Dental abscess: symptoms, treatment and when it is urgent

Part of General dentistry

A dental abscess is a pocket of pus caused by a bacterial infection in a tooth or gum. It will not go away on its own, even if the pain suddenly stops. It needs a dentist to remove the source of infection.

Facial swelling with a fever is a same-day emergency. Call or WhatsApp 0740 187 579. If you have trouble breathing or swallowing, go to a hospital emergency department straight away.

What are the symptoms?

• Severe, throbbing pain that may spread to the jaw, ear or neck
• Swelling in the gum, cheek or face
• A pimple-like bump on the gum, sometimes with a bad taste
• Pain when you bite, or sensitivity to hot and cold
• Fever or feeling unwell

What causes an abscess?

Bacteria get inside a tooth through deep decay or a crack, or into the gum through gum disease. The infection then collects at the root tip or in the gum.

How is an abscess treated?

Treatment aims to remove the source of infection, not only to ease the symptoms:

1. Draining the infection, if needed.
2. Root canal treatment to clean and save the tooth where possible.
3. Extraction if the tooth cannot be saved.
4. Gum treatment if the abscess started in the gum.
5. Antibiotics, if your dentist advises them. These can help control spreading infection, but they do not remove the source, so the problem returns without treatment.

What can you do until you are seen?

Rinse with warm salt water, take an ordinary painkiller as directed on the pack, and keep your head raised when you lie down. Do not try to burst the swelling, and do not put aspirin on the gum.

What if the pain stops?

That may mean the nerve has died, not that the infection has gone. Infection can keep spreading without pain, so it still needs to be seen.