The pathogenesis of odontogenic infection is polymicrobial, consisting of various facultative and strict anaerobes. The dominant isolates are strictly anaerobic gram-negative rods and gram-positive cocci. The periapical infection is the most common form of odontogenic infection. Although odontogenic infections are usually confined to the alveolar ridge vicinity, they can spread into deep fascial spaces. Cavernous sinus thrombosis, brain abscess, airway obstruction, and mediastinitis are possible complications of dental infections. The most important element in treating odontogenic infections is elimination of the primary source of the infection with antibiotics as adjunctive therapy.

Bacterial infections are a major threat to human health, exacerbated by increasing antibiotic resistance. These infections can result in tremendous morbidity and mortality, emphasizing the need to identify and treat pathogenic bacteria quickly and effectively. Recent developments in detection methods have focused on electrochemical, optical, and mass-based biosensors. Advances in these systems include implementing multifunctional materials, microfluidic sampling, and portable data-processing to improve sensitivity, specificity, and ease of operation. Concurrently, advances in antibacterial treatment have largely focused on targeted and responsive delivery for both antibiotics and antibiotic alternatives. Antibiotic alternatives described here include repurposed drugs, antimicrobial peptides and polymers, nucleic acids, small molecules, living systems, and bacteriophages. Finally, closed-loop therapies are combining advances in the fields of both detection and treatment. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the current trends in detection and treatment systems for bacterial infections.

The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) microbial pathogens threatens the very foundation upon which standard antibacterial chemotherapy is based. We must consider non-antibiotic solutions to manage invasive bacterial infections. Transition from antibiotics to non-traditional treatments poses real clinical challenges that will not be easy to solve. Antibiotics will continue to reliably treat some infections (e.g., group A streptococci and Treponema pallidum) but will likely need adjuvant therapies or will need to be replaced for many bacterial infections in the future.