To phone 111?

[BitchHazel]

I have a massive dental abcess. I'm not in any pain but my face is so swollen on one side that it's affecting my vision.

I don't want to clog up 111/ go near the hospital if I can help it. I know I could phone my actual dentist in the morning but I am in healthcare and we are on our knees as it is without me taking time out for an appt.

I need antibiotics before I will be able to have dental treatment anyway. Will a pharmaxist prescribe these given the circumstances?

Tried the usual salty water, ice pack etc. Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the infection?

Phone your dentist. It will have a message specific to your practice for what to do out of hours. It may or may not be 111. Feel better x

Poor you, I'd go to A&E and check with the triage nurse. They're empty now by some accounts. This sounds properly dangerous to me.

Wouldn't ringing your dentist divert you to out of hours dental care and not 111? You still need treatment.

Doctors will not prescribe antibiotics for a dental issue so you really need an out of hours dentist.

Call your normal dentist and there will be advice as to what to do. If you aren't registered with a dentist, 111 can direct you to your local emergency dental service

Contact the local emergency dentist. If you ring your normal dentist number, a message should tell you what to do.

Hope you're ok

I had to ring last week. It wasn't 111 to ring but the dental helpline. Ring your dentist and see what their answerphone says. I had to travel 20 miles though to see the dentist.
Hope you get it sorted

I've had dental emergency before. The dental surgery directs to 111 over the weekend and the emergency dentist is located in hospital.

I'm actually thinking it might be better just to show up at that department (completely separate from rest of hospital) as there is no direct way to contact them by phone.

Get it sorted, you can lose part of your jaw or even get septicaemia from an untreated abscess. The emergency dental number for your dentist should still work.

I’d just go to the emergency dentist dept tbh.

Phone 111. They know the best place to go so you don't put yourself or anyone else at risk.
Untreated dental abcesses can be very dangerous so don't put it off. DH did and was told off by the dentist. They had to remove 4 of his teeth and part of his jaw to fix it.

Yes definitely ring - it will absolutely be classed as a dental emergency if its threatening the optical nerve

I am in healthcare ... Will a pharmaxist prescribe
Really, really?!
Call 111, get the contact number for your county's emergency dental line.
Suggestion, don't go back to work until you're well enough to remember the basics.

Thanks saving extremely fucking helpful.

If you'd bothered to read my posts you'd see that out of hours dentist for my area is contacted through 111 - which I wanted to avoid if possible because they are obviously completely overwhelmed with calls at the moment.

They have increased what pharmacists are able to provide in order to alleviate the pressure on hospitals and GPs. I just wasn't sure if this extended to antibiotics at the moment.

There's absolutely no need to be so condescending and bitchy.

The antibiotics I had from dentist were different to any I have had before or since. I think getting to the emergency dentist asap is important. If you are confident you know where to turn up to avoid phoning 111 do that.

I have ongoing problems with my teeth so I've been here before (albeit usually in alot more pain than I am now).

I know what antibiotics they will prescribe and how to take them, I know where the emergency dental dept. is but I'm just in two minds whether showing up there is the right thing to do.

It is attached to the hospital - the building is separate but on the hospital grounds. I'm just concerned about showing up when I'm in contact with random members of the public each day and don't know if I've picked anything up.

I'm on phone to 111 now, but theres at least an hour wait.

www.preferreddentalcaresantarosa.com/abscessed-tooth-how-to-care-for-a-tooth-abscess/

Scroll down to the baking soda home remedy. This has always worked instantaneously for me. You may have to do it a few times during the day if the abscess fills up again.

Oh thankyou ArfArf. I'm in the hospital car park now but depending on how things go I will try that when I get home.

They've sent me to the main hospital which is what I was hoping to avoid.

OP, you need to get it look at at A&E or call 111. It can get infected, really painful, spread to other places if you don't get antibiotics, or get someone clinical to burst it.

An abscess already IS an infection and often very painful. Yes antibiotics would be ideal but if the OP can't get them, or even if she does, the baking soda remedy will give immediate relief. And lots of salt rinses.

If you have an abscess that's so big it's affecting vision you need urgent treatment.

That's not antibiotics that's actual treatment i.e. having it drained.

Normally we say for abscesses if they are blocking the airway or closing the eye they need a&e. Or if you are septic obviously.

Sounds like you need a&e treatment, with Iv antibiotics. This is not clogging up hospitals this is something that needs to be seen asap. You will be clogging up hospitals even more if you leave it and you turn septic. Get yourself to A&E

I think you might be beyond the emergency dentist. If the infection is that severe you’re at risk of sepsis and need IV antibiotics.

ArfArf antiotibiotics are not 'ideal' they are necessary. By going to A&E will get both antibiotics and the abscess drained by a professional who knows what they are doing. It might require a stay in hospital

A small intraoral abscess will most likely be okay with some bicarb and wait. But it sounds like this is potentially pressing on the optic nerve which needs urgent treatment now.

A Dental abscess affecting vision is really serious.

Thankyou all for the advice and reassurance that I wasn't being dramatic. Thankfully the emergency dentist was able to treat me without needing to go to A+E.

They had to pull two teeth to get the abcess to drain but its done now and aside from the pain from the jags and a panic attack I'm fine. No antibiotics though which I'm surprised at!

Glad they've drained it, thats the most important thing.

I really think you need antibiotics though. Can you ring them back and ask why not? That's a serious abscess and I'm concerned that it's already started spreading backwards if it's affecting vision.

Is your vision feeling better? Don't be afraid to go to A&E if it's not. You wouldn't be taking the piss or time wasting.