A patient has a localized gum boil with no fever and is otherwise well. Are antibiotics the answer? Teaching says no — a localized, drainable dental abscess without systemic signs is managed by definitive dental treatment (drainage, treating the tooth), not antibiotics alone. Antibiotics are indicated when infection is spreading (cellulitis), systemic signs exist (fever, malaise, lymph node swelling), or the patient is immunocompromised. This distinction fights antibiotic resistance.