My son has a bad toothache. he has an appointment thursday but now he has local swelling and last night he had a fever of 100.1. should i take to e.r?

Possibly: if your son is old enough to talk to you, he will be able to tell you if he feels like he is getting better or getting worse. a bad toothache can definitely become a systemic infection, but in a healthy person, this is not common. nevertheless, if the swelling begins to prevent him from breathing, talking, eating, or drinking, then that can be a bad sign. keep taking his temperature.

Swelling: A localized swelling indicates an infection, so he really should be placed on antibiotics. If the ER is your only choice, a visit certainly will help.

Infection: He should be seen sooner than waiting until Thursday. Contact the dentist who he is appointment with and bring these facts to his/her attention. Swelling indicated probable infection which can be dangerous especially in small children. If you cannot contact the dentist and get a sooner appointment, go to 24/7 medical facility, ER or consider ANOTHER DENTIST.

No: ER Docs, no matter how skilled, really don't have a lot of dental training. Call your Dentist, or preferably a Pediatric Dental specialist, to see if you can be seen ASAP. Use ER for antibiotic coverage only if you can't get in to see Dentist. Antibiotic will not cure Dental infection, only control it until tooth can be treated.