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

You need A&E at broad green tonight or if you can make it to the morning, get to the university dental hospital for 8:15 when the doors open and you’ll be seen.

OP I really feel for you. The last time I went to A&E was two days after I had a tooth removed. I ended up being admitted for 4 nights and had to go theatre to have a drain inserted through my face into my jaw to drain the infection. I’d rather give birth to both of my children again at the same time than ever have that level of pain again. Dental pain is massively under treated and dentists never give out the good stuff for analgesia instead relying on over the counter medication which is fine usually but when the pain hits it doesn’t touch the sides.

(And the triage nurse in A&E was a right snotty cow to me as well, sighing and rolling her eyes at me and asking if I’d not seen a dentist as this was A&E and not a dental surgery. That was AFTER I’d told her the dental hospital who had removed my tooth told me to present at A&E and I’d spoken to the maxfax SHO who was expecting me. I called her out on being a snotty cow and she Backtracked but I was so upset at the time as all I wanted was for someone to help me with the pain).

Has anyone actually ever GOT a middle of the night emergency dental appointment from ringing 111?

When I had excruciating pain last year they were completely , utterly, fucking useless. As were any private dentist availability, whatever the cost (which I would have paid).

And whichever smig smart arse said ‘ooh, go every six months so you never get like this again’... ARE YOU THAT STUPID?

This sort of thing makes me livid. dental treatment and in particular, quality emergency dental treatment in this country is a fucking disaster. You can be left to scream in agony and there is nowhere to turn.

I have a dentist - fabulous practice - I go every six months to both dentist & hygienist. It still took almost 3 weeks of the most excruciating pain, X-rays, MRI, and a wrong diagnosis of tregeminal neuralgia before the problem tooth finally showed itself & a hairline internal crack was found.

Cost me £1,200 to have a specialist root canal & re-build.

In the meantime I saw GP, second dental practice, was a sobbing complete wreck - I have money to spend and ability to seek help - still to no avail.

So for all who say ‘call 111, A&E is not appropriate, you obv aren’t looking after your teeth’.... fuck off.

Get an ice pack and hold it on your mouth where the pain is, hen let it melt then put another one on . Keep doing this until it works and it does.
If you had an emergency appt yesterday or today then you only had to pay 14 quid. Good luck OP

Can I just say in the middle of all this pain, I’ve always been scared shitless about childbirth and how painful it will be when I get pregnant. But if it can’t get worse than childbirth then I’m pretty confident haha

• than toothache

Don't go to your GP first. Call 111 and get some advice on whether there's somewhere you can go first thing in the morning.

I got a GDens appointment on a Sunday a few years ago (I'm in Scotland). There was a special number to call for out of hours dental problems, and I called in the morning and was seen in the afternoon.

Agree that seeing doctors is a waste of time - you need to see a dentist ASAP. Your GP won't be able to help. See if your local NHS trust has a list of dentists who provide emergency care or ones who are taking on NHS patients and call them. Going to various places trying to get painkillers won't help. You need the root (no pun intended) problem dealt with.

Clove oil honestly it's a lifesaver. Dip some cotton wool in diluted solution and bite down on it. Instant relief.

So sorry you are dealing with this (and all the A&E holier than thou dickheads) there is nothing like toothpain. I wanted to die when I had an abscess.

A&E dr here. A&e can’t fix the cause of your pain but they can give you strong pain killers and possibly antibiotics....but it is very annoying. Why aren’t you registered with a dentist and why have you left it til sunday night?My usual response is “dentists spend 5 yeArs at uni learning about teeth, I spent 5 years at uni learning about everything except teeth. Who do you think is better placed to treat your toothache?” Go to A&E to get some decent pain killers, but don’t expect much sympathy.

@Kakamora
Ring this number now ... ... 0161 476 9651

This is for Revive emergency dental service; they have the contract from 2015 for all emergency dental care across Merseyside, Wirral, Manchester.

Don't be put off by the Manchester dialling code.

They will give you an appointment tomorrow with your nearest NHS dental practice. Failing that, go to the Dental Hospital on Pembroke Place for 8.00am.

Go to a 24 hour chemist or ring 111 for pain release advice.

*pain relief advice.

