Wisdom tooth/gum infection - feel so unwell

[Psm92]

Hello. Saw the dentist yesterday and he prescribed antibiotics. Taken 5 doses now and not noticing a difference. Is this normal? The pain is unreal and I feel so feverish and fatigued as well. Is it normal to feel fatigued and weak while having a tooth infection? I have health anxiety too and I'm worried this is all a bit much for a tooth infection

My lockjaw fully resolved about a month after the tooth was removed. It did progressively start getting better about a week after the removal.

A lot is going to depend on what's going on for you. I hope you get some answers and better pain killers soon!

No I didn't have the jaw lock thing thankfully. I have read about it though and think it's quite common with a bad infection.

How did you get on @Psm92

So I went to a new dentist who was very lovely and reassuring but still wasn't able to see much as I can't open my mouth! But she said the area looks very red and based on symptoms it does seem like it's a bad infection (tooth or gum she doesn't know) and has prescribed a different antibiotic - metronidazole. She said the first antibiotic the previous dentist prescribed (phenoxymethylpenicillin) she's never never heard of! Really hoping this one works.

In terms of tooth extraction, looks like we'll have to wait until the infection clears enough for me to he able to open my mouth so she can actual xrays/scans.

Hoping so much this antibiotic does it. Especially as its bank hol weekend coming up and it might be difficult to access dentists!

Honestly the pain is awful but I can deal with it - it's the complete inability to open my mouth meaningfully that's freaking me out. Not eaten anything but soup and smoothies for like 4 days.

metronidazole is very good for dental infections. I wouldn't recommend drinking any alcohol with that particular antibiotic, it makes you very sick. I hope that you feel better soon.

Urgh me too 🙈

Oh OP this sounds horrendous. I'd get it taken out as soon as you are able to. Get a load of codine and watch a boxed set.

I have had this. My jaw was so swollen and I couldn't open my mouth. It's absolutely horrible. I was told to sleep sitting up, you don't want the infection tracking down your throat. When you can open your mouth more, gargle as often as you can with hot salty water. Meteronidazole worked for me. They can't remove your tooth while it's infected like that. It's scary and extremely painful but those antibiotics will hopefully see you right.

Also ibuprofen because that will help with the swelling which makes the gargling more effective. And corsodyl. The gel is good too.

How are you feeling today @Psm92. I hope that the antibiotics are kicking in.

Only taken 2 doses so far so no difference yet but really hoping they have some effect today. So miserable. And this is my fourth day off work...

You poor thing. Hopefully things will improve throughout the day with the antibiotics.

Keep pestering the dentist. I had this and in the end they had to send me to A&E, fast tracked through as they phoned ahead, 2.5 hour operation and was in 2 nights. Have a bag packed ready just in case.

@Minglemangle007 oh no! As in, the antibiotics didn't work and the infection progressed?

I have this around once a year as my wisdom tooth is mainly under the gum and it's the absolute worst when it happens, so I really feel for you! I end up on antibiotics every time and it still ends up being really swollen for around a week +, and unable to open my mouth properly for most of that :( I've found that getting a dentist to give it a really good blast with their high pressure washer helps with the pain, and last time I took a painkiller called paramol and ibuprofen at the same time staggered a couple of hours apart and that really made a difference. Hope this helps x

Went on for several weeks, took 3 or 4 courses of antibiotics and in the end couldn't open my mouth and wearing glasses was difficult as my face was so swollen.

The hospital was fantastic, excellent pain medication and steroids to bring the swelling down so they could get in there.

Thanks all! Still not realllllly feeling better although maaaaybe having to take fewer painkillers than before? Not sure tbh. Only taken 3 doses of metrodizanole so far so it's probably too early. I also have long covid so dealing with any kind of pain/illness on top of that just makes me feel so rough and miserable.

Are you feeling any better today @Psm92

@HRPUFF I feel like I'm taking fewer painkillers overall and I didn't wake up in total agony (though still very painful!) so maybe the antibiotics are slowly starting to kick in? Taken 6 doses now so that's basically 2 full days worth. Fingers crossed!

metrodizanole is what I’ve had in the past for gum infections and I believe it’s the recommended one for infections. It's not given lightly due to, as other posters have said, it's violent reaction to alcohol even up to 5 days after finishing the course

hope you feel better soon, it is the worst pain. Stagger your Co codamol and ibuprofen 2 hours apart rather than taking both at once, that should hopefully help

Glad to hear that there is slight improvement.

Hope it continues to improve OP.

I had to get an emergency appointment on Monday. I’ve had problems with a molar for two years, no problem could be found with it either by examination or X-ray and it wasn’t all of the time, it’d flare up and be painful every now and again before calming back down after a day or two.

It flared up last weekend (typically) and once the pain died down I noticed that the gum was swollen and felt tender, this hasn’t happened previously so I thought I’d better see the dentist.
I’ve got a gum infection so was prescribed a five day course of Metrodizanole and I’m booked in to have the problem tooth extracted. I’ve now taken 13 out of the 15 tablets and it’s not really made any difference.

I called the dentist on Wednesday, after taking them for 72 hours, and was told by the receptionist that I needed to take the full course before I could be seen again and as they’ll be closed for three days over the long weekend I’d need to call 111 if no different.
I called again yesterday, Thurs, and a different receptionist booked me in for this morning and I’ve been prescribed a further five day course.

Sod’s law, we’re flying to Dublin on Tuesday for a few days so while my husband’s enjoying the Guinness I’ll be sitting there with a sparkling water.

@MadisonAvenue So sorry to hear that! Hopefully the second course does it. My course was actually 7 days (1 tablet 3 times a day, so 21 in total). Very hopeful they do work as the side effects aren't very nice.

@MadisonAvenue Have you ever had non-alcoholic Guinness? I think it should be available in Dublin. One of the very few non-alcoholic beers that is actually good and tastes very faithful to the original!