Question

An infected tooth forms an abscess (area of infected tissue) that fills with gas. The abscess puts pressure on the nerve of the tooth, causing a toothache. While waiting to see a dentist, the person with the toothache tried to relieve the pain by treating the infected area with moist heat. Will this treatment help? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Answer:

No, the treatment won't work

Explanation:

Since the abscess is filled with gas, and is already putting pressure on the tooth nerve, applying moist heat will only aggravate the problem. The pressure of a given gas increases with temperature and so, the gas within the abscess will only put more pressure on the nerve due to the expansion of the gas within the abcess, causing her more discomfort.