What To Do If Pus Comes Out Of Your Gums

19 July 2018
 Categories: Dentist, Blog


Bleeding gums is something that most people will go through at least once in their lives, as it's a common symptom of early gum disease. However, if you have something else come out of your gums, it could be a sign of a severe medical issue. Keep reading to find out what you should do if white or yellow fluid comes out of your gums.

Pus

If you've ever had a really bad wound, you're probably familiar with pus. Pus is essentially dead white blood cells that are ejected from the body once they're no longer needed. It can come out of wounds, but it can also come out of areas that are sick, even when there's no real wound.

Why It's There

Pus typically only makes an appearance when there's a serious infection going on. Your body is actively attempting to fight this infection, which is why the white blood cells are coming out. Once each cell has dealt with an invading viral or bacterial cell, it dies and is removed from the body.

Unfortunately, if pus is coming out of your gums, this means you have some kind of infection going on. It could be an infection of the gums, or it could even be in the pulp or root of your teeth. In either case, you need to get medical attention quickly, as gum infections can never be taken lightly.

What to Do

When left alone long enough, gum infections and tooth infections can spread elsewhere in the body. The bacteria or viruses responsible for your infection can actually migrate to the bloodstream and wreak havoc, infecting tissues, cells, and causing inflammation wherever it goes.

If you think pus is coming out of your gums, you should immediately seek help from one of the dentists in your area. Your dentist will be able to quickly evaluate what the health is of your teeth, gums, and surrounding tissues and can get to work beating the infection right away.

To fight your infection, your dentist will most likely clean the gums and then drain them. This will help to reduce discomfort, swelling, and inflammation. From there, a thorough cleaning will be performed. Then, antibiotics will most likely be given to you, either in the form of an injection or a prescription that you'll take home.

If your dentist isn't sure what type of infection you have, they may send a sample of the pus out to a lab to find out. Once the results are in, you may be given another medication to ensure that your infection is wiped out.

Gum and tooth infections are serious business that require immediate medical care. If your infection has become severe enough to cause pus to come out of your gums, it's a severe situation that needs to be tended to by a reputable dentist right away. Don't put off an appointment; get to your dentist's office to be taken care of.


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