Can Antibiotics Cure Gum Boils?

Gum boils or abscesses are referred to as parulus in the medical jargon. They are points through which the tooth abscess gets drained. They occur when toxins drain out from the head of the root of a tooth which has a dead nerve.

Like other periodontal or around the tooth problems gum boils are also caused due to bacterial infections. Since antibiotics are drugs meant to cure bacterial infections they play an important role in curing gum boils.

The antimicrobial therapy employs chemical, antibacterial agents that kill or inhibit the bacteria that causes gum boils. They use antiseptics to prevent gum boils whereas antibiotics are used to cure gum boils and other gum diseases.

Some highlights of an antibiotics treatment of gum boils are as follows:

  • Locally applied antibiotics are applied over the abscess directly. Since the ointment can get washed away by the saliva, some methods have been devised to tackle this problem. Antibiotics are injected into the abscess in a gel form that gets hardened after some time. A string that is soaked with a special antibiotic is also used some times. In this way the antibiotic is released slowly in a week’s time.
  • Systemic antibiotics are oral pills that affect the whole system or body. This antibiotic gets dissolved in our stomach and is absorbed by the blood stream. It can kill the bacteria in the deepest pockets of the mouth as well as in other parts of the body.
  • The doctors take a sample for laboratory testing to find out which type of bacteria has caused the gum boils. After that they prescribe the most suitable antibiotic.

However, there are certain short-comings in the antibiotic treatment for gum boils.

  • Antibiotic treatment causes side-effects such as stomach aches, nausea, diarrhea etc.
  • Allergic rashes such as itching and rashes are also common.
  • Although antibiotics are specially formulated drugs to cure bacteria infections yet medical professionals all over the world are apprehensive about using antibiotics as a routine therapy. This is mainly because antibiotics make the bacteria resistant to them. This results due to its reckless overuse or when the patients do not follow the antibiotic therapy as advised by the doctors.

Therefore, antibiotics are usually avoided in the treatment of gum boils unless required urgently.

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