Difficult extraction / referral to hospital

[chivasgirl]

I broke a tooth this morning, one of the lower back (next to last tooth). I had a root canal years ago, tooth has been aching a bit for a while now and so I asked if they could extract it and I would live with that, as I really get quite anxious going to the dentist, not to mention that financially I just cannot afford to risk having to have it extracted anyway if whatever else they could do didn't work.

Anyway, after half an hour of them trying to remove it, they had to leave it with some root and have referred me to hospital. I have no idea how long it will be until I can get an appointment but best case scenario it will be at least a week because the hospital has to get the referral first, then they write to me to tell me to ring the local choose & book number etc.

Obviously I'm in quite a bit of pain at the moment but does anyone have any idea how long you would normally expect to wait for an appointment, and does going to hospital mean they'd use a general or local anaesthetic. I don't understand why they couldn't do it at the dentist.

any advice would be appreciated, or reassurance, as I'm really very anxious and upset about this. I had hoped this would mean it could all be over and done with today.

Thank you.

 

[chivasgirl]

just found out it is likely to be around 15 weeks. Unbelievable isn't it.

 

[Nat]

15 weeks is a pretty long time to wait. Is there any way you could see another dentist and did they mention why they couldnt take all of the tooth out?

 

[brit]

Commiserations - You must be in the UK with long waiting times like that!
Gordon, surely there is a quicker NHS emergency route for a dentist to get you to an Oral Surgeon when necessary?
If all else fails go and make a fuss in A&E.
If you have a nearby dental hospital, turn up at their outpatient clinic.
Try a different more competent, more experienced (?) dentist - amazed you didn't get an explanation of what the problem is.

 

[chivasgirl]

Yes, in the UK. Also work in the NHS although not for the local hospital that would be doing this, and our local NHS is incredibly in debt, so I suppose I should have been aware it would take a while.

I presume that having to wait is not a bad thing in this situation or hopefully they would have made sure I got seen as an emergency through A&E.

I am going to ask for a written explanation as to what the problem was because I want to be fully aware. I was told that a tooth which has had a root canal done already does tend to be easier not alot harder.

My mouth hurts alot now. Worried about what to eat as I'm absolutely starving having only eaten a small piece of toast this morning. Admittedly it won't do me any harm, but even so, I'll get a terrible migraine if I starve myself! Also about cleaning my teeth, get rid of this taste of blood, but the thing about not rinsing my mouth is worrying me - am I supposed to not clean my teeth at all??!!

Thanks for your comment Brit - I suppose just having someone commiserate with me makes me feel a bit better!

 

[Gordon]

I'm not sure what the question is here? Assuming the attempted extraction was this morning, feel free to clean your teeth any time. Just be careful around the extraction site.
Teeth with previous root canal treatment are more difficult to take out, not less.

I assume you got some antibiotics and painkillers from the dentist? That should help settle things down in a day or so.

 

[chivasgirl]

Thanks Gordon. The dentist definitely told me it should have been alot easier than it was, that previous root canal treatment made it easier to extract. My whole thing was to get it extracted because I have heard too many stories from colleagues and friends about attempted repairs not working and eventually having to have the tooth out, and I couldn't face the thought of going back week after week until that decision was made. I was trying to give myself less time in the dentist's chair, and have just given myself more. Has done nothing to make me feel better about going, so now I've got to wait for this appt and then work myself up into a panic before that.

I have to say I was very disappointed that she just said well we have to refer you to hospital, when I asked when (as I couldn't get much more out than that being rather shocked and upset), she said she didn't know. Didn't really give me any advice other than a printed sheet which said not to smoke, exercise, drink alcohol or rinse. No advice about things like eating, drinking, cleaning teeth, what to expect. I do think if they were to explain things more thoroughly it would put people's minds at ease.

I have antibiotics from dentist and am just taking paracetemol at the moment, although will probably go to some paracetemol & codeine mix later when I've managed to eat something, can't take on an empty stomach.

Husband has just come home and said he's phoned a private clinic and even they have a two week wait (and at least £700 cost), so I figure it can't be that urgent and that once it's healed up a bit it will stop hurting so much, so I'm going to wait it out. Hopefuly the hospital appt will mean they give you some IV sedation which will at least mean I can get through it without humiliating myself having tears pouring down my face! That's before I get in the chair!

Thanks for listening Gordon.

 

[Shazmandy]

Hi.....something along those lines has happened 2 me..with the same tooth..i posted a comment about a difficult extraction last week.....i was gettin an extraction done but after an hour the tooth wouldnt budge..so wit that the dentist decided to referr me 2 a specialist...because they wor at the tooth for so long the tooth had come up a bit form the other teeth and was very painful and sensitive and was swollen for about 6 days afterwards and i am still unable to bite down...that was last monday and i still have a little bit of swelling and the pain isnt as bad.....anyway...my dentist put me down as an emerancy and i got a phone call from the specialist within 2 days...however i wont be able to be seen untill next wednesday because she is away on holidays......usually there is a 2 month waiting list...but because my dentist put me down as an emerancy i was bumped up the list...it sounds to me as ur case is also an emerancy case as there is a risk of infection so id say u'd here form them quick enough......sorry to waffle on...and i dont even know if i helped.

 

[chivasgirl]

Hi Shazmandy, thanks for posting about your experience. I'm sorry for anyone who has to go through this, but it's kind of nice to not suffer alone, if you know what I mean.

I am more worried about having to get something else done at some point in the future, would have rather got it all over and done with, but hopefully they will give me some kind of sedation this time. I think that if it is left too long before I have an appointment, if it isn't hurting I just don't think I'll be brave enough to go back. I always go for my checkups and fortunately don't ever have to have anything serious done, occasionally filling replacement, but I knew I couldn't leave this.

What is so upsetting is knowing what is to come - or at least guessing at it. I can't bear the thought of anything touching that part of my mouth ever again, let alone having to tug and worry about bits of tooth which are now close to the nerve so it's going to mean being even more careful.

I will let you know how it goes, and please do the same. Good luck.