To pull my own tooth out?!

[DrierThanANunsNasty]

Had the absolute worst toothache for over a week. Went to the emergency dentist last week and they gave me some antibiotics for a few days. Tried booking in with my dentist and then any dentist for a follow up and nobody had any appointments (I pay for my treatment so not the lack of NHS places). I’ve been told I need a full head x-ray for this same tooth which I’ve been waiting nearly a year for and now things have got so bad I’m desperate.

I’ve tried every single home remedy in the book and nothing is touching it. Painkillers aren’t either. Was on hold to the emergency dentist for nearly 2 hours again this evening and got cut off.

This is the most unbearable pain, I don’t actually know what to do. I even called 111 in tears - I know, probably not the best and prepared to get flamed for that - but they just said keep trying the emergency dentist so I’ve been on hold to them again for nearly another hour.

I know IBU to just pull it out, but I’ve never felt pain like this before. What are my options? I feel exhausted and have work at 5am

Did the emergency dentist you saw last week say what was wrong with your tooth? As pulling it out might not solve the pain

Do you have a university offering dental courses? You can sometimes turn up on the day and a student can have a go

I've just Googled what to do if you can't get through to an emergency dentist and they do suggest phoning 111 so yanbu there. I would probably phone 111 and explain you are in the worst pain you have ever been in, I don't know if they have any way to get you seen by the emergency dentist. The page said I'd you are in extreme pain to go to a &e so if you can't get any urgent dental help I would be going to a&e. It's not your fault you have been failed by the system.

Try chewing on a clove, they numb the pain a bit.

@Flyonthewall01 Nope, I was in there less than 10 minutes! She looked at it, said I needed antibiotics and to see my own dentist asap (which of course I can’t).

@nutbrownhare15 thank you. I felt ridiculous calling 111 but the woman was lovely. Unfortunately, despite me explaining it was the worst pain I’d ever experienced she just said I needed to keep trying the emergency dentist.

There’s zero way I’m going to be able to sleep tonight!

@newtb I’ve tried that! Also done garlic, salt water, peppermint tea, acupressure points, literally every home remedy that comes up on Google. Also been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen alternating every two hours but maxed them out already today (can’t take codeine either unfortunately).

You poor thing. The pain is truly horrible.

Have you finished the antibiotics? Did the emergency dentist say it was an abscess? Did they help?

If it's a molar I very much doubt you would be able to get it out yourself - they take a huge amount of effort to remove and often crack coming out.

Plus is you have an abscess under it the socket would become infected and this would have a high risk of sepsis - so this is not a possibility.

You need to manage the pain and it may be that you need help in doing this. It sounds like you have already had 4 doses of ibuprofen and 4 of paracetamol today. Did they have any effect at all?

I would call in sick to work and head to A&E - they can do nothing for the dental issue and will tell you to go to your dentist tomorrow for that, but they should be able to help you with the pain, even if it's just for a short while. But bear in mind it's a Bank holiday weekend and it is likely to be busy and a long wait .

THe other option is to head to whichever pharmacy is open (you can look it up online with your postcode) www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy and see if they can offer anything to help.

I'd go to A & E and refuse to leave until they've given you more antibiotics and adequate pain relief.

You shouldn't have to put up with this OP and I know from experience it's unbearable. Just go now

DO NO even attempt to pull that tooth out yourself. Why? A tooth can be 4 cms long total (crown plus root) and when pulled by you (or any non professional) you will break it and leave part of the root inside, which not only won’t solve the problem but it will worsen it as now you will need gum surgery to remove that root that left inside.

continue with the antibiotics, the painkillers and book that appointment right now or go to emergency dentist. Do not attempt anything yourself.

Paramol works well in dental pain from experience but it only works for about 2.5 hours before it starts to wear off

Huge sympathies OP, been there myself 3 times now waiting for tooth extractions. Worst pain ever 🥺

Your poor thing xx I think you need to phone in sick if you can OP, you can’t work like this.

did you finish the antibiotics ? Which ones did they give you?

you absolutely must not pull it out yourself - you’ll probably break it & you’ll be in even worse pain

i really sympathise - I have had endless dental problems & the pain is the worst

Whereabouts are you based roughly OP.

I had similar recently and went to see 2 dentists.
One NHS one private.
They kept giving me antibiotics and saying it needed to come out but couldn't fit me in.
In the end I found a fantastic emergency dentist, who saw me at 9pm on the day I called.
He did an xray
Took it out.
Was a wisdom tooth.

While it wasn't an pleasant experience it was such a huge relief.

