Symptoms

Changes inside the mouth often come from the soft tissue rather than a tooth: thrush, sores, cracks, colour changes. In denture wearers, several of them are caused by the denture itself.

• Cracked Corners of the Mouth: Why It Happens, How It ClearsA crack at the corner of the mouth is rarely a vitamin deficiency; it is usually yeast and bacteria. Its link with a dropped bite, worn teeth and old dentures.
• White Patch in the Mouth That Won't Wipe Off: Thrush or Not?A white coating that wipes off is usually thrush; a patch that stays is something else. Two simple checks at home, the 2-week threshold and biopsy questions.
• Blood Blister in the Mouth: Causes and When to TestA blood-filled blister that suddenly appears on the palate is usually harmless and goes in a few days. When is a blood count needed, and when do you call 112?
• Red Patch in the Mouth: Denture, Thrush or Erythroplakia?Most red patches in the mouth come from a denture, thrush or an injury. The two-week rule, the signs of erythroplakia and when a biopsy is needed.
• Oral Thrush: Why It Happens and Why It Comes BackThe white coating on the tongue and the redness under a denture are two faces of the same yeast. Why it recurs, and why treatment must include the denture.
• Hard Lump on the Palate or Under the Tongue: Is It a Torus?A bone-hard lump on the palate or under the tongue is usually a torus. How to tell at home, its effect on dentures and implants, and signs that need a biopsy.
• Mouth Breathing: Why It Happens, What It Does to Your TeethMouth breathing usually comes from a blocked nose; it dries the mouth and affects gums and teeth. Checks at home, warnings for children, when to see a doctor.
• Actinic Cheilitis: The Mark the Sun Leaves on the Lower LipActinic cheilitis is a sun-related, precancerous lip change. How it differs from dry lips, diagnosis, treatment options, follow-up and protection.
• B12 and Iron Deficiency: What Signs Show in the Mouth?A red, smooth tongue, a burning tongue, mouth ulcers and cracked corners. Which tests to ask for even with a normal blood count, and which medicines lower B12.
• Tonsil Stones: Causes, Removal, and When to See ENTA white, foul-smelling lump from the throat is usually a tonsil stone. Safe home methods, laser and surgery options, and the signs that mean an ENT visit.
• Geographic Tongue: Are Map-Like Patches Harmful?Geographic tongue is not contagious and does not turn into cancer. Why the patches move, what worsens burning, what it is confused with, when to see someone.
• Cracks in the Tongue: Why, and Is It a Vitamin Deficiency?Cracks in the tongue are usually harmless fissured tongue. A mirror test that separates it from vitamin deficiency, how to clean it and signs that need a check.
• Teeth Marks on the Tongue: Clenching or Sleep Apnoea?Scalloped teeth marks along the edge of the tongue are usually harmless. How they link to clenching, sleep apnoea and the thyroid, and when to see a doctor.
• White Coating on the Tongue: Why, and When to See SomeoneA white, furred tongue is usually a build-up of bacteria and debris. Whether it wipes off, where it sits and how long it lasts separate thrush from leukoplakia.
• Numbness and Tingling in the Tongue: When Is It Urgent?A numb tongue can come from a dental injection, B12 deficiency, an allergy or migraine. With sudden numbness plus slurred speech or a drooping face, call 112.
• Sore on the Tongue: Bite, Ulcer, When to Get CheckedA sore on the tongue is most often caused by a bite, a mouth ulcer or a sharp tooth edge. The edge test, the 3-week threshold, self-care and when to call 112.
• Cold Sores: Causes, How Long They Last, Mouth Ulcer or NotWhy cold sores appear, how long they last and what cream really does. Telling them from mouth ulcers, what to do before dental work, and eye and baby warnings.
• Sudden Lip Swelling: Causes, and When to Call 112Why a lip suddenly swells: allergy, blood pressure medicine, hereditary angioedema, mucocele. How to tell them apart at home, 112 signs and what to ask.
• Numb Lip: What Causes It, and When Is It an Emergency?A numb lip is usually dental anaesthetic. A test to map the numb area, normal timings after extractions and implants, and stroke and emergency signs.
• Red, Smooth Tongue: A Deficiency or Thrush?A smooth, shiny red tongue often points to a lack of B12, iron or folate, or to thrush. The order of diagnosis, the tests to ask for and the urgent signs.
• Lip Sore That Won't Heal: The 3-Week Rule, Actinic CheilitisA cold sore heals in 10 days, an ordinary sore in 1–2 weeks. Lip sores lasting over 3 weeks, actinic cheilitis, signs to check in the mirror, and biopsy.
• Black Hairy Tongue: Causes, Cleaning and How Long It LastsBlack hairy tongue is harmless: lengthened projections pick up colour. How antibiotics, smoking and tea play a part, tongue cleaning and when to see a doctor.
• Mucocele: Why a Blister on the Lower Lip Keeps Coming BackA clear, fluid-filled blister on the lower lip is usually a mucocele. Why it happens, why you should not burst it, why it returns and when to have it removed.
• Herpetic Gingivostomatitis: Mouth Sores and FeverSores spreading over a child's gums and mouth with a fever are often a first herpes infection. Fluids, the first 3 days for antivirals, spread and urgent signs.
• Dry Mouth in the Morning: Why It Happens, What to DoWaking with a dry mouth mostly comes from mouth breathing, snoring, sleep apnoea and medicines. Effects on teeth and dentures, home checks, when to see a GP.
• Loss of Taste: Smell or Taste, Causes, When It Is UrgentMost loss of taste is loss of smell. A one-minute test at home, causes from medicines, dentures and extractions, and the drooping face that means 112.
• White Lines Inside the Cheek: Is It Lichen Planus?White lines inside the cheek may be lichen planus, a friction mark or thrush. The stretch and wipe tests at home, cancer risk, and when to get it examined.

