Any dentists? Emergency appointment

[RealisticallySwampy]

Please be kind.

I've had a broken tooth for a while, it's 3rd from the back. It had a root canal treatment that came out a couple of years ago.

It never caused me any pain until 2 days ago. Yesterday the pain was unbearable so 111 found me an emergency NHS dental appointment for today.

I'm really nervous. I have a huge fear of the dentist. Please can anybody kindly tell me what the dentist will likely do?

I know that it's silly to be scared. I keep thinking that he's going to judge the state of my teeth & be unkind.

My daughter (age 8) will be with me. I have no option on this. She will be happy with a colouring book in the corner but she will be listening.

I'm really scared about what will happen.

I can feel a swollen part in the broken tooth bit & the gum is swollen now too (it wasn't yesterday)

So it's infected, that means?

What will happen?
Will they treat it today or send me aways with AB's?
Will they give me painkillers if they send me away?
Paracetamol & Ibuprofen aren't touching it.
I can't have Codeine as I suffer badly with constipation.

The part of the tooth that's left is wobbly. It's catching on my bottom tooth even when I tried to eat a bowl of soup yesterday.

It's so sore.

Please can anybody try to reassure me that it will be ok?

Or if it won't be ok, can you just tell me that too, so that I can try to get my head round what will happen, before I go.

I’m not a dentist but I would imagine they’ll remove the tooth, if it’s so far back.

They did this for me when I had an abscess on a tooth that previously had undergone a root canal treatment - dentist advised it likely wouldn’t survive another round.

The relief was indescribable once it was out. If you’ve had a RC in the past then an extraction is far easier - you’d be surprised at how easy it is.

Best of luck! It’ll be ok! ❤️

I should say, they sent me away with antibiotics but no painkillers, but it was noticeably less painful when it was out anyway.

Hopefully take the tooth out. Which is an easy procedure. I have a dental phobia too and have had a couple of extractions. Nothing to worry about. Honestly. So much easier than a root canal.

CissOff Thank you so much for this. I'm glad that you got yours sorted.

There's only kind of half the tooth left so I expect it needs to come out.

I can't imagine it not hurting now.

Does it take ages to remove it?

I think that I had weird root canal treatments or something, as I had a previous problem in another tooth & was told that it shouldn't be hurting as I have no nerve there, but it was hurting me.

This is in the back of my mind. That they will just yank at what's left without numbing it, because I shouldn't be able to feel it?

Thank you Slightlyamusedandsilly This is helping.

LOL There is no way anyone would take a tooth out without pain relief. They'll numb it and extract it. It's a pretty quick procedure.

An extraction takes less time than a filling.

I agree they'll extract it. Will it take a long time? No. It takes less time to extract the tooth ( you will feel a tug but no pain) than it does to put the anaesthetic in. Honestly. I've had it done, same as you, cracked tooth following root canal, and the relief was fantastic.

Slightlyamusedandsilly I'm so relieved to read this. In my head, they are kind of one knee on the chair, pliers, yanking it out of me, me desperately trying to pretend I'm fine as my daughter is sat there, & the dentist laughing at me saying 'You can't even feel anything so what's wrong?'

(Think this previous experience of being told that I couldn't feel pain, when I could has scarred me more than I realised!!!)

I just had a failed root canal extracted, I wasn't even in any pain from the infection but they said it was really bad so had to go. They definitely numbed me so don't worry!

EveraredDeTroyes Thank you. I feel like my anxiety has just dropped, reading these.

ProfessionalTeaDrinker Thank you.

I know it's only been 2 days (& 2 long nights) but I feel like I've never not been in pain with it (which is ridiculous, I know, but the pain is something else)

Dental nurse here 👋

They will take an x ray of the tooth (can be unpleasant - breathe through your nose and focus on one spot - clock,coat rack whatever, you will be fine and get through it)

depends on the damage - they may put in a temporary filling and send you away with a script for antibiotics. They won’t prescribe painkillers. In this scenario, you would need to contact your regular dentist and make a plan to treat the tooth.

If the tooth has a poor prognosis, they may want to extract it. You will be numbed up good and proper. The injection is the worst part (again, breathe through it), once that’s done, it’s a walk in the park. The tooth may fracture further but the dentist will be prepared for this and have different bits of kit to sort it.

Good luck - you can do it! You will be absolutely fine.

