Prevent an Abscessed Tooth or Dental Abscess; See a Dentist

It was 3:00 a.m. when I was wondering what I should do for an abscessed tooth or dental abscess. The pain in my jaw was horrible. What had began as sensitivity to cold had become a mind numbing, steady pain in my jaw. I felt terrible, had a low-grade temperature and knew that I had to see a dentist.

How it began.
The problem began months earlier with a toothache. We couldn't afford another medical bill. Home remedies that I found online helped my toothache go away but didn't fix the growing cavity. This set me up for the severe pain that was caused by the abscessed tooth (also called a dental abscess.)

Symptoms
An abscess is an infection in your tooth, gum or both. In my case, a large pus filled bubble formed around the base of my tooth along the gumline. The dental abscess caused noticeable swelling in my jaw and my teeth didn't fit together. The pain was bad enough that I couldn't eat or sleep. It also gave me a headache.

My options
By the time I saw a dentist it was almost too late to save my tooth. He took x-rays, educated me about an abscessed tooth and outlined my options. I could have my tooth pulled or have a root canal and crown. Neither could happen until antibiotics cleared up the dental abscess.

My decision
Saving the tooth is a no brainer. A root canal and crown are expensive procedures but saving the tooth would prevent teeth alignment issues later.

Root canal
After the round of antibiotics was finished I had the root canal done. Despite lingering infection around the abscessed tooth the procedure was able to be done.

My cheek and gumline was numbed with a rub on medicine. I barely felt the numbing shots that came next. Because the dental abscess was still there the shots didn't completely work. I had sharp twinges of pain from time to time that felt like strong bee stings. They were bearable but unpleasant.

From beginning to end the procedure took about an hour. The dentist drilled into my tooth to remove the pulp and nerve and added a temporary filling. I was given more antibiotics. The crown will be added about three weeks after the abscessed tooth has a chance to heal.

Length of time to heal.
The process to fully heal from the abscessed tooth has taken about two months. Next time I have a toothache I won't wait for a dental abscess to form before seeing a dentist. Delaying a visit to the dentist made the infection difficult to clear up and cost more. What could have been solved with a $120 filling became a $900 problem. Most of all, it's a lesson that I wish I hadn't learned.