Ağrının ne zaman başladığı, neyle tetiklendiği ve ne kadar sürdüğü, nereden geldiğini büyük ölçüde gösterir. Buradaki yazılar hangi ağrının bekleyebileceğini, hangisi için aynı gün hekime gitmeniz gerektiğini anlatıyor.

• Headache From the Neck: Can It Spread to Face and Teeth?Headache from the neck can spread to the forehead, around the eye and the face. Signs that set it apart from toothache and TMD, red flags and treatments.
• Jaw Joint Clicking and Locking: What Causes It?A clicking jaw is usually harmless, but locking is not the same thing. We explain morning jaw pain, teeth clenching, and when you need a scan.
• Why Does Toothache Spread to the Jaw and Ear?Why toothache spreads to the ear and temple, how it is confused with the jaw joint and sinusitis, and when to see a dentist or another doctor.
• Chewing Muscle Pain: The Muscle or the Jaw Joint?Cheek and temple pain that gets worse when pressed usually comes from the chewing muscles and can spread to a tooth. Muscle vs joint, self-care, exercises.
• What Does It Mean If Your Tooth Hurts When You Chew?A tooth that hurts on chewing points to a crack, root-tip inflammation, a high filling or a fracture. Which can wait, and which needs a dentist today?
• Why Is Toothache Worse at Night?Why toothache gets worse lying down: pressure in the pulp. What night-time pain points to, what to do at home, and the signs that mean A&E.
• How to Relieve Toothache: Home Care or A&E?What safely eases toothache at home, why aspirin should never touch the tooth, what the pattern of pain tells you about its cause, and when to go to A&E.
• Do Antibiotics Get Rid of Toothache?Why antibiotics rarely stop toothache, when they are genuinely needed, why the source must be treated, and the risks of leftover antibiotics.
• Dental Nerve Injury: Will the Numbness Go Away?Inferior alveolar and lingual nerves give different pictures. Risk with wisdom teeth, implants and root canals, the timeline and the three-month referral.
• Pain and Sensitivity After a Filling: How Much Is Normal?Mild sensitivity after a filling passes in a week or two. High fillings, pain lasting seconds vs minutes, and when it should be looked at again.
• Tension Headache and Teeth Clenching: What Is the Link?Clenching during the day is linked to tension-type headache, and it can also cause toothache. Tooth or muscle: how to tell them apart, and when it is urgent.
• Numbness After a Dental Injection: How Long?After a dental injection, numbness in the lip and tongue usually lasts three to five hours. What numbness the next day means, and when to ring the clinic.
• How to Tell Heart-Related Jaw Pain ApartCan jaw pain be a sign of a heart attack? The signs that set it apart from dental pain, when to call 112, and how a dentist makes the distinction.
• Is Pain After Root Canal Treatment Normal?How much pain is normal in the first days after root canal treatment, signs of a high or lost temporary filling, and what a flare-up or later pain means.
• Why Does the Tooth Under a (Zirconia) Crown Hurt?Sensitivity in a new crown's first weeks is normal. Pain that starts or worsens weeks later can point to the bite, decay under the crown or a crack.
• Full or Blocked Ear: The Ear, the Jaw Joint or a Tooth?A full ear can come from the Eustachian tube, earwax, the sinuses or the jaw joint. Telling clenching apart, and why sudden hearing loss needs same-day care.
• What Is Pulpitis? Reversible and Irreversible PulpitisPulpitis is inflammation of the tooth's nerve. The 1–2 second rule that tells reversible from irreversible, pulpotomy, root canal and where antibiotics fit.
• Toothache but Nothing on the X-ray: Possible CausesClear X-ray but your tooth still hurts? A crack, early nerve inflammation, the sinus and referred pain; what a plain X-ray and a CT scan show, and miss.
• Jaw Pain in the Morning: Clenching or Sleep Apnoea?A jaw that aches when you wake up usually comes from clenching at night and the chewing muscles. Sleep apnoea, night guards, self-care and warning signs.
• Can a Tooth Cause Temple Pain? Clenching, Jaw and WarningsTemple pain can come from clenching, the jaw joint or a painful tooth. A simple test to try at home, and the signs that count as urgent if you are over 50.
• What Does Sensitivity to Hot and Cold Mean?Why teeth react to hot and cold, a twinge lasting seconds versus pain lasting minutes, what sensitivity to heat means, and when to act quickly.
• Can Sinusitis Cause Toothache?How to tell sinus-related toothache from real toothache, the risk of infection spreading from tooth to sinus, and why it matters for upper-jaw implants.
• Temporal Arteritis: Temple Pain and Jaw Pain When ChewingTemporal arteritis causes temple pain and jaw pain when chewing in over-50s and can lead to blindness. How it differs from TMD, and the emergency signs.
• Trigeminal Neuralgia: The Shock Mistaken for ToothacheTrigeminal neuralgia causes electric-shock facial pain lasting seconds and is mistaken for toothache. Signs, diagnosis, medicines and needless extractions.
• Toothache on a Plane: Why It Happens, What It Points ToToothache on a plane points to a faulty filling, an inflamed nerve or a blocked sinus. Telling them apart by take-off or descent, and what to do after landing.
• Facial Twitching: Harmless or Hemifacial Spasm?Eyelid twitching mostly comes with tiredness and caffeine and passes on its own. When do twitching across half the face and jaw spasm need a neurologist?
• Shingles on the Face: Nerve Pain Mistaken for ToothacheFacial shingles can start like toothache days before the rash. How to tell it from a tooth, the 3-day antiviral window and the urgent signs for the eye.
• Throbbing Toothache: What It Means, and When to WorryA throbbing toothache can mean irreversible nerve inflammation or an abscess. A 1 to 2 second test at home, misleading referred pain and emergency signs.

Diş eti hastalığı ağrısız ilerler; ilk uyarılarını kanama, çekilme, koku ve şişlik olarak verir. Bu başlıklar o uyarıların hangisinin geri döndürülebilir olduğunu anlatıyor.

