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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for dental advice? I'm desperate!

28 replies

Toothacheballache · 27/04/2019 10:08

Have had mild toothache for about a week. Made an appointment with my dentist for Monday the 29th.
Yesterday the pain was agonising, my cheek was puffy, I'd been awake since 3am and couldn't eat or drink anything so I called my dentist and he brought me in. He brought up my most recent xray and said a filling is sitting right on top the nerve of my tooth and will need a root canal treatment. He didn't have enough time to do it there and then so he drilled the filling away and put some antiseptic/antibiotic stuff in it and put a temporary filling on and gave me an appointment to come back on the 7th of May.
Last night I was in tears with the pain, absolutely cannot wait until the 7th, still unable to eat or drink so I called 111. They made an appointment with my local dentist hospital for 9am this morning.
So I went to the appointment and all they've done is give me antibiotics for an infection I don't even have but they're "anticipating infection" because the filling is temporary. I have no idea why they didn't carry out any treatment as I was sent there for the level pain and antibiotics for nothing aren't going to help the bloody pain!
So I've come home, tried to eat and couldn't and forced some water down which sent me in to floods of tears again. The pain is worse than I even experienced during childbirth, its like someone is sitting on my tooth pushing a knife down in to it and twisting it constantly. I've been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen for most of the week but that did nothing, yesterday I got some solpadeine but that's done nothing either. The pain is pretty much constant.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm considering calling 111 again but the only emergency dentist as far as I know is the dental hospital and I'm not sure there's much point going there again! I don't think I can last until Monday to try my own dentist again Sad

OP posts:
pink1173 · 27/04/2019 10:12

Call 111 and go back again. Dental pain is hideous ( am going through the same this week). I ended up in hospital for three days a little while ago because of a tooth infection so go back and tell them you cannot cope with it and hopefully they will root canal it for you. Good luck x

Original poster
Toothacheballache · 27/04/2019 10:23

pink1173 Thank you, and I'm sorry you're going through the same! Its been a while since I had toothache, I forgot how bloody awful it can be.

OP posts:
Candymay · 27/04/2019 10:34

I feel so sorry for you. I would definitely suggest taking the antibiotics if you’re not already because it sounds like an abscess. I’ve had too many awful dental experiences to even talk about. See if you feel any better after a full day of antibiotics.

MereDintofPandiculation · 27/04/2019 10:35

If you drink, make sure the water is warm, blood/saliva temperature.

adaline · 27/04/2019 10:37

Ah I sympathise Sad

I have an emergency appointment for 1pm today as my wisdom tooth erupted in pain overnight - it's horrible!

TheSerenDipitY · 27/04/2019 10:47

take the anti b's to fix the infection, if you have clove oil that has a numbing effect, you an dip a cotton bud in to the oil then apply to your gums, be warned it is vile, also if you have a heat pack, or hot water bottle, heat it up as hot as you can handle and hold against the side of your face, also disprin/ aspirin is better than paracetamol or ibuprofen for tooth ache and failing all that google pressure points for toothache

good luck

melissasummerfield · 27/04/2019 10:54

We have a private emergency dentist where we live - have you googled for one? Usually expensive but i think dental pain is one of the worst types of pain so worth the money to get it sorted out!

MRex · 27/04/2019 11:06

Take the antibiotics and try to see a dentist much sooner. If you need to wait to see someone or get treatment then buy anbesol liquid and put it on your gums, the lidocaine numbs it a bit.

SnowyAlpsandPeaks · 27/04/2019 11:18

Clove oil can help
Solphadine (sp) dissolve in water then each mouthful swill it around your mouth for as long as you can before swallowing- dentist gave that trick to my son and it help loads

If you can bare an ice pack on the outside of your face it helps constrict the blood vessels so they stop pulsating

Toothache is worse than child birth. I’d go through child birth ten times over rather than have toothache. Flowers

Oscarpeanut · 27/04/2019 11:23

I'm surprised your dentist doesn't have an emergency number.

Waterlemon · 27/04/2019 11:29

Ok I’ve had to have 2 root canals and your experience doesn’t sound like how I was treated on NHS.

Also, if you need a root canal then your tooth is infected and you need antibiotics.

Do you have a local nhs emergency dentist?

www.nhs.uk/conditions/root-canal-treatment/

Claredogmum · 27/04/2019 11:31

Call 111 again and tell them you're in agony. Start taking the antibiotics and go see the dentist they send you to. Our area has emerg cover all weekend. You need the tooth opened up and the start of a root treatment. Don't wait until Monday.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 27/04/2019 11:33

Antibiotics and clove oil, along with painkillers, was all I had for this... they wouldn't risk treating it until the infection was gone. It took about two days of antibiotics and it was agony.

Thanks
k1233 · 27/04/2019 11:34

If you don't have clove oil, a couple of whole cloves work well.

