If you are experiencing excruciating pain in your mouth, you need to visit a dentist before it gets worse. You will probably be diagnosed with a dental abscess. The following article will give you important information about this dental problem.
What Is A Dental Abscess?
This is an infection inside your tooth that spreads around the root or root tip. This infection begins from the inside chamber of your tooth -- the pulp chamber. The pulp consists of nerves and blood vessels. Before an abscess forms, the tooth loses its power to combat infection and bacteria invade the pulp and multiply. As bacteria multiply, the infection spreads to the root and into the jaw bone. The abscess is usually in the form of pus made up of tissue debris, bacteria and dead cells.
Causes Of A Dental Abscess
The main cause of a dental abscess is when decay goes so deep that it gets to the pulp chamber. The pulp is inflamed and you experience a tooth ache. Once the pulp dies, there is an opportunity for an abscess to form. This infection goes from your tooth to the gum and later to the jaw bone.
The other cause for a dental abscess is when you get a blow to your tooth. This will cause the blood supply in the pulp to be interrupted and in turn the nutrient supply gets lost and the pulp dies. Trauma caused by clenching or grinding of teeth causes slow injury to your tooth and destroys the pulp in the long run.
In all cases of tooth abscess, your tooth's pulp is affected and cannot recover, resulting in the formation of an abscess.
Signs Of An Abscess
- The tooth becomes dark in color when compared to your other teeth.
- Pain when eating. This is as a result of the abscess spreading to the root tip, gum and bone.
- Swelling or a pimple filled with pus appears on the gum. This pimple is referred to as a draining fistula. This pimple ruptures and releases pus.
- Bad odour or bad taste in your mouth
It is worth noting that at times there may be no symptoms. This is because your tooth could lose the ability to sense stimuli and therefore you will not feel pain.
Treatment
The treatment for a dental abscess is proper clearing of the infection. Based on how severe the infection is, the treatment may involve draining your tooth and affected parts of the infection, as well as oral antibiotics.
After the infection is eliminated, the tooth is restored through a root canal treatment. This involves cleaning the inner part of your tooth and sealing the space using rubber material to prevent further infection. For more information, contact a dentist, such as TLC Dental.
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