To burst a gum abscess myself?

[Wellawkward]

Just that really. It's driving me nuts and don't have a dentist 🙄

I’m quite cavalier about most medical things but I wouldn’t. You’ll probably end up needing antibiotics and the GP won’t prescribe them for dental reasons (well, none of mine will).

Are there any emergency out of hours dentists you can visit?

Phone 111 they will get you an appt, probably needs antibiotics

Had popped one recently but it was at the front and not huge, just painful. Turned out to be a real sporner! Rinsed with corsadyl and turned out fine.

Thanks guys, it's not super painful, more sore that anything. It's right at the back where a tooth has not properly grown up. I doubt it ever will as I'm nearly 40 🤣

I'll probably do a little ring around dentists tomorrow. I know that appointments are £100 locally, that's without the treatment 🙄. Needs must though.

Have read about applying baking soda to encourage it to drain itself, so I think I'll nip to the shop to get some. See if that makes a difference.

Was it super painful to do? I'm a wimp lol

I've popped one before but it was incredibly painful and I did go to the dentist after

Not sure about the baking soda but clove oil (is vile) will help if it gets really painful

Warm salt water rinses and call 111

Gargling with salt water is an amazing treatment too for this sort of thing.take ibuprofen for the swelling and paracetamol.

Hot Salt water rinse - mine popped of its own accord (and hit the bathroom mirror!!!). I did need very strong antibiotics and, eventually, a root canal.

What have you tried already? OP?

As a PP has said - salt water is great.

And I also swear by Corsodyl - the strong one, not the everyday tall bottle,

That's used for gum disease and mouth probelms,

Salt water rinse is a fantastic idea. If you do tackle it then make as tiny an incision as possible and keep up the salt rinses and perhaps even Corsodyl to keep it clean

Salt water rinses

One teaspoon of salt to a cup of warm water (half a cup of water if the pain is bad). Not hot water, just warm! Rinse and spit. Twice a day.

Agree with everyone who mentioned a warm salt solution. Do it every few hours until it draws the abscess.

You need to draw the abscess. I did this by using a hot teabag! Just make yourself a cup of tea as normal and then roll up the tea bag whilst still hot and put it onto the affected area. It took about 3or4 teabags in the space of a couple hours and the abscess popped and drained the relief was immense! Then gargle with salt water and get to a dentist!

Do you really need to ask such a silly question-abcess is bacteria, burst it if you want to end up with sepsis.

Very obviously you need antibiotics, call 111 and ask for referral to nearest dental hospital.

Seesh.

Gargle with TCP antiseptic and call 111

Go to the dentist unless you have a death wish. Bacterial infection so close to your brain is very dangerous. You need antibiotics.

In reality dentist is unaffordable for many now.

Don't use salt water. Use corsodyl after it's burst. The one in the short bottle: not the daily mouthwash one.

Thanks all. Been on the salt water rinses since yesterday but doesn't seem to have done much. I'll give the tea bag a try too 😁 Like I say, not super painful, just sore. Will get it seen ASAP. Thanks for the comments

@Luddite26

Yes it's so difficult for people to get an NHS dentist too. I had a dentist, but I missed an appointment (post natal anxiety at the time) and got deregistered. Haven't been able to get one since.

So many people are getting shifted off the NHS register by their dentists unbeknown to them.
Hope you get some relief soon.

I worked in emergency dental care. We often opened up an abscess to drain. It doesn't cause sepsis. The pus is dead cells. The cause of the abscess needs to be dealt with, but by letting it drain reduces a lot of pain and along with antibiotics will help until the cause is removed.

You can get antibiotics for dental issues from online drs - I've had them before for a gum infection, cost about £25-30.

Really, you shouldn’t. But I’ve popped one I had when I couldn’t get to the dentist for a week - hot salt water and whiskey dealt with it for me. The relief was immense, the taste was disgusting. The dentist was impressed and told me off at the same time. He sorted the underlying problem.

It might not be an abscess- it might be a dentigerous cyst related to the tooth not erupting properly. It might be best to try and get a dental appointment.