DIY dentistry... No, I'm not stupid.

[danno90]

So I'm waiting to hear back from my dentist to find out when I'm getting started on the whole extraction/denture process.

In the mean time, I was headbutted by my playful dog this evening, and another of my remaining incisor teeth has now cracked along the back (it's already severely rotten at the front). It's not too painful at the moment.

Is there anything I can do to either "stabilise" it until it is removed (I've been advised if I have it done under sedation at the dentist's, there's a 2 month waiting list, otherwise an unspecified wait to have it done in the local hospital), or else try and take it out myself?

I'd rather not do the second as the nerve in this tooth is still "live" and I don't fancy messing around with high doses of non-prescription pain killers.

Or is it best just to let it do it's thing and hope the nerve gives out before the tooth completely breaks off?

Apologies if the subject of "DIY" isn't allowed on here... Just kinda desperate I guess.

 

[Steve In Cleveland]

DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE TOOTH YOURSELF! The trauma on the tooth of trying to yank it or knock it out is much worse than the simple, safe, and painless extraction procedure a dentist will do. It's more painful, it's more dangerous, and it's more likely to get infected afterwards.

Your best bet, seriously, would be to go to the local hospital, or find a dentist who can get you in immediately in the morning. Broken teeth are always treated as an emergency (though not life threatening) and the dentist can get you numbed up completely and remove the tooth safely and painlessly.

Your second best bet is to wait and let it "do its thing". The risk is that when it does, "it's thing" will really hurt, a lot. And then you'll end up at the emergency room anyway. I guess if you're lucky, the tooth will hang in there and not hurt or break or both. But incisors being right up front and center, it's going to be hard to avoid touching or chewing on the tooth. If the tooth hurts some right now, it will probably get worse. I doubt it will make it two months in the condition you describe.

The real issue with DIY (in my opinion) is that it just isn't very effective. At worst you could break the tooth while you're futzing around with it, which could hurt a lot. At best, it'll not really do much good, and you're still at risk of breaking the tooth or exposing the nerve at any time.

There are some over the counter topical anesthetics that you can get (in the US at least, usually called Orajel). And ibuprofin (Advil/Aleve) is usually pretty effective for dental pain relief. I'd try to have some of both on hand in case the tooth breaks further and the pain gets bad.

There aren't really any "legal" repairs for a broken tooth. There are some temporary cements available for holding a loose crown or plugging a lost filling, but these are really very temporary, and specifically not for broken or infected teeth. Anything else you might try will be more dangerous and risky than doing nothing at all.

I hope you understand, this isn't some kind of party-line response like, "there are some techniques I could tell you, but I won't". Seriously, a broken tooth is an emergency and not something you want to mess with any more than you would any other broken bone. An actual dentist is the safest, most painless, and best option.

Sorry, this is a scary and crappy situation to be in, even for a non-phobic. But it's also pretty clear-cut. Get yourself to a dentist as soon as you can.

 

[lillyh]

Wow poor you...I wouldn't try to pull it yourself...So many things can go wrong...You could break the tooth off just below the gums, you could crack off the root and leave it in the gum to get infected, etc.....again, infection!!!! Not good...Can you just go to a dentist to have it extacted WITHOUT sedation and not wait for the hospital? If it gets too bad(pain) can you go to the Emergency Room for pain meds? I hope you get it fixed soon! Good luck.

 

[danno90]

Decided to go down the Emergency Dentist route... Except I have a 10 hour shift tomorrow so will have to try and hold on til Sunday as it will probably take the best part of a day getting it seen to Can't get any time off work at such short notice and my "sick days" are being monitored due to having ill health resulting from being so run down with my depression etc. so can't call in either.

Bleh.

Will be dosing up on pain killers to see me through the day I think.

 

[lillyh]

can you find someone to cover for you for a couple hours? Or go on your lunch hour if you have one? Maybe it wont hurt too much if you eat just soft food and no hot or cold stuff..drugstores sell a toothache kit which has a bottle of clove oil mixture that you put on a hurting tooth and helps the pain for a couple hours...I totally understand about depression!!!

 

[danno90]

I've no idea how long it will take, or what sort of time they could get me in for. It's not even 6am yet, and I'm meant to be at work at 12 noon... And most of the people I'd ask to cover the few extra hours "just in case" are already working or else have booked the weekend off due to the public holiday on Monday. Plus we only get a 30 minute lunch break =/

I'll have to wait it out I guess. But gonna dose up on clove oil, we've got plenty of cloves in the spice rack If it comes down to it I might try and blag an earlier finish (maybe 8pm instead of 10pm) if the pain bothers me too much. Just gonna have to try and eat soft food I guess as every time I so much as fully close my mouth a daart of pain shoots into my jaw

 

[danno90]

...and now the "loose" part of the tooth has come away. Just have the nerve and so on to deal with. But at least the tooth won't be catching on anything today at work I guess. Seriously can't wait for Dr Drill-N-Fill to work out exactly what they're going to do with me.

