The primary treatment for a tooth abscess is always surgical: drainage, root canal, or extraction. Antibiotics alone cannot cure an abscess because they can’t remove the source of the infection.

A tooth abscess is a collection of pus that forms inside a tooth or its surrounding structures. The abscess itself is one of the later stages of tooth decay, and typically occurs before tooth loss.

An abscess is a pus filled, swollen tissue. It is caused by a bacterial infection. The body’s response to the infection is sending white blood cells to fight the bacteria. This results in the ...