Intra-Oral & Extra-Oral Incisions

Patients with severe tooth abscesses usually wait until there is obvious facial swelling that sometimes extends to the neck area. These conditions we call Cellulitis, where the abscess or infection from an infected tooth has invaded the fascial spaces of the head and neck tissues. They sometimes have severe pain and discomfort and difficulty breathing if affecting the airways in the neck area.

If the condition is seen only intra-orally, then we can perform procedures such as incision and drainage inside the mouth.

If the abscess has spread to the soft tissue spaces of the face and neck, we sometimes have to perform extra-oral incision and drainage. These procedures are considered emergency treatments that we do as soon as possible to release the exudative material or “pus” from these sites and relieve the patient from pain instantly. Massive doses of antibiotics are prescribed together with pain medications to relieve patients of pain and discomfort.