Abscessed Tooth Symptoms

A tooth abscess is a very painful dental condition. This is basically a condition where there is irreversible inflammation of the pulp tissue that is present in the root canal. This occurs when tooth decay progresses from the enamel into the dentin and then, the pulp. When the pulp tissue gets inflamed, it leads to pulpitis, which manifests in the form of pain and the production of pus in the root canal. Given below are some more abscessed tooth symptoms which will help you identify this condition at the earliest.

Tooth Abscess Symptoms

One of the first abscessed tooth symptoms is usually pain when chewing. Any kind of direct vertical force that falls on the surface of the tooth leads to pain.

A person may complain of an increase in pain when lying down or when in supine position. At times, he may also complain of pain at all times, which may be throbbing in nature or may be dull aching in nature. This means that there is a lot of pus which is causing a buildup of pressure inside the root canal of the tooth. Read more on abscess tooth symptoms.

A person usually complains of sensitivity to hot and cold food as well. This symptom of caries reaching the dentin and the pain is usually bearable at that stage. However, when caries reach the pulp, it causes further aggravation of pain due to hot or cold stimulus.

A person may complain of abnormal taste in the mouth. He may experience a bad or foul taste in his mouth, which may eventually also lead to loss of appetite.

Invariably, the lymph glands present around the region of the abscessed tooth tend to become slightly swollen and tender. The lymph nodes present here may be painful on palpation.

Swollen lymph nodes are specially seen when there is a tooth abscess associated with wisdom teeth. In such cases, a person may even have difficulty in opening the mouth or jaw, due to pain present near the corners of the mouth or around the angle of the jaw. This could lead to limited mouth opening, which in turn, could lead to anxiety.

At times, a person may even have certain systemic abscessed tooth symptoms, like fever, irritation, loss of appetite, etc.

Bad breath or halitosis is also one of the common abscessed tooth symptoms. This is especially seen just after a meal or when a person just wakes up in the morning.

There is often redness and swelling of gums that are seen just adjacent to the tooth or near the root tip, that is, where the root ends. This swelling may be tender to touch and generally has diffused borders. It may even appear red or slightly white or pale due to the presence of pus. Read more on swollen gums.

The swelling present around the tip of the root may burst open, leaving a draining sore near the periapical region.

If a person has abscessed tooth symptoms without the presence of any kind of tooth infection or dental caries, then it means he has a periodontal abscess. This occurs when a person brushes very vigorously and forces a foreign particle to get lodged in the gums. In such cases, there may be an abscess present not directly at the tip of the root of the tooth, but there may instead be swollen gums around tooth.

These were some of the abscessed tooth symptoms which can help you identify this dental condition. This is a serious condition, as any kind of infection that reaches the gums and the periapical region has high chances of spreading into the adjoining areas and spaces. This could lead to very serious complications like . Hence, it is always best to diagnose and treat a tooth abscess at the earliest, so as to prevent any further complications.