I am so sorry for you

Why can your own dentist not see you? I have gone private now as I have poor teeth and one of the advantages is emergency cover - can you access any private dentists in your area?

I travelled 30 miles too
Well DH drove.
There was no fannying about. He said if the antibiotics hadn't improved anything by now then they wouldn't and the only thing that would stop the pain was extraction.

The pain is so awful.
Just constant awful throbbing.
I really feel for you

Have you any oragel? That did give very brief relief from the pain but was short lived.

I feel for you. Dental pain is the worst.
when I had an abscess, Paramol was the only pain killer that took the edge off the pain.
anbesol, clove oil, very warm salty washes regularly, hot a hot water bottle to your face

I went through this a couple of weeks ago. I had to wait to see a dental surgeon from the hospital because the root was long and touching the sinuses. One night I thought I am going to get it out myself because of the agony I was in for over a month. I googled it and decided it was a bad idea. The relief when it was out! By the way I was told not to use cloves oil or otherwise as it can burn the gums.

*hold, obviously

OP I am so so sorry you are going through this.

i had similar all over xmas, fucking nothing really touched the pain. I did resort to paramol OtC at advice of 111 but it made me feel incredibly unwell and Im pretty sure it was affecting my heart in some way (weird pounding pulse and other symptoms) but I was desperate. It did take the edge off. However if you cannot take codeine then I don’t think you will be able to take that.
when my own private dentist opened after xmas I told them i was suicidal and basically begged them to sedate me and get it out. I wasn’t joking I was so desperate my thoughts had taken me to a very bad place indeed.
i literally have PTSD from this. I have coped well with other serious pain but severe dental pain is something else!
i now have a new sedation dentist who has assured me i will never be left in that state again.
My best advice is start ringing far and wide j til you find someone who CAN and WILL see you tomorrow if you keep ringing snd are willing to travel you will find someone. Look for new practices as they often have more capacity.
good luck xxx

Oh wow. I feel for you. I had two days of excrutiating tooth pain and I was absolutely at the end of my tether. I was lucky enough to get an emergency dentist to extract it (but this was a while ago and I know things have got worse) and I have never been so grateful for anything in my life. I literally could do nothing but pace the floor for two days - on the max pain relief I was able to take. I agree with the posters who say go to A and E for some help with the pain if you can't cope.

Have you finished the antibiotics? Was it 3 a day? It takes about 2 for the pain to stop. Call around all private dentists to see who can give an emergency. If you need more antibiotics you can get then via an online Gp within 24 hours. Can you get anbesol and squeeze over gums to numb it helps a bit.

It's your own dentists responsibility to provide you with emergency treatment. They have a duty of care and should set aside time in their day to deal with emergencies. First thing tomorrow call them, express this and be pushy. It's not acceptable to not provide emergency care for your patients, it's their job. Quite frankly if they haven't set aside emergency time then it's their own stupid fault if they have to stay late to treat their patients.

If they can't fit you in, call any dentist you can. You are private so finding an NHS dentist shouldn't matter and there should be someone prepared to extract the tooth, literally keep expanding the search area. Some parts of the country have emergency centres and if you are near a dental hospital you can try there

If its just pain its unlikely an infection and so antibiotics will do bugger all. It's lazy to offer an emergency appointment and just prescribe antibiotics for toothache, toothache requires treatment.

Why have you been waiting a year for an xray? Thats madness

This makes me so angry as ED is not an appropriate place for toothache, you can't receive treatment and actually often painkillers won't help even strong one's. But you will end up somewhere like that just to get some relief when you have a dentist who should offer you treatment, and you have accessed emergency care who didn't treat you

I feel fir you op. I had 3 like this over lockdown. I was on a treatment plan tmolhen everything shit down. That's when they decided to hurt like hell they needed root canal but dentists where only allowed extractions. So out they came after weeks of trying to get an appointment. Paramol was the only thing that took the edge off but it made me feel very ill. Or paracetamol and ibuprofen at the same time but you are limited with time etc. I was desperate too and threatened to pull it myself to the dentist. I wouldn't but it got me the appointment! I would rather have 5 more babies than go through that pain again!

Also call every dentist you can get to for an emergency appointment and say you need an extraction. If you go private it will be easier. It's worth the cost to not be in that pain.

If you get any swelling in the face you need to be seen so call 111 back.

Failing that call any private dentist and make an emergency appointment, they should be able to provide you stronger painkillers until you can get the tooth fixed.

The lidocaine sore throat sprays can give some (very) temporary help too, if sprayed on the affected gum area.

I really hope you get it sorted soon.