I popped my dental abscess, very bad idea guys !

I’m publishing this article in order to explain you why I popped my dental abscess, how I did that, what happened after the home procedure, why I decided to go to the dentist and why you shouldn’t pop your abscess by your own !

Before to start I’d like to let you know that I’m not a native english speaker so please, forgive my grammar and/or spelling mistakes .

The nightmare beginning

Let’s start from the very beginning so you can better understand what happened.

Last monday I got out of bed and I felt a very bad toothache coming from the lower second molar at the left part of my mouth. I went in front of the mirror to see what happened and, as soon as I tried to open my mouth, I felt even more pain.

As soon as I was able to open my mouth enough, I saw that the little swelling of the previous day had become a huge bump with a yellowish head just like a normal pimple. I honestly did not want to go to the dentist and decided to take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory and go to work.

During the whole day I could not eat anything because of the pain. I just drank water, coffee and a couple of fruit juices.

At 18.00 I came home and decided it was the right time to do something to solve or partially solve the situation. I could not continue with that pain.

I started to search for some home remedy using Google and I found interesting and useful articles. Then I also found videos on Youtube about how to pop an abscess by yourself at home.

The most bad choice ever !!!

After watching at 4 videos, I told myself that the procedure was not so difficult so I decided to try.

The first thing I had to do was to find a needle with the thinnest point as possible; then I had to sterilize it making the needle boiling in the hot water for a few minutes.

While I was waiting for the needle to cool down at the room temperature, I prepared a home-made antiseptic mouthwash mixing 2 tablespoons of salt in a glass of warm water. I also prepared several cotton balls close to the sink. Everything was ready for the procedure except me.

The home surgery attempts !!!

I looked at my face in the mirror (I was the patient and doctor at the same time), I gathered all my courage and I started washing my hands really well and rinsing the mouth with my salt water rinse.

I took the needle and I tried to launch the abscess boil immediately but the first attempt was useless because I stopped immediately after feeling the first sign of pain.

I stopped, I breathed deeply and I started again. This time I absolutely had to be able to make a little hole in the bubble of the abscess.

I surprised myself because I had succeeded, the hole was done but there was something unexpected because just a few drops of pus came out.

Squeeeeeeezzzzzz !!!

It was the right time to drain the abscess by pressing the gums near the perforated area. As soon as I did it, I felt as if a more internal bubble burst and I saw the pus coming out like a fountain.

I squeezed the lump and rinsed my mouth for the next 20 minutes because there was a lot of necrotic material to get rid of. The taste in my oral cavity was terrible and the idea of that lousy fluid around my gums and teeth was even worse.

One hour later, the abscess stopped to drain and bleed, the bump was half and the pain disappear completely. I was so proud of myself …. but I didn't know that the worst part was yet to come.

It was already 10.00 PM and I was tired because of the stress and anxiety of the “home surgery” so I took my last painkiller and I went to sleep.

The next morning surprise

The next morning, when a wok up, I saw some blood onto the pillow and I wanted to check my abscess in front of the mirror.
I had a bad surprise, the bump was still puffy as it was before my spectacular drainage procedure and the pain was coming out one more time.

There was nothing else to do than go to the dentist to ask what to do.

When I was driving I thought that all my courage and the pain I suffered were completely useless. I was so disappointed.

Fortunately, one patient canceled the appointment so my dentist could examine my mouth and treat the abscess properly.

The doctor told me that I had two bubbles and that I drained only the outermost one, which is why the swelling decreased and then increased again as well as the pain.

Root canal what ???

After draining the second boil, I got my root canal treatment to save the tooth.

During the canal therapy the dentist explained why that there are two different kind of abscess that can affect our mouth.

Tooth abscess

The first and the most known is the tooth abscess, the same as in my case. This type of abscess is also called periapical because it affects the tissue around the root tip of the infected tooth. In fact, bacteria that ware able to get access within the tooth (through caries), kill the vital part of the dental element (nerves, blood vessels and cells). After that bacteria do not stop their destruction action and try to get out of the tooth through the small hole from which the nerves enter. Our immune system activates and creates a kind of barrier to contain the infection and prevent it from spreading around.
Source: Dental abscess or tooth infection Dottox.com

Gum abscess

The second type of abscess is called periodontal or gum boil and it doesn’t involve any tooth. the periodontal abscess is the result of the infection that affects the gingival tissue because of poor oral hygiene. When the dental plaque is not removed, it starts to irritate the soft tissue that pool away from the tooth surface creating what we commonly call “gum pockets”.
Bacteria within the pockets infect the local area creating necrotic material and pus. At some point that bad material is too much and our body had to find the way to naturally drain that area. The most easy way out is creating a fistula, a kind of little pipe that addresses the pus to the oral cavity where a boil forms.
Source: Periodontal abscess ncbi.gov

If leaved untreated, the infection may spread causing :

• Fever;
• Difficulty to wide open the mouth or swallow;
• That happens because the tooth infection affects the jaw joint ;
• Swollen neck lymph nodes;
• Nausea;
• Diarrhea;
• Headache
• Jaw numbness;
• Generally unwell feeling.

My considerations

As I leaned, it is much more easy to manage the second type of abscess, the periodontal one, because, in order to heal, it needs the drainage procedure and the professional teeth cleaning by the dentist. The tooth abscess, instead, requires the root canal treatment to completely remove the infection and the infected material from within the tooth canal. If you don’t go to the dentist, everything you do to solve the condition will be temporary and the infection will always restart over and over again.

Going home final thoughts

After the treatment, I went home with my swollen cheek and I promised myself to never try again to drain an abscess by my own.

I wrote this long description to let you know that popping an abscess by your own, as shown in many Youtube videos, is not the right choice because it is very painful first and It can also be dangerous.

Last but not least, if you have a periapical abscess, the drainage is only the first step of the treatment. In order to get rid of the infection completely, your dentist treatment is required.

I hope this post can help someone else to take the tight choice in the future.