Abscess in old root canal - agony :-(

[SpudsandGravy]

Hi there,

I woke up on Sunday morning with a sore bottom back tooth which got worse during the day. Paracetamol helped a bit but I didn't get much sleep last night. By this morning the pain was in both my top and bottom jaw and radiating out to my left ear. My dentist (thank goodness she fitted me in!) took an X ray and said I have an abscess at the bottom of an old root canal. She prescribed antibiotics and referred me to a specialist to see about re-doing the root canal. If he feels it's too far gone she'll take the tooth out.

Problem is that was 11am this morning and here I am now at 0100 in simply agony :-( She said I could take Paracetamol and Ibuprofen, but I can't really take Ibuprofen as it gives me a terrible tummy pain. Knowing how dreadful tooth pain can be I did get some, and also some Paramol (which seems to be the most powerful version of Paracetamol available).

I found that the Paramol took the edge off things around midday but then I accidentally closed my jaw and bit on the sore tooth. Pain rocketed and it really has just been getting worse since. It got so bad that I tried the Ibrupofen too, but that was a disaster as it caused the usual terrible tummy pain and so since 8pm I've been writhing in agony from my face (my glands are now all swollen too) and having to go up to the loo intermittently to try to puke to bring up the Ibuprofen. It's a nightmare :-(

I've finally got to the point where my tummy has mainly settled down and so I decide to try two soluble Panadol Extra very carefully. (I haven't exceeded the daily dose, but was worried that it might set my tummy off again.) It hasn't caused tummy pain but it just hasn't touched my tooth/face/jaw pain at all. My head is now also aching and I have a pain in my shoulder (which may be because I'm just so stiff with pain and discomfort).

I looked up these abscesses and it seems that they can be very nasty and that they can turn quite bad if not treated properly. I know I can't expect the ABs to have done anything yet (it's 3 per day over 5 days, and I've had the first 3), but I'm going a bit mad with the pain.

Does anybody have any suggestions? I tried oil of cloves, btw, but although it did help for a while last night it hasn't helped tonight, and I suspect it didn't help my tummy either.

Should I just sit all night and ring the dentist again at 9am or might A&E be able to give me something to help with the pain? I know it probably sounds nuts to be thinking about A&E for tooth pain but it really is horrendous :-(

Hmm, you poor thing. Not sure about a and e, but it it gets much worse personally I'd go. What is the pain on a scale of 1-10?

Thanks! It's a relief to know somebody else is out there!

I'd say pain is probably a 7 now that my tummy has settled down. I wondered whether I could ring 111 :-(

Codeine, you need codeine.
Get solpadeine or similar, it's the only thing that'll even touch it. X

Gin is excellent as it numbs your jaw.

I’d consider A&E because of the threat of sepsis (maybe call the helpline) - I have a friend who had to have an emergency procedure to release the abscess. It was pretty gnarly.

Antibiotics should help within the hour.

Oh you poor thing, tooth pain is so awful. Sending you a big virtual hug. I would suggest you try 111 given you can't take ibuprofen and paracetamol isn't helping much, they may suggest A&E who can then give you something stronger until the antibiotics start kicking in.
I've heard about clove oil and also oregano oil for tooth pain if that helps in the meantime.

Sorry I didn’t read properly, i didn’t clock that you already had antibiotics. They’ve always helped within a few hours with me.

Your antibiotics should kick in quite fast. I used to have exactly the same - infection in a root canal that flared up, causing my face to swell, then subside with ABs. I found it help to clean my teeth with warm, water and swish salt water around. I don't know why, the rubbing seemed to settle things down.
Eventually I had an apicectomy at the hospital, where they go in through your gum and remove the affected root. They told me it had a low success rate and tried to talk me out of having it but I decided to give ut a try.
That was 15 years ago and I still have my tooth. So that might be an option for you if you want to try and hang onto it.

Hot water bottle against ur face can also help a wee bit, and rinsing mouth with hot salty water.
I've had an awful time with abscesses in my jaw due to tooth issues do you have my total sympathy. It's awful.

Thank you all for replying x I think I'll just ring the helpline and see what they say.

I thought about Gin, but worried that that might make my tummy worse!

