Get this tooth out my fucking mouth

[Macartoni]

Posted about my tooth before, unfortunately it’s not any better! Sorry just another rant as I’m in agony again

a while ago it was confirmed I had a root infection in my tooth, after I was experiencing horrific pain in the tooth itself as well as my cheek, ear and jaw. There was no swelling or obvious gum abscess but the entire side of my face was throbbing and in agony. There was a long wait for RCT and I had to wait around 7 months for it to begin. I had 5 courses of antibiotics to try and manage the pain during this time. Eventually this helped and the pain was tolerable however since starting the RCT the pain has become horrific again. I’ve got a lengthy wait until the next RCT (5 months away) and my face is throbbing again. I’ve spent tonight crying with it and cocodamol is barely touching it. There’s still no swelling but the tooth and my entire cheek is agony and I’ve got awful earache too.

i just want this tooth out once and for all but I need to wait until dentists reopen after the weekend. Unfortunately I’ve got important stuff on tomorrow and Sunday that I absolutely cannot get out of and I’m dreading how awful this pain will be over the next few days

does anyone know why it would still be so painful again even after the first RCT? I thought the nerve and pulp would be removed so why does it still hurt so much?

That's an abcess. The tooth itself shouldn't hurt as the nerve is gone but it sounds like a raging infection that has been left to get out of control. Instead they've just chucked antibiotics at it which has been enough to subdue it but not enough to fully clear it.

I'm not a dentist, I just have a lot of problems with my teeth but in my non expert opinion what you need is a good fortnight of 500mg Metronidazole and then this root canal finishing and the tooth sealed up and left to settle, possibly with another week of Metronidazole just to be sure.

In the meantime get Ibuprofen Lysine 341mg and take 2 every 6 hours with 2 paracetamol at the same time. Top up with a dollop of deep relief gel to the cheek if needed but you MUST eat with the Ibuprofen or you WILL regret it, please listen to the voice of bitter bitter experience. Don't bother with codeine, it does fuck all for an abcess, you need NSAIDs to keep it manageable.

You can also floss viciously with dental tape dipped in corsodyl and rinse with hot salt water for the abcess.

Hooooooly F those waiting times :-o

I needed to wait until the next day when I had an infected tooth and I was ready to camp out in front of the dentists.

I'm sorry but if this is not a validated reason to get out of anything, I don't know what is. Dental pain is THE WORST.

I sat outside my dentist's, sobbing.

Is there a dental hospital near you?

Near me we have dental access you can phone in an emergency and the dental hospital use trainees and they pulled my tooth out when I was in agony. Try that? Through 111 you select one of the options for dental pain.

in the short term try to get something with naproxen in it for the pain, not sure if you can get naproxen over the counter but I know it’s in stuff they sell for period pain. I had infection/RCT recently & luckily had a packet of naproxen I hadn’t taken prescribed for a slipped disk - it was the only thing that helped

OP I feel your pain, or at any rate have done until very recently. NHS dentistry is in a shocking state and leaving people like us desperate. I have a tip, it really helped me and is worth trying. Get some otex ear drops, either the express or sodium bicarb version, and put it in the ear that's painful twice a day. It cured my raging toothache/jaw/facial pain/headache pretty much, you would be surprised how much ear wax contributes to this condition in some of us, and antibiotics won't touch it ultimately. Only a few quid for a bottle, give it a shot and let me know how you get on. I have been fucking miserable with pain for months and had two teeth removed to no avail. Then I used the ear drops and could not believe the (tragic) difference. Have also bought a DIY earwax syringe and you do that after a week of putting the drops in.

Like others have said, take ibuprofen if you can - helps with inflammation. If you have had the first stage of Root Canal Treatment, you may have only had it extirpated. This is where a sedative dressing is placed inside the pulp chamber to settle/kill the nerve. You can still get discomfort while the tooth is dying off or if it hasn’t completely settled. The fact you have had multiple courses of antibiotics suggest the infection is probably quite established and the pain is from the infection not being able to drain which causes pressure (which is why you can’t SEE a gumboil or swelling - usually the pain reduces or goes away if it can drain. But this doesn’t mean the infection has gone)

Or, you’ve had the nerve canals cleaned out then the discomfort could be coming from the apex (bottom) of the root where the files have irritated the tissue. This would feel more like a bruise though and i would expect it to improve over the course of a week or two.

Waiting 5 months for the second stage of RCT is not good enough as the bacteria can reestablish and cause the same problem again. I would be insisting on a sooner appointment and if your practice can’t provide it sooner then i would recommend calling 111 or visiting a dental hospital if you have one close by as they can do treatment, it may just take a bit longer so be prepared.

P.s Corsodyl and salt water rinses won’t help a periapical abscess.

Can also recommend a cold compress/ice pack instead of a warm compress in this situation and if you can, try to sleep slightly upright/with your head propped up rather than completely flat.

My mum had 3 kids and quite difficult birth experiences and always says when she had an untreated abscess that gave her a sort of facial droop for a while it was so bad (kind of like a Bell’s palsy effect) that it was worse than childbirth and they would never leave you in that much pain for another injury/illness

an abscess can make you quite ill, do you have to do these things all weekend? Can you get to a dental hospital OOH?

Try a private dentist - not as expensive as you think and worth the money surely.

I'd go to urgent care with pain like that, it sounds awful and doesn't sound like you can wait the weekend.

Nurofen Plus is the strongest painkiller you can get otc and is best for dental pain as it is anti inflammatory. Oral Gel Extra Strength helps too, it’s a local anaesthetic gel if you’ve not given that a go.

Dental pain is the absolute worst, I’m so sorry that you’ve already put up with it for so long. Phone 111 and get it seen your as an emergency, you can’t get through until Monday like this. I accidentally overdosed on painkillers trying to numb a dental abscess (stupidly didn’t realise cocodomol had paracetamol in so I was double dosing) and still have gastro issues as a result a decade later. I hope you get it sorted op.

Agree oral gel extra, Clove oil, cocodamol and ibuprofen, my mum also says brandy swilled round. I feel for you so much, I don't think there's much worse than toothache! Do you have access to emergency dental care? don't leave it another two days!

Those waiting times are atrocious! Whereabouts are you located, generally? Is there a dentist shortage in your area? My DH has an abscess as well in a tooth that's already had a RCT, so it doesn't cause any pain thankfully but he has been pursuing treatment for about two months now. He saw a private endodontist and they said he can either pay for it to be done privately (about £1000) or go on the NHS waiting list. Letter was sent back to his dentist to get him referred to the local hospital but he has heard nothing back so far. I'm not originally from the UK so this is all horrifying to me - in my country abscesses are treated as the emergencies they are and are promptly dealt with!

I can’t afford to go private unfortunately, it’s just too much

I’m in the UK. Not sure if these waiting times are standard compared to other areas but it’s been so busy here after covid and I can’t get another NHS dentist any quicker.

thanks for the recommendations, ibuprofen and cocodamol have taken the edge off the pain and made it more bearable. I’ll get in contact with the dentist on Monday and try to get something arranged as this pain can’t go on.

I was worried about the infection spreading up my face or in my body but I’ve had it for so long now and it hasn’t spread so I suppose that’s a good thing and maybe it will just stay in the tooth area!

Emergency dentist. As soon as possible. You can't assume the infection hadn't spread, not if you're in this much pain. I went private when I was in a similar situation - I get that's not an option for you, the fact you haven't been treated as an emergency is pretty appalling when we have an NHS. Get on the phone and call whoever you can. 111, local dental hospital, try anything.