Acute dental abscess is a localized infection that occurs as the result of an untreated infection of the dental pulp. The abscess should be drained and the tooth treated with root canal therapy or extraction of the tooth. Antibiotics are of no additional benefit. In the event of systemic complications (e.g., fever, lymph node involvement or spreading infection), or for an immunocompromised patient, antibiotics may be prescribed in addition to drainage of the tooth.
Sources:
Cope A, et al. Systemic antibiotics for symptomatic apical periodontitis and acute apical abscess in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Jun 26;(6):CD010136. PMID: 24967571.
Matthews DC, et al. Emergency management of acute apical abscesses in the permanent dentition: a systematic review of the literature. J Can Dent Assoc. 2003 Nov;69(10):660. PMID: 14611715.