• Bad Breath and a Bad Taste in the Mouth: CausesWhy bad breath and a bad taste persist: the tongue, gum pockets, decay, dentures and bridges, sinuses and reflux. The limits of mouthwash.
• What Causes Dry Mouth, and Does It Harm Your Teeth?The most common causes of dry mouth: medicines, radiotherapy, Sjögren's, diabetes and mouth breathing at night. The effect on teeth, gums and dentures.
• Mouth Ulcers: Why They Happen, How They HealIs that sore a mouth ulcer or a denture sore? We explain the usual course of a mouth ulcer, the three-week rule, and what slows healing down.
• Burning Mouth and Tongue: What Causes It?A burning mouth or tongue can come from dry mouth, a deficiency, a denture infection or blood sugar. What your dentist and your doctor each check.
• Why Does Gum Pain Happen, and How Does It Heal?Gum pain usually comes from one of five sources, from inflammation to an abscess. We explain how to tell them apart and when you need urgent care.
• Receding Gums and Exposed Roots: What Can Be Done?Why gums recede, why an exposed root decays faster and turns sensitive, and whether gums grow back. Stopping recession versus covering the root.
• Gum Disease (Periodontitis) TreatmentThe four steps of periodontitis treatment, pocket closure as the measure of success, the effect of smoking and diabetes, maintenance, and implant planning.
• Gingivitis (Gum Inflammation): How Does It Clear Up?Why gingivitis happens and how it reverses. The evidence on brushes, interdental brushes, floss and mouthwash, and which signs are no longer gingivitis.
• When Are Bleeding Gums Serious?Healthy gums do not bleed when brushed. When bleeding reverses completely, which sign shows bone loss has begun, and what smoking hides.
• Gum Curettage: How It Is Done and What Comes AfterWho needs curettage, meaning root surface cleaning, how a session goes, how long sensitivity lasts afterwards, and which measurement shows whether it worked.
• Swollen Gums and Dental Abscesses: When Is It an Emergency?Why gums swell and abscesses form, how to tell the two types apart, which signs are urgent, and why antibiotics alone are not enough.
• Black or Purple Spot on the Gums: When Is a Biopsy Needed?A dark spot on the gums is usually natural colour, smoking or amalgam left from an old filling. Which spot is monitored, and which calls for a biopsy?
• What Causes Tartar, and Is Cleaning It Off Harmful?How tartar forms, why teeth can feel loose or gapped after a clean, how often you need cleaning, and why scraping tartar off at home is harmful.
• Gingivectomy (Gum Trimming): When Is It Needed?Gingivectomy for gum overgrowth and aesthetics: who it suits, laser or scalpel, how it differs from crown lengthening, healing and the risk of regrowth.
• Gum Overgrowth from Blood Pressure and Epilepsy DrugsAmlodipine, nifedipine, phenytoin and ciclosporin can enlarge the gums. How it starts, what to ask your doctor, and when cleaning or surgery is needed.
• Thick, Sticky Saliva: What Causes It, and When It MattersThick, sticky or frothy saliva usually comes from dehydration, a medicine or mouth breathing. How it affects teeth and dentures, and when to see a doctor.
