An abscessed tooth or a dental abscess is an accumulation of pus enclosed in the teeth or gums. A bacterial infection in the tooth’s pulp, severe tooth decay, broken teeth, gingivitis, gum disease, or an unsuccessful root canal treatment are the main causes. Allowing the bacteria to enter the pulp, these dental problems can result in openings in the tooth’s enamel. From the root of the tooth to the jaws infection may spread.
What are the symptoms and signs?
When a person feels and reports about his or her condition, this is called symptoms while signs are what other people like a dentist or a doctor may see or detect. By the symptoms and signs, a tooth abscess is diagnosed collectively by the person, tests, and evaluation done by the dentist and results from routine dental radiographs such as X-rays. Several symptoms and signs of a tooth abscess stages are:
- Foul smell and taste in your mouth
- Inflammation on the lower and upper jaw
- You may feel pain while chewing.
- Difficulty in swallowing and in breathing
- Ill feeling or general discomfort
- On the side of the gum, open sore
- Severe infection can cause fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea
- What are the causes of a dental abscess?
Tooth abscess will form and the infection may spread to the gums, jawbone, and other areas can be very painful if the infected tooth is left untreated. Because of the difficulty to reach and clean wisdom teeth are more prone to developing gum abscess but any tooth can have an abscess. To avoid complications of dental abscess most of the time wisdom teeth are extracted.
Other causes of dental abscess are as:
- Trauma caused to the tooth from too much grinding or clenching
- An injury that may result in a broken or chipped tooth.
- Dental procedures that get too close to the pulp chamber of the tooth-like a filling, crown, or in certain cases, root canal treatment.
- What is the treatment of dental abscess?
Tooth extraction, root canal treatment, or draining and getting rid of the infection are involved in the treatment of Abscess Tooth. A root canal is performed where the pulp chamber and inner parts of the tooth are thoroughly cleaned and then sealed to protect it from future decay or infections if the tooth can be restored after clearing it of infection.
If the tooth cannot be restored after the initial procedure of clearing and draining it, however, tooth extraction is done or surgery in cases of severe infection. Treatment of dental abscess may fail because of several factors in rare cases:
- Foreign objects in the lesion
- Insufficient root canal therapy
- Vertical fractures in the root
- Associated periodontal issues
- Due to cyst formation
To cure the pain, treating a periodontal abscess is not only but also to prevent other possible complications in the future. If the abscess is not treated immediately, most of these complications are caused by the spread of the bacterial infection.
