Dental abscesses can be very painful and often, eating can contribute to throbbing, severe pain. There are certain foods and drinks, which may cause you to feel more pain and it’s best to avoid these. Here are some tips for handling dental abscesses and helping to reduce pain:

Dealing with pain

Abscesses can cause severe pain and it is particularly painful when you catch an abscess by mistake, you accidentally touch it or you eat or drink something that is sharp, acidic or very hot or cold. We advise our patients to take over the counter painkillers to reduce discomfort, but we strongly advise reading the dosage instructions and checking with us or a pharmacist beforehand if you have any queries. We also recommend applying an ice pack to the affected tooth; this will soothe pain and also reduce inflammation.

Seeing your dentist

When you have an abscess, it’s important to see your dentist as soon as you can, so that they can provide you with suitable treatment and relieve your pain. Unlike other abscesses, dental abscesses must be treated by dental professionals, other than doctors and if you see your GP there is only a limited amount of help they can give you. The reason for this is because dental abscesses need to be drained; this is to ensure that all harmful bacteria and fluids are removed from the mouth.

Watching what you eat and drink

If you have an abscess it’s best to avoid eating very hard or chewy foods, such as boiled sweets or candies, sharp foods, such as crisps and crusty bread, acidic flavours such as sour sweets and very hot foods and drinks, such as pies and pastries, hot coffee and tea and hot soup. If you’re eating a hot meal, try to wait for it to cool for longer than you would usually.