Recognizing a dental abscess
Common signs include severe throbbing pain, swelling in the cheek or jaw, a bad taste from a draining lesion, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and difficulty opening your mouth or swallowing. If you're having trouble breathing or the swelling is spreading toward your eye or neck, treat it as a medical emergency and go to the ER — those rare cases need IV antibiotics urgently.
Why antibiotics alone don't fix it
Antibiotics can knock down a flare-up and make you feel better in 24–48 hours, but they don't remove the source of the infection — usually a dead nerve, a fractured tooth, or a deep cavity that has reached the pulp. Without addressing the source, the abscess almost always comes back, often worse than before. The lasting fix is either a root canal (if the tooth can be saved) or an extraction, often combined with drainage and a short course of antibiotics.
What treatment looks like
We start with a focused exam, X-rays, and palpation to locate the source. If there's a fluid pocket, we drain it for immediate relief. If extraction is the right call, Dr. Kalantari can usually perform it the same day — including more complex surgical cases where the infection has affected the bone or made the tooth difficult to remove.
After the infection is cleared
Once the source is gone and the site has healed, we'll discuss replacement options if a tooth was removed. Bone grafting at the time of extraction can keep the site implant-ready, and we can begin implant planning as soon as the area is fully healed.
