An abscess is a sealed pocket of pus sitting at a tooth's root or within the gum, and it won't settle on its own. We drain it and treat the source the same day at our Belmont Cragin office. Call (773) 555-0199 before coming; the door is appointment-only. Weekday hours run 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
The $99 covers an emergency exam, consultation and panoramic X-ray. Fees may be adjusted due to complications or unforeseen circumstances. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
Same-day appointments · $99 exam + X-ray · Phones answered 24/7 · Se habla español
Signs you need dental abscess treatment today
We treat both kinds here.
A tooth abscess usually brings:
- A deep, steady ache in one tooth that gets worse when you lie down
- A tooth that feels high, so biting on it hurts first
- A small pimple-like swelling on the gum by the root, sometimes with a salty taste when it leaks
A gum abscess shows up as a tender, shiny swelling on the gum beside a tooth rather than at the root tip. It may leak pus when pressed.
Signs the infection is spreading, which need a hospital first:
- A fever together with facial swelling
- Swelling that moves up toward the eye or down the neck
- Trouble opening your mouth, swallowing or breathing
The closest emergency room to us is Community First Medical Center at 5645 W Addison St (Addison and Central), about a mile north. Hospitals treat spreading infection and injuries; they generally don't treat the tooth itself. Once you're stable, call us; the tooth comes next.
What happens at your same-day visit
Swelling first: we look at it, then take a panoramic X-ray. The X-ray shows where the infection sits: at the tip of a root, which points to a dead nerve inside the tooth, or along the side of the root, which points to a deep gum pocket.
Next the area is numbed. We open the abscess and let it drain, through a small cut in the gum or through the tooth, and clear out the infected material. Pressure drops right away.
Draining alone doesn't fix the cause. When a tooth can't be saved, we remove it in the same appointment; see emergency tooth extraction. When the tooth can be saved, we explain what the tooth needs and the next step. When the source is a gum pocket, we treat the infection under the gum, covered on our emergency gum treatment page.
Antibiotics come in when infection has spread into the surrounding tissue or you have a fever. They back up the drainage; they don't replace it. If the swelling is too firm for the numbing to take, we drain what we can, start antibiotics, and finish once it settles.
Cost of dental abscess treatment in Chicago
The $99 exam and panoramic X-ray tell us what's infected and whether the tooth can stay. Drainage, and the extraction or gum treatment that follows, are quoted in writing before anything is done.
We work with most PPO plans, many Medicare dental plans and selected HMO plans. When we work with your insurer, the exam and X-ray are billed to your plan. CareCredit, Cherry, Sunbit, Eve Financial and Proceed financing are available; the front desk can tell you more. Our cost and insurance page answers the payment questions.
Why patients choose our Belmont Cragin office
We open at 7:00 AM Monday through Friday, so you can be seen before work. Same-day emergency slots are held at 8:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM each weekday. Our dentists, licensed in Illinois, do the drainage, the gum treatment and any extraction in this office.
Phones are answered 24/7. From 1:00 PM onward, and on weekends, our answering service logs your details and sets aside the next business morning's 7:00 AM for you. We opened in 2025, and parking is on site for every visit.
Dental abscess treatment near you on Chicago's Northwest Side
Our office is at 5841 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60634, on the north side of W Belmont Ave between N Central Ave and N Austin Ave, a short walk from the Portage-Cragin Branch Library. The CTA 77 Belmont bus stops along the avenue.
Belmont Cragin patients are here in 3 to 6 minutes along Belmont. From Hermosa, take W Fullerton Ave or W Diversey Ave west to N Central Ave and head north, 7 to 12 minutes. From Portage Park, it's N Central Ave south to Belmont, then west, 5 to 9 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just take antibiotics and skip the visit?
Antibiotics calm the swelling for a while, but the pus and the infected root or gum pocket don't go anywhere. Once the pills run out, the abscess comes back. The fix is drainage plus treating the tooth or gum that started it. We do both in one visit.
Should I press on it or try to pop it at home?
No. Squeezing drives bacteria deeper into the jaw and can spread an infection that was contained. Instead, rinse with warm salt water, hold a cold pack to the outside of your cheek, and use a drugstore pain reliever as the label directs. Then call (773) 555-0199.
My jaw is swelling on a Saturday night. What do I do?
If the swelling is moving toward your eye or neck, if you're running a fever, or if swallowing is difficult, go to the emergency room. If it's staying in one cheek or on the gum and you can swallow normally, call us. The answering service will have Monday's 7:00 AM opening waiting for you.