Help with what the problem is? No dentist appt until 11th Jan

[Icandoit141128]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can help me.

Age 25 I have 4 partially impacted wisdom teeth, and up until recently they have never caused me any problems (don't even know if thats the problem now to be honest). A few weeks ago I started to get a dull toothache in my 2nd/3rd upper left molar, and within the course of about an hour it went from a dull toothache to quite a bad pain when biting down, and eventually ended up as awful rebound pain and I couldn't open my jaw properly. The next day it was gone. This has happened twice more since then, and follows the same pattern - dull toothache, pain on biting, rebound pain and can't open mouth properly. Pain is then gone by the following morning.

The pain seems to be mainly in my second molar, and also at the side of the tooth/back of the gums. I booked a dentist appointment a few days ago but they can't see me until Jan 11th, so I keep getting myself worked up about what it might be. I think because it's on my mind I keep 'feeling' other problems that aren't really there. I just want to see the dentist and get it sorted, but because I don't know what it is my brain is going into overtime and it's starting to make me very miserable and very irritable.

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas about what it might be? Generally my oral health is fairly good, 2 fillings from 12-15 years ago when I went through a phase of not wanting to brush my teeth, and one tiny filling from after a fairly recent (10 month ago) pregnancy. Brush twice a day, try to mouthwash another time of day, and floss/interdental brush most days.

Please help if you can?

 

[Anonymous222]

You said you don't have an appointment til the 11th? I'd wait until then so you can get x-rays on your teeth.

 

[Deck2015]

I'm not a dentist or a dental/medical professional...unfortunately, I've had enough dental pain and dental treatment to last several people a lifetime. I also have ATN (or AFP) which has enlightened me to a degree that I never wished for about dentistry.

I'd suggest that rebound pain from chewing is often an indicator of cracked tooth. But not always. Is the pain super sharp on rebound or on chewing?? Or is it more of just a dull ache when you chew/rebound? Does the pain radiate into other teeth or into your ear? Does eating hot/cold (or both) foods or drink cause the same pain? Anything else happening with you that's different or new (allergies, new medications, new foods etc)? Do you wear a night-guard or have you ever been told you grind your teeth/need a night-guard? Your symptoms could be anything from TMJD or tooth grinding pain to cracked tooth to a loose filling or a new cavity. Imaging and visual evaluation combined with other tests will give you a much more specific diagnosis...or at least, an idea of where you're headed.

My point is this: Don't worry yourself over this for now...worrying won't improve your situation and may indeed make it more stressful for you, which may exacerbate the condition or pain. I know, I know...easier said than done. But whatever is happening with your teeth will surely pass soon.

Suggestion: Try Ibuprofen at the first niggle of "dull ache" -- as much as people shouldn't take NSAID's unless necessary, I would suggest taking it on a regular basis until you get in to see your Dentist...to stay ahead of the pain, so to speak. Toothaches that "get away from" us can be difficult and sometimes impossible to fight - getting a head start might just save your sanity for the next several days. Of course, *always* consult with your Dr and/or Dentist before self medicating and don't use Ibuprofen if you can not medically tolerate it. I recommend taking it with food, and taking 400-600 mg every 4-6 hours as necessary.

If whatever is ailing your tooth turns out to be coming from one of your wisdom teeth, you can always have it extracted if you'd like and not have to worry about replacing it, either. I had all 4 of mine extracted at once, all impacted. I literally felt bruise-y at worst for the 36 hours following extraction. And I got a lot of jello and sympathy that weren't terribly warranted considering my level of "pain" that wasn't really "pain", so that's a bonus, too

If it's not a Wisdom tooth and you have another tooth giving you problems, remember that you always have treatment options. If your dentist tells you you need X treatment and you don't understand why, ask to see pictures of the problem if at all possible and have him explain why you need x treatment, what the risk of failure is for the treatment and what your options are.

