The term abscess is used interchangeably with infection in dentistry. Infection is a bacterial process whereby germs feed and multiply unchecked in the body generating puss or gas as a waste product. There are two types of dental abscesses. When your teeth are infected, this is called an odontogenic (tooth borne) abscess. When your gums are infected, it is known as a periodontal (gum related) abscess. Both are infections, but with different causes and outcomes.

Odontogenic abscesses (tooth infections) happen when the nerve in one of your teeth dies. Once the nerve in a tooth dies, its natural resistance to invading germs is lost. This leaves a damp, dark environment where bacteria can feed and multiply freely. There are many causes for the nerve in one of your teeth to die. Breach of your tooth's nerve chamber by fracture or decay will kill it. Chronic inflammation, as may be created by the placement of a deep filling, can kill the nerve in your tooth over a period of years or acute inflammation produced by trauma can do so almost immediately. An untreated periodontal abscess, if present long enough, can spread into your tooth from the adjacent gum and jaw bone.

Periodontal abscesses start in quite a different manner. As noted above, infections thrive in dark, damp places where bacteria have nutrients to feed upon. In perfect health, your gingivae (gums) conform tightly to the necks of your teeth at the gumline and to the neighboring jaw bone. If an empty space occurs below your gums that is too deep for you to clean out through brushing and flossing, food particles and bacteria (in the form of dental plaque) will accumulate and fester. This is how a periodontal abscess (gum infection) arises.

These subgingival (below the gumline) spaces are known in dentistry as periodontal pockets and they have many causes. Foreign objects, such as popcorn kernels, that become lodged beneath your gums can cause transient pockets with acute abscessing. Inflammation induced by heavy deposits of plaque and calculus (calcified plaque, also known as tartar) being left on your teeth for long periods of time can destroy the ligaments attaching the gums to your teeth and underlying jaw bone as well as the bone itself, producing pockets. Genetically linked or systemic diseases like Periodontosis (juvenile gum disease of undetermined mode) and diabetes can lead to pocketing. Odontogenic abscesses of long-standing, left untreated, can spread out of your tooth up the side of its root to cause pocketing.

Whatever the cause of the pocketing, if it is present in your mouth it can lead to a periodontal abscess. When this happens, just as with an odontogenic abscess, gas or puss pressure will build. Here however, the pressure builds up inside the pocket, to the point where it is often partially released up through the gum line. For this reason, periodontal abscesses are frequently not as painful as tooth abscesses and they are often accompanied by bad taste and halitosis (bad breath). The pressure generally will lead to further bone loss with deeper pocketing.

Just as with tooth infections, even though a periodontal abscess can be cleared up with antibiotics, the source must be eradicated or recurrence is almost certain. This is accomplished by either removing the affected tooth if your pocketing is so great insufficient bone support remains to retain it or through specialized periodontal treatment designed to eliminate the pockets. This therapy cleanses the pockets of plaque and calculus so that the gum tissue may reattach to your jaw bone and teeth, reversing the pockets.

Oral infections are serious matters that should not be taken lightly. Besides the often intense pain associated with dental abscesses, there can be severe medical consequences as well. Gum and tooth infections are capable of spreading to other areas of the head and neck causing potentially life threatening illnesses such as Ludwig's Angina.

REGULAR PREVENTIVE DENTAL CARE CAN DETER MOST INCIDENCES OF ABSCESS. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO SEE YOUR DENTIST AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR!