Wisdom tooth agony - how to get rid of pain

[toothachemiserable]

I’m on a waiting list for ‘urgent’ removal but been warned it could be a very long time. Tooth has a massive hole in it, dentist said there’s exposed nerve and it’s half impacted with a huge hole into my gum around it . Dentist said a fortnight ago there’s a massive risk of infection . Been told it will need removal in a hospital as dentist said there’s no way I’ll manage without sedation, but I have a history of bad reactions to IV sedation so said will need more monitoring - all of which adds up to removal being a long way off .

I’ve taken over the counter cocodamol, 50mg diclofenac, hot salt water rinse, bonjela, and I’m still shaking with pain this morning . It spreads up into my jaw bone and into my ear and neck (pain) and makes it hard to open my mouth fully. I’ve ordered orajel in my shopping tonight and trying to stick to soft lukewarm foods and drinks on opposite side of mouth only .

I’ve had pericoronitis before on the opposite side but it doesn’t feel like that completely, it’s just absolute agony . Electric shock type pain .

I’m going to contact my dentist first thing tomorrow and ask for help but I can’t think straight for the level of pain I’m in and don’t know what to do . All I am doing is counting down to next dose of pain relief . I can’t really afford much more treatment - I’m worried I’ll need to pay a fortune if it’s a hospital and IV meds etc (though it’s an NHS list but I’ve no idea if that means they cover the op and meds or not, dentist didn’t say) - but I can’t keep going with this level of pain for months on end.

This sounds awful and unsustainable for wait to have it taken out. I doubt you will be able to live a normal life working etc taking that amount of pain relief. Is it a lower or upper? You could go to a and e and try to get in to see the max fax quicker. Or ask the dentist to take it out with lots of local anesthetic

Well I wouldn't be able to live my life in that level of pain, how can a person look after kids, concentrate at work, function normally under that pain? So A &E would be my choice or a university hospital with emergency dental service.

If desperate, a tot of whisky has helped me on one ocassion at night when I was in extreme pain but clearly that has to be a one-off.

If you can temporarily fill the hole so there's no exposed nerve it might help. Can an emergency dentist do this ? Alternatively you can buy temporary fillings from the pharmacy. I have used a plug of pure beeswax as a temporary filling and it works great. Also try wrapping sea salt in a bit if lint cloth to make a poultice and pack it next to the tooth for 10 mins as it extracts fluid and relieves inflammation taking a bit of pressure off.

I don't have any advice for you, but bloody hell - how can you be expected to put up with this? I'm also surprised the dentist hasn't packed the tooth and given you antibiotics.

Horrendous! I had a really bad infection over a bank holiday and couldn’t get to a dentist. The only think I found to give slight relief was Paramol/ibuprofen combo and Orajel. I had to make sure I kept the doses up and was counting down the minutes until the next one, but it helped a lot.

I've come to the view most dentists are closet sadists but if its paining you then pay if you have the cash.

I don’t, unfortunately (cash) . My dentist also said she wasn’t touching it as said it’s too deeply impacted for her to safely remove herself - said it needs surgical removal. It’s hard to explain - it cracked the molar in front of it back in 2021 so the molar was removed by a different dentist - which left a gaping hole at the back of my mouth . Wisdom tooth had been there since about 2016 but impacted for a long time . Since they made that hole tooth has since poked through the gum a bit but dentist said it’s essentially rotten and ‘in a hell of a mess and absolutely useless to you’ . Inevitably as even with interdental brushes and mouthwash I can’t keep it clean .

Previous dentist offered to ‘give it a shot’ at removal for £300 … but didn’t have that sort of money at that point either .

I thought about a temporary filling yeah, I’ll see if I can get one as it’s definitely the exposed nerve that’s causing the pain .

thanks so much, it’s driving me mad - doesn’t help that the combination of meds also makes you drowsy as hell so difficult to focus on anything !

I had dental surgery in December worst pain ever and yours sound even worse.

2 ibuprofen 2 cocodamol every 4 hours even when you are asleep. Wake up and take them.

Bonjela on a cotton but
Corsydyl mouth wash
Difam oral rinse
Orajel.

Also had take amytriplyline daily back pain and this help worth the pain

Can your dentist send you to A&E, mine did and I was at the stage I would have signed over my house to get the bastard taken out.

Be warned though, I was in for 2 days and the op took more than 2 hours.

Hi , i had to use a tempory diy filling kit -DENTEK , you can get this type of thing from a supermarket , it really did the job for me until dentist fixed it.
I wouldn't let a dentist 'give it a shot' there are important nerves that could get damaged in the process , it needs someone who really knows what they are doing.
I hope you get some pain relief soon .

I used the strongest painkillers I could get from the chemist, Paramol tablets combined with Ibuprofen tablets, (obviously check if this is ok for you to do) together with a hot water bottle on the side of my face, I appreciate it's not practical but if you're lying down the heat will help with the pain, Good luck OP, you must be feeling terrible.

