Infected wisdom tooth - no immediate help available

[Yorkshirelass04]

Hi all. Would be grateful for some advice.

I have a wisdom tooth that is half in and half out and gets inflamed about every 2 years needing antibiotics. For the last 48 hours it's been swelling, painful, think there is pus there and I have a swollen gland under my chin.

I phoned my usual private dentist (no nhs space here unfortunately) and they have nobody in until Monday morning so I booked that appointment. To try and speed things up I've messaged a few other local private dentists but nothing back yet. NHS 111 agreed it needed seeing but could only offer me something 45 miles away which I can't get to tomorrow.

So my question is will I be OK leaving it 5 days with some painkillers and mouthwash? I can see that there are online pharmacies that dispense amoxicillin, would it be OK to start a pack of that as a stop gap before I can get it properly irrigated on Monday?

None of this ideal but I just want to avoid it getting much worse.

Thank you

I would continue trying your luck with other local dentists. Tomorrow and Friday are normal working days and surprised your practice doesn't have a cover arrangement for emergencies. No one on here can predict whether it will slowly resolve or get worse.

I'd ring every morning and ask about cancellations, at your current dentist and any others. I had wisdom tooth trouble and the pain was unbearable. Can you not get it extracted? That's what I did in the end.

I have got some antibiotics online for toothache and was glad i did.

Thank you I will keep trying.

I have discussed removal but the Xray shows that it's near some nerves and the dentist said there is a small chance of numbness in my face afterwards. If it's only a 2-3 year thing I can manage, as long as I can get an appointment which clearly I can't always! 😀

I posed the suggestion to ChatGPT of antibiotics to tide me over until my appointment. It was having none of it...

You can at least order them. Bearing in mind its a public hlliday this week

You should be able to get an emergency dentist appointment privately tomorrow. I got a same day one on a Sunday for a root canal needed, it’s just pricier but worth it. 5 days is a long time to wait in pain, you have my sympathies OP

Thank you for the words of encouragement 🙏

I regularly get the same problem. I can usually fend it off without needing antibiotics or seeing a dentist by brushing it quite hard with toothpaste regularly over a few days with this special brush (you can get them in supermarkets)
amzn.eu/d/4BadNTI

You’ll need metronidazole. Trust me, I get this infection (pericoronitis) monthly! Yes I’m getting them out.

Sorry to hear. My wisdom teeth are all fine except one which is half out at a jaunty angle and likes to spoil xmas.

Warm salt water rinse will help.

Water should be v salty

Also recommend warm salt water every couple of hours. Cordysyl also good. I also suffer from this but fortunately the above usually sorts it out.

• single tufted toothbrush or whatever you can get around it to gently clean
• corsodyl Mouthwash. Preferably in a curved plastic syringe, or just rinse/swish with brush and hold for 30s
• hot salt water, tsp salt mug hot water, swish, hold until cool, spit, repeat
• water flosser or syringe to really flush the gum flap/opening

now, you shouldn't lie... but any swelling that makes it hard to swallow or breathe justifies A&E, and any lymph node swelling or difficulty opening your mouth makes you a priority case for dentists. Interestingly dental pain isn't considered an emergency, but infection is. Try calling 111 again and see if they can offer anything else. Sometimes GPs refuse to touch tooth issues, sometimes they throw antibiotics at dentists patients. Could be worth a try.

I am delighted to update that some angelic soul.responded to my message at 9.30pm and have given me a 9am appointment tomorrow.
Thank you for your input- I was just panicky really that no help would come available and I'd be progressively worse over the weekend.

That’s good!

I used to have this issue and found that peroxyl mouthwash rubbed over the area with a tiny headed toothbrush helped until the dentist appointment.
Mine was also near the nerve but the dental surgeon got it out with no lasting issues at all. My infections had got more frequent though.

Peroxly mouthwash and oil pulling with coconut oil helped me when I had issues with my wisdom tooth. Long term oil pulling has actually helped stop issues with my wisdom tooth altogether. I rinse with coconut oil for a few minutes every morning before brushing my teeth.

Good news. I know my dentist will take non registered patients for an emergency. Hope they get it sorted.

Thank you all for your encouragement and helpful advice for avoiding this situation in future xx

Good luck tomorrow OP, hope they can resolve this for you!

I had a similar sounding wisdom tooth out in my early 20s (except it wasn’t causing any pain) and now have no feeling in my tongue on that side 😩

Annoyingly the one on the other side waited 25 years to appear (I’d assumed it wasn’t going to come through) - it isn’t causing pain at the moment but I’m worried it will get infected at some point and need removing.

Pleased to say I've been seen. Wonderful lady dentist and I may well switch to her going forward.

Was exactly as I thought and I've got amoxicillin! Will consider further whether I have the bloody thing out.

Glad you have been seen. I think l would just have the tooth out at the first opportunity. I had raging toothache a few weeks ago and never was l more grateful than to have the offending tooth out, alongside the abscess being drained and strong antibiotics. It was the tooth next to a wisdom tooth and I can honestly say that I don't miss it. At least it can't cause any more problems.

@ineedhelp37ive currently just had this and finished my 3 days course of antibiotics yesterday but its still sore , when does it get better ?

Bless you. It's painful! You should finish the course and if not better go back to your dentist, sometimes the antibiotics need changing. I once had to try a second lot before it got better. That said, sometimes it doesn't stop hurting until 4-5 days so bear with it!