What is a Dental Abscess?
A dental abscess is an infection of the mouth, face, jaw, or throat that begins as a tooth infection. The original cause may be from a deep cavity, periodontal (gum) disease, a cracked tooth, or other trauma but the end is the same: PAIN, swelling, tissue damage, fistulous draining tracts, a rotten odour, and PUS.
What can be done?
Put another way, dental abscesses are what happens when dental disease reaches its end stage and can no longer be ignored. These animals need dental extractions. Antibiotics and pain-killers can provide temporary relief but the abscess will recur because the source of the infection is a severely diseased tooth root.
What should I know as a pet owner?
At Byron Animal Clinic we strive to have our patients do proactive and preventative dental care. We want to try to ensure that dental abscesses never happen in our patients. We do this by promoting tooth brushing, dental sprays or water additives, dental treats, dental foods, dental chew toys and, – when necessary – dental cleanings and extractions under a general anesthetic.
