When a tooth constantly pulsates and keeps you up at night with abscessed tooth pain, it could be something more worrisome than a simple tooth pain. An abscessed tooth is an infection within a tooth that has spread to the root or around the root. Before the formation of an abscess, the tooth has essentially lost its ability to battle off infection, and bacteria can penetrate the pulp chamber and multiply.

A tooth abscess varies from a gum abscess by the cause of the initial infection. The tooth abscess begins at the pulp of the tooth and exits the tooth at the bottom of the root. A gum abscess occurs in a gum pocket outside of the tooth close to the root. Treatment will depend on where the infection starts.

There are numerous causes for a tooth abscess. A typical cause is when a dental cavity ends up being deep and so huge that it reaches the pulp chamber. An inflammatory procedure happens within the tooth. Swelling of the pulp is what causes the tooth to ache. Pulpitis is identified by tests done by one of our dentists at Troy Family Dental as irreversible or reversible. Reversible pulpitis indicates that the pulp is inflamed however has a chance to recover. Irreparable pulpitis implies that it will not recover, and the pulp is dying. Once the pulp is dead, an abscess can form as the infection spreads out from the teeth to the gum ligament and jawbone underneath. Often, a tooth that ends up being necrotic can still be saved if steps are required to fix the infection early on.

Other reasons for a tooth to become necrotic and abscess are a blow to a tooth, dental treatment such as a crown or a filling that comes too close to the pulp chamber, or an injury to a tooth from clenching them together or grinding. In every type of a tooth abscess, the pulp chamber is negatively affected and is not able to recuperate from the insult or injury. A blow to the tooth can immediately sever the tooth’s blood supply.

Any tooth can develop an abscess. However, third molars are specifically prone to having an oral abscess since they are challenging to keep clean and can establish decay that can go undetected. Wisdom teeth are commonly taken out to prevent this kind of complication.