I don’t fucking understand this

[SoreToof]

I’ve posted before and still am not any further forward. I’m at my wits end and just don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve never been so miserable in all my life

i had an infection in my upper tooth root (the tooth was already filled) around a year ago and needed a root canal. I was in horrific pain- all across my cheek, my ear and my jaw and I couldn’t bite down on my tooth because it was excruciating. It wasn’t TN and I could pick out which exact tooth it was that hurt. There were nights I was up screaming and hitting my face off the wall it was so painful.

I had several antibiotic courses in the meantime but unfortunately nothing cleared it until I got the root canal. It was fine for a while after this and then the pain started again. Exact same tooth. I had several x rays and there’s no infection left, but I got another prescription at of antibiotics just to make sure it’s completely clear. It was fine for a week after I finished the dose and now it’s started hurting again- the exact same tooth. I can’t bite down on it at all without being in agony.

I don’t understand what’s going on with my mouth. My dentist is fantastic and I trust him and he was a bit unsure what’s causing it as tere’s no infection left behind, it’s been x rayed and the root canal was successful. I’m actually a bit frightened now, why is it still sore? Is it a problem with my face? What could it be if not an infected tooth?

I absolutely can’t get the tooth removed- because of the shape of my face and mouth it would be noticeable and obvious and I can’t afford to get it replaced with a bridge, implant or anything else. I can’t have a big gap in my face

i just want this all to stop. I’ve been in agony for almost a year and can’t keep taking cocodamol like sweeties.

Most other posters managed to reply without accusing me of preserving my looks.

Missed this. It was not an "accusation" (strange choice of word). It's what you said, you're the one who keeps saying you're unwilling to have a gap in your teeth because you're in your twenties. What's that if not being concerned about preserving your looks? Nothing wrong with wanting to preserve your looks, there's an entire board on here dedicated to it with plenty of posters, but to prefer that to being in pain? Yes IMO it's daft. You could have skimmed past it if your found it unhelpful. It was made in comment to someone else's post

Op, if the problem can’t be found, it may be the only option to be pain free is extraction. If a plate is only around £50 why not ask friends/family for money towards it for Xmas instead of presents?

if a friend of mine was in agony, struggling to afford it I would definitely give money at Xmas instead of a gift.

Oops, name change fail?

no, the comment wasn’t to another poster. It was to me. It was posted at 00:17.

yeah blame me for not skimming past it as opposed to the fact the post was rude in the first place. Coooool. You could have skimmed past this entire post if you found me as unpleasant as you seem to.

You probably need a dental scan ( not an X-ray) to determine the problem

I had one recently cost about £100 as I was going to have an implant as I lost the back tooth

my dentist said I had a tiny bit of root left from when they removed my tooth and if I wanted an implant or bridge I would need to have that removed

I remember him saying that I could cause problem with my sinuses if I when he started to remove it they couldn’t get it all out

so in the end I didn’t bother
it’s at the back thankfully so not noticeable

OP, I haven't RTFT but it sounds like you need a GP referral to a maxillo-facial specialist. I'm surprised your dentist hasn't suggested this.

I've never understood actually why dentistry such as root canals or extractions are not free on the NHS, especially when somebody desperately needs it because they are in pain etc. I've always found that such a strange concept...

I had similar, with a molar root canal. Had the root canal redone, still pain off and on, x rays clear. There was a frequent underlying ache and occasional pain flares. After about a year I’d had enough and had it pulled. There was no infection and all looked fine, but no pain since.

I would not have a root canal again, it it was a visible tooth I would opt for an Implant instead. Dental school programs at uni may give you a big price break if you allow students to work on you. They are supervised to make sure they do a good job, but charge much less..

I’m terribly sorry, my long-distance friend. In the U.S. there’s something called “Care Credit” — it’s a ‘sort-of’ credit card specifically for dental and eye and veterinary issues - really good rates and very reasonable payments for people with unexpected medical expenses.
Could you look for something like that in the U.K.? One single implant shouldn’t be too terribly expensive.
A dental issue like yours is DANGEROUS.
I hope you solve it and are pain-free real soon. ❤️

I don’t know why the OP is getting a hard time.
she’s literally said she’s in her early 20’s, doesn’t want an obvious gap and can’t afford an implant which costs thousands of pounds!
Not everyone has money to throw around like you all claim on here. Jesus.
she was asking for advice of what else could be wrong. Not a lecture about how she is being superficial and shouldn’t live her life in pain 🙄🙄🙄

I've seen women on here save a woman's life by telling her to get to a hospital immediately as she likely had an ectopic pregnancy - she did and her doctor had missed it. I've seen the most tremendous, insightful and previously unconsidered advice given to OPs, which has given them relief from huge problems in their lives. I don't think it's a particular stretch to post here about a dental issue. There's dentists on here after all.

Now I have seen your next snipey message! She's had brilliant advice and food for thought and been given ideas to consider which she can now go to her doctor or dentist. MN is brilliant for this. And if nothing else she probably feels much less alone. Agree with @Mummbles about your posts.

Could it be a sinus infection?? That can give you awful toothache

SoreToof Hi OP ,sorry to hear your pain .I have actually got no eye teeth!(Born without them you see) No one has ever commented.In my 50s now and have lost 2 teeth 1 on side of mouth and 1 on the other .Still gaps there ,manage OK. I think your reservations of losing teeth are misplaced TBH. Surely anything that gets you out of pain is preferable? Maybe explore options with your Dentist ,but it may be that losing the tooth might be explored with him as a last resort

I’m a dentist. Does it hurt to bite down? Does the pain just start at random or is it triggered by biting/hot/sweet things?

