Extraoral abscess or a dental infection is the one situated or occurring outside the mouth or oral cavity. Bacterial infection can cause the formation of pus inside periodontium tissues, the ones that support teeth in the mouth. Such infection can worsen over time and the complications can spread to the extraoral surface of the oral cavity of a patient.

An extraoral abscess usually would happen when any gum and tooth infection advances into a more severe disease, mainly a result of bad oral hygiene of the patient. The abscess is not visible and diagnosed right away, making it become more infectious over time. Sometimes the bacterial infection is spread across the oral cavity and surrounding area including the jaw and ear. The pain from the extraoral becomes worse when the patient tries to bite over the tooth with an infection in it.

The most common signs of oral disease and extraoral abscess are the occurrence of pus inside the mouth along with usual swelling. Patients often do not notice the redness on the gumline and unusual bad breath indicating an underlying bacterial infection in the oral cavity. Patients are only able to give attention to such symptoms when the pain and discomfort spread through the neck and ear. Patients should not wait for such a condition to worsen to minimize the complications resulting from the possible extraoral abscess in their teeth. Left untreated, such a condition may even become life-threatening in certain cases.

Visiting an expert dentist at one of our clinics The Esthetic Clinics promptly can help get an even faster diagnosis of tooth problems and infections. Patients can now visit our clinics in Mumbai for prompt diagnosis and treatment for extraoral abscesses. Failure to get a diagnosis in time or keeping an untreated tooth abscess longer can cause serious conditions.

The extraoral abscess can cause shooting pain which becomes more acute when the patient bites food using the involved tooth. Think of it as the root cause of the problem that appears on the surface. Other significant signs or symptoms of the extraoral abscess include the following:

• Sudden, throbbing pain.
• Gum redness.
• Swollen and painful gum.
• Bad taste as a result of pus discharge.
• Bad breath.
• The pain might travel through the jaw, ear, and neck.
• Fever and fatigue.
• Tenderness and swelling under the jaw-line.
• Difficulty in swallowing and breathing.
• Pain while biting the food.
• Painful chewing.
• Tooth mobility.
• Pus discharge.

Visiting our clinics at Mumbai as soon as having persistent pain, swelling, bad taste, or pain with chewing or biting is advisable for prompt diagnosis. A dentist at The Esthetic Clinics will examine the external mouth infection and oral cavity with a dental mirror. The dentist will probe to identify the cause of these signs and symptoms.

Palpation test: Our dentist will examine the oral cavity with his/her index finger to check tenderness, swelling, fluctuation, and hardness in underlying tissues. This is called the intraoral examination of the mouth. Also, the dentist at our clinics in India will examine the lymph nodes under the jaw to check if the infection has spread. This test is also known as an extraoral abscess examination of the infection.

Sensitivity tests: Sensitivity tests are done by the dentist to determine if the involved tooth is vital or not. An extraoral abscess is usually associated with a vital tooth that is sensitive.

Percussion test: Tapping on the teeth with the end of a mirror handle is called a percussion test. A tooth with an infection or abscess will be more tender to percussions. Often the specialist will do these tests by tapping horizontally and vertically on the teeth of the painful side. This test allows the dentist to diagnose the presence of an abscess that is causing the symptoms.

X-ray: An abscess will appear darker patches or radiolucent on the surrounding root tip of a tooth on an x-ray film. Extraoral abscesses x-ray appear darker around the jawline and surrounding teeth.

CT scan: To check how prominent the extraoral abscess is, the dentist might ask for computed tomography (CT) scan. CT scan allows the specialist to identify if the infection has spread to surrounding areas such as the neck.

