Anyone have experience of a dental abcess in a child?

[BooBooGlass]

And yes I do feel horribly guilty :( Dd is 6 and has been complaining of a tooth ache for about a week now, on and off. she then told me she thought it wsa an ulcer, but having finally had a look today, she has a big lump at the base of the tooth. A quick google (I know) is makign me think the worst. We are booked into an emergency dentist tomorrow, but she is beside herself as she's never been to the dentist before (again, I know). Assuming it is an abcess, what is likely to be involved? And yes, we are being registered with a dentist asap, the NHS waiting lists around here are atrocious but the emercency dentist service has let us 'register to wait' so we should be registered within 6 months

my ds had 2 abscesses after a pulpectomy (nerve removal) and ended up having the tooth removed. I was beside myself at the thought of it but it was actually much less stressful than fillings he has had to undergo. he had an injection to numb the area, which did hurt a bit (like a pinch, the dentist explained) and then when completely numb she just pulled it out - there was a quick crunch sound and it was over. I have no idea whether your dd would need extraction as well - my ds's poor tooth had really had it.

a great tip our dentist gave was to give a good dose of medised an hour beforehand. this made ds feel relaxed and dopy. He sat on my lap in the chair and i was able to hold his hand and talk to him quietly throughout the procedure. it also helped a great deal that our dentist is very kind and ds trusts her. finally i said he could have £10 to spend after the tooth was out! this helped more than i would have thought!

best of luck - you have obviously made mistakes about her teeth (as did we with ds's) but the main thing is to sort it out - how you deal with it from now on is the important thing. I understand about the guilt but you must just put your mind to doing the bet you can from this point onwards.

sorry, that should read "the best you can" not "the bet"

Thanks dirty, Medised makes my dd climb the walls with hyperactivity(!) But I'll be sure to dose her up with something beforehand. Do you think all the work will be done at that appointment? Or may it just be a case of painkillers? We're going away to visit family the day after tomorrow

DS had an abscess once. The dentist wanted to lance it but DS wouldn't let him so he was given a course of antibiotics instead. I don't think he needed an extraction (it was a long time ago).