Toothache and Antibiotics
Posted on 9th July 2020 by Ridyumna Garain
In this post, Ridyumna provides his own summary of a Cochrane systematic review on the effect of antibiotics on the toothache.
Introduction
Toothache is a widespread problem arising due to injury or death of the nerve inside a tooth (known as the pulp). This is frequently caused by extensive tooth decay or injury. If left untreated, bacteria from the dead or damaged tooth may spread beyond the root leading to the formation of a dental abscess, swelling, pain, and at times fever. This can occasionally progress to life-threatening infections of the head and neck. (1)
Management
The recommended treatment in these situations is removing the bacteria and the pulp from the tooth to reduce infection. Depending on the status of the tooth, a root canal treatment (which involves removal of the pulp, cleaning the inside of the tooth followed by filling) may be carried out, or it may be extracted.
Antibiotics are recommended only if the infection is severe, has spread to the neighbouring tissues, and systemic symptoms (fever, malaise) are noticed. However, some dentists may prescribe antibiotics to patients with acute conditions who have no signs of spreading infection, at times without dental treatment, to remove the infected material. (2,3)
Unrestricted use of antibiotics can lead to the development of antibiotic resistance. This practice of prescribing antibiotics for common medical problems may increase patient expectations for antibiotics, leading to a vicious cycle of increased prescribing to meet expectations. (4,5)
In 2018, a Cochrane systematic review was carried out to assess the effect of antibiotics on the tooth pain. (6)
Antibiotics and Toothache
The systematic review included parallel-group randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with participants having toothache due to pulpal injury or death. The intervention in consideration was any systemic antibiotic or matched placebo, with or without dental treatment or painkillers.
The review included two trials (7,8), with 62 participants. These trials used oral penicillin V potassium (penicillin VK) and a matched placebo, in conjunction with dental intervention and analgesics. Neither study examined the effect of antibiotics by themselves, without dental treatment. The patients included had no signs of spreading infection or systemic symptoms.
The primary outcome of the studies was participant‐reported pain and swelling. Both studies found no statistically significant differences in the pain or swelling reported by participants after the different interventions. One of the studies had a high risk of bias overall (7), whilst the other had an unclear risk of bias (8), thereby downgrading the quality of evidence.
Clinical Implication
There is “currently insufficient evidence to be able to determine the effects of antibiotics in these conditions” (6). Given the very low quality evidence, clinical translation of the results is difficult.
