A periapical abscess is a small ball of pus with a surrounding area of inflamed tissue located at the end of a tooth inside the bone. Pus is a collection of liquified dead tissue, white blood cells, dead and alive bacteria. A periapical abscess is nothing to fool around with. Patients with this dental problem 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 periapical abscess. Today, super bacteria exist that can not be killed by normal antibiotics. It is especially important to treat any infection as soon as it begins since a smaller abscess is easier to treat than a large fast growing one.
The most common cause of a periapical 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 periapical abscess.
The brain is only inches away from the teeth, especially the upper teeth. A dental infection can spread to the brain and quickly infect the tissues within your skull. A periapical 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 periapical abscess can feed the body with invading bacteria and cause abnormal blood clotting within arteries and veins. A clot created from bacteria can cause a heart attack, stroke, or even a premature baby. It is nothing to fool around with. We all desire a happy, healthy and long life. Denying the importance of a festering dental problem can destroy these hopes.
In most cases, the correct antibiotics are prescribed and if possible, the periapical abscess is drained of pus so that it can not grown. Sometimes a drain is placed in the abscess to carry the pus out of the body so that it doesn't swell uncontrollably . The patient with a periapical abscess should sleep, relax, and eat well to help strengthen the fighting immune system. If the gums caused the periapical 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 there is 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 periapical 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 periapical 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 have a periapical abscess and would like to consult with Dr. Padolsky or Dr. Smith, please make an appointment by calling 404-874-7428.