I think I have an abscess

T-rev

Had severd pain in my left jaw under my ear and also in my ear canal. Couldnt figure out the origin (ear or mouth) so I went to the doctor. He said my ears were fine so it is most likely an abscess in my mouth.

Pain is really sharp and gnawing and radiates now from below my ear right around to under my chin.

He put me on clonamox and gave me painkillers and anti-inflammatorys.

I am going to go to the dentist but I have a big wedding to attend to on Saturday for two days.

Would it be okay to leave the dentist until next week?

How can I be sure its a tooth abscess? Doesnt seem to be pain when I chew or eat hot and cold etc.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

The antibiotics will mask the symptoms but fix nothing (only root canal or the less preferable extraction will fix the problem). Chances are the abscess will come back stronger than ever due to antibiotic resistance. I wouldn't risk it myself.

T-rev

Okay, thanks. I'll give my dentist a call later.

Oral Surgeon

Go directly to dentist- do not pass go- do not collect €200......

T-rev

Yeah I see your point now. Rang my dentist today and said I'd come over on Friday but I am going to go over in the morning.

Never knew something so small could be so painful. Meds are working but it seems to be getting a little worse.

Statistician

I too have an abcess. I have a white 'boil' on my upper gum.
I've had it a few months now, with little or no pain. How long can I leave it?

(I can't afford to get this fixed in Ireland, so will have to get it done abroad, hence the delay)

Oral Surgeon

Statistician wrote: »

I too have an abcess. I have a white 'boil' on my upper gum.
I've had it a few months now, with little or no pain. How long can I leave it?

(I can't afford to get this fixed in Ireland, so will have to get it done abroad, hence the delay)

Hi there,
A gumboil over the root of a tooth is a sign of a chronic long term infection. Has a dentist confirmed that this is a gumboil or is this self diagnosis? (it could be many different things...)
Anyway if it is a gumboil- then you have 2 options; extract the tooth or have a root canal treatment followed by a large filling or a crown depending on the amount of tooth structure left to restore.
If it is this chronic type of infection- it will remain leaking pus from the gum until you are run down and then it can flare up and cause an acute type of infection- this is unpredictable and could happen today or in a fee months time. Best not to delay too long as it's no good to let it brew, have a prescription or a course of antibiotics on the ready just incase...
Good luck,
OS

- bo -

Get an abcess treated as soon as possible, definitely. I had one 2 years ago and because I had such a fear of dentists I left it alone, hoping it might go away. almost 3 weeks later and I had a lump the size of a tennis ball on my neck under my left jaw, so sore I cried at sone stage as I winced in pain. It can spread infection all over your face too. I got the tooth extracted and when it was out, all the accumulated pus from the abcess was pushed lightly up through the gap left in my gum from the extraction. The relief after was unreal, and the prcedure was grand.

Statistician

A dentist has diagnosed that it is indeed an abscess (gumboil).
The tooth is already filled so I might not be able to get a root canal done on it.

I didn't realise about the run-down thing.

I'm able to expel pus from it every day or so, so I wasn't too concerned about a build up. Also tried antibiotics in the beginning. I finished these but they made no difference.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Having a filling is not a contraindication to a root canal, very few root canals are done on teeth without fillings (usually rather big fillings) in them.