Just hearing the words “dental abscess” can send shivers of fear down your spine. Or tremors of pain through your jaw. Anyone who’s had an abscess knows that they sure aren’t fun.
Some of the symptoms of an abscess include the following…
Constant Pain
Even if the pain isn’t too intense, you can bet it’s an abscess if it just won’t stop. It’s common for cavities to cause off-and-on discomfort, but abscesses mean business.
Swelling in Your Face and Neck
As your immune system battles with the bacterial overgrowth, lymph nodes in your head and neck may start to swell up.
Fever
A regular cavity or chipped tooth shouldn’t cause a fever. Not until the nerve gets infected, that is. If the infection rages long enough, your body will fight back with a fever. A toothache accompanied by a fever is quite likely an abscess.
Bad Taste in Your Mouth
A ruptured abscess will give you relief, but it still needs treatment. If you have an abscess that bursts on its own, you’ll get a sudden taste of the infected fluid.
How to Avoid Abscesses
Seek professional help long before an abscess shows up. Get questionable spots on teeth looked at as soon as you notice them rather than waiting for them to get worse.
You’d probably agree it’s easier to get a small filling rather than a root canal or extraction.
Best of all, you should have at least two dental check-ups per year. These are opportunities for a dentist like Dr. Truong to catch potential problems before they cause you needless pain.
For restorative and general family dentistry in Clayton, CA, remember The Grove Family Dentistry!