If you are hit by a severe toothache that throbs and doesn’t stop, particularly if it spreads to your jaw, neck or ear, please immediately contact us at your Epping Dentist. We should investigate it for you. You may have a tooth abscess.
Other symptoms include pain from hot or cold foods or chewing or biting foods. Are you running a temperature as well? Is your face or neck swollen so it is difficult to breathe or swallow? Are the lymph nodes in your neck tender or swollen? Is there a terrible odour or taste in your mouth?
A tooth abscess is the result of a bacterial infection, and your Epping Dentist needs you to know that it should be dealt with as soon as possible so its damage does not go further.
If you have an untreated dental cavity, crack or chip, a bacterial infection may have got into your tooth and reached its root. The resultant infection can produce swelling and inflammation which can be extremely painful.
Once an infection can breach a tooth, it tends to travel down the soft tissue inside the tooth where the blood supply is. That way, it can end up at the bottom of the tooth’s root, where it creates a pocket of pus and inflammation – and pain.
Sometimes, when the abscess ruptures and drains, the pain level lowers. However, that is not a sign that the problem is fixed! The bacterial infection will move on throughout the jaw, sinuses or neck and damage more of the body where it can’t be dealt with as easily as within a tooth.
An abscess must be dealt with by your Epping Dentist as soon as possible to get rid of the infection and stop it from travelling further. If it is not seen to properly, there can be life-threatening complications.
Of course, where possible, it’s better to avoid an abscess by being rigorous with your daily hygiene routine.
- Brush your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and floss daily.
- Limit how much sugar you consume in biscuits, cake, sweets, and soft drinks – and rinse your mouth out later with tap water.
- If you have a dry mouth and take medications or are older, talk with us to see what can be done to help that.
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