I realise I sound like a complete wimp, but it's miserable. Thank you again, all x

Hello. I’m sorry this hurts. I had what I thought was tooth ache recently (was a saliva gland issue) and was offered tramadol (!) and codeine by the emergency doctor.
Try 111, they were great

You don't sound like a wimp! Tooth pain is awful, please let us know how you get on x

Thank you all. Ringing them now. Will report back.

If it's metronidazole you're on do NOT try alcohol to numb it. Otherwise it can be quite helpful.

I was in the position recently and the pain was horrendous. Tramadol helped a bit but the antibiotics did kick in about 30 hours after they started which came as a surprise because it really felt like it was getting worse and worse.

You need codeine as PP said, try and see if 111 can get you an appointment with OOH GP, they should prescribe you something. Also if you can get Oragel in the morning from a chemist that really helps (as does Anbesol liquid if you have any young DC so have some lying around?). I've always found ice packs rather than heat helps with tooth pain. Hope you feel better soon OP, tooth abscess pain truly is awful.

Thanks again all. I've spoken to 111 and they say I need to speak to the clinician, so now I'm waiting for a call from them.

As I was typing she rang. What a relief! She says to go to A&E and ask for pain relief as at this point there's nowhere else to go, and it's currently a pain management problem.

Thank you all again for replying - it really helped!

I'll report back later, and sleep well x

Good luck, hope you feel better soon, tooth pain is the pits 🤞

@SpudsandGravy

Thanks again all. I've spoken to 111 and they say I need to speak to the clinician, so now I'm waiting for a call from them.

As I was typing she rang. What a relief! She says to go to A&E and ask for pain relief as at this point there's nowhere else to go, and it's currently a pain management problem.

Thank you all again for replying - it really helped!

I'll report back later, and sleep well x

Glad they're going to help. I cried all the way home from the dentist the other week because she was really brusque and rude. I rang the GP re pain and he was so kind and understanding I cried all over again!!!!

Don't put anything hot on your face. Cold packs might help, as will the strepsils with the local aesthetic (they're not recommend, but they can really help). You can also try swilling your mouth with salty water.

Really hoping you've been seen by someone by now though!

Also - unless it's a tooth that's visible, just get it out. I spent months trying to save a similar tooth, had seven lots of antibiotics and eventually had it removed. The abscess had never fully gone and it would have kept coming back.

You poor thing @SpudsandGravy, you have my total sympathy - I hope you get access to some decent pain relief. I cracked a molar and developed an abscess over Xmas last year (what perfect timing - not!) I was prescribed Endone, which is morphine-based, I think, and even that only took the edge off! As someone else mentioned, don't use heat as that will make it worse. Try to get in to see that specialist asap - I had to wait two months for an appointment to see an Endodontist. The longer you leave it, the worse it can get and any continued infection can also compromise whether they can save what's left of the tooth or not.

Well I'm in A&E now and the nurse has given me 2 codeine. I asked whether I can have a prescription for a couple of days until the ABs kick in but he said my dentist should have given it. I'm now waiting (4 hours he said it would be) for a doctor to decide whether they can give me a prescription. If not then will have to ask dentist for further urgent visit tomorrow :(

Abscesses are the worst! You are definitely not being a wimp.

I really hope you can get some pain relief soon!

Right now having tooth out seems very attractive option!

I've just finished a two week course of antibiotics for an abcess, the only way I could manage the pain was 2 x 400mg Ibuprofen every 8 hours & 2 x 30/500mg Co-codamol every 6 hours, don't wait for the pain to come on, take painkillers round the clock, set an alarm to wake you up in the night if you have to. I was also taking my regular pain medication for Fibromyalgia & that didn't touch the toothache. If you start with a fever, shivering, feeling like you have flu, go straight to A & E as you may have sepsis.

Poor you. That sounds awful. I hope you get a prescription. I find cocodamol the best over the counter medication if not but doctor will hopefully give you stronger tablets than you can buy. I think you will find by tomorrow night the antibiotics will have started to work.

(To repeat others, definitely don't use heat. I held a hot water bottle to my face in similar circs and it made it much worse.)

Have you got somewhere comfortable to wait at a&e?

I had this & it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt- holding your hand op!! I had ABs, codeine etc too. Time will pass and it will get less painful! I survived by boiling kettle, waiting for it to cool a bit then swirling it round my mouth. Plus heat again or frozen peas on outside of cheek/chin. You will recover! X