Does anyone know if you can see a tooth abscess?

Question

If you can what does it look like?

Answer 1

Yes if your tooth is abscessing you should be able to see and and feel it. A tooth abscess is when a bunch of pus that's caused by a bacterial infection starts building up and it forms and abscess which essentially looks like a zit or boil (for a good sense of what it really looks like type "tooth abscess" into google images and you can see for yourself). The most common symptom of having an abscess is a constant severe throbbing toothache although initially, all you may feel is sensitivity to things such as very hot foods and very cold foods or the pressure of biting and chewing may also bother you. You can also develop a fever and swelling in your face , . If the abscess ruptures, you will be able to taste the fluid (which is awful) and it also will smell horrible.

A tooth abscess won't go away without treatment the pain may lessen though if it does rupture but you should still go to a dentist. If the abscess is not drained properly it could cause an infection to travel to your head and neck which could be potentially life threatening. Most likely when you go to the dentist the dentist will drain the abscess. Then the tooth may need to be pulled or a root canal may need to be performed. They will probably prescribe you with some antibiotics for the infection and suggest doing regular warm salt water rinses and take over-the-counter pain relievers.

Answer 2

You can see it on an x ray. You'll need antibiotics for it. If you let it go, you can get an infection that goes into your bloodstream giving you sepsis. This is an infection of the blood and you'll need to be hospitalized for it. It won't be fun. Get it fixed asap!

Answer 3

sometimes the abcess will appear on the side of the gum next to the painfull tooth, it looks like a puss/bloody filled blister,sometimes about the size of your small finge  nail although sometimes it cannot be seen by the gum,sometimes a dentist will burst it to realse the pressure and infection, it can be smelly and taste horrible

sometimes when a tooth is taken out an abcess can be seen at the tip of the root, it looks like a little jelly ball and is fairly small

Answer 4

Yes, my hubby's had one twice, and both times that side of his mouth swelled considerably. I mean, I don't remember actually seeing IT itself. Just that it was swollen like on that side. But we went to the doctor, who just punctured it, and then it went away. But, he needed a root canal, which he finally got.

Answer 5

like an infection, it'll hurt like h**l.

Answer 6

the initial stages of infection or histological.  But a dentist can tell if the tooth is infected based on your chief complaint.

But to see the infection, the earliest sign is on a radiograph.  The infection most commonly appears at the root of the tooth. The infection then grows and works it way out to the outer surface of the bone.  

Once the patient can acutally see it, it is in the form of a pimple, or the patient can see pus or taste pus coming from the tooth.  

This is usually a sign of a long term infection or in the late stages.  That's why we recommend frequent dental visits to catch things in the earliest stages.