“What does an abscess tooth look like?”

An abscessed tooth can present in a number of ways. Most people believe it will result in a large swollen area and be immediately recognizable. However this is often not the case. Sometimes a tooth can die and it abscesses at the end of the root. It then forms a small encapsulated infection. Often this is not found until xray reveal its presence. And often it has no or minimal pain. The other case is that an abscessed tooth can form a small pimple like drainage hole where pus comes out. Patients will often says that has been there awhile and when I press on it, pus comes out. So presentation can be very different !!!

Dear Reader,

If you have no symptoms, you won't notice an abscessed tooth as it only shows up on X-ray. If you notice a draining "pus pocket" or your face is swollen, these are signs of an abscessed tooth. If you think you have one, please check with your dentist.

Hope this helps,

Steven Chamish, DDS, FAGD, FIOCI