• Smoking Stains and Tartar on Teeth: How to Remove ThemSmoking stains and tartar come off with a clean, not a brush. Ultrasonic vs air-flow, baking soda and charcoal myths, and smoking's effect on gums and implants.

Dişin yerinden oynaması, aralanması ya da düşmesi çoğu zaman onu tutan kemikle ilgilidir. Buradaki yazılar bu sürecin nerede durdurulabileceğini anlatıyor.

• No Teeth Left in My Mouth: What Can I Do?Your options with no teeth left, which one depends on how much bone has gone, whether years without teeth change it, and where to start.
• I Keep Losing Teeth: The Cause Behind ItLosing teeth one by one is not a coincidence. Why gum disease, uncontrolled blood sugar and grinding speed each other up, and what the remaining teeth carry.
• What Happens If You Do Not Replace an Extracted Tooth?A gap left unfilled tips neighbouring teeth, lengthens the opposing tooth and erodes bone. Not every gap has to be filled; the exceptions and decision criteria.
• Dental Erosion: Why Acid Wears Teeth and How to Stop ItReflux, vomiting and acidic drinks dissolve enamel. Signs of erosion, how it differs from clenching and hard brushing, waiting to brush, treatment options.
• Teeth Grinding Treatment: Night Guard or Botox?For clenching and grinding, a night guard protects teeth and Botox eases muscle pain for a while. The evidence, bone effects, stress, implants and dentures.
• Why Do Gaps Open Up Between Teeth, and Why Do Teeth Drift?Why gaps open between teeth, why front teeth tip forwards and a missing tooth's space closes. The bone loss behind the gaps, and when to act.
• Why Do Teeth Wear Down, and Does Wear Reverse?Grinding, acid erosion and hard brushing leave different marks. Lost enamel does not come back; why bite height matters, and what is done and when.
• Teeth Shifting: Causes, How Fast It Happens, Warning SignsTeeth shift after an extraction, with gum disease, without a retainer or with age. Measured amounts of movement, tracking it at home and signs not to wait on.
• Congenitally Missing Teeth: When and How Is the Gap Filled?Why teeth can be congenitally missing, braces, resin-bonded bridges and implants, keeping the baby tooth, and why implants wait for jaw growth to finish.
• A Filling or Crown Has Fallen Out: What Should I Do?Why a filling or crown falls out, whether to keep the piece, and how long the exposed tooth can wait. The limits of temporary fixes and the cost of delay.
• Temporary Options for a Missing Tooth: What WorksBetween losing a tooth and a permanent decision: why the gap matters, what temporary options exist, and when waiting becomes a problem.
• My Denture Is Loose: Why, and What Can Be Done?Why a denture loosens every year, how much time adhesive and relining buy, and when to decide on a fixed solution. Causes and options.
• Food Getting Stuck Between TeethFood stuck in the same place at every meal is not a habit but a sign: the contact between two teeth has opened. Causes, consequences and the fix.
• Can Adults Grow New Teeth? The Tooth Regrowth DrugA lost permanent tooth does not grow back. Who Japan's tooth regrowth drug is being tested in, when to expect it, and what waiting costs your jawbone.

