1
Assess how far it has spread
The dentist checks your temperature, how wide you can open, and where the swelling reaches. An X-ray finds the tooth responsible. If the airway is at risk, you are sent straight to hospital.
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Swollen Face From a Tooth Infection: Why It Is Serious and What To Do Today
When a tooth infection breaks out of the bone and into the soft tissue, the cheek, jaw or eye area puffs up. This is the stage where a dental problem starts to become a medical one.
1-855-219-4656 Is a swollen face from a tooth infection an emergency?
Yes, always. Swelling means bacteria have moved beyond the tooth into the tissues of the face, and it can keep spreading toward the airway or the eye. Call 1-855-219-4656 now for a same-day dentist who can drain it and start antibiotics. If the swelling is closing your eye, reaching under your jaw or down the neck, or if you have a fever, trouble opening your mouth, or any difficulty swallowing or breathing, go to the nearest emergency room first. Those signs need IV antibiotics and monitoring.
Facial swelling is the point where patients stop waiting and pick up the phone, and rightly so. Draining the infection takes only a few minutes once the area is numb, and most people feel the pressure lift before they leave the chair. The tooth itself is dealt with either the same visit or within a day or two, once the antibiotics have taken hold.
What a spreading infection looks like
- One side of the face is puffy, tight and warm to the touch, often worse on waking
- The swelling is spreading hour by hour toward the eye, ear or under the chin
- Fever, chills and feeling unwell, with tender lumps under the jaw
- Trouble opening the mouth more than a couple of fingers wide
- A tooth that started it, usually one that has ached, cracked or had deep decay for weeks
- Pain that eased just before the swelling appeared, because the nerve has died
Do not be reassured if the toothache fades. A nerve that dies stops hurting, but the bacteria inside it keep multiplying. The swelling that follows is the infection looking for somewhere to go.
What to do tonight, before you are seen
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Take ibuprofen and acetaminophen as the packaging directs, and note your temperature | Do not put heat on the face. Warmth draws the infection outward and spreads it |
| Rinse gently with warm salt water several times a day | Do not press, squeeze or try to drain the swelling yourself |
| Keep your head raised with extra pillows to reduce throbbing | Do not finish someone else's leftover antibiotics and assume the problem is handled |
| Watch the edges of the swelling and mark them with a pen if you can | Do not wait overnight if it is growing, reaching the eye or making swallowing hard |
How the dentist treats a swollen face
2
Drain and start antibiotics
A small opening releases the pus, which lowers pressure and pain quickly. Antibiotics start the same day. Read more about abscess treatment.
3
Remove the source
Once the swelling is under control, the tooth is either saved with a root canal or removed with an extraction. Without this step the swelling comes back.
Cost of treating a tooth infection with swelling
| Treatment | Without insurance |
|---|---|
| Emergency exam + X-ray | $100–$250 |
| Drainage + antibiotics | $200–$500 |
| Root canal to keep the tooth | $700–$1,500 |
| Extraction of the infected tooth | $150–$400 |
| Surgical extraction if the tooth is broken down | $250–$700 |
Estimates from partner clinic fee schedules. Your dentist quotes the exact fee before treatment. See the emergency dental cost guide and the no-insurance guide.
Treatments and related guides
Treatments a dentist may use: Abscess drainage and antibiotics, Emergency root canal, Emergency tooth extraction.
Facial Swelling FAQ
Need help right now? Call 1-855-219-4656, free, 24 hours a day.
Is a swollen face from a tooth an emergency?
Yes. Swelling shows the infection has left the tooth and entered the face. It needs draining and antibiotics the same day. If it affects your eye, throat, swallowing or breathing, or you have a fever, go to the ER first.
Will antibiotics alone make the swelling go away?
They will shrink it for a while, but the infected tooth keeps feeding bacteria into the tissue. Without drainage and either a root canal or extraction, the swelling returns, often worse, within weeks.
How quickly can a tooth infection spread?
Fast. Swelling that is mild at dinner can close an eye by morning. Infections under the tongue or in the neck can affect breathing within a day. That is why any facial swelling from a tooth is treated as same-day.
Can I wait for the swelling to go down before seeing a dentist?
No. Going down on its own usually means the abscess has found a way to drain through the gum or skin, not that it has healed. The dentist needs to see you while it is active to treat it properly.
How much does it cost to treat?
Expect $100 to $250 for the exam and X-ray, $200 to $500 to drain the infection and start antibiotics, and then either $700 to $1,500 for a root canal or $150 to $400 for an extraction.
Medically reviewed by Dr. FULL NAME, DDS. Last reviewed . Sources: Mayo Clinic, Tooth abscess, ADA MouthHealthy, Abscess. Editorial policy.
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