Your hygiene routine sounds great; but to keep your choppers in continued excellent health, make it a habit to floss daily ...seriously, as much as I used to groan about it and let it slide, it takes me all of 60 seconds to floss carefully (and quicker if I'm pressed for time!) and it's worth every second when I think of the future pain I'm sparing myself by doing all I can to keep my pearly whites in the best possible shape. I'm in America, and I can't even begin to tell you how obscene extensive dental care costs can be here. Floss = $1 for about a month's worth. Blah, blah, end of self righteous finger shaking & lecturing...

If your pain becomes intolerable or crippling before your scheduled appointment, call your Dentist for advice (they may be able to see you sooner if it's an Emergency level of pain or may provide you with pain relief advice until your appointment).

Good luck.

 

[Icandoit141128]

Thank you both for your replies.

Deck2015, your post has cheered me up a bit! The pain is a sharp rebound pain but what confuses me is it goes overnight and may not come back for a few weeks - no sensitivity or pain other than that. It's all just very odd..

I know I can't do anything until the 11th but I just feel so helpless. I have this fear that in the 9 days I have to wait all my teeth will fall out or all need root canals or something. Not that I'm a drama queen or anything..

It used to be I would cry going to the dentist because I had some bad experiences when I was younger, but now I just think 'do what you need to do' because I am so fed up with worrying about it!

Just out of interest when you have had a filling, can you feel anything at all? Whenever I have had fillings it hasn't hurt, but it has felt really cold and uncomfortable, like it's about to hit a nerve, and that's what I really don't like. Is that normal or could it be I need more anaesthetic?

I'm in England and NHS patient so luckily there is a limit to what you pay, although the lower band I can get away with the better! (although my mum had to go private for root canal after an NHS appointment as they couldn't find the problem and needed some sort of machine that only private patients get )

Thanks

 

[Deck2015]

Hey ICan --

Sharp pain may be cracked tooth or TMJD...and even if it's "cracked", that doesn't always mean extraction. Depends on the crack size, location, etc. If I were you, I'd be very careful and chew on the other side of your mouth until your appt. Giving that tooth a chance to relax might help if it's just a sore PDL from grinding.

You and I are not much different - I have horrible nightmares and am always just sure I'm going to lose another tooth every time I have a dental pain or procedure. Unless you're not telling me something drastic about your teeth, there's literally 0% chance that your all of your teeth are going to fall out before your appointment (but I'm not judging your anxiety one bit...I've been there, done that!).

In some ways, waiting for an appointment is positive...sometimes, my pain lessens or just resolves itself before my appointment, and sometimes my symptoms become much more pronounced and therefore, easier to diagnose as opposed to "I don't see anything so I don't know what's happening...?!" coming from my Dentist.

I've had an embarrassing amount of fillings in my life (all on back teeth). I have a nerve disorder and one of my lowers (#30) has an "extra" nerve (I know i'm not using the right term here) that my Dentist simply could not locate to numb after multiple attempts -- when I had 30 prepped for crown, I could feel a weird sensation on that tooth on one side only and needed several injections and even then, we couldn't find the nerve to numb it completely. I asked her to "top me up" on my way out, too --- she happily did it, but said that she's never given another patient so much anesthesia and that my tooth should be numb for a long time. It wore off after 2 hours. That said, the sensation I was feeling was really just uncomfortable and not at all PAINFUL or something I couldn't tolerate for the few minutes she worked on that side/angle of the tooth. It went from very uncomfortable to just tolerable after several injections. Other than that one situation, I've never felt pain during fillings, ever. And with my nerve disorder, I've gotten very lucky in that area. Contrary to popular opinion, Dentists no longer use "Novocaine" in America-- they employ several advanced/newer anesthetics -- many that are much more effective to keep the patient more comfortable during procedure, and some wear off sooner (as opposed to having numb face all day long after a simple filling in the old days). I think if you're feeling 'cold' during a dental procedure, you may need more anesthetic...don't be afraid to raise your hand and ask for more. Any good dentist will stop immediately any time a patient says he/she feels pain and happily give you more happy juice If not, they're a bad dentist and should be reported to the Dental board (this is what we have in America -- I'm sure UK has something similar -- an agency that oversees Med/Den professionals and credentials).

