“Abscessed tooth? What could this mean?”

Tooth pain, swelling of the gums or face, could be a sign of an abscessed tooth. Once the tooth is abscessed, it is important to remove the infection. The infection must be physically removed either by means of a root canal (saving the tooth) or by removing the tooth. The key to not getting an abscess is regular check ups. The most common form of tooth abscess starts from a small cavity, when these cavities are small they generally do not hurt and go undetected. Therefore, you must see a dental professional. You will save a lot of money with a routine check up and getting the tooth fixed before it abscesses.
Hope that helps.

Unfortunately once a tooth has abscessed, you can no longer treat the infection without either performing a RCT and removing the diseased tissue from the tooth, or removing the tooth. Depending on the condition of the tooth, removing the tooth may be the only option. Yes, it is absolutely true that these types of infections, if left untreated, can spread to the bone and into your blood system. The best indication of an infection is pain! A cavity doesn't hurt until it is close to/or into the nerve of the tooth. Once the cavity has progressed that far, a RCT or removal is often required. It's best to address cavities as soon as they are diagnosed to prevent them from progressing.

Typically most times a tooth abscess is associated with nerve problems in a tooth. The abscess process is the body response to a bacterial infection of the nerve or the body rejecting a dead nerve As the abscess gets worse puss builds up in the bone. As the pressure from this increases the pain will get worse. The abscess can pass from inside the bone to the tissue outside. Some time it will create a pimple called a fistula and the abscess will drain thru that into your mouth. This will usually help reduce the associated pain but the abscess does not go away. The abscess can also spread into the other tissue in your face and cause a cellulitis, this is a very serious condition that need to be treated quickly. If the abscess is sever the tooth is usually open to expose the nerve chamber and some tissue removed and different medications can be placed. Depending on the severity different antibiotic will be given also. Depending on the stage of the process several diagnostic test can be done.

Abscess implies pus is present. Abscessed tooth means the vital internal tissue; pulp, has had bacterial infection and inflammation to an extent there is no blood flow, cellular death occurs, and necrosis of pulp tissue. Similar to what occurs with appendicitis.
Many times pus will drain through the gingival tissue and there may be a localized swelling. The change in the bone around the roots of an abscessed tooth has a specific appearance. Permanent and primary teeth can abscess.

A tooth abscess can occur whenever there is an irreversible insult to the pulp (nerve) of the tooth, usually due to a deep cavity or trauma. The pulp will begin to die, and with that a bacterial infection will set in, causing pain and swelling. An abscessed tooth will require antibiotics to prevent the spread of the infection, followed by root canal therapy or an extraction. Early signs of a preabscessed tooth may be increased sensitivity to hot, cold or chewing. This may be followed by localized swelling. Should any of these symptoms occur, consult first with your general dentist who may then refer you to a root canal specialist (endodontist).

An abscessed tooth is when the tooth gets infected (irreversible pulpitis - usually secondary to caries) the infection is in the pulp and nerve of the tooth. A small circle of pus, sac of bacteria, starts to form at the tip of the tooth in the jawbone. Shows up on an X-ray. Untreated the pressure, infection will travel to the sinus cavity or worse, the brain. Very bad. In the lower jaw, the infection will travel in the jaw to the body. If it crosses the mediastinum (middle of the body), death can occur.

Don't wait. Need antibiotics right away. One can't just take antibiotics though, it has to be treated. Can be treated very successfully before this happens. Get to a dentist. Early signs include: pain -- cavity is forming, sensitive to hot and cold and/or sweets. It will show on an X-ray. Clinical exam; bump on the gum (has fistulated), foul odor. The pain gets you into the dentists office -- worse: if it is a silent abscess (you took the antibiotics, but didn't treat it). The pain is not there to tell you that the abscess is still there and growing. This is why one goes to the dentist to get checked for cavities; and why we have dentists in the first place. Abscesses can be stopped. Mostly reversible with a root canal (saves the tooth) and a crown --- almost as good as a new tooth (except it costs money).

Thank you for the question.

Good day,

Abscess basically is an infection. Most of the common causes are tooth decay and periodontal problem.

Tooth decay:
When the carious tooth is too deep into the nerve, bacteria can goes in and cause the infection to form an abscess at the apex of the root.

Periodontitis:
Periodontal means the tissues surround the tooth, which is the gum and bone. The word “periodontitis” means the disease of the tissue surround the tooth. This condition is caused by poor oral hygiene, lots of plaque build up caused tissue destruction, bone loss, eventually leads to loose tooth and infection.

