How to manage abscessed tooth?

Question

Hi doctor,

I lost the canine tooth of the upper jaw due to decay and there is only a root fragment. Within a short period, I developed an incredibly painful abscess. I saw my dentist last week and he scheduled a retained root extract. He also told me that there is no possible way to minimize the pain until extraction, despite the pain being exhausting and miserable. My questions are will the pain instantly improve? If not, then will the severity of the infection make it more painful than a normal extraction? Will the dentist be able to tell how far it has spread after extraction?

What about the recovery after extraction? Will it longer period? I am also very nervous because I have another abscess on the opposite side. Will the dentist still claim there is no way to manage pain leaving me to deal with it even longer? It has been incredibly difficult. Pain usually does not frighten me, but because of the severity, I am petrified of it getting worse. I also have a peptic ulcer and avoid NSAIDs. Even though five Ibuprofen tablets barely give relief Tylenol does nothing.

Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The pain could have been relieved instantly if the dentist had given anesthesia and opened the root of the canine tooth, followed by antibiotics. Hopefully, he would have prescribed a strong painkiller along with Clindamycin. Usually, after root canal treatment the abscess would heal fast and you will not have any pain later. Treat all teeth having abscesses, else taking too many antibiotics and painkillers will become inefficient in the future. Do not worry. The pain will go away as soon as your dentist opens up the root to drain the abscess and it will be a painless procedure.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.