You wake up in the middle of the night with a great deal of discomfort in your mouth. The pain could also radiate into your ear or your jaw. It could also happen out of nowhere at some point in the day. If you can’t immediately see your Clearwater dentist, you still need to do something.
The first thing is to do some research. While there are other things that can cause these symptoms, you may have an abscessed tooth. Here are the things that you should know about this condition, what parts can be affected, and how you can get relief from it.
Simply put, it is when pus gathers in a pocket that, depending on the cause, can be located at various parts of a tooth. It happens when you get a bacterial infection. You may hear it be referred to as a dental abscess, which is the same thing. The pain will usually be moderate to severe and can even extend to your ear or your neck.
When your Clearwater dentist examines your mouth, they will be checking to see if there is one of three types of abscess. A periapical abscess is found on the tip of a tooth root. A periodontal abscess is found on the gum next to the root or even on surrounding tissue or bone. If your dentist says that you have a gingival abscess, they are saying it is on your gums, due to something getting stuck in the gums … like maybe a piece of popcorn.
The first thing that you will notice is that you have consistent throbbing near a specific tooth or area of your gums. It will be sudden and the pain will worsen as time goes on.
Be on the lookout for things like:
Sometimes these things will spontaneously erupt, which will take care of the pain part. Just because that happens, though, you need to go see a dental professional so that they can see if there are any lingering infections. Before you see the Clearwater dentist, you can take over-the-counter pain medication to regulate that discomfort and you can also rinse your mouth out with warm salt water.
If you are still feeling the pain and discomfort when you go see your dentist, they will examine your mouth. If they do determine that it is an abscess, they can do one or more of the following:
The most important point of all of this is that you need to have your abscessed tooth – even if it erupts – looked at by a dental professional to make sure that there is nothing else happening. While there is a very small chance of this happening, you do not want to run the risk of getting sepsis, no matter how rare it is. You do not want to be part of that very tiny percentage that gets very sick or even has something life-threatening.
Ultimately, an abscessed tooth can be treated pretty quickly, whether by antibiotics, tooth extraction, having the irritating item removed from your gums, or just via a saline wash. But you want to try to see a dental professional as soon as possible. That can prevent you from having to have more costly work done in the future.
If you do have an abscessed tooth and the pain is very great, you can come to The Dental Emergency Room in Clearwater, Florida. Our staff will take a look to ensure that the infection has not spread anywhere else and will also take care of the abscessed tooth. We want you to get as immediate relief as you can. Contact us today to make an appointment: 727-449-2424.
Dental Emergency Room
1935 Drew Street,
Clearwater, Florida 33765
Columbus, OH 43205
Phone: 727-449-2424