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

Where has OP having dry socket come from? If it was that then she’d be under the care of a dentist already by having a tooth out..

Op please call 111 or a local dentist that will have an emergency number to ring. A&E or your GP tomorrow won’t be able to deal with the actual issue

As others have already said @Kakamora, if you are on benefits you should get free NHS treatment. If you are eg at your parents' home after leaving uni (as you say you are 22) I don't know what the precise rules are, but if you can manage to google through the pain you should be able to find out.

Ring your CCG in the morning to ask where you can register as an NHS patient, specifying you are not in work. [https://www.liverpoolccg.nhs.uk]

Good luck and I hope your pain subsides.

God there are some sanctimonious shits on this thread!

Being in so much pain IS an emergency. There's some real heartless people on this thread. What if that was your child in that pain and you couldn't get to a dentist?

I've almost overdosed on painkillers because of toothache. 111 got me an appointment for the following day but it was one of the worst nights of my life.

Hope you're feeling better soon op.

I live in Liverpool. I’m going to go to my GP first thing tomorrow before I call 111. She operates as a walk-in service in the mornings and she is absolutely lovely. I’m 90% she would prescribe me some decent pain killers until I get to a dentist.

Seriously why go to the GP? You need a dentist- phone first thing and they will see you tomorrow- they can prescribe as necessary. You don’t need stronger pain killers you need to diagnose the problem and that needs a dentist!

OP, have you seriously taken 4 full packs (16 tabs each) of paracetamol in 3 days? That's more than double the recommended dose. You need to be in A&E for that even if they can't deal with your tooth.

@Kakamora I'm sure she will but after what you have described ie not sleeping and the level of pain and having taken pain relief please ask her to rule out trigeminal neuralgia.

Receptionist will be snotty to deter drug seeking, toothache is a very easy way to say you're in pain with sometimes little or no physical evidence to prove it.

A and e will treat your pain no probs, just make sure you follow up at dentist to sort out sorce of pain. If the infection is severe the will send you to max fax as these are dentists who can treat your infection. Please do not as suggested let an aspirin dissolve on the tooth, can cause dreadful burns, good luck.

Hope you get it sorted, how many paracetamol tablets do you think you've had in the past 3 days.

They’ll be trying to ward off drug seekers which is probably what the receptionist was getting at too

Yes, and their attitudes and ignorance are one of the reasons that people suffering from acute and unrelieved dental pain have died horrifically from paracetamol toxicity ffs

This may help tomorrow? www.rlbuht.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/liverpool-university-dental-hospital/dental-emergency-treatment/

Menolly - if you've got a dental abscess big enough for the swelling to be visible in your face please don't leave it until Tuesday. Dental infections like you describe can become nasty quite quickly. If you can't get to a&e tonight then you need to ring that dentist first thing tomorrow and tell them that your face is swollen.

IME you won't really be able to get rid of the pain without treatment from a dentist. A GP (might!) give you some painkillers or antibiotics but they won't be able to treat the underlying problem. You need to get on the phone to 111 and get contact details for the dentists in your area. If you ring around enough you will find one who can see you. Emergency dentistry is free on the NHS (obviously if you can afford to pay a private dentist then your options increase).

OP please don’t delay. Call 111 and get an emergency dental appointment, take the first appointment you can get and cancel anything and everything to get there. The sooner you do this, the sooner you will be free of pain.

See your GP by all means but don’t expect her to perform miracles.

Sorry you are in such agony

Receptionist will be snotty to deter drug seeking

I'm pretty sure that's not in the job description actually...

111 sorted me out an emergency dentist appointment a few years ago when I was in agony with toothache, I haven't rtft (sorry) but if you haven't tried that yet then give it a go. In the meantime clove oil is amazing stuff x

It may be worth giving the (Liverpool) Dental Hospital a go, or see if your GP can refer you there. You do need a dentist to take a look and see what is happening.

All these people saying you get NHS dentistry if unemployed....true but first you need to find an NHS dentist that is accepting patients. I was in a similar position to the OP three years ago, my nearest NHS dentist had a one year wait to register, not make an appointment, not to be seen but to register and I had no transport so there wasn’t really much point trying to find one in another town. Fortunately, I had insurance and paid for (what turned out to be) lengthy treatment and was able to claim some back (insurance co said I should have used my original dentist). In total I had to fork out nearly £500, if unemployed that would have been impossible.

Poor you! I had to go once as i had a dry socket following wisdom tooth extraction. It was 2am and i needed help. They sent me home with diazepam and stronger pain relief and i saw out of hours dentist the following day. I know they can be funny though but if pain is that bad you don't really have any choice.
Good luck

DENTAL HOSPITAL FIRST THING

www.rlbuht.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/liverpool-university-dental-hospital/dental-emergency-treatment/

Sorry for caps I just don't want you to miss it. Also ring 111 and the GP will be able to prescribe you heavy painkillers, you normally have to go to Old Swan to pick them up.

Don’t go to the gp, you need a dentist. If you go to your nearest nhs dentist as soon as they open and explain how much pain you are in then they will see you and treat you.

Being in so much pain IS an emergency. There's some real heartless people on this thread. What if that was your child in that pain and you couldn't get to a dentist*

No one is saying it isn't. But phone 111 and they can arrange an appointment within an hour or 2, at a specific location where they can give stronger pain relief or have a dental dept rather than going to A&E or having to wait until tomorrow to try and get pain relief

Unfortunately there don't seem to be enough dentists about, I had to wait nearly a week to see my nhs emergency care so went private, that took 4 days. Maybe it's time hospitals had an emergency dental depaerment attached to a&e. Reception staff and hcp are not there to weed out drug users, they are there to help people and drug users get pain, toothache, abscesses, injuries too.

& op the dental practices will only have a limited amount of emergency slots to fit you into, it would be best to be on the phone as soon as they open tomorrow to get one before they are all given out. I presume Liverpool's dental hospital will have an emergency clinic but again might be first come first served, should be on their website what time you have to turn up or to ring up