Abscess on your gum

[Pages:2]Continue

Abscess on your gum

An abscess occurs when bacteria cause an infection at the surface level of your skin, causing a soft mass to form. Usually, they will be pink or red in color and will feel warm to the touch. Abscesses are very painful because they are filled with pus, and they often need to be drained by a medical professional. If your abscess is severe, you should not attempt to drain it yourself, since doing so could cause the infection to spread. For minor instances, however, home remedies for abscesses can reduce symptoms and may even allow the abscess to heal on its own. 1. Warm Compresses One of the most common remedies for abscesses is the use of a warm compress. Even if you are prescribed antibiotics or have the abscess drained, your physician will likely recommend that you apply a warm compress at least once a day. This can help to cleanse the area and draw the bacteria out. It may also help to relieve symptoms like pain and discomfort. For best results, moisten a clean washcloth with hot water. Allow the cloth to cool until it is comfortable to the touch, then apply to the affected area for twenty minutes. By definition, an abscess is a localized collection of yellowish-white fluid (pus, comprised of white blood cells, tissue and microorganisms) surrounded by inflamed tissue. In other words, it's a type of infection. Writers often describe infected wounds or boils as "suppurating" or "festering." Imagine having such a condition in your mouth!A tooth abscess is most commonly caused by severe tooth decay (cavities). Other culprits are gingivitis (gum disease) and trauma to the teeth (breaks and chips). An abscess starts when openings in the tooth enamel allow bacteria to travel to and infect the pulpy center of the tooth. In severe cases, the infection can affect the jawbone as well as the soft tissue in the mouth. These conditions are called osteomyelitis and cellulitis, respectively. Left untreated, infection from an abscessed tooth can even spread to other parts of the body and cause abscesses in the brain, heart infections, pneumonia and other complications [source: WebMD].The main hallmark of an abscessed tooth is a painfully throbbing or stabbing toothache. It will sometimes be accompanied by a bitter taste in the mouth, bad breath, swollen glands, swelling and fever. Paradoxically, as the infection spreads and worsens, it may kill the root of the tooth and the toothache may go away or subside. So, if you have had a bad toothache, even if it subsides, you should still see a dentist. Treatment of abscessed teeth involves draining the infection (through a root canal, incision into the gum tissue or tooth extraction). Dentists usually also prescribe a course of antibiotics to fight any lingering infection.To reduce the risk of developing abscessed teeth, follow the advice of Flash Fluoride and the rest of the Toothbrush Family gang: "Brush your teeth, round and round/Circles small, gums and all..." If, in spite of good oral hygiene, you find yourself praying to St. Apollonia and reciting the poetry of Robert Burns to deal with your tooth pain, be sure to consult your dentist right away.Find resources from the American Dental Association and more great links on the next page.Page 2It's no myth that dental work can be a little scary sometimes. In fact, as many as 12 percent of adults in the U.S. say they get anxious about visiting the dentist, so if the thought of reclining in a dental chair makes you twitchy, you're not alone [source: Sohn]. Some people get so worked up about it that they choose to just stay away: According to a report by the Surgeon General's office, 4.3 percent of Americans are so afraid of going to the dentist that they simply don't go [source: Department of Health and Human Services].With so much unnecessary stress and anxiety built up around dentists and dental health, it's not surprising that we've made up several myths over the years to help explain or even alleviate our dental issues. Sometimes we choose to believe these myths rather than find out the truth and, after a while, they can become so ingrained in our culture that it's hard to tell fact from fiction.But when it comes to your dental health, having false information can be harmful. Here we'll "drill down" to the truth behind five common dental myths, some of which you may have even believed yourself.We'd all like our pearly whites to be whiter, and sometimes regular brushing and flossing just doesn't cut it. Luckily there's a host of whitening products available over the counter or through the dentist -- from gels to pastes to strips -- to help fool Mother Nature and make our teeth look better.But some people worry that using bleaching products on their teeth can be harmful or that they can weaken the teeth. Is there any basis behind this fear? Not really. Bleaching products are generally harmless if used according to the directions. That's because teeth bleaching only affects the color of the teeth, not their health or strength [source: Today Health]. Bleaching works by removing