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May/June 2015
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ESCAPEES
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69
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Tooth Abscess
One cause for a tooth abscess is an
infection inside the tooth resulting in
the death of the nerve. The inside of a
tooth is hollow and filled with an ar-
tery, vein and a nerve. When this area
becomes infected, the body responds
by sending its healing resources to the
area, but the area is a confined space,
which then causes pressure. Ultimate-
ly, the tooth dies, pus forms and, if not
treated, can become a cyst. While anti-
biotics can provide relief, the ultimate
treatment is either an extraction or a
root canal treatment. Dental abscesses
can be life threatening and should not
be ignored.
A root canal treatment, contrary to
popular belief, is usually painless and
gets a bad rap because it is the abscess
that causes the pain, not the treatment.
The root canal treatment involves
making an opening into the canal,
cleaning out the dead and infected ma-
terial inside and filling the canal down
to the bottom of the root. Some teeth
have only one large canal while others
may have three or four small canals.
If you have a dental abscess and are
on the road far from home and can’t
find a dentist, search out any source
where you can get a prescription for
an antibiotic and pain medication.
This can be an emergency medical
clinic, a clinic associated with a phar-
macy, a physician’s office or a hospital
emergency room. Hopefully, you can
get on your way again until you can
find a dentist. With all due respect to
the many dentists who do root canal
treatments in their general practices, I
suggest that you seek out a specialist
called an endodontist. Their services
can be more expensive, but they have
equipment and experience that most
general dentists do not.
Gum Abscess
There’s another kind of abscess, and
that is a gum abscess. A gum abscess
is different from a tooth abscess and
is often caused by having something
stuck between the gum and tooth or
between the teeth. The result is a pain-
ful swelling. While I caution anyone
from treating themselves, sometimes
extraordinary circumstances require
extraordinary actions. The first thing
to do is try to remove whatever is
“If you have a dental abscess and are on the
road far from home…search out any source
where you can get a prescription for an
antibiotic and pain medication.“
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