Acute apical abscess refers to a common type of dental infection that comes on quickly, causes immediate discomfort and pain, and creates soft tissue swelling around the base of the affected tooth. Left untreated, the infection can cause severe damage or even nerve death in the tooth. Pus in the swollen tissue can potentially eat through the jawbone and spread the infection elsewhere in the body.
If you visit your dentist as soon as symptoms progress, an acute apical abscess is highly treatable. Here are three dental treatments that might become involved in clearing up your dental problem.
Root Canal Therapy
Your dentist will want to start by clearing up the infection within the tooth, which can cause the interior pulp material to swell and cause both pain and potential damage to the tooth. The infection can be cleared out with a root canal therapy procedure.
The pulp resides in a pulp chamber at the uppermost part of the root canal system in the top of the tooth. Your dentist will use a drill to make a small hole in your tooth to access that pulp chamber and scrape out the affected material with a narrow tool. The emptied chamber is rinsed with an antibiotic wash then a dental crown is placed over the tooth to close that drill hole.
Gum Lancing and Cleaning
Your dentist will want to clean out the infectious material in the surrounding soft tissue soon after the root canal therapy is complete. It's important to clean the gums so that the infection doesn't move from the gums straight back into the treated tooth.
If the gums only have mild swelling, your dentist can treat the problem with a thorough cleaning. Pus-filled sacs of infection will require lancing then a followup cleaning. You might also receive a prescription for antibiotics to make sure the infection completely leaves your soft tissue.
Tooth Extraction
A dental infection that is left untreated for too long can cause irreversible damage to the dental pulp and will thus lead to the death of the tooth. Your dentist will schedule a tooth extraction and discuss possible dental replacement options.
You want to replace the missing tooth as soon as possible to keep other teeth from moving out of position. Dental replacement options include dental implants, which feel natural and stimulate bone and soft tissue health, and dental bridges, which feature an artificial tooth suspended between dental crowns affixed to neighboring teeth. For more information, talk to a professional like Pinon Hills Dental.
Share3 August 2016
When the bottled water craze began, I jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else who was drinking water from bottles instead of from the tap. I wasn't sure why bottled water was healthier, but I liked the taste. When I went for my next dental check-up, I had my first cavity in a while, so I had it filled and didn't think much of it. Well, I had two more during my next check-up after that, and I began trying to think of why my teeth were suddenly going bad. The only change in my habits was the switch to bottled water, so I made the switch back to tap water and my teeth began to improve. I created this blog to encourage others who have begun getting cavities suddenly to look into their changes in habits. They may find they made a change similar to mine.