An abscess is a pocket of pus that forms around the root of an infected tooth.If you have one, it won’t get better on its own. You need treatment from a dentist or endodontist — a specialist in endodontic procedures such as root canals. If you don’t treat it, and the infection continues to get worse, it can spread beyond your jaw to your neck, head, or other body parts.What Causes It?
Your tooth is hard on the outside, but the inside is filled with a pulp made up of nerves, connective tissue, and blood vessels. Sometimes it gets infected. Most often that results from:
- A deep cavity or tooth decay
- Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease
- A cracked tooth
If you don’t treat the infection, it can kill the pulp and lead to an abscess. There are two common types:
- A periapical abscess forms at the tip of your tooth’s root.
- A periodontal abscess affects the bone next to your tooth.
You can get more than one abscess. Or one abscess can travel through the bone and show up in several spots. But each is related to only one tooth.
How Is an Abscessed Tooth Diagnosed?
You might notice:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Gum redness
- Bad taste
- Pain when you chew
- Jaw pain
- Fever
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Trouble breathing or swallowing
Sometimes an abscess causes a pimple-like bump on your gum.
How Is an Abscessed Tooth Treated?
While pain and swelling are common signs, you may not have any symptoms at all.
If you don’t have symptoms, your dentist could spot an abscess through X-rays at a routine exam. They may tap on your tooth to see if it hurts.
If they can’t diagnose the abscess on their own, they’ll probably send you to an endodontist, who’s specially trained to work on abscessed teeth. This dentist can tell for sure if you have an abscess and treat it if you do.
How is the tooth treated?
The goal is to get rid of the infection. To do that, the endodontist or dentist may try:
Antibiotics: If the infection has spread past the abscess site to your jaw or farther into your body, you’ll probably get them. However, they won’t cure the abscess.
Extraction: If the endodontist can’t save the tooth, it will have to come out.
Root canal: You may have heard about this common way to treat an abscess. It’s the best way to save your tooth. The endodontist or dentist drills into your tooth and cleans the pulp from inside it and the root canals that go down into your gum. They fill and seal the empty spaces. You’ll either get a filling or a crown. The restored tooth will look and work just like your other teeth.