Diş kaybı önce çiğnemeyi, sonra konuşmayı ve yüz hatlarını değiştirir. Bu başlıklar aynada ya da seste fark ettiğiniz değişikliğin altında ne olduğunu anlatıyor.

• Can't Open Your Mouth? Why the Jaw Locks, When It's UrgentDifficulty opening the mouth can come from muscle, the jaw joint, a wisdom tooth or an injection. The three-finger test and signs that need A&E.
• Dislocated Jaw: What to Do When Your Mouth Is Stuck OpenA dislocated jaw leaves the mouth stuck open. Why not to put it back yourself, how A&E does it, the next 6 weeks and treatment when it keeps coming back.
• Jaw Gets Tired When Chewing: Causes and Urgent SignsA tired jaw when chewing comes from grinding, the jaw joint or missing teeth. Telling them apart by timing, and the signs that are urgent over the age of 50.
• Narrow Palate and Upper Jaw in Adults: Signs and TreatmentA narrow upper jaw in adults: crossbite, crowded teeth, dark corners when smiling. MARPE, SARPE and orthodontics, and the effect on a full-mouth implant plan.
• How Does Tooth Loss Change Your Speech?Why missing front teeth distort f, v, s and sh, how a palate-covering denture changes speech, whether a lisp passes, and how long adjusting takes.
• I Can't Face Job Interviews Because of My TeethNobody talks about tooth loss at work and in social life. How long it takes to look presentable, what helps meanwhile, and what treatment changes.
• Black Spot on a Tooth: Decay, Staining or Arrested Decay?A black spot on a tooth can be decay, a surface stain, tartar or old arrested decay. How to tell by place and surface, and when to see a dentist sooner.
• Temporary Crowns: What They Do, and If One Falls OutA temporary crown protects the prepared tooth until the crown arrives. How long it stays, what to do at home if it falls out, when it is urgent, and implants.
• I Cover My Mouth When I Smile: What Should I Do?What covering your mouth when you smile, or avoiding photos and group meals, points to. The dental problems behind it and the first step of an assessment.
• Zirconia vs Porcelain Fused to Metal vs E.max Crowns5-year results for three types of crown, fracture and chipping, wear on the opposing tooth, the gum margin and use on implants: what the research says.
• Chewing on One Side: What Harm Does It Do?Chewing on one side brings tartar and gum problems on the unused side, wear and cracks on the other. The real problem is what pushes you to that side.
• My Relative Won't Wear Their Denture: What Should I Do?A parent or partner keeps their denture in a drawer. Why they may not wear it, how it affects eating and speaking, and how to talk about it.
• Why Does the Face Fall In After Tooth Loss?Why the jawbone shrinks after extraction, why the lips fall in, why a denture speeds it up, and when an implant comes in. Causes and options.

The roots of the upper back teeth sit against the floor of the sinus, so a problem that starts in a tooth can be felt in the nose, and one that starts in the sinus can be felt in a tooth. These pages help you tell them apart.

