Abscessed Tooth

What is an Abscessed Tooth?

When there’s an infection caused by the spread of bacteria from the root of a tooth, the tooth is abscessed. A pocket of pus forms at the tissue just below or near the tooth.

The underlying pulp, or the tooth’s soft core, has become infected or swollen. The pulp is the part of the tooth that consists of nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. All of these lie within the tooth. This portion of the tooth runs from the crown, or top of the tooth, to the very tip of its root and is secured in the bone of your jaw.

An abscess is a very painful infection.

There are times antibiotics are administered so the dentist can effectively kill the infection. Should the antibiotics not stop it and the abscess has begun to damage the pulp or any of the lower bony structures, this might call for a root canal. In this procedure, the dead pulp is removed in order to restore the tooth to its healthy state.