Can gum abscess be removed using surgical scissors?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have a small gum abscess on the rear side of my lower left molar about the size of a skin tag. I have had this issue for about three weeks, but it has been tolerable until today. When it has got exponentially more painful to eat, brush, and even move the area with my tongue, would it be a bad idea to cut the area off with sterile surgical scissors or scalpel blade?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Yes, it is a bad idea to snip the abscess. If this abscess involves the gum edge along with tartar (hardened yellow food deposit), that could be gingivitis or a gingival abscess. A scaling and polishing procedure should be done to remove the tartar, after which the gingivitis or the gum abscess will resolve.

If your bottom back tooth has deep decay, then that swelling could be a dental/tooth abscess. Snipping off the abscess will cause infection to spread even more. The best thing to do is to get the decay treated if that was a dental abscess.

Please visit your dentist and get it examined to find what is causing your abscess and get the cause treated.

I hope this helps.