A father-of-two from Sacramento died from a tooth infection after he did not pay much attention to his toothache that went on for days before his death. Reports say that the infection from the tooth also affected his lungs and ultimately caused his death.
The Sacramento Bee identified the father as Vadim Anatoliyevich Kondratyuk. He was only 26 and worked a long-haul trucker. At the time of his death, he was driving a truck from Truckee to New York.
Kondratyuk started to feel pain in the lower left side of his mouth according to his wife, Nataliya, 22. When he pulled over in Oklahoma to see a dentist, he was told he had an infection so he was given antibiotics. The dad's pain went away at first but it got worse so he called his wife to complain about what he was feeling.
Kondratyuk was still able to make a delivery in New York but he could not make it home because of his swollen mouth. His brother flew to him to accompany him back home where his wife and his two kids, a 2-year-old and an 11-month-old, were waiting.
On their way home, however, Kondratyuk grew pale and had trouble breathing. He was rushed to a Utah hospital and was given oxygen. He was transferred to a larger hospital in Salt Lake City and doctors found out that his tooth infection spread to his blood and lungs.
Nataliya said that doctors had her husband on medication and tried everything they could. She added that they prayed for her husband but "God has his plan."
"It was just not healing how it was supposed to," the wife said, KTLA 5 reported. "It was just getting worse." A GoFundMe page was set up for Kondratyuk so that his body could be transported back to Sacramento. The page raised nearly $85,000 as of writing.
As per the experts, tooth infection occurs when food gets trapped between the tooth and the gum. If the infection does not get treated, it could result in inflammation at the root of the teeth then it could spread to the head and the neck. In rare cases, which was exactly what happened to Kondratyuk, the infection spread to the bloodstream.
This is not the first time that a simple toothache led to someone's death. In 2007, a 12-year-old Maryland boy died due to his tooth infection. His family, who could not afford dental health care, thought it a simple toothache but the infection spread to his brain, ABC News reported.
Dentists recommend regular brushing and flossing after meals to prevent tooth decay. If there is a throbbing pain, such as in an infection, people are advised to seek dental help as soon as possible.