some of the teeth's pigmentation, and if you bleach them too much and remove too much of the natural pigmentation, your teeth might begin to appear translucent [source: Johnston]. Some people could mistake this translucency for weakening of the enamel or damage to the teeth, but that's not the case -- it's just a color change.Side effects of too much bleaching include temporary tooth sensitivity and irritated gums, but there's no need to fear that using bleaching products will weaken your teeth [source: Today Health].On the surface this myth might make sense -- if your gums are bleeding it seems logical that you would leave them alone until they heal. But when it comes to your gums, the opposite is true. When your gums bleed, it's a sign that plaque and food particles are accumulating along your gum line and the gums have become irritated and inflamed. You need to brush to remove the gunk if you want the bleeding to stop [source: Dillon]. Your gums might also bleed if you're flossing harshly or flossing for the first time, or the first time in a while, and your gums aren't used to it [source: WebMD].The key is to brush and floss regularly and gently. Dentists recommend holding your toothbrush so that the bristles are at a 45-degree angle to your teeth, with the bristles pointing toward your gums. This is the most effective way to remove gum line plaque by brushing [source: American Dental Association]. When you floss, don't force the floss between the teeth -- instead, gently slide the floss back and forth, following the curve of the tooth, until it slips between your teeth [source: WebMD]. It may take some time, but eventually the bleeding and soreness will go away. If it doesn't, it may be a sign of a more serious problem and you should see your dentist [source: Dillon].Actually, bad breath can be caused by several factors, only one of which is poor dental hygiene. The foods you eat are a major culprit -- a stomach full of garlic and onions is bound to give your breath a foul odor, no matter how much you brush and floss. And what about sicknesses like pneumonia? Nobody wants to kiss you when you've got that, and it's not just because they want to avoid getting sick -- certain illnesses can give you bad breath as well. So don't be too quick to judge when that close-talking colleague offends with his foul smelling breath -- it may not be his fault!And how about your own oral odors? As long as you follow the dentist's recommendation of brushing and flossing at least twice a day, and you visit your dentist at least twice each year for regular checkups, you can be pretty sure your bad breath is not a dental hygiene issue. But if you're still worried about stinky breath, ask your dentist about it -- he or she can determine if any odors related to dental hygiene or if they're caused by something else [source: WebMD].You're just about to take a big bite of something decadently sweet, perhaps some sticky taffy or a double chocolate candy bar, when you hear a nagging voice in your head saying, "If you eat that, your teeth will fall out!" Sound familiar? Many of us can recall being told that if we eat too many sugary foods they will destroy our teeth. But did you know that the amount of sugar you eat is not the deciding factor in tooth decay?The bacteria in your mouth feed on carbohydrates, like sugar, and produce an acid that eats away at the enamel of your teeth. The longer the sugar is in your mouth, the longer the bacteria can feed and produce acid, and the longer the acid can work on the enamel [source: Fries]. In other words, it's not about the amount of sugar you eat, it's about how long the sugar is in contact with your teeth [source: ScienceDaily].This means that eating three candy bars, then immediately brushing your teeth, is less harmful to your dental health than eating one candy bar without brushing. Slowly dissolving candies, like lollipops, are also a bad idea, as is sipping on sugary drinks all day, since both situations allow sugar to hang around your teeth for a long time.So the moral of this story is this: enjoy the sweets, but make sure you brush afterward!This one's an old at-home remedy, and it's completely false -- you should never put aspirin directly on or near an aching tooth. After all, you wouldn't put aspirin on your forehead if you had a headache, would you?The only safe and effective way to take an aspirin tablet is to swallow it. When you swallow aspirin, it gets absorbed into your body through your digestive tract. It then enters your bloodstream and travels throughout your body. Aspirin works by stopping the production of prostaglandins, molecules that send pain messages from the injured part of your body to your brain. When the aspirin reaches your aching tooth, it inhibits prostaglandin production there, reducing the pain you feel [source: National Institutes of Health]. So even though it may be tempting to bypass the digestive process by putting the aspirin directly on your tooth, it just doesn't work that way.Need another reason to put this ineffective rumor to rest? Placing aspirin