Help - tooth abscess and it's Easter weekend

[Chickpeamasala]

I have a gum/tooth infection which has just started today. It's got progressively worse as the day has gone on and I fear I will need antibiotics asap. Of course my dentist was closed today and is not open until Tuesday.
I rang their phone and it just said call 111 for dental emergencies.
I just looked online and the 111 website says they don't issue antibiotics for dental issues.
How can I get some antibiotics asap?
Online drs can prescribe but due to the Easter weekend wouldn't be sending out until Tuesday anyway.
Ideas please

Do you have access to an out of hours clinic in your area?
I had a similar problem a while ago and they had an out of hours dental clinic in my area.

111 should be able to refer you to an emergency dentist.

Try Push Doctor. They might issue antibiotics for a dental abscess.

111 should be able to refer you to an emergency dentist or a dental clinic in a hospital, the hospital clinics local to me are open over the weekend.
There are specific questions on 111 online for dental problems.

I had the same last Easter! 111 referred me to the emergency dentist and they treated me and gave me a prescription.

You need a dentist, not a doctor. Doctors are not insured to treat dental issues. Try 111 to see if they can direct you to an emergency dentist

Our local hospital has an out of hours dentist which operates at weekends and on bank holidays, I've had an abscess over Easter before! Hopefully yours does too?

Local hospital does not have out of hours dentist.
111 online can only offer a call back from a dental nurse, they won't be able to prescribe will they? Will they refer me to an out of hours dentist?

Try echinacea, you can probably get hold of it tomorrow from a Holland and Barratt or similar in capsules (I took double what it said on the bottle), it's like a natural antibiotic and has helped me in the past with tooth infection/abscess.

Call 111 and they direct you to emergency dentist

It's a stupid system of

On hold to 111 now

Dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a small cup of warm water and swill mouthfuls around your mouth, keeping it on the infected area as long as possible. Work your way through till the whole cup is used up. Repeat every half hour.
Not an old wives tale - a dentist told me this years ago, and said it works by providing an inhospitable environment to the infection.

Ok will do that now, thanks

My partner had an infection and called the out of hours NHS dental line (it was open 8-am - 10pm on a weekend). He got an appointment the same day at a dentist locally, thought they would give antibiotics but the dentist just said it needed taking out so they did it there and then for about £25! Not sure of the area you live in but this was Manchester and the number was on google. Hopefully 111 can help you

You may not get antibiotics, I have an abscess at the moment and need to wait on a root canal

Sister woke with an infection in her wisdom tooth this morning. She called 111 who then had a dental nurse call back, dental nurse prescribed antibiotics. She then had to wait for the prescription nurse to call. Prescription nurse took a few detail and forwarded an email with her prescription. However, make sure the prescription is for a chemist that will be open tomorrow, Google chemists open over water weekend. The original prescription was directed to a pharmacy that wasn’t open today, so the whole process had to be repeated.
we got there in there in the end.

I get these a lot.
Here's what I do- based on my dentists recommendation and it always clears it up:
Brush teeth.
Interdental brush.
Corsadyl mouthwash.
Good luck!

Do you claim from a dental plan? I have a nhs dentist, but a dental plan via work where it has a 24hr line and access to emergency treatment.. worth checking if you have similar?

Excellent info, thanks.
Well I was on hold for 111 for ages then got cut off. In the meantime I followed the advice for salt water and it has helped a fair bit, I think it may have caused the infection to burst maybe? The pain has definitely reduced although it still feels tender. So thank you for the advice to use salt water, I will keep on with that. I'll call 111 again tomorrow if I need it though.
Many thanks all

And I will definitely follow it up with my regular dentist when I can call them on Tuesday.

Salt water soothes dental pain as a PP said and it always worked for us. I had an abcess over Christmas when the dentists were shut and was offered Solphadine Max or Paramol from the chemist. Solphadine Max can only be used for 3 days along with ibuprofen. I staggered the doses so the Solphadine then two hours later the ibuprofen if needed. I also used clove oil one night when the pain was especially bad. The chemist also told me to use ice on my face and not heat, that helped too the one particular night I was pacing about it was so bad.

I hope you feel better soon, toothache is awful.

@Chickpeamasala how are you getting on today? I’m struggling too - Tuesday evening I went to an emergency dentist because my wisdom tooth was v swollen and I was worried about getting stuck over Easter. I’ve been on strong antibiotics now since Tuesday night and the swelling is a bit better but still very painful. It’s concentrated a bit more into a boil now. Removal of the tooth and then isn’t an option because the tooth is on the nerve so I’m on the waiting list to have it removed in hospital.

Thinking of going back to the emergency dentist this afternoon to see if they can burst the boil. Nightmare

@Marchflower a lot better actually. I think diligent use of salt water and corsodyl actually stopped the infection fully developing. Or so I hope. It's a lot more comfortable today and I didn't need to go to an emergency dentist, I can see my dentist at the start of next week. Sorry to hear you are in pain, I hope your day has not been too bad.