In A&E with toothache

[Kakamora]

Have just arrived at a&e. Approached the desk and said I don’t know if I can be seen, I don’t expect anything in terms of work but help with pain relief.

IVe had a severe tooth ache for 3 days. Gone through 4 packets of paracetamol and ibuprofen. Not ate. Not slept. Been sick from the pain, shaking and sweating it’s been that bad. Sobbed last night it was so bad.

The man and the front desk really snottily asked me ‘have you been to a emergency reception before ?’ Made me feel like shit. I know it’s not a typical reason to come to a&e but I don’t have a dentist and I’m in agony. I’m in no less pain than people with medical reasons. I feel even worse now

tooth pain is horrendous. really sympathise. if you cant get an emergency dentist tonight, an ice pack will be better than heat.
Get to the nearest dentist you can find tomorrow and refuse to leave until someone helps you!

And if you are in south west Scotland I will see if still have some in emergency kit.

Sorry you are in pain OP realistically though there isnt anything that A&E can do, they are drs not dentists and you need a dentist. Drs can't do any of the things needed to get you out of pain. Often painkillers just dont work for tooth pain and unless there's severe swelling a&e is not the place for toothache.
Youve had this for 3 days, you need to ring 111 and ask for an emergency dentist. There aren't that many dental hospitals in the UK, nd they wont be open till tomorrow morning. You can try one tomorrow if there's one near you but I would ring 111.

Most dentists will have an out of hours emergency number on their overnight answerphone message - may well be private though. I am very good at dealing with pain but had an abscess once, where the pain came on very suddenly in the middle of a class I was teaching, and I was unable to speak it was so awful.

Hi, if you can’t get to an emergency dentist then a cool pack (or frozen peas wrapped in a dish cloth) will provide some relief

I was seen by the out of hours gp for horrendous toothache. I was sick and felt so I'll with it. I had an infection that in my lower jaw bone that had spread from a bit of a niggling tooth. Was awful. Came away with very strong pain killers, anti-sickness tablets and antibiotics after seeing a very kind doctor. Had the tooth out at emergency dentist the next day but it took ages to clear the infection from my face. The relief after getting it sorted was massive. Really feel for you op, hope you get seen soon

OP, you poor thing.

You need cloves, chew on a couple for as long as you can.Repeat. It will help while you sort out your appointment.

What on earth am I supposed to do now.

Call 111 or round all the dentists in the area to get an appointment, like you should have done 3 days ago.

Buy co-codamol over the counter like you can at any pharmacy.

Don't blame medical professionals who are not equipped to treat you because you left the problem too late until it was Sunday night.

It is infuriating that out of hours dental care is piss poor. However, a&e can and do see people with severe dental issues - infections can be life threatening if not treated. And sometimes people need to be admitted to the max fax ward for urgent treatment. Obviously a&e isn’t for a bit of a twinge or in place of routine dental care.

OP ring 111 and ask how to contact the emergency dental service in your area. However I suspect there won’t be any appointments available now today. If you have your own dentist show up at opening time to see when they can squeeze you in. If you don’t have a dentist speak to 111 and they will advise where you can go.

You need more than pain relief. Abscessed teeth have killed people.

Check online who the emergency dentist is for your town or nearest town tonight. There should be some help available.

Ooooft, how awful OP, I've had severe toothache before and it really is the most horrendous pain in the world.

A&E doctors are not allowed to deal with teeth, it's beyond their remit. Contact an emergency dentist tomorrow morning, and your GP regarding better pain relief (mine gave me some strong codeine tablets, as dentists can't prescribe more than paracetamol. Get some over the counter co-codamol, and I hope you feel better soon.

Toothache is horrendous, you have my sympathy OP - sorry to hear that you couldn't get any strong painkillers. Are you on your own or do you have someone with you at the moment?

I hope you can find a dentist to treat you ASAP tomorrow and provide some relief.

I agree you do need to see a dentist. There are always emergency services on call.

A&E can and should prescribe strong painkillers to anyone in so much pain they’re in tears and can’t sleeo due to the pain being so severe. I’m an a&e nurse, we would ask you how bad the pain was on a scale of 1-10 ( 10 being the worst) and we would not let a patient go home in pain. We would prescribe a very strong painkiller and refer you to a dentist ASAP. We would NOT let you leave until we were sure you were cared for appropriately. You’d need to be free of pain with a care plan in place or referred to an appropriate surgeon/dentist etc with a follow up with your gp AND a pain free care plan before we discharged you.

I'm sorry that the OP is in such pain (dental pain is the worst) but I don't think people on here should be offering their own medication, especially if it's prescribed for them and is opiate based.

Fucks sake opiningambit why offer advice wrapped up in contempt?

The poor woman is in pain and clearly had reason for not seeking help sooner. Rightly or wrongly that doesn’t deserve derision.

OP I hope you get some relief tonight and sorted out soon

You can get 8/500 strength co-codamol without prescription if you can get to a 24 hour pharmacy (you can't have co-codamol with paracetamol, but you can take ibuprofen with it).

You need to phone 111 to get an emergency dentist appointment really. Or phone around your local dentists tomorrow to try to get registered and get an emergency appointment.

Call 111. They will get you in touch with an emergency dentist.
Toothache is the worst. I’d rather give birth.

If you call 111 they can tell you where your nearest emergency dentist is, whether one is open is another matter. I have a really bad abscess, like really really bad, looks like I've walked into a door my face is so swollen and I cant get an appointment til Tuesday. Pain killers are doing nothing so I've stopped taking them and resorted to clove oil, a hot water bottle and holding whisky over it, its a short term relief but numbed it just enough for me to doze off last night.

Orajel was a godsend when I had an infected wisdom tooth. It was far more effective than the tramadol I took. Call nhs 111, if they can’t get you an appointment tonight then go to an nhs dentist first thing in the morning when they open and they will fit you in at some point.

If you've taken 4 packets of paracetamol in 3 days, then you're probably in the right place as surely that's an overdose? Might be worth a mention.

All those saying a&e can’t help are takkknh rubbish. A&e is accident and emergencies, this is an emergency. The person posting is in so much pain they can’t eat or sleep. Two basic human rights.

I would ask to be seen at A&E. No one is expecting doctors to extract a tooth but they do have a duty of care to everyone who comes in seeking help.

Menolly, please don’t use a hot water bottle as this isn’t recommended as it can make matters worse. Cold compresses and salty mouth rinse may help a bit?