Toothache - is there a dentist in the house?

[Judydreamsofhorses]

I feel like I am in a nightmare with recurring dental issues and would appreciate any advice.

I have a lower right molar which has been bothering me on and off since June. The tooth has a big filling, and is the one next to the wisdom tooth - the tooth in front was extracted after repeated abscesses and a failed root canal about 15 years ago.

The dentist has examined and x-rayed the tooth numerous times and found nothing wrong. In August she drilled out and replaced a bit of the filling. I got a few weeks pain-free before it started up again. My last x-ray was a fortnight ago, and I last saw the dentist last Thursday - she gave me antibiotics and suggested it could be a sinus problem. I thought this was unlikely but took them anyway. The tooth is still really painful and the antibiotics are finished today.

I'm a recent clencher due to stress,, and the dentist says the pain is just due to clenching. I have a nightguard which was fitted after these problems started - I wear it every night, all night.

I am due to go back in a fortnight because my dentist is on holiday until then, but I am not sure I will last that long. The pain is around the front of the tooth, constant, and sharp rather than throbbing. The tooth actually doesn't hurt more if I eat on it. Is it worth ringing in to see if someone else can see me? I am a nervous patient and worried because I have been at the dentist more in the last six months than the rest of my life, and I am scared the tooth might need extracted. I had the matching tooth extracted in July after a broken filling/root canal which never settled because one canal couldn't be found. (I am an NHS patient in a mainly private practice, but am willing to pay privately to save the tooth/get out of pain.)

Thanks for reading this massive essay if you did! (I should also say that I really do respect and trust my dentist, but there is definitely something going on with this tooth, even I feel it's not showing up.)

[PetraDelphiki]

I'm suffering too...had tiny filling on molar 4 weeks ago and have been getting pain in my jaw from front tooth round to ear ever since! Waking up at 4 with stabbing pains in the jaw around the tooth. Can chew gently on it but can touch it with hot/cold...

Also had ear infection and antibiotics...

Totally fed up now - am alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen ever 3 hours or so :-(

Sending sympathy!!!

[PetraDelphiki]

Oh and the dentists only suggestion is remove the nerve in that tooth which would seem like overkill?

[PetraDelphiki]

Bump PLEASE!!!

[Judydreamsofhorses]

Huge sympathies, petra, toothache is the pits. I would gladly take a root canal to get rid of the nerve! It's a fortnight today until my appointment, I'm not sure I will last that long.

[PetraDelphiki]

I'm just worried that won't cure it!!!

[Judydreamsofhorses]

Btw, I had that referred pain to all my other teeth after I had a failed root canal on my opposite molar in the summer. It is horrible - I was really scared. Having the tooth extracted cured it, but I have been left with a weird nerve thing in my face, which hasn't completely gone away. (My lip and chin are all "buzzy", particularly when I'm tired. It's not sore or even uncomfortable, just really odd.)

[MyLittleHelper]

I would go and book an appointment with another dentist in the practice. You may get a different opinion. 2 weeks is a long time to wait. A root treatment may work quite well especially if you have already lost a tooth.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

helper will I be allowed to see another dentist? Or only if I ring as an emergency? (I teach, so it is really awkward to get out of work in the middle of the day when the emergency slots are, and I have already had loads of time off for previous appointments.) I am quite scared of seeing someone new, and worried about being judged for having missing teeth. I now have gaps at the back on both sides of my lower teeth, one upper wisdom tooth gone, and I had four adult teeth extracted under the orthodontist when I was at primary school because my individual teeth are massive and I was going to end up with them all crowding together.

[MyLittleHelper]

If your dentist is on holidays for two weeks and you are in pain you should definitely see someone else. If the practice does not facilitate this I would find a new practice.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

Thanks. I worry I'm being a nuisance and that maybe I'm not in enough pain to bother them - I don't want to rip my own head off and it's manageable with ibuprofen plus paracetamol. Maybe I should ring and ask for advice. God, this whole thing is a nightmare!

[MyLittleHelper]

You can't exist on painkillers for 2 weeks. Your liver will not thank you! Any good practice will accommodate you.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

I'll ring tomorrow - it's a MyDentist practice (used to be an independent but was bought over when the partners retired, and then moved to fancy new premises) and there are lots of dentist, but I think the majority work part time and it's always busy.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

Just to update, I rang at 8.30 this morning and have an appointment on Tuesday - quite scared about seeing a "new" dentist and that he might be annoyed at having to see someone who isn't "his" patient, but hopefully he will be kind. If it gets worse over the weekend there's shared emergency care between my surgery and a couple of others.

[MyLittleHelper]

Well done! Any decent dentist will be more than understanding. Good luck!

[Judydreamsofhorses]

Thank you. The receptionist tried to palm me off with coming in for a prescription for more antibiotics, but since the first lot did nothing I didn't think that was a good option. The tooth seems to start off not too bad in the morning, then get more painful as the day goes on. It feels like it's being irritated by eating/drinking, then calms down through the night. Much as I found the last root canal distressing - especially as it didn't work out - I really hope we can save the tooth.

[PetraDelphiki]

I may be speaking too soon but I saw my amazing cranio-sacral osteopath today (I know, feels like woo) - she immediately identified the problem
As my jaw being completely out of place...haven't had painkillers since! Will update in the morning,,,

[PetraDelphiki]

So far so good....I think the magic might have worked! Seriously - if you are in the amount of pain you say it might just be worth trying if it saves you major dental work! Given my dentist's only suggestion was to take the nerve out I'm glad I didn't do that!

If you are anywhere near SW London pm me and I'll give you the osteopath's name.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

Update. I saw the dentist today and he could also find nothing wrong with the tooth. He did a new x-ray as well as a full exam. He suggested a root canal since it's been rumbling away since June, so I think I am going to go for that. I disgraced myself by crying and saying how worried I was after the last time when the dentist couldn't find every canal, but he said the roots looked "very straight" so it should be straightforward. Hopefully I was just unlucky last time.

petra, so pleased you got sorted!

[SomedayMyPrinceWillCome]

HVe you been to your GP? It is possible that the pain is not actually coming from your tooth but from your ear or a nerve in your face (trigeminal neuralgia).
Admittedly this is quite unlikely but may be worth considering or excluding as the dentists cant find an obvious cause for the pain & prior to embarking on extensive dental treatment.

[Judydreamsofhorses]

someday thanks, but I am certain it's the tooth, and getting an appointment at the doctor's is virtually impossible. (The dentist actually suggested I see my GP before the RCT for something to take the edge off my nerves, but I am more likely to see the queen than a doctor here.) He offered to refer me to a consultant for a third opinion but the wait is 15 weeks.