Signs, symptoms, and complications:
- pain or no pain at all (depends on severity)
- swelling of the face (one can feel there’s no problem with the tooth, but very next morning wake up with swollen face)
- mobile tooth
- bone loss
- affect surrounding teeth
- trismus (cannot open your mouth wide due to muscle infection)

The condition is reversible if treat early. I advice you to visit a dentist and have a proper consultation. Prevention is better than cure, therefore regular visit of dentist is very important (depends on the need, for some patients I advice every six months, for some patients at least once a year). Both above mentioned causes (tooth decay and periodontitis) can be easily prevented just by maintain good oral hygiene on the daily basis. I always tell my patients that spend more time to brush and floss the teeth, look after your oral hygiene, you will save lots of time and money from coming to dentist.

Kind regards,

Dr Chun-I Lee

An abscess is an infection, often from a tooth whose nerve has died. To treat it, you need to remove the source of the infection. This is done either with a root canal therapy or, if the tooth is unrestorable, with an extraction. If the abscess is due to a gum problem, then that problem needs to be treated. If you don't treat the problem, yes you might develop pain -- or not, and the infection might spread.

A dental abscess is caused by an infection in the tooth that spreads at the tip of the roots. This needs to be treated ASAP so that the infection does not spread. Depending on the condition of the tooth that is affected the tooth will either need a root canal or be extracted. Dental infections can be very serious and when ignored can become life threatening. When a tooth begins to abscess the first signs are sensitivity on or around the tooth and possible swelling or a pimple at the tooth on the gum that drains leading to a bad taste.


Gregori M. Kurtzman, DDS, MAGD, FPFA, FACD, FADI, DICOI, DADIA

An infection in the tooth is different than the rest of the body because the pulp (artery/vein/nerve) are directly encased by the hardest material in the body. So when decay from bacteria eats a hole in the tooth or trauma to the tooth reach the pulp, it begins to die or become necrotic. So now, the bacteria eat the pulp for food and our body wants to get away from the infection, so our immune system dissolves bone around the infection and tries to encase it in thicker skin, thus an abcess. The source of the infection is not gone and we don't have blood supply to the infected area to deliver antibodies or antibiotics in the tooth, it is a chronic infection. It is resolved by removing the dead pulp tissue and dead hard tissue (cavity) from the tooth and restoring it by getting in the canal of the root and sealing it with what is called a Root Canal and Crown. The other way to remove the source of the infection is to remove the tooth if it is not restorable or the patient does not want to do a root canal. The main goal of preventing this from happening is to get regular dental exams/cleanings to identify possible food traps or early cavities before they progress to the pulp in the tooth.

An abscessed tooth is a tooth that has an internal infection due to a large cavity or trauma that has damaged the blood vessels and nerve supply to the tooth. The abscess grows at the base of the roots of the teeth in the bone and gums surrounding the tooth. As pressure builds from the infection with no outlet the pain increases and begins to throb and keep you awake at night. Pain gets worse when lying down flat. Earlier signs of an infected tooth before it gets to a full blown abscessed stage include spontaneous pain or pain that continues in the absence of a trigger such as cold. For instance you drink a cold glass of water the tooth continues to ache for minutes after you have already swallowed the water. Some times teeth die and have no sign of pain and sometimes no absess visible. This is why it is important to get checkups and cleanings every 6 months to catch things as early as possible and avoid a lot of the complications of dental infections. If left untreated indefinitely an abscess can grow. Usually, the body will destroy bone around the tooth in an effort to get rid of it and also create a escape tunnel for the infection to drain through the side of the gums. Sometimes though the infection can be more dangerous. With top teeth it can sometimes pour into the sinus and eventually the brain. With lower teeth it can pour into spaces between the floor of the mouth and the throat which can close off the airway becoming a medical emergency with the potential to lead to death. Immune-compromised individuals including those with Diabetes are at a higher risk of dying from a tooth infection. There are also other infections in the mouth such as gingivitis and periodontal disease that can increase someones chance of have a heart attack or stroke by up to 10 times due to bacteria getting into the blood stream and forming blood clots. The condition of an abscess can be reversed with a root canal treatment or extraction to eliminate the source of the infection. Whenever possible you should always take the option to save your teeth with root canal therapy as there are many other repercussions of having tooth extracted.
Dr. Bishop

Prevention is the best way to avoid an abscess. This is to say the American Dental Association recommend seeing your dentist twice a year for evaluation. This alone prioritizes conditions in your mouth which can be attacked in a logical fashion to avoid emergencies like an abscess. The fact that you may be starting at a deficit without routine care just means some things need to be staged earlier in your treatment plan. Naturally, infections are going to be of the highest order for the reasons that you state. And yes, bacterial infections can spread to the heart under certain circumstances and cause an endocarditis.

An abscessed tooth is an infected tooth that needs help. The problem with abscessed teeth are they destroy the bone around the tooth. They can cause severe pain and swelling. The signs of an abscess can vary from pain to a pimple on the gum. Every patient is different