In response to a PP, no, you will never be given an NHS emergency dental appointment after 9pm.

if you have any cloves, chew on a clove. if you can't get clove oil. and cocodamol

she is in a & e alfred

Alfred, I hope you never treat me with that attitude, sometimes in this profession it's best and kindest to keep our thoughts to ourselves. I imagine dentists learn a bit more than just about teeth during their training.

Alfredrabbit OP has explained why she isn’t registered. In some areas it is all but impossible to find NHS dentists, let alone ones accepting new patients. As I mentioned, the wait in one place I lived was a year to register, same with a GP - every surgery refused saying they were full. I had to get the CCG involved, no such body exists for dentistry (AFAIK).

There is nothing wrong with a&e if you can't cope with the pain
I went for back/leg pain and they were fantastic

Can I just say in the middle of all this pain, I’ve always been scared shitless about childbirth and how painful it will be when I get pregnant. But if it can’t get worse than childbirth then I’m pretty confident haha

Honestly, I had my first child in a lift on the way to maternity, so zero pain relief, I would sooner do that again than put up with this sodding toothache!

alfredrabbit

If you actually are an A&E doctor I'm surprised you are unaware of the woeful state of NHS dentistry.

None of the dentists in my area are taking on patients, emergency dentistry is also largely non existent (unless you can wait a week). And of course even if you register with an NHS dentists it isn't free - if you are on a low income but not low enough to qualify for benefits dental treatment is often extremely expensive. There is a reason why people are having teeth removed rather than treated - they can't afford the treatment.

Tooth pain can have multiple causes, not all can be treated by a regular dentist - I've been sent to hospital by an experienced dentist because the pain I was in was not emanating from a tooth. According to the specialist I saw for very severe tooth pain this is not uncommon and it needs hospital treatment.

I feel for you, OP. That level pain can really mess with your head. Hope you find a good dentist very soon.

And to those suggesting a drop of clove oil...seriously? Are you visiting from 1774? What would you recommend for an amputation, a nice cup of Horlicks? Sheesh

@Kakamora
0161 476 9651 Revive telephone number will help you register with a NHS dentist too. There isn't usually an access problem in Liverpool/Merseyside.

Depending on which benefit you're claiming, you will more than likely be Eligible for free treatment. If not, you will have to pay the Band 1 dental charge £21.60. No fee at the Dental Hospital but they have quite stringent criteria and may not see you tomorrow; whereas you will definitely get an appointment if you ring the number above.

Without going into it, I do have "expert" knowledge of this particular local area's emergency dental service.
Good luck.

OP, please do contact one of these numbers given for emergency dentist. I nearly passed out with pain in the middle of Manchester, due to toothache (turned out to be an abscess).

When I got home, I could barely open my mouth to eat or talk so rang 111 who made an appointment for emergency dentist the next morning. They took one look at me & told me it needed removing. Relief was amazing, when it was out.

I've had two children & I personally feel toothache is worse & that's with having only gas & air for pain relief in labour lol.

Don't feel silly about going to A&E, it's what you thought best at the time based on the pain you are in.

I hope all goes well in getting an appointment to sort this & you get a little bit of rest tonight.

@Alfredrabbit that is a horrid attitude. You’re an A&E dr? As an a&e nurse I find that kind of attitude a disgrace to our profession. As far as I and my colleagues are concerned if our patient is in pain it is our duty of care to try to resolve that. We don’t care if that pain is because of a broken bone, a slashed wrist, an addict going through withdrawal or someone suffering from agonising tootheache. Our duty of care is to help that person whether that is medicating or referring or keeping them in, you absolutely cannot declare prescribing or looking after someone “annoying”. They are a living, feeling being. How DARE you describe any of your patients “annoying”.

I LOVE my job. I LOVE helping people.

I’m in Scotland and had horrendous pain one new year. I called NHS24 at 9 pm on 1st January. Best they could do was tell me to turn up atbenergency dentist (next to A&E) the next day. Took me two trains and a taxi to find the place (our local A&E doesn’t have a dentist), DH had to work sonhad our car (couldn’t have driven due to the pain). Was given heavy duty anti biotics and painkillers and told to seek further treatment from my dentist. A few months later after dental surgery I called up in pain and got told ‘sorry no appointments you’ll need to wait till Monday’ I wanted to rip my own face off.

If you're in a big city do you have a dental hospital? They often have walk in clinics.