An abscessed tooth if a small ball of pus with a surrounding area of inflamed tissue. The pus in an abscessed tooth is a collection of liquified dead tissue, white blood cells, dead and alive bacteria.The pus that comes out of a abscessed tooth is usually a pale yellow creamy consistency. Patients with an abscessed tooth almost always have a great deal of pain from the pressure from the growing ball of pus.
An abscessed tooth is nothing to fool around with. Patients with an abscessed tooth 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 an abscessed tooth. Today, super bacteria exist that are not killed by normal antibiotics. It is extremely important to treat an abscessed tooth as soon as it begins because a smaller abscessed tooth is easier to treat than a large fast growing abscessed tooth.
The most common cause of an abscessed tooth 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 abscessed tooth. '
Your brain is only a few inches away from your teeth, especially your upper teeth. The dental infection from an abscessed tooth can spread to the inside of your brain and quickly infect the tissues within your skull.
An abscessed tooth can cause uncontrolled rapid swelling that can quickly block off a patient's airway. This will cause immediate death due to suffocation.
A chronic abscessed tooth can feed the body with invading bacteria and cause abnormal blood clotting within arteries and veins. A clot created from abscessed tooth bacteria can cause a heart attack, stroke, or even a premature baby. An abscessed tooth is nothing to fool around with. We all desire a happy, healthy and long life. Denying the importance of a festering abscessed tooth can destroy these hopes.
A tooth can die and cause an abscessed tooth in the surrounding dental bone. This is probably the most common kind of abscessed tooth.
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 abscessed tooth 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 an abscessed tooth. This is called a perio/endo abscessed tooth. The periodontal ( gum ) infection overwhelmed the tooth and killed it. The abscessed tooth you see started with a gum infection.
In most cases, the correct antibiotics are prescribed and if possible, the abscessed tooth is drained of pus so that it can not grown. Sometimes a drain is placed into the abscessed tooth to carry the pus out of the body so the abscessed tooth doesn't uncontrollably swell. The patient with an abscessed tooth should sleep, relax, and eat well to help strengthen the immune system that is fighting the abscessed tooth.
If the gums caused the abscessed tooth, 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 abscessed tooth 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 an abscessed tooth 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 an abscessed tooth. In light of this fact, a tooth abscess 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 an abscessed tooth and would like to consult with a dentist, please call and make an appointment at 404-874-7428.
