I have an abscess in my gums caused by a partially erupted wisdom tooth....?

I went to bed Friday in a lot of pain and woke up Saturday with a swollen face. Saturday afternoon I got antibiotics and pain medication from an urgent care clinic and was able to see the dentist early this morning. He told me to continue the antibiotics, and set up an appointment for next Wednesday for me to get me wisdom tooth extracted (actually all my wisdom teeth will be taken out at my request). I know many people get tooth abscesses drained to help get rid of the infection. My questions are... Should my dentist have drained my abscess? What happens if it ruptures on its own? And will now until next Wednesday be enough time to get rid of the infection with only antibiotics before he extracts my wisdom teeth? My main concern is the infection spreading or something worse resulting from this.

Not all abscesses can be drained. They have to form into a sac first and then come close to the outer skin before the dentist can get to them.

If It drains on its own into your mouth, you will taste it and it will give you bad breath. Use mouthwash or hydrogen peroxide to rinse your mouth. It is disgusting, but it is a good thing.

Four days is a good time for an antibiotic to work. Your dentist didn't want to pull the tooth after two days on an antibiotic, obviously. Unless your bug is resistant to the antibiotic, everything should be fine, but you should continue taking the antibiotic for the full course in order to prevent resistant bacteria from developing.

tear out ya tooth fool

actually my -mil- is dealing with the same thing right ow. they wouldnt drain her absess they told her to take the antibotics and she has an appt tommorrow to get her tooth pulled out! Good luck! it should be fine by wed!

If that sbcess ruptures on itw own. do not swallow it. It will make you sick to your stomach. If you can rinse your mouth out with warm salt water. A week will be more than enough time for those antibiotics to kill the infection. I had to be put on them for a week before they would pull my broken down below the gum wisdom tooth. The reason forthis is...from what I heard..it is hard for them to numb it when it is infected. Hope this helps

Are you diagnosing the abscess yourself? Because it could just be pain from your wisdom teeth erupting. When mine erupted i was in alot of pain, i had a fever, and my face was swollen.

If it was an abscess the dentist would have taken the nessescary precations to make sure the infection doesnt spread. He knows what hes doing dont worry, he was trained for this. If your really concerned with this call your dentist and tell him your concerns and if your still not satisfied, go to another dentist and get a second opinion.

An abscess is infection of the root of a tooth and yes it can spread, but like i said above if there is a high threat the dentist would act.

Try gargling with a little warm walt water it might help soothe the pain

A lot of Dentist will not go near anything that is so infected. He should have set you up with an endodontist (I hope my spelling is correct) whose is better skilled at handling things such as serious infections dealing with the teeth. I had to suffer with an abscessed molar for a whole week while on vacation. I was also prescribed antibiotics and over time it did help along with a lot of pain medicine. The endodontist did end up draining the abscess before the root canal was performed. You might want to check into this.