A dental abscess is a small ball of pus surrounded by an area of inflamed tissue. Pus is liquified dead tissue, white blood cells, dead and live bacteria. Pus is a pale yellow creamy consistency. Patients usually have dental pain from the pressure of the growing pus ball. It's nothing to fool around with and patients should see a dentist immediately. In the years before World War II and 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 important to treat this infection as soon as it begins because a smaller dental abscess is easier to treat than a large fast growing one.
The most common cause is a dead tooth. Bacteria attack the dead tissues inside the tooth and the living tissues around the tooth. A battle between the body and the bacterial develops and special white blood cells called POLYs attack the area. Your brain is only a few inches away from your teeth. The dental infection from a dental abscess can spread to the inside of your brain and quickly infect the tissues within your skull. It can cause uncontrolled swelling that can quickly block off an airway. This causes immediate death from suffocation.
A chronic dental abscess feeds the body with bacteria and causes abnormal blood clotting within arteries and veins. A clot created from these bacteria can cause a heart attack, stroke, or even a premature baby. It's nothing to fool around with. We all desire a happy, healthy and long life. Denying the importance of a festering problem 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. 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 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 cause a dental abscess. This is called a perio/endo abscess. The periodontal ( gum ) infection overwhelmed the tooth and killed it. The problem you see first began 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 to carry the pus out of the body so the dental abscess doesn't swell uncontrollably. The patient with a dental abscess should sleep, relax, and eat well to help strengthen the immune system that is fighting the infection.
If the gums caused the dental abscess, the gums should be scaled and root planed as soon as the infection is brought under control. A comprehensive and detailed dental examination should be done to identify any other areas that can potentially cause problems also. If the dental problem was caused by a dead tooth, the dead tooth should have a root canal or be removed to rid your body 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 have a dental abscess and would like to consult with Dr. Padolsky, please call and make an appointment at 404-874-7428.