Tooth pain is the worst! 💐

They will numb you, but even if they didn’t and insisted you wouldn’t feel anything, you can say ‘I would like some local please’ and they would be fine with it. Promise!

You’ll feel a million times better once it’s out.

Thank you IAmAKram Are you absolutely certain they will numb it?
I don't think there is anything left to fill as there's only half a tooth.

I spoke to my old dentist yesterday who said I'm no longer registered but I did get signed up to a new one but they said it's 4 weeks for a first appointment. At least I have that for the future though.

Thank you TrumptonTown I did try to get the appointment first thing this morning as I knew that I'd be in a state, but I've got to wait until 12.30.

Thank you everybody for being kind to me.

I’m not a dentist, but agree with pp’s based on personal experience. I have a terrible fear of the dentist too. A few years ago I had excruciating pain in my tooth and the dentist told me it was cracked. She tried to save it with a root canal, which failed a few days later and the pain was worse than ever. I remember being upset at the thought of losing my tooth, but when it came to actually having it removed I was so desperate to get rid of the pain, I couldn’t wait! It was over in seconds once the anaesthetic kicked in and it was completely painless. No complications afterwards. Nursing a toothless gap was infinitely easier than living with a tooth that had pretty much separated into two halves! I wish you all the very best.

Absolutely 100%, promise on my life they will numb it. You could even ask for numbing gel to be applied first if you don’t want to feel the needle. If it’s an upper tooth, be prepared for the injection to pinch quite a pit on the palate (roof of your mouth). Explain to them that you’re nervous and they will treat you gently. You’ve got this!

Thank you LetsMakeThisMomentLast I'm so glad that it was as swift as that!

I didn't want to lose the tooth either, the part of the tooth that's left is the part that you see when I smile, so I was happy that it 'looked' alright. I feel so stupid now & just want the pain to stop.

Thank you for the reassurance, IAmAKram Yes it's a top one & those injections sting to hell. But it's worth it if this pain stops (hopefully)

Also, not much help now as your appt is today but I strongly recommend Orajel. It contains benzocaine (local anaesthetic) and you can apply it to the tooth and gum. It really helps! I keep some at home for any dental-related emergencies! 💐

Thank you TrumptonTown I'll make a note of it, That's kind of you. I just suffered through it yesterday (but there were tears) I didn't have my daughter thankfully, & I spent a lot of the day with a cold (hot) water bottle on my face, laying on my bed. Not that the water bottle helped at all.

I did have one tooth taken out that continued to twinge after he started pulling. But he just reinjected the local anaesthetic until it was painless. I think it hurt him (in his wallet - due to having to wait again for the anaesthetic to work) more than me.

It’s amazing you got an emergency dental appointment! I had a broken tooth last year, in a lot of pain, with head and neck cancer and on cancer treatment…and they were like, nah, not emergency enough, sorry! I had the same tooth break again recently and the only reason I managed to get offered an appointment this time is because I now have adrenal insufficiency and untreated infections/pain can cause low cortisol and send me into a coma to die!

They will likely do very little. Dh and I have both had broken teeth fixed this past month. They will pop some temporary filler into it to protect the nerve from sensitivity and your tongue from any sharp bits and send you on your way. You’ll need to see your actual dentist to have any proper work done on it. We both took young dc with us to have it done and was no big deal.

mindutopia I'm so sorry. That's rough. I was surprised that it was so 'easy' as well (I mean, definitely compared to what you've been through)

I spent 3 & a half hours ringing round before resorting to 111 online (& had one dentist near the end of that, tell me that I'd left it late in the day to ring!) then the dentist called me to make the appointment an hour after that. I never spoke to 111.

They may be able to fix it or they may need to pull it. Neither should actually hurt as they inject you and you're completely numb. You feel buzzing and pressure only. If the tooth is wobbly it will come out really easily probably in a few seconds.

Please don't worry. It's much more damaging to your health to have a bad tooth in than out. It will be a relief once it's either fixed or gone. You can live without one tooth. But if you left it it could damage the others.

Glad you've got an emergency appointment. In my experience the dentists in emergency clinics are really kind and definitely want you to be pain free (like any dentist!). Tooth pain is horrendous and I will put it at the top of my pain list along with having an abscess lanced! When I was last at an emergency dentist they offered to extract the tooth there and then or send me away with antibiotics and further extraction with my own dentist, so you should be given a choice.
Really hope it goes well for you today and I promise your pain can and will get better.