 

[danno90]

It's me. Again.

Had some sense talked into me by my sister and her other half, coz it's now getting bloody painful! Waiting to hear back from emergency dentist, and work will have to fire me if they have a problem should I turn up late coz there is NO way I can do a 10 hour shift with this sort of pain!

 

[Aldridge]

Thinking of you.

 

[FearInOmaha]

I feel so much sympathy for you Danno. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[danno90]

Well I got seen at 9.30am, and the dentist gave me 5 days worth of Amoxicillin for "trauma related infection" which I didn't realise could set in a mere 12 hours post-crunch. I was expecting and hoping she would pull it. Apparently things like that aren't done by the emergency dentist

So I still have to make an appointment to see my own dentist some time next week. Which will mean a £49 Band 2 fee on top of today's £18 plus £7.85 for the prescription.

And I had to buy my own co-codamol to tide me over for the pain, which is increasing even more now the nerve is exposed.

So all in all, not very happy. Still, I guess little visits will help build me up and get me used to dentists, ready for the mammoth full-mouth extraction?

 

[lillyh]

Hello,
Glad you made it to the dentist and got some medicine..I think once the antibiotics kick in the pain may not be so bad...You can take the pain killers before you have pain..Sometimes when the pain starts the pain medicine doesn't work so well..At least that has been my experience...I'm ready for a full mouth extraction too!!! (in the U.S. I paid 185.00 for an extraction and 310.00 for one filling! I found a cheaper dentist who charges 180.00 per filling...Then they wonder why people don't go to the dentist.....Hope you feel better..

 

[Deejay]

Good luck with your future extractions

 

[brit]

[QUOTE90;142757]Well I got seen at 9.30am, and the dentist gave me 5 days worth of Amoxicillin for "trauma related infection" Apparently things like that aren't done by the emergency dentist
[/QUOTE]

I think you are justifiably miffed - it sounds like a clear case where you would benefit from an immediate extraction. You have to wonder where antibiotic resistance is coming from not? So does an emergency dentist just dish out pills all day? Annoyed on your behalf as I expect it will still be painful in the meantime.

 

[danno90]

Annoyed on your behalf as I expect it will still be painful in the meantime.

It wasn't too bad Sunday, but as of Monday evening it's starting to get painful again... And I've taken the maximum advised 3 days on Co-codamol. I'm just hoping the nerve dies soon (which hopefully it should, right?) as I'm doing everything else I can, using medicated mouth wash after every meal to get rid of any new nasties.

Can't wait to have a "normal" mouth, albeit with prosthetic teeth.

 

[carole]

Why only three days of Co-codamol ?

 

[vicki]

Why only three days of Co-codamol ?

If you buy any medicines containing codeine (such as Co-codamol, Solpadeine, Nurofen Plus etc), then part of the 'standard advice' that you're usually given by the pharmacy assistant or pharmacist, is that you shouldn't take them for more than three days. Codeine can be very addictive when taken repeatedly and/or over long periods of time and there is apparently a growing problem (in the UK) with people becoming addicted to over the counter painkillers, especially ones containing codeine; hence the 'Don't take them for more than three days' advice.

In reality, there's nothing wrong with taking them for more than three days if you are sensible and stick to the correct dose. You just need to be aware that they can be addictive if you take them for too long. Also, some of the painkillers such as Nurofen Plus can cause stomach problems if taken over long periods of time (so it's a good idea to take these with food).

If you find that the Co-codamol isn't working, you can get a stronger version (same amount of Paracetamol but more Codeine) from your GP as it's only available on prescription. You could also try alternating between Co-codamol and Nurofen Plus (which is Ibuprofen and Codeine) because Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory, so should help if you have any swelling. As always, follow the instructions though and don't over do it .

As for the emergency dentist, fortunately I've only ever needed an appointment once, but from that one experience, my overall impression of them is that they are pretty much a load of old pants . I ended up getting an appointment at an emergency out of hours dentist (which was arranged through NHS Direct) a couple of years ago because I was in horrendous pain following a root canal that never settled down. My dentist at the time had prescribed antibiotics for a week but they had no effect and so I ended up at the out of hours service on Boxing Day (why do these things always happen at Christmas when nothing is open?!!). They couldn't have been less interested; I was told that it was infected (which it wasn't) and that my options were either to have the tooth extracted, but they wouldn't do it - I'd have to wait until my dentist had an appointment after new year, or they'd give me a prescription for some more antibiotics. They were about as much use as a chocolate frying pan .

Hope you manage to get an appointment with your dentist and get things sorted out soon .