If you’re unfortunate enough to get an abscess tooth, don’t panic! Instead, calmly assess the situation and start the process of draining it yourself with the proper tools and treatments. This blog will walk you through that process, so you can feel confident that your abscess tooth isn’t going to just go away on its own without some help (it won’t). Learn how to drain an abscess tooth yourself today!
Get Set Up
Obtain a pair of sterile gloves, and a large syringe—the kind used for drawing up antibiotics. It’s important that your hands are completely clean before you do anything else. An abscess can spread if microorganisms get into your blood stream, so you don’t want any germs to come in contact with it. If your tooth is swollen, make sure not to touch it with anything until you wash your hands and put on gloves. Wash your hands thoroughly then put on your gloves. Read over these instructions several times before beginning; you need to drain an abscess tooth yourself as quickly as possible or it will continue to spread under your gum line and into surrounding tissue.
Use Cautious, Gentle Effort
It’s important that you keep your abscessed tooth clean and don’t use anything sharp or abrasive, such as a metal pick. When you remove pus from an abscessed tooth it can be dangerous; bacteria-laden fluid may leak into surrounding tissue, which can cause serious health problems. Instead of picking at your abscessed tooth, try flushing it out with a saltwater rinse. You should also make sure that your hands are free of dirt and grime before draining your own abscesses. If you think about infection control first and treat yourself gently, you should be able to drain your own infected teeth without incident.
Stop If Pain Increases
It’s important that you know how to drain an abscess tooth yourself, as it is much safer than relying on a dentist. A dentist may have trouble identifying your infection, and in some cases, they do not even check for infections when a tooth aches or becomes sensitive. If left alone, infections can spread through your entire body through your bloodstream and could eventually kill you. It’s important that you learn how to drain an abscess tooth yourself by removing the infected section of your mouth with dental tools. However, it’s essential that if pain increases while trying to drain your own abscessed tooth, stop immediately and see a dentist as soon as possible. ##
Let Drainage Continue Until No More Fluid Comes Out
When you’re ready to stop draining your abscess, use a sterile gauze pad or cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol and press it against your tooth. You should now begin taking antibiotics prescribed by your dentist as well as penicillin if you’re allergic to penicillin. However, even with antibiotic treatment, there is still a chance that a dental abscess will not go away completely on its own. During the next few days, check on your tooth frequently. If there is no more drainage after 24 hours and you have been following all of your dentist’s instructions for treatment, call and make an appointment with him or her just in case some dead tissue needs further care.
Get Further Medical Help
If you had a tooth abscess, chances are it was quite painful. This could make it tempting to just let your dentist drain it when you have your next dental checkup. That’s perfectly reasonable, but there is a chance that you could get another abscess—and that means another visit for your dentist to drain it again. It’s best if you can learn how to drain an abscess yourself with a simple procedure so that when you notice symptoms or pain from having one again, you can handle it all on your own. Then, at least in theory, if and when another tooth abscess does occur (it happens about 15% of the time), then your teeth will be in great shape!
Reduce Chance of Recurrence
To reduce your chances of recurrence, start by flossing every day and brushing your teeth twice a day. If you want to get serious about prevention, though, you’ll need to schedule regular trips to your dentist for checkups and professional cleanings. These help remove plaque and tartar before they can harden into an abscess. In addition, if you notice any tooth sensitivity, redness or swelling in your gums, have it checked out by a dentist right away; these are all signs of infection that could develop into a serious condition like an abscessed tooth. When left untreated, abscesses in teeth can lead to other health issues such as heart attack or stroke.
Prevention is Key
If you’re diligent about dental hygiene, you’ll likely never have to use any of these methods. When your mouth does become infected, though, it’s better not to let it go too long before draining abscess tooth yourself. You can go see a dentist, but that can be expensive and time-consuming. The best thing to do is learn how to drain abscess tooth yourself and perform the process as soon as possible—ideally within 24 hours of noticing symptoms.