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A visit to the Dentist

 On Monday morning I woke up with a swollen left cheek caused by a dental abscess.  The Green Arbor dental practice do not operate on Monday's and after 4 phone calls I had an emergency appointment with Kallod at the Old Mill practice in Church Street. She quickly confirmed the abscess and lanced it to relieve the swelling. 

She prescribed 2 antibiotic, Amoxicillin 3 a day for 5 days and Metronidazole 3 a day for 5 days. The prescription was private and cost £19.30 at Lloyds Chemists. Eddie came out to tell me the the Metronidazole should not be taken during Chemotherapy treatment. I had already advised the Chemo Helpline at the Amberley Unit earlier and the booked infusion for Wednesday 17th was delayed a week.

I advised Green Arbor on Tuesday and had an appointment on Thursday with Monica, my regular dentist. She undertook an examination and took an Xray of the infected tooth. We then discussed treatment and agreed that an extraction would be the appropriate course of action. 

I then spoke to one of the Mcmillan Cancer nurses at Worthing to ask about how many days before an infusion or afterward it would be acceptable to have the tooth removed. Dr Webb advised a two-day gap either side of an infusion. This would require the extraction to be undertake during a rest week.

Monica recommended that I use Chlorexidine mouthwash after eating a week before and a week after the tooths removal. 

The antibiotics worked and the swelling had fully subsided a week after starting the treatment.


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