Dental Abscess - has anyone had one?

sulkisu

I will start off by saying that I am not looking for medical advice. I have just been diagnosed with a dental abscess somewhere in the front top row. I have a swelling in the nasal cavity area and also my top lip just below the nose.

I have to go to my dentist next week. I know that the treatment will involve root canal work :eek:, and just wondered if anyone else has experienced one of these and how bad was the treatment?

*zippy*

I've had 2 or 3 root canals and having another Tuesday, I'm not looking forward to it as its 45 mins in the chair, but it's not too bad really. After the pain I was in with abscesses last year I would have happily had any treatment to make it stop, the worst pain I've experienced.

Richard53

Root canal work is pretty brutal, but with a good dentist it needn't be torture. I had a lot of this done a few years ago (probably about 10 of my teeth in all) and it totally cured the problem, which made it all worth while. I had a good dentist, who took his time and gave me adequate pain relief, which I think made all the difference. I must have had 5-6 sessions in all, and by about the third I was (literally) falling asleep during the treatment.

Don't be frightened. It's not very pleasant, but it's nothing like as bad as it sounds. And if it cures the pain, well worth the discomfort.

I assume non-invasive treatment with antibiotics has not been successful?

bizzybee

Yes, had one on lower jaw, ended up having an apicoectomy at my local hospital.

anotherginger

The pain of the root canal is much less than the pain of an abscess.

Antibiotics worked for me, but after the 3rd abscess in the same location I went private to get rid of the root of the problem (no pun intended!) as quickly as possible.

TeamLowe

I've had it done, I found it to be really really dull tbh, with adequate pain relief your basically sat staring at the ceiling for an hour whilst someone fiddles in your mouth. My jaw felt slightly swollen afterwards as they put plastic rods in where the dead root was but that was soon gone.

From DH's experience of having a tooth pulled I'd much rather have root canal

Oh also- if you're going to end up with a crown, if it's on the nhs it'll be gold. I only found out when she was ready to put the thing in and now my sister says I look like a pirate lol x

krustylouise

I have a phobia of dentists and the thought of root canal treatment used to turn my stomach. But I had to have 1 done. I took along my daughter who was 2 at the time so I wasn't able to act like a petrified idiot and do you know something? It didn't phase me, it didn't hurt it didn't feel uncomfortable or anything unpleasant. Try not to fret, I'm sure the pain of an abscess is much worse (I had an abscess when I was younger) worse than childbirth!

continualdiamond

I've had it done once, no pain and no injection with mine. However that was because the root was dead.

I started off with tooth ache, very mild and then a lump in my gum, after 3 lots of antibiotics I then ended up with a soft lump in my gum full of puss, it was horrible. By this point the pain was awful.

I was only nervous about having no injection, scared they'd be wrong about the root being dead.

I needed a crown fitting after the root canal, I went for gold for two reasons, one being price and the other being you couldn't see that tooth anyway when I smiled.

sulkisu

Thanks for the replies. Funnily enough the abscess doesn't hurt at all..... yet. I have had two courses of antibiotics which apart from spending most of my time on the loo (TMI) , had no affect whatsoever, so can't keep putting it off. According to NHS Direct, antibiotics rarely work for dental abscesses. I'm sure I'll cope once I get in the chair, but just the thought of it is making me ill!

The tooth is at the front, so no gold crown for me. I'll look like a rappers wife!

pigpen

I've had an abcess for 13 years and another for about 5 years.. neither hurt at all.. both at the top, one each side. I have lanced one of them once which was no big deal at all..

My son broke a tooth at 5 and developed an abcess and ended up having day surgery to remove both the abcess and the tooth.. it looked like a grape.

I do think as with most stuff the actual event is nothing compared to the build up to it.

zoeholt

I had a root canal not long ago, she didnt tell me thats what she was doing, because if she did I would have run. its not that bad though, few jumpy moments but they just put more numbing stuff inside the tooth, I had an abscess but only knew from the absolute agony, nothing was swelling, now that tooth isnt even sensitive, i would have another one any day.