Abscess Emergency

First Aid for an Abscess

Here are the steps to take for a possible broken jaw:

1. Checklist: Go through the checklist to determine if you have a suspected abscess or not. Perhaps you are experiencing a different dental emergency.

1. Check air flow and breathing: An abscess can make it difficult to breath. If this happens, call 911 for immediate medical assistance. Treating breathing challenges comes before treating the root dental cause of the breathing issue which most likely is the tooth infection.

1. Alert dentist: Be sure to also alert your dentist of what is happening with your tooth.

1. Set appointment:  Make an emergency dental appointment with your dentist.
2. Use pillows: If you have to wait out the night for your emergency dental appointment the next day, elevate your head using pillows.
3. Take a pain reliever: Take a tylenol or other pain reliever to reduce your pain level while you wait for your emergency dental appointment to occur.
4. Use salt water: Use saltwater to rinse out your mouth once or twice a day. You can choose to rinse your mouth with saltwater after each meal until your dental appointment. A saltwater rinse should help with bacteria where the infection is in your mouth.
5. Go to the dentist: Go to the dentist and be diagnosed and treated for your tooth infection or abscess.

So how will a dentist help treat your tooth infection? Let’s take a look . . .

What is an Abscess? Is it Really a Dental Emergency?

You may be asking yourself, is an abscess a dental emergency? Yes! How so? An abscess is an infection that is caused by bacteria and an infection that builds up in a tooth after it has been decaying or has been cracked. Essentially, an abscess is a dental emergency that progressed after not seeing a dentist for either a toothache dental emergency or a chipped or broken tooth dental emergency. So what should you do if you have an infection or are experiencing an abscess?

My Tooth Hurts. Do I Have an Abscess?

Have you chipped or broken a tooth recently? Do you have a cavity that has gone untreated by a dentist? You cannot confirm an abscess or tooth infection without dental care. However, you can use the following checklist to assess the possibility of an abscess or infection:

1. Are you experiencing a severe toothache? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you experiencing toothache pain that is radiating down your jawbone? Or your neck? Your ears? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you feeling or experiencing pressure when you chew or bite on food? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you having challenges opening your mouth? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you experiencing a fever but no other cold or flu symptoms like a stuffy nose or cough? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you experiencing swelling in your face or cheeks? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you experiencing teeth sensitivity when eating or drinking cold or hot items? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you find it challenging to swallow? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you finding it hard to breathe? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

1. Are you experiencing tender lymph nodes? Yes 🗹 No 🗹

This checklist of questions can also help you look out for the many signs and symptoms that are associated with a tooth infection or abscess. If you are able to answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions after cracking a tooth or not going to the dentist for a cavity, you may have a tooth infection or abscess. In addition, if you are able to answer ‘yes’ to any one of these questions, you need to operate and move forward with first aid steps by identifying yourself as having an abscess until a dentist tells you that it is or is not infected. So, you have determined that you have a suspected abscess or tooth infection; what are the steps that you should be following for first aid, let’s take a look . . .

How a Dentist Treats an Abscess

How many times have you heard a dentist say to brush and floss your teeth regularly? How about listening to a dentist talk about going to routine dental appointments for teeth cleanings? All of these preventive measures are to help with optimal oral health. If you go to get your teeth cleaned every six months, your dentist has a higher percentage of:

• Discovering
• Assessing
• Treating

A dental health issue that is in the beginning stages far before it becomes a dental emergency. However, how does a dentist treat an infection or an abscess? There are four main paths of action and treatment:

1. Drain
2. Extraction
3. Root canal
4. Antibiotics

To find out more, watch our video . . .

Abscess Emergency FAQ

Here is a list of frequently asked questions that are asked about tooth abscesses. Let’s take a look . . .

Can a Tooth Abscess Go Away on its Own?

An abscess is a dental emergency that should not be ignored. It will not go away on its own. Instead of going away on its own, an untreated abscess will continue to develop and progress.

What Can the Emergency Room Do for an Abscessed Tooth?

An untreated abscess can become life-threatening. How so? An infectious abscess will spread to other parts of your mouth, including your jaw. If an abscess continues untreated, the infection will spread past the mouth and into other parts of the body —you want to get in and see a dentist for an emergency delta appointment far before your abscess infection spreads. So what can the emergency room do for an abscessed tooth? Here are five things that the ER can do for an abscessed tooth:

1. Breath flow: Help with breathing challenges
2. Pain: Provide pain relievers stronger than over-the-counter medications. This can be beneficial if your dentist is closed for the night.
3. CT: Perform a CT to provide an assessment of how much the infection has spread throughout your body from an abscess.
4. Antibiotics: Give you antibiotics to reduce and stop the spread of the infection. These may be given through an IV while you are monitored.
5. Monitor: An ER can monitor you overnight to understand how your infection is spreading and to help reduce the spread.

One thing an emergency room can NOT do for an abscessed and infected tooth is treated the dental cause of the tooth infection and abscess. An emergency dental appointment is needed to receive the dental treatment and care to treat and recover from a dental abscess.

How can I Burst a Tooth Abscess?

When you are at an emergency dental appointment because of an abscess, the dentist will often start by draining the abscess through a small cut. This will essentially bust the infected pocket that was your abscess. When this happens, your level of pain will subside and go down. Because many people understand that when a tooth abscess bursts, the level of pain goes down, some want to know, how can I bust a tooth abscess? The best way to burst a tooth abscess is to: Go to an emergency dental appointment! It is highly recommended that you do not try and bust your own abscess. It is dangerous, and you will raise the level of risk associated with your tooth abscess and your overall health.

Can an Abscessed Tooth be Numbed?

Good news! The answer to your question is YES!  When you go to your emergency dental appointment to have an abscessed tooth treated, the affected area and gums around the tooth will be numbed. This is great news because although an abscessed tooth is painful, having it treated by a dentist should not be painful throughout any procedures as you will be numbed.

Will a Tooth Abscess go Away with Antibiotics?

Antibiotics are only one aspect of treatment when it comes to a tooth abscess. A tooth abscess can and will benefit from antibiotics. In fact, your dentist will most likely give you a round of antibiotics.

And it will help treat and clear up the infection.

However . . .

You will still need dental procedures and treatments based on the severity of your abscess.

You may need to have the abscess drained of all pus and fluid buildup from the infection.

Or

You may need to have the tooth extracted.

If this is the case, you may want to have a dentist like Dr. Andrews to treat your abscess.

So that after your tooth is extracted — you can have it replaced with the skills and knowledge of a dentist who not only understands the importance of overall oral health for function but also the importance of oral aesthetics.