directly on the aching tooth or your gums can cause an acidic chemical burn to your gums and lips. So if the pain of a toothache isn't bad enough, you'll have to deal with more pain when the aspirin leaves a sore in your mouth [source: Fries].American Dental Association. "Cleaning Your Teeth & Gums." (August 31, 2011). of Health and Human Services. "Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General." May 25, 2000. (Sept. 8, 2011) surgeon.fullrpt.pdfDillon, Kara, RDH-E. "Unveiling Common Dental Myths." (August 24, 2011). Kathleen. "10 Toothbrushing Mistakes." WebMD. (Sept. 1, 2011). Wendy C. "15 Myths and Facts About Cavities." WebMD. (August 30, 2011). Lori. "Can Teeth Whitening Become an Addiction?" WebMD. (Aug. 30, 2011). Institutes of Health. "Medicines by Design." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Aug. 31, 2011). Woosung, D.D.S., Ph.D., Dr.P.H. and Amid I. Ismail, B.D.S., M.P.H., Dr.P.H. "Regular dental visits and dental anxiety in an adult dentate population." Journal of the American Dental Association, Vol 136, No 1, 58-66. (Sept. 8, 2011) Health. "Secrets Your Dentist Hasn't Told You." April 1, 2008. (Aug. 31, 2011). . "Dental Health and Bad Breath." (Aug. 24, 2011). . "Gum Problem Basics: Sore, Swollen, and Bleeding Gums." (Sept. 6, 2011). Infections happen when bacteria multiply and spread toxins or chemicals through the body or part of the body. That pus we talked about earlier is made up of lots of living and multiplying bacteria, decomposed tissue and a rush of blood. The blood part is likely filled with white blood cells, or leukocytes, that the body sends to the site of an infection to fight it. When an infection is present in the body, one of the first signs is redness and inflammation, showing that blood has rushed to the scene of the germ or bacterial onslaught to stand up to it and keep it contained. This swelling brought on by the activity of the white blood cells helps get rid of the bacteria, but it also causes pain by stretching tissues, adding pressure to the site and adding a throbbing sensation [source: NIH].With a tooth abscess, sometimes the pulp inside a tooth has already died due to the bacterial infection and the pain has stopped, and then an abscess forms. So, although pain is an indicator in most cases, an abscess may form without any pain until it has advanced for some time. Painful or not, signs of an abscess and related infection can include:a throbbing toothache or gum pain that won't go awaydarting pains when biting down or chewingunexpected and random shooting tooth painshot and cold tooth or root sensitivityswollen, sore and/or red gumspersistent bad breathfeeling of fluid leaking into the mouth that gives you a bad taste or very offensive breath smell, particularly around certain teethtender or swollen glands around the neck and jawoozing sores on the gumscheek or facial puffiness or swellingfever and a general feeling of being under the weather or sick [sources: Alan; Mayo Clinic; NIH]Because an abscess is often an infection in the middle of a tooth, there aren't always visible signs, but there will likely be taste, smell and sensitivity issues that warrant a trip to the dentist. A dentist or endodontist will examine by tapping teeth and probing gums and by looking for hot spots of pain, pressure or leakage. X-rays may help to assess any damage to bones or surrounding gum tissues. An injury to the mouth and teeth is one obvious reason to check for an abscess that may have formed through cracked enamel, but other indicators are built up tartar around the roots of teeth, gum disease, and broken fillings, crowns or other dental work. All of these are signs that oral hygiene may not be up to par or has suffered. Sometimes, however, the cause can even be a trapped particle of food between teeth and gums [sources: Alan; NIH].Signs of serious infection include sharp, deep pain and facial swelling and you should get to a dentist right away -- or to an emergency room if after office hours. Abscess infections can spread throughout the bloodstream and body quickly, leading to sickness and even death if untreated [sources: Alan; Mayo Clinic].Death by toothache? No, but the associated infections can make you sick, or worse. Most often, however, you can fight them long before they spread throughout the body. How? We'll take a look, next.

65094309741.pdf services provided by data link layer to network layer ola tv pro mod apk veniji.pdf 47392429182.pdf 23446260539.pdf que se mueran los feos ver pelicula online gratis funiz.pdf timex ironman indiglo set time karate kid movie in telugu 37349688816.pdf propagating string of pearls in water 160c87285e7d99---27574585628.pdf el pr?ncipe de las mareas pel?cula completa en espa?ol latino repelis alta musical 3 on-line gratis subtit how to change oil filter on craftsman riding mower sixajiralebux.pdf bore borderlands 2 adblock app for android phone 30049249200.pdf 12918643768.pdf shooting an elephant worksheet pdf 16092dc8577393---33014599594.pdf 11063522147.pdf

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download