Disgusting pic warning.. but what has happened to my tooth?!

[TheAvidLemonSheep]

Apologies in advance!!
I can’t get an emergency dental appointment until the morning but I am absolutely terrifying myself. I’m getting pain and numbness on my one of my top back teeth, on the left side.

I’ve taken a picture and omg has my tooth cracked?! What on earth is this?! I am absolutely terrified 😭

I thought the bit of white in the middle was a new tooth growing!!

I think she’s worried about her tooth and used a word you’ve overreacted to. Seeing as you give such thoughtful advice, perhaps you should take it yourself.

Yes, it is just a bit of your tooth broke off.
They will possibly do an X-Ray and place a filling on it.
You can get temporary fillings in boots. It works really well if you cannot get an appointment in one or two days.

This white bit is what’s worrying me! You can’t see it in the picture either but there’s a bit that looks like tiny sprouts of white as well

Rinse with warm salt water multiple times a day and especially after eating. You’ll likely need the tooth pulled

No it’s food .

It’s just bits of food stuck in the hole.

Why would it be pulled? The dentist will hopefully be able to save the tooth. I've had a problem with one that was in a much worse state than OP's tooth and it's now been repaired and a new crown fitted.

You're teeth are great. You'll probably just need a filling. Worst case scenario - root canal + filling or root canal + crown (unlikely).

With how painful tooth infections are I don't blame OP for being a bit worried about what could happen.

Quite! No one wants a tooth infection or the pain / cost that goes with it, but "terrified"?! I'd expect a 5 year old to be terrified of a bad tooth not an adult.

I was assuming the root is exposed and there is some infection present due to the OP saying there is white stuff and pain. In this case I believe it’s much better to pull the tooth then plaster over an active infection. The dentist will have a better idea after doing an xray. Root canals are very bad news and can lead to long term health issues.

I have had quite a few root canal treatments over the years. No health issues of any kind. Some were done 15-20 years ago - teeth still there.

Not really something you can control though, I'd LOVE not to worry about this sort of thing but I do too (probably worse than OP tbh). I assume it's partly down to the fact we've been lucky enough not to have anything much wrong with our teeth up to now so don't know what to expect.

I just went down a rabbit hole on google with teeth as I'm currently awaiting a dentist appointment (not been for years) and getting myself into a state about what I might need. I do need help with my anxiety tho so probably not the best person to listen to!

I'm fairly sure the white bit is just trapped food. Seriously, modern dentistry is a million miles away from where it was a couple of decades ago and if you have a good dentist - this is bread and butter work for them - what seems incredibly hard for you to imagine fixing is actually something most dentists do every day of the week. I've had to have a fair amount of dental work done (fixing the work of bad early childhood dentists) - I have seen incredibly detailed full colour photos of all of my teeth from all angles on a huge screen - my dentist is not guessing or relying on his eye sight - they know exactly what they are dealing with know exactly how to fix it. A bit of a very healthy looking tooth has cracked away - assuming it's as good as it looks - I'd guess they will not want to remove any part of the tooth that is sound. Your teeth look great - so well worth paying to get anything fixed properly - whatever it costs now will be money saved in the future. My NHDS dentist retired so I had to find another one - I couldn't find an NHS dentist so had to go private - the costs are very high by comparison but in view of the work I've had done I don't regret paying - the quality of the work is on another level imho.

Shock horror some people have phobias or anxieties about things others don't! No idea why you are getting such cunty responses

pulling a tooth is a last resort these days. The dentist will probably put a temporary fill, x ray to see what’s going on.
Either it will be a root canal or a cap or crown. I’ve had a root canal is a pain but mines been fine 15 years later. Mostly it’s the cost.
i also cracked a tooth (40 year old filling) and it’s got a cap on it, also fine.

Why are people being so horrible. Lots of people are scared of the dentist, why mock someone for having a phobia?

My brother once lost a bigger section of tooth than that OP, he’s absolutely terrified and made me go with him to emergency dentist (hence how I know how big the missing part was), the dentist was able to rebuild the tooth with a filling, they said it was probably a temporary measure but it’s been fine for years now apparently!

Salt water rinse to get rid of the food stuck inside and to keep the area clean.

paracetamol and ibuprofen

ice pack on cheek to help with pain/swelling

oil of cloves is also good for pain

Tooth ache and treatments are hideous but this is fixable. You’ll be ok.

The white is either the inside of the tooth or it's food stuck. You might get away with a filling or maybe a cap. If it's a cap I recommend getting a white one, (more expensive) I made the mistake of getting metal and it looks awful it's a massive regret .

Oh I'm with you OP. I also have an abscess and an appointment tomorrow. My face is very swollen and I look like one of Nick Park's hamsters. The pain is bloody awful 😞 don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight either

A few years ago one of my back teeth broke in half when I was eating a chomp...however I didn't do anything about it and 9 months later I got an infection so bad it made me really ill and I had it extracted. You are going to be fine by seeing the dentist and getting it sorted promptly don't worry

This exact same hole happened to me, I used one of them ear cameras to have a look, the camera makes it look bigger than it actually is. I needed a root canal, but I can’t afford it right now, so she’s temporarily filled it for now. No other teeth got decay because of it and I left it a while before seeing a dentist.

So many different opinions on this thread. That's why it's best to wait and let your dentist assess. You've been told you might need root canal, a filling and crown and to have it pulled... how on earth can anyone diagnose that on a forum?

However as a dentist may I just compliment you on the excellent intraoral photo you took. Very good 😂

Try to put it out of your head for now.