What Is an Abscessed Tooth?

Video Transcript

"Have you ever wondered what an abscessed tooth is? Well my name is Michelle and I'm a Dental Assistant with Solutionz and I'm here to explain to you what an abscessed tooth is. Not a lot of people know what an abscessed tooth is or they've never heard it referred as that. Basically a lot of people just think an abscessed tooth is a toothache which you've definitely do get a toothache if you have an abscessed tooth but, if you take a look at this picture, it basically it's a perfect example of what an abscessed tooth is. An abscessed tooth is caused by decay that has actually gotten into the nerve. If you're not brushing, flossing your teeth constantly and properly, you'll actually start to get decay which is this darken area here. It'll eat all the way through the dentin, all the way through the enamel of the tooth and then the dentin of the tooth which is the core of the tooth and actually goes, follows this way down the root canal which is where your nerve of your teeth. The blood supply settles in here, they'll follow its way down into the root canal and then in return it will cause an abscess, which is a ball of infection that's placed right at the apex of your root which is right at the end of your root. So this little figure here is basically, it's a ball of infection. And not taken care of immediately or in the near future, the abscess will actually start to push through the bone and create like a little fistula which is a puss like, almost type of a pimple looking figure on the outside of your gum. So you definitely we need to see your general dentist if you're starting to notice this happening. So therefore, he can get you in antibiotic to clear up the infection and then prescribe what type of restoration would be good in order to save that tooth. Once again my name is Michelle and I'm a Dental Assistant with Solutionz and I just explained to you what an abscessed tooth is."