NotSoThinLizzy · 27/04/2019 11:35

Get to chemist and buy some cocodamol you'll only be able to get the low strength stuff without prescription

over50andfab · 27/04/2019 11:43

OP I have been exactly where you are...codeine...really codeine is the only thing that I found helped with the pain (paracetamol & ibruprofen didn't touch it) It will help while the antibiotics kick in. OTC stuff should be fine for you - I found one kicked in after 15 mins - was bliss!

Another thing - if you finish the course of antibiotics and you still have pain, or it comes back before your appt. phone your dentist and ask for more ABs - they should leave a prescription at reception for you.

Hope you are pain free soon - dental pain is shit!

BlueCornishPixie · 27/04/2019 11:49

Hi OP I'm a dentist.

What the original dentist did is normal emergency treatment if a tooth needs root canal. It should normally work but can take a couple of days. A root canal can take an hour or two depending on the tooth and so not possible in an emergency appointment.

You have three options really:

Give it another day and see if it settle, which it might as the dressing takes hold. Keep taking painkillers.

Take the antibiotics now, they should only be prescribed for infection but can help with toothache. But again it can take a couple of days to work, shouldn't normally be given for toothache without signs of systemic infection but they do normally help.

The third option is to ring your dentist, they should have an oohs emergency number. Ours is given if you ring us up out of hours. The next step would be to start the root canal, which obviously takes time so that is why the dental hospital didn't do it.

BlueCornishPixie · 27/04/2019 11:53

Needing a root canal doesn't necessarily mean there's infection!

If your tooth itself is inflamed you need a root canal but there's no real infection, however there will be bacteria hence why the antibiotics work.

There's very little treatment in this instance which is immediate apart from to take the tooth out.

CupoTeap · 27/04/2019 16:22

Get to the chemist for stronger painkillers

arethereanyleftatall · 27/04/2019 16:33

Toothache is awful, absolutely awful.Flowers

I'm not sure what you can do but I can explain why it takes so long from the other end as dh is an nhs dentist. He is fully booked 6 weeks in advance. Any emergencies he has to fit in in his lunch hour, or they put them all in at 9am. So, of a morning, he will often have about 6 people all booked in for 9am till 9.10am. So, the point I'm trying to make is that there's unfortunately no slack whatsoever in the nhs system to fit in a treatment that requires a few hours anyway. Which is wrong and doesn't help you at all.

I think your options I'm afraid are waiting till 7th and doing whatever you can for the pain, or going private.

Original poster
Toothacheballache · 28/04/2019 10:41

Thanks everyone for responding, I'm sorry I didn't reply but was on the phone most of the day to 111. I got another appointment this morning for the dental hospital and have been sent home without anything being done again Sad

There is no infection in the tooth. The issue is that the filling was sitting on the nerve and because of how the tooth is, my dentist can't fix that without doing the root treatment so even the temp filling is on my nerve and it's agony. The dental hospital didn't have the right equipment to x-ray me this morning (which baffled me, they're a dental hospital!) and wouldn't do treatment without checking for infection themselves. I even asked them to just take it out, I don't care if I lose it at this point, but it was a no. I've been taking every pain killer on offer. Solpadeine tablets and soluble ones, paracetamol, ibuprofen, codeine, co codamol, and obviously the antibiotics, its been a week of pain killers and nothing is touching it. It's just getting worse. I'm at my wits end.

I can't find any emergency dentist open today apart from the dental hospital. Not even a private one, I'm skint but very willing to put it all on my credit card I'm so desperate! I'll be phoning my own dentist tomorrow if I don't rip the bloody tooth out myself by then, but I doubt he can fit me in and I do totally get why. I know they're stretched but my god, someone somewhere must be able to do something.

I do appreciate all the sympathy and bits of advice. I think I'd pay one of you to come and take it out!

OP posts:
gamerchick · 28/04/2019 10:53

It really irritates when dentists would rather send a person away in agony than pull teeth out if it's been asked for.

This will sound really weird but I've done it and the husband's done it and it seems quite effective.

2 (or 4) tablespoons of Epson salts in hot water. Let it cool slightly, take a mouthful and just hold it in your mouth for a minute before spitting out. Use an icepack on affected side and repeat throughout the day. It does initially hurt more briefly but the pain seems to decrease after that.

No idea how it works though, it is a natural disinfectant but might take away all that consuming pain so you can function.

adaline · 28/04/2019 10:56

I thought you had already had an appointment booked with your regular dentist tomorrow?

over50andfab · 28/04/2019 11:02

If you can’t get it seen to how about seeing your GP to get some stronger painkillers than the OTC ones. I once had Kapake prescribed years back following a tooth extraction which worked - 2 tablets made me feel really high which I didn’t like and found 1 was sufficient.

Also good to be aware of any interactions with anything else you are taking.

MabelMoo23 · 28/04/2019 11:04

I sympathise, I had an abscess a few weeks ago, it's hell, absolutely hell.

Use the ice pack, salt water rinses, and keep on top of painkillers, be careful not to take too much paracetamol but on the other hand, don't let too much time lapse as it's easier to top up pain relief than start again.

Don't use a heat pack, because if there is any bacteria, it will encourage it to spread with the heat.

You have my sympathy, the pain is still very very fresh in my mind