Abscessed Tooth: Treatment Overview

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Treatment Overview

An abscessed tooth will be treated by your dentist or by an endodontist, a dentist who specializes in diseases of tooth pulp. The dentist may:

• Give you antibiotics to destroy the bacteria causing the infection.
• Make a hole in the top or back of the tooth so the infection can drain. Usually this will relieve your pain.
• If needed, lance the swollen area near the tooth to allow it to drain.

If the inside (pulp ) of your tooth is infected, the dentist will have to do root canal treatment (also called a root canal). A root canal tries to save your tooth by taking out the infected pulp.

You will need to be treated with antibiotics before having a root canal if you:

• Have damaged or artificial heart valves.
• Were born with heart defects.
• Have had bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the lining of the heart.
• Have diabetes or another disease that causes an impaired immune system.
• Have liver disease (cirrhosis).
• Have artificial joints, such as a hip replacement.
• Take steroids for other conditions, such as Crohn's disease or asthma.

If a root canal cannot be done or is unsuccessful, removal of the tooth (extraction) may be necessary.

What to think about

You should begin treatment for an abscessed tooth as soon as possible to avoid a more serious infection, such as cellulitis.¹ Bacteria from an untreated abscess can spread to the blood, infect other parts of the body, and become life-threatening. This risk increases if you have diabetes, heart valve disease or an artificial valve, or if you take steroids for other conditions, such as asthma or Crohn's disease.

Last updated:	March 23, 2007
Author:	Ralph Poore
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, Steven K. Patterson, BSc, DDS, MPH - Dentist
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC