Any dentists awake? Toothache in upper and lower teeth

[LaBelleSauvage123]

Pain started about two weeks ago in upper right molar, which was also very sensitive to heat and cold. Went to my dentist, who found fine cracks in the tooth, removed a filling in that and the adjacent tooth and put a temporary dressing in both. She said if it didn’t work it would help to pinpoint the source of the pain. It’s now got much worse. At night I get severe pain in the parallel teeth on my bottom jaw too, which keeps me awake. The pain seems to be coming from the gums, which are painful to touch. I’m using clove oil but it only works temporarily. Aargh - so painful!

OP I am not a dentist but that sounds horrid.
You may be crunching your teeth in pain so much that you are hurting the bottom teeth if you even doze off. Do you think there's an abscess or a wisdom tooth?
Whatever it is hot water salt rinse regularly and painkillers that will allow you to sleep.
Sleep is a painkiller in itself, a nurse told me once. You build up strength to deal with the pain
I hope a dentist comes along soon.
I didn't want to read and run.

I'm not a dentist but a couple of other pain relief options.

If it is your gums peppermint oil (ie food flavourings will do) it's very good - works as a very mild anaesthetic, that's what the tingling sensation is. It stings for a few seconds but can help a lot. It won't do much if the tooth is causing the pain though.

Otherwise Cayenne pepper is a traditional effective painkiller (and yes, it's going to be hot!)... Maybe use some clove oil and follow immediately with cayenne to get past the initial pain.

Could it be an abscess from before the filling? If you get severe pain from tapping your teeth it probably is.

How you find something to get you through - toothache is the worst

I tried the hot water and salt rinse last night and it made it much much worse. The only thing that really helps is the clove oil and painkillers, but I can’t take them too much because they affect my stomach.
No pain from tapping. The pain seems to be coming from the gums, which are painful to touch ( top and bottom). Much worse when I lie down.

Sorry - already said about gums in my OP. 😳

Also - wouldn’t the dentist have been able to tell last week if there was an abscess? She didn’t seem sure what was causing it.

Did she do an X-ray OP? Did she do a sensitivity test? Is your dentist private or NHS (yes, I've found this matters unfortunately).

No x Ray, which I was surprised about. She squirted cold air on it which made me jump out of the chair.

Oh and it’s a private dentist

You need a root canal OP. Likely ASAP before things get worse and you lose the tooth. Please find a new dentist on Monday and get in as an emergency (personally I would go to a different private rather than NHS).

Cold air? Omg change your dentist fast.
I don't know how to try and help any further than that. Hand hold though.
Get thee an emergency appointment somewhere. If you are in London try king's.
It sounds serious. It could be an infection. There's something badly wrong anyway.

As previous poster said try and contact an emergency dentist asap, nothing worse than toothache. I wish you well.

Fine cracks in your tooth? Sounds like it’s fractured. I guess it will eventually come out or they’ll take part of it out, and give you a crown or root canal - they’ll take out the live parts. I’m not a dentist as you can tell.

The cold air was to pinpoint which tooth was the problem - I don’t think it’s a reason to change dentist! She was honest in that she said she wasn’t sure the fine cracks were the problem - but that if the pain continued after treatment it would then rule it out. I just wondered what else it could be? Particularly as the pain is radiating to my lower teeth as well

I feel for you op. I had what sounds v similar last month.. pain in upper and lower teeth. Turns out it was a gum infection. Took antibiotics a week to sort it out. It was really painful . Orajel helped a bit.

Well the dentist still failed. Cold air or not. As in pinpoint? Ugh. onomatopoeiaec.
Google for an emergency or take painkillers abound

I’m wondering whether it’s a gum infection Wizzler. Am worried as I’m using so much clove oil and I don’t think it’s meant for gums - will try to get Oragel today. Did yours get worse when you lay down at night?

Hi Labelle, yes it did seem to get worse at night.. though don't remember it being when I laid down. I put off calling the dentist until the friday and ended up having to wait until Monday for an appointment. Got through those 3 nights on gin... and even then ii would wake up at 5am with the pain .
Hope you get it sorted soon

Going to be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning - though I won’t be able to go until Tuesday as I’ve got an MRI follow up for a back issue at 9.30 ( yes, I know - wreck, moi?) followed by an annual review meeting for my son, who has SN. No time for toothache!

Try corsodyl. Possibly gum related. And brush the area thoroughly, and use interdental brushes.

If it’s gums - you need to brush more - even if it bleeds.

Hello Labellesauvage - I'm a dentist and I agree completely with your dentist's treatment. Sometimes it's really hard to identify which tooth is causing the problem and x-rays don't show much early on.

It sounds like you have an abscess developing in one of the top teeth - your dentist will be able to tell which tooth it is by now.

The pain in your lower jaw is referred from the top, there isn't a problem at the bottom too. Dental pain can radiate top to bottom but never side to side.

Try and avoid the clove oil as it is very strong and can damage your gums - if you really need it try diluting it with vegetable oil.

Have you checked if your area has a dental emergency unit open anywhere today? Phone 111 and I'm sure they will be able to advise you. You really need to be seen as soon as possible. Have you phoned your own dentist today? They will have some emergency services available today.

Brush, floss and use interdental brushes regularly- though not atm as too painful

Elfride - thanks for coming on. I’ll try not to use the clove oil any more - but I’ve been using loads of it for a week or so. Hope I haven’t done more damage. ( I also stink of it!) Now I’m out of bed it’s ok - only really flares up when I eat or drink and at night. Will try emergency dentist if it gets unbearable today - but if not will ring first thing tomorrow. May be able to fit in an appt between my orthopaedic appt and my son’s meeting...

Sorry not ignoring your advice about going today but it would be very difficult because of childcare for my son - complicated reasons.

If you've got underlying issues this won't help but when I had significant tooth and gum pain and the dentist couldn't find a cause I used sensodyne pro enamel tooth paste, not just to clean but to put over the base of the teeth like an ointment. Some obviously comes off but some stays and my dentist said it can just plug any porous enamel that is leaving nerves exposes causing pain.

It didn't feel like just sensitive teeth but honestly within 24hrs the excruciating pain had gone. Might be worth a go while you await appointments. Not plain sensodyne, that didn't work, but the pro enamel one.

I’m mid root canal and had the same. My dentist told me that it’s not unusual for other teeth on the same side of your mouth to also hurt as they share the same nerve system and the brain isn’t always able to tell exactly where the pain is coming from. In my case one of my teeth eventually became tender to eat on and very sensitive to hot and cold and that was the culprit. Initially the dentist x rayed the area but it wasn’t clear which tooth from that - tapping it with a metal instrument was more conclusive though!!! Good luck & hope it’s sorted soon, toothache is horrible.