As any dentist will tell you…toothaches are serious and should be taken care of by a dentist immediately. The truth of this statement is backed up by what happened recently to a man who nearly died from complications connected to his painful toothache…

Daniel Murtagh, 29, suffered months of weight loss, exhaustion and body aches – which doctors believed was HIV. But blood tests revealed a super-bug had traveled around his body and eaten away at a valve in his heart. Medics discovered the infection had come from bacteria on a mildly-inflamed wisdom tooth that was causing him slight pain. Doctors immediately pulled it out before performing a seven-hour operation on his heart to give him a prosthetic valve. But Mr Murtagh was told that if he had left his condition another week he would probably have died.

As this incident makes clear, it is so important to take care of your teeth, keep them clean, see your dentist for cleanings and X-rays…and always see your dentist if you have any discomfort at all – even if you think its minor.

The moral of this story is that tooth pain ALWAYS indicates something needs attention. You do not want something in your mouth to cause a major infection in your body that could lead to significant problems, even death. So, if you are experiencing a toothache or any other type of dental emergency, call a Charlotte dentist right away.