What is an abscess?
I am often asked "what is an abscess?" and "how do they form?" These are such common questions that a dedicated page is appropriate.
To gain a clear understanding it is first worth getting clear about what decay is – and what it is NOT. Decay is the process by which both enamel and dentine are dissolved or eroded away from tooth substance.
We are taught that the cause of decay is the bacteria that stick to your teeth and then produce acids which dissolve the tooth structure. Therefore cleaning your teeth and removing the plaque/bacteria layer is a 
great start to preventing decay. Believing that this is the only cause of decay makes it easyly promote the use of a serious protoplasmic poison to pretend to ‘stop’ decay. This poison is of course fluoride. Unfortunately the pro fluoride lobby conveniently forget the research, published in the dental journals in the late 1960’s, which demonstrated that decay rates are intimately associated with the systemic health of your body.
This research was done by Dr Ralph Steinman and clearly demonstrated a flow of body fluids through teeth from the inside to the outside even through the enamel. So long as the direction and pressure of this fluid flow was maintained there was no decay. Reduction in the fluid pressure lead to an increase in decay no matter how much tooth brushing went on. The critical part of this research is that the flow of fluid through the tooth is dependant on DIET and STRESS levels. It has nothing to do with fluoride yet the pro fluoride lobby continues to deny the importance of this research. 
Once the decay process begins in the tooth a little bit of the tooth is dissolved away. This usually takes place just below the surface of the enamel. Gradually this dissolved area enlarges until there is a real cavity in the structure of the tooth. By the time the decay gets to the dentine on the inside of the tooth, it begins to spread rapidly. If the decay continues deep enough it will cause a massive infection in the nerve (pulp) of the tooth. Such an infection may easily cause the pulp (nerve, blood vessels and connective tissue) to die.
The infection itself can spread through the opening at the end of the root (called the apex) and then into the bone surrounding the tooth. The ligament around the bone (periodontal ligament) and the bone itself have a massive blood supply. 
Thus it is easy for bacteria and their toxins to be transported throughout the body. Another very important passage of transport is directly along nerve fibres and back to the brain. As I mentioned, the tissue inside the tooth is not only infected but also is dead. Dead tissue breaks down and becomes gangrenous thus producing gaseous and liquid byproducts which are deadly to the rest of your body.
Traditionally dentistry would suggest either an extraction or preferably a r
oot canal therapy. Unfortunately root therapy does not work as it is impossible to remove all dead tissue, impossible to sterilize the tooth and also impossible to fill the canal and seal it. Thus the best that a root therapy will do is leave dead, infected and gangrenous tissue in your body to make the rest of you sick. Believe it or not, the root therapy may itself be a cause of an abscess, if the root filling extends beyond the end of the tooth. This will cause liquification necrosis of the bone. (disolves the bone) and looks and behaves just like an abscess.
A dead tooth should always be removed completely. It is usually easier to fill the gap than to deal with the systemic diseases caused by keeping such a tooth in your head.
The best solution by far is to eat a good diet, reduce your stress levels and practice very good oral hygiene. Anything which reduces your immune function should be avoided and that includes mercury-amalgam fillings and fluoride, either in the drinking water or applied directly to your teeth by the dentist. It is always better to prevent decay rather than deal with its consequences. It is always better to fill a small hole rather than let the tooth be destroyed.
