Dental abscess

A dental abscess is a pocket of pus caused by infection, most often at the tip of the root of a tooth whose nerve has died, or between gum and tooth in advanced gum disease.

Throbbing pain, tenderness when biting, swelling of the gum or cheek, sometimes a bad taste or fever. Sometimes the abscess drains on its own and the pain eases, but the infection remains.

Call us the same day: an abscess doesn't go away without treatment. Until then, hold a cold compress on your cheek, not heat. If the swelling spreads towards the eye or throat, or it's hard to swallow or breathe, call 112. Treatment usually means draining it and root canal treatment or removing the tooth.