Gum Abscesses

Do your gums often bleed when you brush your teeth? Do you sometimes suffer from fevers and a bad taste in your mouth? If the answer to all those questions is yes, you may have a gum abscess. This condition is extremely serious, not to mention painful, and it develops from gum disease. We at Southern Cross Dental in Colorado Springs can provide treatment for it, but we encourage all of our patients to understand why they should prevent an abscess from forming.

Abscesses are pockets of pus, which is a mixture of bacteria, dead tissue, and acid. A gingival abscess is one that forms near the gum line, often as a result of poor oral hygiene. A periodontal abscess is one that forms deeper in the gum pocket when gum disease is severe. Periodontal disease causes the walls of a gum pocket to recede from around a tooth root, leaving the tooth loose and bacteria with more space to colonize. When periodontal disease gets bad enough, it can also cause recession in the jaw bone.

After administering local anesthesia to a patient, we can treat gum abscesses by draining them and removing the dead tissue. We will also determine whether any of the teeth’s pulp chambers are infected or if they have abscesses at their roots. After removing the dead tissue, we’ll plane down the tooth root so that it will be easier to clean in the future. The patient will also take antibiotics in the days following the successful treatment of an abscess.

Drs. Navid and Faranak Rahimpour operate Southern Cross Dental at 1855 S Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80905-2516. To schedule an appointment, call 719-471-1717 or visit Southern Cross Dental and fill out a contact sheet.