Dental Conditions
Tooth abscess
A pocket of pus caused by bacterial infection inside or around a tooth. This is a dental emergency — without treatment the infection can spread to the jaw, the neck, or further.
Warning signs — seek immediate care
If you have any of these, particularly swelling combined with fever, do not wait for a routine appointment. Call (905) 479-7777.
- ✓ Severe, persistent toothache that may radiate to the jawbone, ear, or neck
- ✓ Sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures
- ✓ Swelling in the face or cheek
- ✓ Fever
- ✓ A foul taste in the mouth, from an abscess that has begun to drain
- ✓ Swollen or tender lymph nodes under the jaw
How abscesses develop
The most common route is a cavity that has reached the nerve. Bacteria enter the pulp chamber, the pulp dies, and infection tracks down the root and out into the bone at its tip, where pus accumulates.
Abscesses also form from deep periodontal pockets, from cracked teeth that have allowed bacteria into the pulp, and occasionally around teeth that were treated years ago where the seal has since failed.
A key point: when an abscess bursts and drains, the pain frequently disappears. Patients often take this as recovery. It is not — the infection is still there, and it will return.
Why it is urgent
Dental infections can spread into the tissue spaces of the face and neck. In the worst cases this compromises the airway, and it is one of the few dental problems that becomes genuinely dangerous rather than merely painful.
Antibiotics alone are not a cure. They can control spread temporarily, but the source — the infected pulp or periodontal pocket — has to be treated, either with root canal therapy or extraction.
Concerned about your symptoms?
Call (905) 479-7777 immediately. We hold same-day slots for infections.