very painful gums

[Patient247]

i admit i do not brush as much as i should but my teeth and gums are in good shape .... i have a couple teeth with very bad cavities and one of them, which has a hole on the side of it(top left of my mouth, second tooth from the back), recently for no reason just began to throb painfully .... i did not know what it was and it scared me ... the pain quickly grew from that tooth around my jaw and to the other tooth that is biting against it (bottom left second from the back) i had my wisdom teeth removed already  ... my whole left side of my jaw was throbbing and the pain also grew from that area up my cheek bone to my temple .... i dont have any medical conditions or i am not aware of any at the moment .... after the pain grew to the whole left side of my face i checked the mirror and my tooth with the cavity was surrounded by a pale yellowish white outline i am going to the dentist but i just want to know more about this and what may be the cause

[mamaboulet]

Yes, I agree. You have an infection and you are going to need antibiotics and probably a root canal. And yes, it means it is time for you to start taking better care of your teeth and gums if you don't want to end up like me, with advanced periodontal disease and 15 teeth left. And I also agree that "very bad cavities" are NOT a sign of teeth in good shape.

[lynn117]

sounds like you have an infection. your teeth and gums are "not in good shape" or you would not have cavities (especially visible holes) and be in pain. cavities keep getting larger and will eventually hit a nerve. odds are you will need a root canal if they are able to save the tooth.