Dental Abscess

Dental abscesses can be of three types:

1.  First, there is the periapical dental abscess. This is usually the result of tooth decay, and occurs at the tip of the root, where the nerves and blood vessels leave the tooth and connect with the surrounding bone.

Here is an example of a periapical dental abscess:

When the nerve dies, the abscess forms at the root tip, and a toothache usually results. The treatment for this condition is usually either an extraction or a root canal.

2.  The second type of dental abscess is the periodontal abscess.

This occurs in the bone around the root (not generally at the root tip) and is usually due to some form of gum disease.

With periodontal disease and the periodontal abscess, the problem is not blood supply to the nerve at the root tip, but rather the health of the bone and fibers that hold the tooth in the socket.

There is an example of early to moderate bone loss and a periodontal abscess forming along the root of one of the teeth.

The treatment for early periodontal disease can sometimes be non-surgical, involving scaling and root planing in conjunction with Arestin therapy.

3. This is an example of advanced periodontal disease, and third type of dental abscess - the combination endo - perio abscess.

What happens here is that the infection at the root tip and the one along the side of the tooth combine into one.

The result can be a loose tooth, a severe toothache, and sometimes the need to extract the tooth.

Here is an example of severe bone loss that occurs with the combination endo-perio abscess.

As you can see, the tooth on the right is hopeless, and will probably have to be removed.

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