A&E won't take out the tooth and it's completely inappropriate for a dentist to send a patient to A&E for dental pain

The dentist should be able to dress the tooth to get you out of pain. Don't put a temporary filling in yourself as that may make it worse.

Have you been seen by the hospital yet? Do you think you need sedation? Do you normally struggle to cope with dental work? Many people manage without

You can buy the temporary filling kits on Amazon. Clove oil is good too.

When I had similar (not as bad) pain and couldn’t get a dentist appointment 111 arranged a call back from a dental nurse who assessed and would have got me a same day appointment with an emergency dentist if necessary. Have you tried 111?

You're on the list for removal under general anaesthetic. Could you find out if you could have it removed with a local?

I had one removed last year. Impacted, lying sideways and kept getting infected. I was in the chair for an hour, they cut through the bone, then cut the tooth up in situ, then removed it and as much root as they could (had to leave some behind as too close to the nerve). Then they packed it with antibiotics and put a few stitches in (leaving a small hole to drain. I can honestly say I didn't feel anything other than the ache in my face muscles from keeping my mouth open so long.

Why does your dentist think you couldn't cope with that given how much pain you are on at the moment?

There was a much shorter waiting list for removal under local anaesthetic than general. And you won't have to pay for either option. I pay for private dental care and I didn't have to pay to have my tooth out in an NHS hospital.

You have my every sympathy - wisdom tooth pain is horrendous!

Isn’t there a dental advice line in your area? I’ve even had treatment - broken molar + abcess, on boxing day 2021, you might have to travel but there should be an emergency clinic somewhere.

I'm hospital treatment will be free. Don't worry about that

Don't accept the dentist saying they can give it a go for 300. Either they can do it or they can't. If they can do it, they do it on the NHS for NHS prices. If they can't they refer you in the NHS for treatment (assuming you are an NHS patient)

Don't accept the dentist saying you need sedation. Only you know what you can cope with. Many people manage fine with local, and actually if the procedure is doable under sedation its doable under local. Local will be a lot quicker and safer if you've had problems with sedation in the past

If you've been seen by the hospital, tomorrow you can contact them and ask for treatment under local, most hospitals can accommodate urgent extractions under local quickly

If you have not been seen by the hospital your dentist can contact them to expedite the referral and if you are willing explain you would prefer treatment under local which will again speed things up.

Today try 111 for an emergency dentist. It's your dentists responsibility to manage their emergency patients, so if you can't get an emergency dentist contact your dentist tomorrow and push to be seen

Clove oil is very good btw

If they cannot do it of course they send you to where it can be done. I was sent to A&E at a hospital with a maxfax unit. It is a complex op and I had drains in my neck for 24 hours afterwards.

Go back to your dentist.

Bloody hell!

Is there a good surgical dental specialist in your area? One that focuses purely on things like wisdom tooth extraction?

I had all 4 of mine out (in two visits) under heavy sedation at a specialist surgical dental place. Kind of a halfway house between hospital and bog-standard dentist. Was able to book in and get them done within a few weeks. I paid privately and it cost a few hundred but I think they also took NHS referrals in cases of emergency. Might be a better option than waiting for NHS....

Sorry for you, OP. Wisdom tooth pain is awful...

If you had drains in your neck for 24hrs you had a significant swelling. Your dentists sent you to A&E as you needed hospital care for your infection, likely due to risk of sepsis or airway compromise if left. You had a neck abscess. That is not the same as not being able to do the procedure. Drainage of a neck abscess as a result of a tooth is not the same procedure as a dental extraction, and it is not appropriate to send a patient to A&E because you can't manage their pain. And actually the dentist should still phone maxfacs not send to A&E to reduce wait times for the patient and load on emergency care.

OP has toothache. She does not need hospital care, she needs dental care. A dentist can appropriately dress the tooth even if they cannot take it out.

I would say this is the sort of situation a&e can help with. Despite self care at home and dental advice the level of pain is unbearable. The op needs hospital care and it will be up to a and e to help on the next steps. Unfortunately this sort of situation will increase pressure on emergancy care because the dental care has been run to the ground. But that is not the ops concern.

Make sure you get MAX STRENGTH oragel. The regular one won't touch it. I think you need to get the max strength from a pharmacy it has 20% numbing agent the regular is just 10%.

dont eat anything sugary it will make the pain worse

It’s the lower strength orajel, you’re right that it’s not touching the sides . Numbed my tongue for twenty minutes and that’s all .

I can’t remember the last time I took diclofenac, either early this morning or late last night - I’ve got two of them left so will take another one just now and a half with more cocodamol and hopefully that’ll settle it enough for bed . It’s hell . I’ll ring dentist at 8am tomorrow and see if they can see me tomorrow . I think I’m on a list for conscious sedation - she said she’d put a referral through to both dental hospital and a specialist dental surgery, said both can do sedation . I’ve had the other three out wide awake so I’d be happy to go without - tbh that would be easier than having to find someone to stay with me for 24 hours. At the moment I’d happily take it out myself .

Diclofenac and cocodamol now not helping either. I’m waiting on 111 calling back but they said probably nothing anyone can do until dentist opens at 8am.