Endodontics · patient case question
What is the treatment?
Patient case: Periapical abscess on the lower right first molar
Scenario: A PERIAPICAL ABSCESS on the lower right mandibular first molar.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Root canal treatment
- A. Antibiotics are ADJUNCTIVE. They are indicated for systemic involvement (fever, malaise, lymphadenopathy), spreading cellulitis, or in an immunocompromised patient — but they never replace removing the source.
- B. Incision and drainage relieves an acute fluctuant swelling but leaves the necrotic pulp — the cause — untreated.
- C. Correct. Definitive treatment of a periapical abscess on a RESTORABLE tooth is removal of the source of infection — ROOT CANAL TREATMENT, beginning with access and drainage through the canal. This eliminates the necrotic pulp tissue and the bacteria driving the periapical inflammation.
- D. Extraction is reserved for a non-restorable tooth; the case gives no indication that the molar cannot be saved.