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A dental abscess is a localized collection of pus associated with a tooth. The most common type of dental abscess is a periapical abscess, and the second most common is a periodontal abscess. In a periapical abscess, usually the origin is a bacterial infection that has accumulated in the soft, often dead, pulp of the tooth.
Mouth infections spread from the root of the infected tooth through the jaw bones and into potential spaces between the fascial planes of surrounding soft tissue, eventually forming an abscess. These potential spaces are usually empty, but can expand and form a pocket of pus when an infection drains into them.
It is a type of dental abscess. A periodontal abscess occurs alongside a tooth, and is different from the more common [2] periapical abscess, which represents the spread of infection from a dead tooth (i.e. which has undergone pulpal necrosis). To reflect this, sometimes the term "lateral (periodontal) abscess" is used.
Tooth #5, the upper right second premolar, after extraction. The two single-headed arrows point to the CEJ, which is the line separating the crown (in this case, heavily decayed) and the roots. The double headed arrow (bottom right) shows the extent of the abscess that surrounds the apex of the palatal root.
Rarely, the spread of infection from pericoronitis may compress the airway and require hospital treatment (e.g. Ludwig's angina), although the majority of cases of pericoronitis are localized to the tooth. Other potential complications of a spreading pericoronal abscess include peritonsillar abscess formation or cellulitis. [4]
The first line of treatment is the removal of the source of inflammation or infection by local operative measures. [9] Generally, the abscess can be eradicated through surgical drainage alone; however this is sometimes inadequate. Therefore, systemic antibiotic treatment may be required, but only if there is evidence of spreading infection. [9]