Anyone had a tooth abscess? What do they feel like?

[Megifer]

Urgh am I starting with an abscess? 😩

Gum feels slightly tender at my back bottom molar (not wisdom tooth, I never had any come through 😌) its not sore at all but I can feel it if that makes sense. Can brush it, tongue it, poke it etc. But somethings THERE...there is a slight bump on the gum 😩 had this for about 2 days.

Do abscesses creep up or do they just appear with the agony you generally hear about? Ive scratched my gum before on hard crispy food and it kind of feels a bit like that, but that normally goes pretty quickly and ive never noticed a bump 😩

I don't think there's a simple answer to that. The symptoms depend on the exact position and size of the abscess. Some will be very painful quickly, others will be only mildly or moderately bothersome at first. You might not even have an abscess. Why not nip to the late pharmacy now and get yourself a box of Paramol just in case. Start doing warm salty water mouthwashes on the hour, that ought to buy you some time until Monday, and if unluckily it does become madly painful, some dentists open on Saturdays if you can find a slot and don't mind paying.

My experience.. painful beyond belief.

Mine was the worst pain I’ve ever had, very sore, woke every 2-3 hours for pain relief until I could get it sorted. If I’ve got a slightly sore gum I scrub it hard with a toothbrush (sore) and rinse with antibacterial mouthwash or salt water and it’s sorted within a couple of days. If you’ve got a lump though I’d be more hesitant

Really painful and throbbed. Couldn't sleep and the side of my face and neck swelled. I looked like a lopsided hamster. Impossible to eat on that side. Oramorph didn't touch it. Had it during lockdown when getting dentistry of any sort was Impossible. Made me feel extremely unwell.

I had one underneath a molar. I had no idea until the pain started. Bloody awful as I was pregnant at the time and couldn't take strong painkillers.

Mine was leaking and the taste was disgusting.

That was worse than the pain.

I thought my head was going to fall off, that side of my face looked like a pumpkin. It took an entire week of antibiotics for it to clear.

Fortunately we have a dental hospital for emergencies and I managed to get an appointment on a Saturday afternoon.

Oof sorry to hear some of your experiences they sound as horrendous as i thought and have heard about but they are giving me a bit of hope this is just a scratch from a bit of crisp or something as its not painful....yet.

i remember when I had an abscess in my armpit and the pain knocked me sick.... I can't imagine one in my mouth 😭

Just can't shake the feeling of dread that its not the usual scratch, it just feels different iyswim 😩 ill get some of those Paramol tomorrow to keep in just in case and will keep up with salt rinses.

Wish me luck 🤞🤞

The bump on the gum could be a sign of an infection, especially in a tooth that’s has root treatment .

You should see your dentist.

OP, a scratch or injury can turn into an abscess. They develop over time but often people don't notice until it's hellishly awful. They are an infection in the tissue.

Make a saline solution from cooled boiled water and salt then gargle/swoosh it around the gum that's scratched. Salt water is great for cleaning wounds and abrasions. Do this several times a day. That's the easiest way to prevent an abscess developing.

But if it gets larger or more painful despite the saline, contact your dentist right away

I’ve had an infection under a tooth which wasn’t very painful but I knew something was there the tooth felt funny.

I had the lump in the gum, which eventually burst - bad taste! I couldn’t get seen by a dentist because it wasn’t painful, but eventually I had a sepsis experience

I woke up feeling nauseous and ill, I took my temperature and it was 35c when I got back to bed my husband said shocked you’re cold and clammy.

The dentist took the tooth out

I once managed a tooth abscess by mixing tumeric powder with water to make a paste. I then put it onto a bit of a cotton wool pad and held it near the tooth/Gum for as long as I could..

I have and it was absolute agony. I was almost climbing the walls with the pain. I couldn't touch my tooth without it hurting and it constantly throbbed.

I really recommend corsodyl mouth wash or dental gel. If you go with mouthwash I find the alcohol free one doesn't work quite so well. Id get some asap and use twice a day. I have a partially erupted wisdom tooth, that I occasionally have issues with and the corsodyl often sorts things out.

Oh my goodness, I’ve got terrible teeth ( probably smoking related) but only ever had 1 abscess back in the 90s - it was so bad I didn’t know where to put myself -honestly was worse than childbirth

I was always confident I could withstand torture until I developed a dental abscess. I would have happily sacrificed my entire family as long as the pain went away. It was beyond horrific. I live on fear I will get another one. Can not begin to describe how terrible it was. Awful.

Agony. Decided to get mine just as dentists were closing their doors on a Friday evening. Was about 20 years ago and I remember that weekend well - I was on a timer taking ibuprofen and co-codamol alternatively as soon as I was 'allowed'. I think ice was involved too. This is why I now spend a great deal of time and money looking after my teeth.

Abcess pain for me was worse than unmedicated childbirth. 0/10 experience. I know that dentists are often closed at weekends, and you are not currently in pain. They might prescribe you antibiotics to do you through the weekend if you call the on call number they probably have. Another route is also the dental school at uni if there is one nearby.

I’d be at the emergency dentist today as the antibiotics take 2 days to kick in and the pain is awful, I phoned my brother in tears (anaesthetist) and told me to rinse with warm salty water which did give some relief for a while. At the evergebcy debates if they’ll give you a prescription for 30/500 cocodamol

Chronic migraine sufferer here and the tooth abscess I had twenty five years ago is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. It also had the added disgusting pus factor which made me feel like a medieval peasant.

Worst pain ever, at one point I was just crying from it continually. Best experience of my life was the pain melting away after an enormous dose of antibiotics.

My jaw was swollen too, like PP said, it was very medieval.

I have hope!! It doesn't feel anywhere near as odd this morning as it has done the last few days and i think the bump has gone down a bit.

Im cautiously optimistic it was just a pretty bad scratch that was starting to getva bit angry but ill definitely get some of those Paramol just in case and Corsodyl someone suggested and am primed to call the dentist if it gets bad

Ill feel pretty silly for posting this if its nothing but it just felt so weird!

Perhaps get it checked by the dentist anyway.
Glad for you that it's calmed down.