A tooth abscess is one of the most hurtful dental emergencies and is considered a severe threat to oral health. A dental abscess is one of the reasons that people seek emergency dental treatments and care, as it causes unbearable pain and discomfort. Many people who left their dental abscess untreated and ignored its symptoms struggle with complications like severe tooth infection, tooth loss, or damaged gums, which shows how necessary visiting your emergency dentist is. According to an experienced and dedicated dentist in downtown Vancouver, it can be said that all emergency dental problems are worrisome and the best way is to go for urgent dental care. Fortunately, tooth abscesses usually have some specific signs to pay attention to that can help you know it’s time to visit your emergency dentist before it gets too late. Continue to read this article as we provide you with the necessary information about everything you need to know to deal with an emergency dental abscess.
Table of Contents
What Is a Dental Abscess?
As we mentioned, tooth abscess is a serious, painful dental emergency caused by a pus-producing bacterial infection, leading to ache and discomfort. The infection usually affects your tooth root, which contains blood vessels, connective tissues and nerves. People with advanced tooth decay or trauma usually are in danger of losing their teeth due to an emergency dental abscess, as harmful bacteria can enter the tooth and damage the root. It is possible that infections can spread throughout your body in addition to your teeth and gums in very serious cases.
Common Signs of Tooth Abscess
Some specific signs of tooth abscess can help you to receive necessary treatment before it gets too late. The usual symptoms of people with dental abscesses include the following:
- Fever
- Bad breath
- Tooth pain with sharp pain, aching or dull pressure
- Jaw swelling
- Tooth sensitivity
- Pain with or without chewing
- Bitter taste in the mouth
Emergency Treatment Options for Tooth Abscess
An emergency dentist usually personalizes the usual treatments of tooth abscess according to the patient’s needs, but in most cases, a combination of the following treatments will be used:
- Root canal treatment: when your tooth is infected, an emergency dentist or an endodontist can remove the infection and drain the abscess with the help of root canal treatment. After the procedure, patients can have dental crowns to increase their strength and preserve the treated tooth.
- Antibiotic therapy: it’s not always easy to drain the abscess as it can neutralize the effects of sedative medications and make the condition so hard for patients to become numb. In these cases, emergency dentists usually get help from the appropriate antibiotics to reduce the infection and make the local anesthesia effective for the patient.
- Drain the abscess: the most common and effective way to treat an emergency tooth abscess is to drain off the infection. The two critical steps of this treatment are making a small incision to help the pus drain out and washing the area with saline.
Is Dental Abscess a Dental Emergency?
The answer is definitely yes! If you are experiencing a dental abscess or notice some suspicious warnings, you need to immediately visit your emergency dentist before it leads to serious infections.