If the dentist is certain it’s that tooth (and not some type of trigemibnal neuralgia, referred pain, other teeth, TMJD or anything sinister) then It’s possible there is another canal that the dentist has missed, or the original root canal has not removed all the infection. Root canal treatment is incredibly difficult and it may be impossible to see without a microscope. There may also be a crack in which infection is proliferating, and sometimes depending on where the crack is, the tooth is unresotorable.

In the first instance, I would ask him to show your X-rays to other dentists in the practice - sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is helpful. Secondly, I would ask your dentist to refer you to an Endodontist for a second opinion. It is pricey, but you have been in incredible pain and I would say if there’s anyway you can save enough money, it will be worth it for your quality of life. If it really isn’t an option, ask him to refer you to your local dental hospital - although the waiting list is likely to be huge.

I really hope you get it sorted x

I have a less severe case of what you have. Antibiotics have calmed it down for now, but it's still there in the background. I anticipate that I'll have to have my tooth pulled soon.

What I wanted to tell you though, OP, is that I also had blocked nose (and lots of throat clearing) in the mornings and didn't think to connect the two before!
However giving up dairy has helped with this enormously. I'm no longer blocked/ stuffy all the time and don't keep clearing my throat as I used to. Dairy products can promote microbial growth, cause congestion and are best avoided if you're prone to sinus infections or general stuffiness.

I hope things improve for you soon.

Can’t see a reply to your question about whether tooth infections can cause facial infections/further infections and yes they certainly can.

I no your worried about having it removed.but when it’s got this far you need to have it done.it literally pulls it all out and stops the pain there is nothing to cause the pain anymore! It can feel like grief and scary.you can feel everyone can see it but honestly you can’t and it doesn’t even register with people.you don’t need to be able to afford a bridge or implant.honestly the gap will just become par to fight face that is so inoticable. I promise you that.
please consider going and getting it out.
if it’s a dead tooth it just can’t be saved and keeping it in with ongoing infection will only hurt you,it will cause more decay in your mouth,it will cause more pain,it will make you fear your everyday! Once it’s gone you can heal and be free of all this agony. It takes a bit of time but you will be so surprised by how quick your mouth works around this missing tooth it quite brilliant.

I’ve had lots of experience in this area.if you need any support or advice I’m happy to be a listening ear op.I no it’s so scary and it can feel like it wearing you down and you dread every day.but you got this.

Is it a premolar? You've said not front but visible when you smile so that's what I'm assuming. Upper premolars are prime for cracks, cracks aren't usually visible on xrays. The crack itself causes pain but also gives a path for bacteria to get back into the root canal. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point the tooth splits.
Obviously having not examined you or seen the rads the options as I see it are 1) live with it, probably will crack at some point and have to come out, pain may go up and down but be unpredictable 2) repeat endo with specialist. Very rare to get NHS funding if no medical issues and not very front tooth, you might if someone is feeling very generous when they triage the refferal. Are you near any of the teaching hospitals? Alternatively private but expensive and more of a gamble then removing and replacing. Also if it is a crack isn't going to work. 3) removal and replacement Obviously not what you want and not financially viable from what you've said but unfortunately sounds like the most sensible option.
From what you've said it doesn't sound worth spending out on cbct as advised by someone earlier, it might identify the issue but if you can't afford a specialist to then try to fix it with the caveat that they might not be able to and you still pay them for there time and you've then got to pay for something to fill the gap. If money was no problem I'd go for it but that's not your situation.
I think your only way forward giving your financial limits are attempt an nhs rct refferal but expect it to be declined but worth a try, occasionally ive been surprised with them accepting one, or extraction now and work towards the funds to replace. (Dentist, but obviously anyone can claim to be anything online)

I had a pre-molar tooth root canal done a few years ago. The pain was atrocious. They got rid of most of the tooth and left a little stub to do a cap. It is a smidge shorter than my other teeth so it never really takes the weight/stress of biting down, and you don't see any difference normally.

I had the option of a c.£300 silver lined cap or a c.£800 natural looking one. I didn't have £800 but I pulled £300 from savings and basically lived on soup for a few months to cover the cost. You can see the silver lining up close but no one aside from my DP gets that close to me so I don't mind. When the time comes to replace it I'll probably go for the natural looking one.

OP I know you say you can't afford it but I really think you should do everything you can to make the cost work, this is no way to live. Selling some things to raise cash? 0% credit card (paid off over a year), raiding your savings, maybe even borrowing some of the cost from a friend or family member? Going to a dentist which offers a payment plan?

Not a dentist but a very experienced patient. A long term infection can cause inflamation to the associated nerves so you may need to see you GP about a course of anti-inflamatories and pain relief that is specific to nerve pain rather than cocodamol which is a general pain killer. Also could your dentist do a microbiologic swab to check for infection that has not responded to antibiotiocs already prescribed. Good luck, there is nothing like the misery of toothache.

Google Trigeminal Neuralgia - this sounds exactly like my mum. It was horrific for her, the pain was so debilitating. It came on initially through stress, but root canal a few years ago triggered it to start up again for her.

@Thelongnights 😧 Oh my god. That is beyond shocking. Sorry if I missed this but did you consider legal action!?

Christ, absolutely horrendous. Glad you are out the other side!

Put an ice pack on your face. I've had abscess in my teeth before & they're excruciating. I found ice packs stop the inflammation & pain

Surely if the root canal was successful you wouldn't feel anything in that tooth ever again - I'd ask the dentist to redo it if you can afford it.

In the meantime I take it you've tried corsodyl toothpaste and mouthwash? It's headed off a few toothaches for me.

If you did have to have it removed and have a false one or whatever to fill the gap you could ask your dentist about paying monthly. My dentist does this so you don't have to pay a lot in one go. I really hope you get it sorted soon