What causes a mouth / tooth abscess...?

[sythai]

Hi there...

Unfortunately I have an abscess in my mouth, and have to have one of my molars pulled out (nice!) to solve the problem.

Just wondering what actually causes an abscess to form in the first place ? (I do eat eat quite a bit of chocolate?)

[MrXLA]

We all have numerous microbes in our mouths. Certain types of oral bacteria can with the help of a sugar substrate (e.g. chocolate) create an acid which can breakdown tooth substance.
Once they have broken down enough tooth structure to enter the living part (pulp chamber) these bacteria and many others will grow and cause 'nerve death' in the tooth and necrosis (brekdown) of the living part. This occurs as the grow inside the root canals of the tooth.
Since a tooth is an enclosed system with little space the bacteria inside the root canal system eventually give rise to a localised swelling --> abscess formation.
Only treatment options are then:
1) Root canal therapy
2) Extraction