dentists or ANYONE who can help please :(

[Soreface]

Sorry to post again about this! Easier just to make a new post. Currently got an infection inside (?) my tooth or at the root area- it’s not an abscess where there’s a lump or spot on the gum, its something to do with the root being dead and it was x rayed and looked thickened ? (I might not have picked that up correctly) but the infection is somewhere around there.

The tooth had a filling a while before all this started and I think the dentist said with fillings sometimes the root dies and then it can start an infection under the tooth. I went to the dentist and they were really nice and I’m now on antibiotics for it and will need a root canal in the tooth.

My problem is it is excruciatingly painful now- I know the antibiotics can’t take away the pain but I was hoping as they took away the infection the pain would go with it. I’ve not finished the course yet but the pain is getting worse.

I’ve had random attacks of acute pain where it feels like I’ve had my tooth knocked out, but most of the time it feels like a very dull pain that comes in waves (I can feel it throbbing in waves). Surprisingly it doesn’t hurt anymore than the dull ache to eat on the tooth, but if something touches the tooth in a particular side or corner it’s very painful. When the dentist touched it with the metal tool it was agony and it hurts to touch the gum area- I can eat on it but it hurts if food hits it from a certain angle or corner.

I’ve tried heat, ice, painkillers and nothing is helping the pain. It feels like someone has smashed my jaw and it feels so heavy to eat and talk. I keep getting random pains in my ear in that side too. The infected tooth is an upper tooth and my entire cheek and upper and lower jaw on that side are throbbing like mad. It’s not swollen at all but just feels so sore and achey. It feels like a dull, throbbing pain with the occasional sharp twinge.

Is there anything else I can try to make the pain more bearable?

What painkillers have you tried? I'm in a similar situation and naproxen has helped.

I had this recently and tramadol took the edge off - your GP would need to prescribe.

How many days antibiotics have you had? They should be helping the pain causing the infection. If they're not then maybe you need different antibiotics.

100% clove oil. It's hideous but it numbs the pain (I had a dry socket which then got infected - was in acute agony for 2 weeks) xx

I second clove oil or gel,it tastes rotten but really works,has worked wonders for me,I suffer from abscesses when anything goes wrong with my teeth & it really helped that pain,which is the worst I've ever had,also soluble painkillers work quicker than tablet form

Oragel toothache gel, it’s available from most supermarkets and numbs the area.

I had this a few months ago, think it was pulpitis, the only thing that made the pain bearable was paramol and ibuprofen but even then it didn't take the pain away altogether. I opted for an extraction rather than root treatment and the relief was immense.

@alphabetsoup1980 I currently have dry socket and it just hurts so much. (Taking cocodamol and naproxen) Tuesday will be 2 weeks since the tooth was extracted. Did your pain suddenly or gradually get better? As atm I can't imagine it being better by Tuesday :'(

@Soreface have you called 111? I called when my tooth was really bad, and the next day got an emergency appointment with a different dentist who started root canal work and (for a while) that took away the pain completely. Cocodamol has also helped me (until it wear off and I wake up crying), maybe your GP could prescribe?

I don't think you are meant to use heat on an infection as it encourages it to grow. Not sure though.

Oh god, you have got dry socket. I completely empathise!!! If this is the case, don't put clove oil in the actual socket (like me...) as it prevents blood clots from forming. Use an cotton ear bud and use of outside gums.

The dry socket pain started about 3 days after extraction I think. Then it was ripping my head apart... the dentist packed it with this tobacco like stuff which helped but fell out. Then I realised that I had yellow pus filled blisters all over the extraction site and my gum was so swollen and clearly infected. I had 2 lots of antibiotics and ended up at the dentists on Christmas Day as I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to chop my head off.

I kept alternating cocodamol and ibuprofen. The dispersible cocodamol is best, dissolved in warm water as you can swill it around mouth.
The dentist then said there wasn't much more he could do so I had to ride it out for another week.

Euughhhh I'm sending lots of love. Xxx

I don't think this will be dry socket as that is something you get at an extraction site?

I have had something similar to you in the past and pain didn't really go away until the root canal was performed. The pain was dulled by pain killers while I waited. The antibiotics should help with any infection related pain. However, for me they took 48 hours to kick in. When did you start taking them?

I would ask for an emergency appointment with your dentist tomorrow. However, they are often reluctant to start treating an infected tooth until the anitbiotics have cleared the infection? Although I think it depends how bad the infection is?

I'm not a dentist so this is just based on my experience. Hopefully a dentist will come along and advise appropriately.

Good luck. I know how awful dental pain is. Try and keep a steady flow of pain killers going with the appropriate intervals.

@alphabetsoup1980

Thanks! Yeah I had the tobacco stuff too, managed to keep it in just over 24 hours then it fell out in my sleep. That amazing stuff!! Wish I could go back to dentist for more.... I was crying at the dentist when he put it in, "it just hurts soo much!! Cocodamol- sleep, wake in agony but not due another dose yet" "yeah, it will hurt, that's why you signed the consent form!"

Was that this Christmas or a previous year? I was originally offered an extraction appointment on the 21st December, but asked for January as I didn't want to be limited to soft foods at Christmas, little did I know!!

I'm actually already off work with a back injury,

Oops posted too soon:
So feeling pretty battered. Last night I dreamed that a big man was punching me all over. Woke up and realised it was a dream... but the pain was real! Fml. Thanks for your good wishes :)