outch, swelling in cheek: gp or dentist

[Honneybunny]

title says it all: have had a swelling in my mouth for the last couple of days. it's now so bad that i can no longer chew anything. it's not in the gum, but in my left cheek, and makes me look like a hamster, according mil .

i will try and get an appointment with either gp or dentist asap next week, but i was wondering which one would be most efficient/appropriate. am taking ibuprofen to try and get the swelling down.

any other ideas?

Try NHS direct, they should be able to advise which is better.

Otherwise, I would phone a dentist first, they are used to mouth conditions caused by ulceritis/abrasions, etc.
I don't want to scare you, this is probably irrelevant, especially if you never smoked. But I am just reading a book about a woman who gets oral cancer and it's kind of put me into a scare about what mouth swellings can mean.
There are lots of benign reasons why it's much more likely that you have a mild infection, though.

thanks, i started googling, but think i'd better not do this... never smoked in my life.

i think it is probably my wisdom tooth. i have only got one, and it is lower left gum and only half erupted (sort of crooked). swelling is quite near it.

very very painful though... am on liquidised foods and even swallowing/talking hurts .

not nice !

DS2 had this and it turned out to be cellulitis, requiring antibiotics. We went to the GP as it wasn't teeth related.

thanks all for listening and posting.

i called dentist, just to listen what to do out-of-hours and they turned out to be open. they do not have any appointments till tuesday, but advised me to call monday morning to see if anything had come up.

i have now also phoned out-of-hours gp, as i am in a lot of pain, and can't see myself sit this out till tuesday (will not survive on yoghurt alone...). i think it might be an abcess. i can see a shiny white mass in my mouth on the flesh of my left cheek. i have go a nasty metallic taste in my mouth and now my lower jaw/neck hurts as well.

sorry for wining... i don't do sick very well, and am feeling very sorry for myself.

sounds like an absess. at least the out of hours doctor can give you antibotics. keep your appointment for tuesday with the dentist. he will be then able to treat you. if you wait till tuesday the dentist will prob send you away for 48hrs with antibotics. also try hot salty mouthwashes. hold it there for aslong as you can and then spit it out. do this as many times you can a day esp after eating. good luck