The patient should note that they can access our clinics in Mumbai to get started with the extraoral abscess diagnosis and treatment. These home remedies might help in controlling the pain temporarily. But, should not be used as an excuse to delay the visit to a dentist nearby. Any dental abscess cannot be treated by some home remedy solution. But, patients can try some home solution to minimize the pain, if unable to visit a specialist:

• Rinse mouth using warm salt water.
• Avoid using infected teeth for biting and chewing food.
• Eating from the opposite teeth side of the mouth.
• Eating softer foods whenever possible.
• Maintaining appropriate oral hygiene by using soft-bristled toothbrushes only.
• Using some common OTC painkillers like ibuprofen, etc to alleviate the pain.

An extraoral abscess can occur as a result of advanced gum infection. Several contributing factors are responsible for the infection to develop, including the following:

• Oral Hygiene: Dental plaque that results from excess bacteria build-up, is the primary reason for any gum disease occurrence. Lack of daily brushing or flossing the teeth can give way to the intraoral and extraoral abscesses to form inside the mouth.
• Smoking And Tobacco: People who regularly smoke or chew tobacco are welcoming serious medical complications to their life, such as fatal lung issues and even cancer. Smoking and chewing tobacco can increase the risk of the formation of an extraoral abscess to many folds.
• Teeth Grinding: Grinding the teeth or clenching can put an excessive amount of force on tissues supporting the teeth inside the mouth. Persistent grinding of the teeth creates periodontal pockets or space for an extraoral abscess that can become a breeding ground for bacteria in the mouth.
• Dry Mouth: Dry mouth, in general, can up the risk of infections causing extraoral abscesses, gum diseases, and dental problems. However, dry mouth often occurs as a condition after taking certain oral medicine and underlying health conditions.
• Poor Nutrition: Nutrition is the backbone of a healthy human body. Unbalanced nutrition intake can compromise the immune system of a person and making it critical for the body to fight against any infection. This results in an increase in intraoral and extraoral abscess risk and complication.
• Medications: Certain medications can significantly affect gums and oral health, like antidepressants, heart disease medicines, and oral contraceptive pills.
• Medical Conditions: Underlying medical problems and conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, etc in patients can further amplify due to gum problems.

An extraoral abscess will not get treated by leaving it to be as is and requires to get treated by a top dentist near you. Visit our clinics in Mumbai to know more about the extraoral abscess treatment approaches:

• Drainage Of The Abscess: Extraoral abscesses are difficult to treat in most cases. If it is a large abscess, specialist dentists at our clinics in Mumbai would do abscess drainage first to ease the pain and control any further growth in the infection.
• Scaling: The scaling process can help remove calculus and hard-to-clean dental plaque, that might be causing an extraoral abscess.
• Tooth Extraction: Check with our dental experts at The Esthetic Clinics to know more about the extraction options to minimize the reoccurrence of the infection in the decaying tooth of the patient.
• Root Canal Treatment: Spreading of bacterial infection to surrounding tissues, root tip, radiating through the ligament of the tooth can become a prominent reason for extraoral abscess formation. In such cases, our top dentists will do root canal treatment or RCT along with a session of scaling.
• Antibiotics: When the abscess is moderately severe or the infection has already gone to infect other areas of the oral cavity, like the jaw or neck, common antibiotics prescription can help bring the oral infection to come down.

OTC painkillers for extraoral abscess commonly include ibuprofen, paracetamol, and aspirin. However, make sure to consult a doctor or pharmacist before using any of these OTC painkillers, especially in case of the following conditions:

• If the patient is breastfeeding or expecting.
• If the patient has asthma, stomach bleeding, blood pressure, liver disease, kidney disease, or any other medical conditions.
• If the patient has an allergic reaction to any of these painkillers.
• If the patient is taking any other medications that may interfere with painkillers.

The extraoral abscess usually causes pain that will be getting worse whenever biting or chewing on the infected tooth side or the side of the extraoral abscess. Over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers can help control the pain until making an appointment with our dentists at The Esthetic Clinics.

The root cause of any dental infection is inside the mouth that spreads to the surrounding location in the oral cavity. It is critical to let an expert dentist look at the condition of the infection. Visit our clinic headed by Dr. Debraj Shome to get the diagnosis done by the best extraoral abscess dentist in India.