a abscess just pop up by my tooth and i fell sick and the dentists are closed do i need to go to the er?

Answer 1

An abscess can poison your blood...please see a doctor.

Answer 2

What is an abscessed tooth?

An abscessed tooth is a tooth that has a pocket of pus in the tissues next to it. Pus forms when the body tries to fight a bacterial infection. If the pus cannot drain, it forms an abscess.

What causes an abscessed tooth?

Damage to the tooth, an untreated cavity, or gum disease can cause an abscessed tooth. If a cavity is not treated, the inside of the tooth—the pulp—can become infected. The bacteria can spread from the tooth to the tissue around and beneath it, creating an abscess. Gum disease causes the gums to pull away from the teeth, leaving pockets. If food builds up in one of these pockets, bacteria can grow, and an abscess may form. An abscess can cause the bone around the tooth to dissolve.

What are the symptoms?

You may have:

Throbbing pain, especially when chewing.
Red, swollen gums.
A bad taste in your mouth.
Swelling in your jaw or face.
Fever.
A pimplelike bump (gumboil) on the cheek side or tongue side of the gum near the tooth.
Over time as the infection spreads, the bone in your jaw may begin to dissolve. When this happens, you may feel less pain, but the infection will remain. If you lose too much bone, your tooth will become loose and may have to be removed.

If you think you have an abscessed tooth, see your dentist right away. If it is not treated, the infection could spread to other parts of your body and become life-threatening.

How is it treated?

If you have an abscessed tooth, your dentist will:

Give you antibiotics to destroy the bacteria causing the infection.
Make a hole in the top or back of the tooth so the infection can drain. Usually this will relieve your pain.
If needed, make a small hole in the swollen area near the tooth to allow it to drain.
If the inside (pulp) of your tooth is infected, your dentist will have to do root canal treatment (also called a root canal). A root canal tries to save your tooth by taking out the infected pulp. If the treatment doesn't work, the dentist may have to remove your tooth.

How can I prevent an abscessed tooth?

You can prevent an abscessed tooth by preventing bacterial infections in your mouth. The best way to prevent bacterial infections is to take good care of your teeth and gums:

Brush your teeth in the morning, at night, and after eating. If you can't brush after a meal, chew sugarless gum.
Floss your teeth every day.
See your dentist for regular dental checkups.
Eat a healthy diet, and avoid sugary foods and drinks.
Some people have a very dry mouth. Having a very dry mouth can cause deep dental cavities to form quickly, which can infect the pulp of a tooth and lead to an abscess. You may be able to prevent these problems by taking frequent sips of water, chewing gum, or sucking on sugarless candy. If you have severe dry mouth symptoms, you may need to take medicine to treat the problem.

Many medicines can cause mouth dryness, including medicines used to treat depression and high blood pressure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learning about an abscessed tooth:
What is an abscessed tooth?
What causes an abscessed tooth?
What are the symptoms of an abscessed tooth?

Being diagnosed:
How is an abscessed tooth diagnosed?

Getting treatment:
How is an abscessed tooth treated?
What is root canal treatment?

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Author: Lila Havens
Medical Review: Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Arden Christen, DDS, MSD, MA, FACD - Dentistry

Answer 3

Definitely go to ER; an abscess is infection which can create more pain than you can imagine. You should have an antibiotic to clear up the abscess; they will also give you something for pain until you can obtain a dental appointment.

Answer 4

Yes. An abscessed tooth can kill you. If the poison inside the lump were to release into your bloodstream, you could get Sepsis. If you're already feeling sick, you need to go to the ER now. They'll give you antibiotics to kill the infection and painkillers.

Get off the computer and go now.

Answer 5

Yes. The abscess will probably need draining.

Answer 6

Yes! Go to the ER.
Meanwhile keep rinsing mouth with salt water and spit it out. Do this every 15-20 minutes. (1/4 tsp salt in 2-3 cups water)

Answer 7

When this happened to me and I couldn't get into my dentist right away he told me to squeeze it onto a kleenex or something to drain it myself until I could get in. It actually went away and didn't come back without any antibiotics. I don't know if this is normal but that's how it happened for me.

Answer 8

YES. absesses cause blood poisoning, and they hurt. The er can start you on anibiotics, and give you a good pain med.

Answer 9

Nah, I had one. Just wait until the dentist opens up and he'll probably pull it.

Answer 10

Yes, you need antibiotics, or you may get quite sick as the infection spreads. Ask them when you get there!