Upper front tooth abscess

[Liliamos]

I woke up on monday morning in extreme pain and with a completely swollen top lip, stretched nose and puffy cheek. Having no idea what was wrong I went to the doctors and was put on amoxcillin (they weren't sure what was wrong as the abscess isn't visible, it is really high up under my lip and quite large).

Some of my swelling has gone down since and the pain has completely stopped, although obviously the abscess still causes discomfort because of the pressure, does this mean my front tooth has died? It has changed in colour, it's now slightly greyish. I have a dentist appointment in two days and was wondering what they would do.?

To drain the abscess I think that they would need to make an incision quite deep into my lip/gum as it is so high up and the skin seems quite thick. I am terrified of the dentist and after reading WAY too much about 'upper front tooth abscesses' I just want to know exactly what to expect.

Will they do a root canal on my first appointment, after the drainage? Is it incredibley painful during and after? And how often are teeth removed? I don't have any rotten teeth or fillings and after wearing a brace and looking after my teeth really well I am so upset! The only possible reason for this abscess that I can think of is that about a year ago, my front tooth got the corner chipped off.

Please respond asap... I am a worrier!!


This discussion is related to dental abscess.

[StratRebel]

First off, take a deep breath, everything will be fine.

Continue taking your amoxicillin until its gone, stopping early just creates more problems.

The grey color does indicate the nerve of the tooth is dead.  Depending on the size and severity of the abcess (abscess), they may or may not need to drain it.  Incision and drainage is only used for really severe infections, otherwise antibiotics are enough to remove the swelling.

If you are still swollen, most likely the dentist will not do the root canal that day.  We usually like to wait until the antibiotics clear most of the infection first.  

A root canal is a rather simple procedure, especially on front teeth.  They are much easier than people think (not the dreaded thing everyone claims them to be).  The dentist should get you numb, and after that everything is painfree.  After, you should feel no pain, and the only discomfort you might feel would be from the healing bone where the body is still fighting the infection outside the tooth.

If your tooth is mostly intact, there is no reason the dentist would need to remove it.

How did you chip your tooth?  How much of the tooth was chipped off?

[Liliamos]

Thank you for your info, I'm feeling a bit calmer now! It got chipped by a friend dropping a camera on my face..nothing exciting! It was just the bottom corner, starting about half way up the tooth - my dentist filled it in and it has been quite sensitive since.  My face swelling has gone down a lot, its just the abscess itself now. It feels like a grape pushed up under my top lip, pushing into my nose! I hope it can be sorted out tomorrow. I'm glad a root canal isn't always like the horror stories that I have read!

Thanks again

[Heidi30]

The other day I found out I chiped my tooth I got infection in there and now have an abscesson my gums.also my face swoll up. I went to the dentist and I need to to pull the tooth. They gave me antibiotics but I have been taking them for two full days and the abscess is still there and blood is pooring out every so often. what should I do.