Avoiding Surgery for an Apical Tooth Abscess

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Larry Klein, and I'm a dentist here in St. Petersburg, Florida. We're going to talk a little bit about how to avoid surgery if you have an apical tooth abscess. When you have a big abscess, like the one on this screen, basically, there are two different choices. You could either have the tooth surgically removed, or you can have a root canal. A root canal is a great way to be able to save the tooth, by removing the infected nerve. The apical abscess that's down here, at the apices's of that tooth, basically is caused by, it's a localized infection. Caused by decay, in this situation. Where it's gone down, past the enamel, into the dentin, and actually invaded the nerve of the tooth. The only other solution to take care of that, is to surgically have the tooth taken out. If you can, avoid having surgery on your tooth. You would more than likely, like to be able to save the tooth, and a root canal is a great way to be able to do that. If you have any other questions, concerning apical abscesses, or dentistry in general, feel free to give me a call. My name is Larry Klein, and I'm here in St. Petersburg, and a smile is contagious."