Anxiety over Abcess(abscess)

I had a bad tooth which I was scheduled to have taken care of next monday but this morning when I woke up my face was a bit swollen at the jaw line and i knew this was not good. I went to the dentist and they took Xrays I will have root canal next week. In the meantime they put me on Penicillin 500mg every 6 hrs. I made the mistake of googling abcesses and now im getting really anxious. I should of asked the dentist more questions but he said the inefction was not that bad. But it is bad enough my jaw/cheekline is swollen..
Has anyone had this happen to them before?
Will the antibiotics make the swelling go away? And how soon should I see it go down? Will it spread even if I am on antibiotics? Any input would be much appreciated!!!!

[cj29]

The dentist put you on antibiotics as a preventitive measure, which is a good thing in my opinion.  Just ensure you take it as prescribed and finish the prescription.  Just observe it and if it gets any worse, I would go get it checked out by my doctor, but they usually will prescribe antibiotics like penicillin for bacterial infections for treatment or prevention.  Also, be careful what you research on the internet.  In my opinion, it is a great tool, but it can really feed anxiety.  Furthermore, you can link any symptom to any ailment no matter how inprobable it really is...keep us posted!

[nursegirl6572]

Absolutely a dental abscess will cause swelling.  The Penicillin will take care of most of it....just be SURE to follow through and get the dental work done because abscesses have ways of recurring...if the problem isn't fixed.

Do not search the web anymore about this...it will only cause you unnecessary anxiety.  If you notice that the swelling worsens, or pain worsens, give your dentist a call...but otherwise, continue to take the Penicillin..it takes a few days to start noticing an improvement of the swelling.

[Chrissy1972]

Thanks for the replies. The swelling hasnt gotten worse but the tingles are now on my right side too....the swelling was on my left. I get an occasional twitching of my upper lip and weird feelings in my nerves on my right side of my cheek around my mouth. I slept like crap last night bc I was so anxious. Today Im tired and on high alert anxiety wise. I hate this....I see my therapist tonite. I dont know if she is helping me. I need help with coping especially with my health anxiety. Whenever my body/health is unwell my anxiety is high :(