Dental abscess - NHS

A dental abscess is a collection of pus that can form inside the teeth, in the gums or in the bone that holds the teeth in place. It's caused by a bacterial ... Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ Backto HealthAtoZ Dentalabscess Adentalabscessisacollectionofpusthatcanforminsidetheteeth,inthegumsorinthebonethatholdstheteethinplace.It'scausedbyabacterialinfection.Anabscessattheendofatoothiscalledaperiapicalabscess.Anabscessinthegumiscalledaperiodontalabscess.Dentalabscessesareoftenpainful,butnotalways.Ineithercase,theyshouldbelookedatbyadentist.It'simportanttogethelpassoonaspossible,asabscessesdonotgoawayontheirown.Theycansometimesspreadtootherpartsofthebodyandmakeyouill. Symptoms ofadentalabscess Symptomsofanabscessinyourtoothorgummayinclude:anintensethrobbingpainintheaffectedtoothorgumthatmaycomeonsuddenlyand getsgraduallyworsepain thatspreadsto yourear,jawandneckonthesamesideas theaffectedtoothorgumpainthat'sworsewhenlyingdown,whichmaydisturbyoursleeprednessandswellingin yourfaceatender,discolouredorloosetoothshiny,redandswollengumssensitivitytohotorcoldfoodanddrinkbadbreath oranunpleasanttasteinyourmouthIftheinfectionspreads,youmayalsodevelop ahightemperature(fever)andfeelgenerallyunwell.Inseverecases,youmayfindithardtofullyopenyourmouthand havedifficultyswallowing orbreathing. What todoifyouhaveadentalabscessYoushouldseeadentistassoonaspossibleifyouthinkyouhaveadentalabscess.AvoidvisitingaGP,asthere'slittletheycandotohelp.Youcangethelpfrom:yourregistereddentist –ifit'soutofhours,theyshouldhaveananswerphonemessagewithdetailsofhowtoaccessout-of-hours dentaltreatmentNHS111 – whocangiveyoudetailsof dentalservicesinyourareayourlocalA&E – ifyou'rehavingdifficultybreathingorswallowing,orthere'sswellingaroundyoureyeorneckYoumayhavetopayforemergencyNHSdentaltreatment,dependingonyourcircumstances.FindoutaboutNHSdentalcharges Relievingpainfromadentalabscess Whileyou'rewaitingtoseeadentist,painkillerscanhelpcontrolyourpain.Ibuprofen isthepreferredpainkillerfordentalabscesses,butifyou'reunabletotakeitformedicalreasons,youcantakeparacetamolinstead.Aspirin shouldnotbegivento childrenunder16.If1painkillerdoesnotrelievethepain,takingbothparacetamolandibuprofenatthedosesshowninthemedicineleafletmayhelp.Thisissafeforadults,butnotforchildrenunder16.Itmayalsohelpto:avoidhotorcoldfoodanddrinkifitmakesthepainworsetryeatingcool,softfoodsifpossible,usingtheoppositesideofyourmouthuseasofttoothbrushandtemporarilyavoidflossingaroundtheaffectedtoothThesemeasurescanhelprelieveyoursymptomstemporarily,butyoushouldnotusethemtodelaygettinghelpfromadentist. Treatments foradentalabscess Dentalabscessesaretreatedbyremovingthesourceoftheinfectionanddrainingawaythepus.Dependingonthelocationoftheabscessandhowseveretheinfectionis,possibletreatmentsinclude:rootcanaltreatment–aproceduretoremovetheabscessfromtherootofanaffectedtoothbeforefillingandsealingitremovingtheaffectedtooth(extraction)–thismaybenecessaryifrootcanaltreatmentisnotpossibleincisionanddrainage–whereasmallcut(incision)ismadeinthegumtodraintheabscess(thisisusuallyonlyatemporarysolutionandfurthertreatmentmaybeneeded)Localanaestheticwillusuallybeusedtonumbyourmouthfortheseprocedures.Moreextensiveoperationsmaybecarriedoutundergeneralanaesthetic,whereyou'reasleep.Antibioticsarenotroutinelyprescribedfordentalabscesses,butmaybeusediftheinfectionspreadsorisparticularlysevere. What causesdentalabscesses? Yourmouthisfullofbacteria,whichformastickyfilmonyourteethcalledplaque.Ifyoudonotkeepyourteethclean,acidsproducedbythebacteriainplaquecandamageyourteethandgums,leadingto toothdecayorgumdisease.Thefollowingcanincreaseyourchancesofdevelopingadentalabscess:poororalhygiene–plaquecanbuild-uponyourteethifyoudonotflossandbrushyourteethregularlyconsuminglotsofsugaryorstarchyfoodanddrink–thesecanencouragethegrowthofbacteriainplaqueandmayleadtodecaythatcanresultinanabscessaninjuryorprevioussurgerytoyourteethorgums–bacteriacangetintoanydamagedpartsoftheteethorgumshavingaweakenedimmunesystem–thisincludespeoplewithcertainunderlyinghealthconditions,suchas diabetes, and thosehavingtreatment,including steroidmedication orchemotherapy Preventing dentalabscesses Youcanreduceyourriskofdevelopingdentalabscessesbykeepingyourteethandgumsashealthyaspossible.Todothis,youshould:useflossoraninterdentalbrushatleastonceadaytocleanbetweenyourteethandunderthegumlinebrushyourteethwitha fluoridetoothpastetwiceaday– spendingatleast2minuteseachtimeavoidrinsingyourmouthwithwaterormouthwashafterbrushingbecausethiswashestheprotectivetoothpasteaway–justspitoutanyexcesstoothpastecutdownonsugaryandstarchyfoodanddrinks– particularlybetweenmealsorshortlybeforegoingtobedvisityourdentistregularly–yourdentistcansuggesthowoftenyoushouldhaveacheck-up,basedonyouroralhealthReadmoreon howtokeepyourteethclean anddentalcheck-ups. Helpusimprove Tellusaboutyourexperienceusinghealthservices.Takeoursurvey Pagelastreviewed:05February2019 Nextreviewdue:05February2022