an outstanding option, are not the only option. Often, people believe they can solve all their problems with a dose of these medications, and for good reason. When we do prescribe antibiotics, they have almost an immediate effect. Fevers associated with an infection, pain or discomfort, and even swelling because of the infection are very quick to go away, which gives the patient relief. There is little wonder that people want an antibiotic treatment. What is important to remember, however, is that antibiotics are designed to control the infection and restore a balance between your natural immunity and the invading infection. Once this happens, your body is able to quickly regroup, and it is your body's own antibodies that will kill the infection. In fact, in 60 perfect of infection situations, there is no need for any kind of interference or introduction of a foreign substance; your body will take care of the problem all by itself. In other words, antibiotics aren't the greatest fighter of infection, your body is.

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Antibiotics and General Dentistry: What You Should Know

In general dentistry, as with any of the medical fields, we have benefitted greatly from the discovery of antibiotics. In 1928, scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, changing how we fought bacterial infections forever. In this discovery, and subsequent medical advances we were able to help the body win the battle against previously serious infections. With the aid of modern medicine and a new holistic approach to the use of all medication, the practice of general dentistry has greatly improved how we fight dental infections. The challenge that you as a patient may face, and we certainly are empathetic to this, is the desire to be treated immediately with these wonder drugs. For us, as your dentist, it is important to have a slower and more systematic approach to resolving issues with bacterial infections. For the last several years, the world has been plagued by the appearance of bacterial strains that have changed and mutated to be resistant to the common antibiotics. This is primarily because there are too many antibiotics being handed out; and so we want to make sure we wait and properly treat whatever you have going on so that when you leave it is without any infection. In the practice of general dentistry, we get to hear all the urban legends and myths that float around, including some on antibiotics.

The myths general dentistry has to resolve are many, but perhaps none as acute as the ones associated with general dentistry and antibiotics. Here is the most common one: people actually believe that antibiotics cure diseases. This is a well-founded myth, which makes it the hardest to disprove because people know that when they take a course of antibiotics they tend to feel better. Infections, including those of the oral variety, tend to go away which means the pain, inflammation, and fevers associated with the infection also goes away. It is often hardest to argue with how people feel, but the reality is that patients cure patients. Your immune system will fight off 60% of all infections without any help from an outside agent. What antibiotics do is help to rebalance the body's own immune system so that it is stronger, reinforced by the antibiotics, and will go to work taking out the infection. In other words, your own body does much of the heavy lifting, while antibiotics provide the shot of confidence.

Another myth, which has persisted for all 80 plus years that antibiotics have been around, is that there is a set course of antibiotics for specific dental infections. Or that if you fail to take the complete course the disease will rebound worse than before. Our goal is to treat the source of the infection, which once removed cannot cause anything to rebound. Further, there is no exact science to how antibiotics work on any particular infection. Years of experience and knowledge help us to get very close to a “cured” date but regular checkups are the only way for us to know exactly when the antibiotic has helped your body to kill the infection. In other words, there is no set regime or timeline other than the one set by experience.

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