• Postnasal Drip: Why Mucus Runs Down Your ThroatMucus running down your throat can come from the sinuses, allergy, reflux or an upper tooth. What one-sided, foul-smelling drip suggests and when to get help.
• Bad Smell in the Nose: Is It the Sinuses or a Tooth?A bad smell from the nose can come from the sinuses, an upper back tooth, an object in a child's nose or a changed sense of smell. Home checks and urgent signs.
• Pain Around and Behind the Eye: Sinuses or a Tooth?Pain around the eye can come from the sinuses, migraine, cluster headache or a tooth. What each type of pain suggests, and which eye signs need same-day care.
• Oroantral Fistula: A Hole into the Sinus After ExtractionAn opening between mouth and sinus after an upper back tooth extraction: which ones close on their own, which need surgery, and when an implant can be placed.
• Water Coming Through Your Nose: Oro-Antral OpeningAfter an upper molar extraction, water coming through the nose means an opening into the sinus: why it happens, whether it closes, when surgery is needed.
• Can a Blocked Nose on One Side Come From a Tooth?If one side of your nose is blocked and smells bad, the source may be an upper molar: the signs of dental sinusitis, who to see, and the role of a CBCT scan.

An infection in the mouth can spread to the face, under the jaw and into the neck. These pages set out which swelling can be watched, which needs a dentist the same day and which means A&E.

• Lump in the Throat Feeling: Globus, or When Is It Serious?A lump in the throat feeling is usually globus. A home test that separates it from difficulty swallowing, cancer rates over long follow-up, and warning signs.
• Painless Hard Lump in the Neck: The 2-Week Rule and AfterAn adult neck lump that is painless, hard or fixed and has not shrunk in 2 weeks is investigated: which doctor, which tests in what order, why not antibiotics.
• Swollen Lymph Node in the Neck: When Does It Matter?A swollen lymph node in the neck is usually a reaction to infection. How long it lasts, cancer risk by age, the node above the collarbone, when to see a doctor.
• Swelling Under the Jaw: Lymph Node or Salivary Gland?The signs that tell whether swelling under the jaw comes from a dental lymph node or a salivary gland stone, the meal test, and the symptoms counted as urgent.
• Broken Jaw: Symptoms, Emergency Signs and TreatmentTeeth no longer meeting properly after a blow, or a numb lower lip? The symptoms of a broken jaw, emergency signs, first aid and the treatment options.
• Jawbone Infection (Osteomyelitis): Symptoms and UrgencyA socket that won't close after an extraction, fever and swelling: dry socket, osteomyelitis or MRONJ? The timescales that tell them apart, and urgent signs.
• Dental Abscess Symptoms: Which Are an Emergency?How a dental abscess starts, what a bump on the gum or a sore on the chin means, which signs mean 112, and what to ask when you see the dentist.
• Swelling in Front of the Ear: Salivary Gland or Lymph Node?Swelling in front of the ear usually comes from a salivary gland. What swelling that grows with meals, a fever or no pain means, and why facial palsy needs 112.
• Sore Throat on One Side: Could It Be a Tooth? Urgent SignsA one-sided sore throat can come from a wisdom tooth, a dental abscess or a tonsil abscess. The signs that tell them apart, urgent symptoms and when to see ENT.
• Salivary Gland Infection (Sialadenitis): Signs and TreatmentFeverish, red, painful swelling in front of the ear or under the jaw: bacterial salivary gland infection. Stone vs mumps, treatment, abscess, recurrence.
• Swelling Under the Jaw When Eating: a Salivary Stone?Swelling under the jaw that comes with food and settles in 1–2 hours is often a salivary stone. What to try at home, what ultrasound misses, saving the gland.
• Swollen Cheek: A Tooth, a Salivary Gland or an Allergy?A swollen cheek can come from a dental abscess, a salivary gland, a knock or an allergy. The telling signs, normal swelling after an extraction, emergencies.
• Difficulty Swallowing: Causes, Urgent Signs, Which DoctorIf you cannot swallow, are drooling or short of breath, call 112. Throat and dental infection, dry mouth, food stuck and nerve-related swallowing problems.
• Face Drooping on One Side: Stroke or Facial Palsy?If one side of the face suddenly drops, think stroke first: FAST and 112. The 72-hour treatment window for Bell's palsy and facial palsy after dental treatment.
• Facial Cellulitis and Ludwig's Angina: Signs and TreatmentHow facial cellulitis from a tooth differs from an abscess, how to recognise Ludwig's angina, why mouth opening is a late sign, and when to call 112.
• Facial Swelling: When Is a Dental Abscess Urgent?How facial swelling from a tooth runs its course, what spreading to the eye or neck means, which symptoms mean A&E, and where antibiotics fit in this picture.