For Dentists: Community NewsLas Pinas Dental Chapter 6th Scientific Seminarpinoy dentalThe Las Pinas Dental Chapter invites you to its 6th Scientific Seminar on September 13, 2010, Monday from 12:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the Bellevue Manila, North Bridgeway, Filinivest Corporate Ave.... Read more...
For Dentists: Community NewsP.A.I.D ROCKS BORACAY!!!pinoy dental The Philippine Academy of Implant Dentistry invites member dentists to attend an out-of-town seminar entitled PAID ROCKS BORACAY!!! This world-class event will be held at the... Read more...
For the Public: General Health and WellnessDengue fever symptoms and treatmentSteve KanderDengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, is rarely fatal, but its flu-like symptoms make a bout of the illness extremely unpleasant, so much so that the virus has been researched for development as a... Read more...
For the Public: General Health and WellnessFacts on FatMinh Nguyen, D.D.S.Despite what we may have been told over the last couple of decades, fat in the diet is not bad. In fact, it's necessary. We need fat to do several important jobs, including: . Helping the body to... Read more...
Dental Abscess - Symptoms and Causes of Dental Abscess
Dental Abscess - Symptoms and Causes of Dental Abscess
by Peter Hutch
An abscess is a collection of pus. Pus is a thick fluid that usually contains white blood cells, dead tissue and bacteria (germs). The usual cause of an abscess is an infection with bacteria. A dental abscess is an infection in the centre of a tooth which spreads through the tooth to infect supporting bone and other nearby tissues. Dental abscess is common. It may develop as a complication of tooth decay (caries), or from an infection in the gums.
Bacteria from a cavity can extend into the gums, the cheek, the throat, beneath the tongue, or even into the jaw or facial bones. A dental abscess can become very painful when tissues become inflamed.
A dentoalveolar abscess is an acute lesion characterized by localization of pus in the structures that surround the teeth. Most patients are treated easily with analgesia, antibiotics, drainage, and/or referral to a dentist or oral-maxillofacial surgeon. However, the physician should be aware of potential complications of simple dentoalveolar abscess.
Symptoms of Dental Abscess
Pain is gnawing and continuous. The involved tooth is painful when percussed (tapped), and often the teeth cannot close without added discomfort. Hot foods may increase the pain.
Symptoms of a dental abscess typically include pain, swelling, and redness of the mouth and face. With an advanced infection, you can suffer nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and diarrhea.
If the root of the tooth dies as a result of infection, the toothache may stop. However, this doesn't mean the infection has healed; the infection remains active and continues to spread and destroy tissue. Therefore, if you experience any of the above listed symptoms, it is important to see a dentist even if the pain subsides.
Severe throbbing pain in a tooth is the hallmark of dental abscess. Chewing or eating hot or cold foods may severely increase the pain. The surrounding gum may appear inflamed. Tender, swollen lymph nodes in the neck may develop and fever may occur. If the abscess ruptures through the gum, a small quantity of pus may drain. It usually has a foul taste and rancid smell.
Causes of Dental Abscess
The cause of these infections is direct growth of the bacteria from an existing cavity into the soft tissues and bones of the face and neck.
Infection results in a collection of pus (dead tissue, live and dead bacteria, white blood cells) and swelling of the tissues within the tooth. This causes a painful toothache. If the root of the tooth dies, the toothache may stop, unless an abscess develops. This is especially true if the infection remains active and continues to spread and destroy tissue.
chronic abscess may be painless, with the patient completely unaware of its presence even as it continues to grow inside the jawbone. Or the area of infection may be walled off by a fibrous sac, forming a granuloma, which contains non-infectious (sterile) tissue but not pus.
Dental abscesses often get their start when bacteria invade a decayed tooth; the decay may then travel to the gums or jawbone. Decay can also begin in the mouth when teeth are not brushed or flossed properly.
A tooth abscess is a complication of tooth decay . It may also result from trauma to the tooth, such as when a tooth is broken or chipped. Openings in the tooth enamel allow bacteria to infect the center of the tooth (the pulp). Infection may spread out from the root of the tooth and to the bones supporting the tooth.
For Dentists: Community NewsLas Pinas Dental Chapter 6th Scientific Seminarpinoy dentalThe Las Pinas Dental Chapter invites you to its 6th Scientific Seminar on September 13, 2010, Monday from 12:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the Bellevue Manila, North Bridgeway, Filinivest Corporate Ave.... Read more...
For Dentists: Community NewsP.A.I.D ROCKS BORACAY!!!pinoy dental The Philippine Academy of Implant Dentistry invites member dentists to attend an out-of-town seminar entitled PAID ROCKS BORACAY!!! This world-class event will be held at the... Read more...
For the Public: General Health and WellnessDengue fever symptoms and treatmentSteve KanderDengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, is rarely fatal, but its flu-like symptoms make a bout of the illness extremely unpleasant, so much so that the virus has been researched for development as a... Read more...
For the Public: General Health and WellnessFacts on FatMinh Nguyen, D.D.S.Despite what we may have been told over the last couple of decades, fat in the diet is not bad. In fact, it's necessary. We need fat to do several important jobs, including: . Helping the body to... Read more...
Note: All images, videos and sounds embedded in the articles posted in these sections are owned and copyrighted by their rightful owners. To view the sources of these embedded items, point your mouse over the item and wait for a small pop-up to reveal the details. Pinoydental would like to thank the owners of these objects which play a very important part in providing educational resources to patients.
