I have a hole in my tooth the size of a pea and an abscess in my gum, and I can't afford to go to the dentist.

[TheMolarBear]

I know I'm going to need a root canal treatment or (more likely) an extraction.
I've been unemployed since September but haven't been on JSA as my DH has been helping me, and I have no money of my own. Even if I had gone on JSA it would have been contributions based, so I wouldn't have qualified for free NHS treatment.
I just started a new job this week but I don't expect to be paid until the end of January, and my DH can't afford to pay for me as even on the NHS it runs into hundreds of pounds.
The free emergency dental clinics at Kings College Hospital and Guys Hospital don't operate over the Christmas holidays (as they are run by students) and even if they did I'd have to take at least one day off for them which I can't really do a week into a new job.
Am I literally going to have to leave it until it bloody rots and falls out? It's not especially painful at the moment but it is bleeding.

OP are you certain it's not a mouth ulcer? Abscesses more often than not, are quite painful

I phoned 111 and a dental nurse just called me back. Advice was to gargle warm salt water and sleep sitting up, and make a dentist appointment ASAP- she couldn't book me an out of hours appointment as I'm not presently in pain and therefore not classed as an emergency that'll teach me for being honest. She also said I can't wait til next week when I said I can't take time off work this week and asked if that would tide me over til then. The only other thing she said I can do is wait til 6pm tomorrow and repeat the process, except this time say I'm in pain (which I might well be by then). So I'll give that a try and if I get an appointment, explain my financial situation and just hope for the best!

please ring your dentist for advice and explain your financial situation, they might advise seeing GP or come up with a repayment plan but treat you straight away.

I once had an abcess that was manageable (but didn't go to the dentist for same reason as you), then it flared up at teatime one Christmas Eve, ended up calling 111 for advice as my face was so swollen my eye was closed shut. They advised me to go to A & E - at 4am on Christmas morning, with 2 kids and no car, nearest A & E a 45 min drive away and not a soul who could take me (or who I could even ask). Needless to say, I rode it out until after Boxing Day, but it was horrific and it was just myself and the two kids at home. A dental x-ray later revealed that I actually had four abcesses, and that I was very lucky not to have ended up in hospital from the infection, and I ended up having multiple extractions and root canals.
Please don't just leave it!

cross post - glad you rang and got some advice OP, please look after yourself x

I did wonder if it was an ulcer but I'm usually really sensitive to those, and it certainly looks the same as googled images of gum abscesses. It doesn't really hurt at all atm, it's just a bit squishy to the touch, kind of like a cyst. I do have a slight headache on that side but my face isn't swollen or anything.

When you ring back 111 definitely say your in pain I had to ring them once I was in horrendous pain got sent to an emergency place in kings cross one evening honestly don't leave it the pain I was in was unbearable

But she isn’t in pain loopy.

Update, in case anyone is interested... I am now minus one tooth

Via a dentist or further deterioration?

Dentist

You just go to your own dentist and don't pay at the end. They will either invoice you or you can go in and pay when you have it.

You MUST not be ashamed of your poverty

Use the service, it's 100% necessary, and pay when you can.

You pulled it out didn't you

What happened Molar?

I didn’t pull it out myself! I rang up this morning and had a humiliating conversation with the clinic secretary who arranged an emergency appointment for me this afternoon. Went in, dentist took a look and basically said it was beyond rescue. 10 minutes, a few injections and a fair amount of pain later, job done. Got an antibiotic prescription for the abscess which I’ll ask DH to pick up later. She said it was most likely a bad filling which had got dislodged and took a chunk of my tooth out with it, but the hole went below the gum line so couldn’t do an RCT. I can’t quite believe I’ve just lost a tooth at age 33.

The most important thing is that it's sorted now over the holiday period and shouldn't get worse. Hope it feels better soon.

I lost a tooth at a very similar age for very similar reasons! I had a filling when I was about 7 (probably not needed but was 1970s drill and bill culture), then again when I was 15 as it was leaking and by the time I was 18 I had an abscess so had it partially root filled (not a full root canal, it later transpired). Anyway, another abscess appeared when I was 34 and the dentist (2nd opinion) said a RCT would cost over £1000 (private) and might not work. I paid £500 for a surgical extraction which I can honestly say was the most traumatic experience even beyond childbirth! (and painful for the bank balance too).

So I was only 34 when I lost a tooth. My current dentist is interested in implants and has asked me a couple of times if I want one.

It is a bit rubbish to lose a tooth at 33 but there is worse and at least you know the problem is solved forever! I still have my wisdom teeth so I guess I have as many teeth as anyone else and you can't see the gap.

This was a molar, and there is a very big gap unfortunately. I’d had wisdom teeth taken out before when I was a teenager but they weren’t nearly as bad as today was.