Sever toothache and feeling faint from the pain

[loveyourself87]

I need any kind of advice pls.. I'm 14 weeks pregnant and have had the mother of all swelling on my gums and teeth are killing me! I went to an emergency dentist today who said he can't do anything other than give me Amoxicillin as antibiotics for the infection and then to return next week! I've exceeded the dose for panadol and bonjela and I feel so faint because the pain is not going away! I've tried salt water rinse, garlic clove, corsadyl etc and nothing is helping! I'm so scared and don't know what to do.. I don't want to go to A+E to sit for 6 hours and be given the same painkillers.. any help pls ladies, I'm going to faint because of this pain 😢.. would A+E give me something different or do an X-ray to see what is happening?

You poor thing. Toothache can be the worse. Are you allowed to take ibuprofen along with the paracetamol? So you’re taking something every two hours rather than every four?

They'd probably try an avoid an X-ray in this early stage of pregnancy. You need to be patient and give the antibiotics time to kick in. Usually 24-48 hours, sorry. If still no better in a day or two give the dentist another shout.
Hard to advise as need to see what problem is

@FredaFrogspawn I'm trying to avoid Ibuprofen as you shouldn't take it in pregnancy. I might risk it and take another panadol but I'm scared

@Ash39 I think it's a root canal nerve that has been exposed! The worst type of pain for me as far as toothaches go! I'm tempted to go to A+E as I'm worried I will faint from the pain :-(

If it's an exposed root canal, I'd go back to dentist then. The nerve might be exposed. Hence the pain. Generally if it's an exposed nerve, the tooth is still vital and therefore not infected. If that is the case, then antibiotics won't help. They'll need to open up the tooth and remove the nerve.

Again, without an examination, it's really hard to tell. I'd call them first thing tomorrow.
A&E won't be able to help unfortunately

You can take codeine in pregnancy.. I was given some for a severe gum infection last pregnancy. Obviously, seek medical advice first but you can def take more than paracetamol in emergencies! I feel so sorry for you, I remember oh too well the pain pregnancy! I couldn’t believe an infection could cause so much pain.. maybe try 111 dental service? They may be able to advise on painkillers?

I personally wouldnt waste your time or A&E's time going in for tooth ache. Try cold/hot compress on your cheek where your pain is as it will be the inflammation that's making it worse and take paracetamol every 4 hours. Apart from that nothing else you can actually do x

@Boymummy3 no hot compress near the face as it can cause even more swelling! In terms of wasting A+E's time for a toothache, I don't think you understand how much of a pain it is, should I wish to go to A+E, it would not be a waste of time.

@Bol87 thank you, I've spoken with 111 and they confirmed codeine is safe for this type of pain.. thanks again x

Hope it’s feeling a bit less painful. I do feel for you.

Glad 111 advised re painkillers. Speak to your dentist first thing and get seen again.

‘Should I wish to go to A+E, it would not be a waste of time’ - yes it would OP, they do not have dentists in A&E and would not x-ray, treat or give you anything different to paracetamol given you are pregnant. You already have antibiotics.
Hope it eases.

@Tini17 pls don't assume because your A+E do not prescribe anything other than standard pain killers that others won't, this could cause people to not seek urgent help! I attended A+E last night taken by an ambulance as I collapsed from the pain outside my home, DR prescribed me Co-codamol (paracetamol and codeine) and checked my teeth for me so yes they are capable of providing this service.I hope this post helps someone on the same position.

@Tini17 actually your incorrect! I work in a and e and we have max fax surgeons who are "dentists" however have a wider knowledge and we have people coming in for tooth abscess etc that can't be dealt with in the dentists !

@ameliathomas84 I am not incorrect but thank you for your message. I too work with dentists and max facs surgeons amongst others and abscesses should be managed by regular, high street dentists as part of their contract, they should not be undertreated and then making their way to EDs for the on-call surgeons to deal with, that is not their job (if you want to upset one, call him/her a dentist).
OP didn’t get a good service from her regular dentist, who should have prescribed decent painkillers and worked out a treatment plan taking into account her pregnancy, hence my suggestion to go back. 111 should have directed her to Out of Hours service and it appears they didn’t do that either.
Glad she’s got some decent meds and hopefully a way forward.

@Tini17 ok so she got cocodamol so you were wrong! And look am not getting into a debate about it , many ppl have health conditions meaning they can't be treated by a high street dentist also many have been treated and it's failed so need surgery etc however you would know this if you work with such professionals as I do, which you state you do
Anyway yep toothache needs out of hours dentist however severe pain no matter where from needs urgent care!

@Tini17 @ameliathomas84 thank you both for your input and I do appreciate your advice and experience in this field! To give you a bit more information which surprised me, my dentist called me and said he will not prescribe me any painkillers as that is the GP's job, I went to a GP as my gums were still very very inflamed and she was very very very surprised by his response to me, he doesn't even want to look at it. One thing that really got to me was being told by 111 that there are NO out of hours dentists here in bristol and I couldn't even speak to one on the phone. I'm very surprised as I grew up in London where there is ample after hours support! You would think that a dental issue can be classified as an emergency due to the pain they cause especially for pregnant women who are not able to access other painkillers due to the information given by different doctors. I was advised by many online that I should not in anyway be taking codeine, yet I was prescribed it, that I should never have any tooth extraction or work done however, this was given to me as an option.

@loveyourself87 don't worry about the codeine this is safe it's near the end of pregnancy they worry due to addictive effects on the baby however taking for tooth ache you will be fine, please don't worry about this, also dental work is also safe (any that isn't they won't do) I have never had any dental work ever (36yo) and at 25 weeks I was told o had a tiny hole in my tooth I was mortified as I' am obsessive with my teeth! Anyway I had a white filling and ever since I have extreme toothache when I went back she said I may need root canal! I swear she did something while doing the supposed "tiny" filling as at one point I shot up it felt like she had hit. A nerve she had to top up my numbing! Anyway due to knowing your guns are extremely tender during pregnancy I'm hoping it's something that will get better when baby born (34weeks) so refuse to have anymore treatment yet! I just use lidocaine on the area and it works wonders for me and odd time take paracetamol, however I was on codeine for 6 weeks due to spd but stopped taking it a month ago as I'm delivering in 4 weeks , if you are in extreme pain no mate we what area it's from please attend a and e and don't worry what anyone else says! As nurses we are taught how detrimental to health pain is ! Including the stress that can be passed to baby ! Look after yourself hope you are feeling better soon xx

@ameliathomas84 thank you, it's super helpful and reassuring to know I'm not the only one to have gone through this type of pain in pregnancy! I do also think that perhaps your dentist must have hit something if you were in complete pain after! Unfortunately it's so easy to poke and prod and cause even more issues, fingers crossed going forward for me, I'm definitely going to be taking extra care with my teeth, floss, hygiene appointments etc xx

@ameliathomas84 and also good luck with your baby, not long to go xx

@loveyourself87 thanks hun. Xx