A dental abscess if a small ball of pus with a surrounding area of inflamed tissue. The pus in a dental abscess is a collection of liquified dead tissue, white blood cells, dead and alive bacteria.The pus that comes out of a dental abscess is usually a pale yellow creamy consistency. Patients with a dental abscess almost always have a great deal of pain from the pressure from the growing ball of pus.
A dental abscess is nothing to fool around with. Patients with a dental abscess should see a dentist immediately. In the years before World War II and the invention of penicillin, it was common for patients to die from a dental abscess. Today, super bacteria exist that are not killed by normal antibiotics. It is extremely important to treat a dental abscess as soon as it begins because a smaller dental abscess is easier to treat than a large fast growing dental abscess.
The most common cause of a dental abscess is a dead tooth. Foreign bacteria attack the dead tissues inside the tooth and the living tissues around the tooth. A battle between your body and the invading bacterial develops and special white blood cells called POLYs attack the area of the dental abscess. '
Your brain is only a few inches away from your teeth, especially your upper teeth. The dental infection from a dental abscess can spread to the inside of your brain and quickly infect the tissues within your skull.
A dental abscess can cause uncontrolled rapid swelling that can quickly block off a patient's airway. This will cause immediate death due to suffocation.
A chronic dental abscess can feed the body with invading bacteria and cause abnormal blood clotting within arteries and veins. A clot created from dental abscess bacteria can cause a heart attack, stroke, or even a premature baby. A dental abscess is nothing to fool around with. We all desire a happy, healthy and long life. Denying the importance of a festering dental abscess can destroy these hopes.
A tooth can die and cause a dental abscess in the surrounding dental bone. This is probably the most common kind of dental abscess.
A dead tooth can also cause a gum abscess that grows exclusively in the gums surrounding the dead tooth. This is called an endo/perio dental abscess because it started in the inside of the tooth ( endo ) and ended up in the gum ( periodontal ) tissues.
A gum abscess can kill a tooth and result in a dental abscess. This is called a perio/endo dental abscess. The periodontal ( gum ) infection overwhelmed the tooth and killed it. The dental abscess you see started with a gum infection.
In most cases, the correct antibiotics are prescribed and if possible, the dental abscess is drained of pus so that it can not grown. Sometimes a drain is placed into the dental abscess to carry the pus out of the body so the dental abscess doesn't uncontrollably swell. The patient with a dental abscess should sleep, relax, and eat well to help strengthen the immune system that is fighting the dental abscess.
If the gums caused the dental abscess, the gums should be scaled and root planed as soon as the infection is brought under control The a comprehensive and detailed dental examination should be done to identify any other areas that can potentially cause problems also.
If the dental abscess was caused by a dead tooth, if possible, this dead tooth should have a root canal or be removed to get rid of the dead tissue inside the tooth.
Some dentists believe that a dental abscess is sterile. That is, that there are no living bacteria inside the dead tooth. However, there are documented cases where serious and life threatening infections have developed after a dental abscess. In light of this fact, all tooth abscesses should always be treated seriously and with aggressive antibiotic therapy to prevent even the remote possibility of a patient's death.
If you are having problems with a dental abscess and would like to consult with a dentist, please call and make an appointment at 404-874-7428.