I've heard mixed reviews of the NHS Dental providers in your part of the world. From what I gather, it's hard to get in to see a good NHS provider but there are good providers out there. I've seen the treatment "bands" and their associated costs and holy cow, we pay SO MUCH MORE HERE! And people without Dental insurance are really in a bad situation when they need a RCT/Crown or anything beyond a simple cleaning. Fillings here run about $260USD for a cavity that covers more than 2 surfaces of the tooth....that's right, $260. RCT on a molar runs you $1200+ depending on the tooth and provider. You want Oral Surgery to remove teeth or have implants? You'd better take out a loan against your home. A single extract with add ons such as IV sedation, CT imaging and a temp partial to wear while the implant heals will run you approx $4500-6500.

Whenever possible, always, always consult with an Endodontist for RCT -- yes, they do have additional, specialized equipment to perform RCT or other procedures with a much more exact precision. It's critical to the success of RC teeth to have a specialist perform the procedure, IMO.

Let me know how you get along and feel free to PM me if you want

 

[Anonymous222]

Thank you both for your replies.

Deck2015, your post has cheered me up a bit! The pain is a sharp rebound pain but what confuses me is it goes overnight and may not come back for a few weeks - no sensitivity or pain other than that. It's all just very odd..

I know I can't do anything until the 11th but I just feel so helpless. I have this fear that in the 9 days I have to wait all my teeth will fall out or all need root canals or something. Not that I'm a drama queen or anything..

It used to be I would cry going to the dentist because I had some bad experiences when I was younger, but now I just think 'do what you need to do' because I am so fed up with worrying about it!

Just out of interest when you have had a filling, can you feel anything at all? Whenever I have had fillings it hasn't hurt, but it has felt really cold and uncomfortable, like it's about to hit a nerve, and that's what I really don't like. Is that normal or could it be I need more anaesthetic?

I'm in England and NHS patient so luckily there is a limit to what you pay, although the lower band I can get away with the better! (although my mum had to go private for root canal after an NHS appointment as they couldn't find the problem and needed some sort of machine that only private patients get )

Thanks

Does your dentist allow you to tell them if you have any discomfort? Because usually if you're having discomfort you can let them know and they'll numb you back up. It depends on the dentist though I've had horrible experience with dentist's as well.

 

[Icandoit141128]

Deck - haha I'm awful when it comes to the dentist! Especially as this is my first 'emergency' appointment outside of check up/filling, so I've done the worst thing and googled and come up with the conclusion I have a mixture of pericoronitis, gingivitis, periodontitis, and tooth decay on a serious note though it's nice (is that the right word? I'm not sure..) to see so many other people on this forum who are or have been in the same or a similar position. In waiting for the appointment I am much more aware of my teeth therefore have had more general aches etc in my jaw. I have noticed my bottom left wisdom tooth throbs after I brush it, but I don't know if that might be because I am so vigilant on brushing the area now whereas I wasn't as aware of it before? This whole experience has made me much more aware of my oral health and wisdom teeth! It doesn't help I do press really hard with the toothbrush, I try not too, but my last toothbrush lasted 1 month before it was all splayed and had to be replaced.

How did you know you have an extra nerve? That must be awful! Makes me feel nauseous thinking about it haha.

We are lucky to be registered with an NHS provider, a lot of people really struggle to get in with an NHS dentist and therefore have to go to dental 'walk-in' centres for emergency treatment. There are good dentists but the problem is a lot of them leave the NHS to focus on private work. With this appointment I am seeing another new dentist (same place) which will be my 3rd dentist in 2 years, which makes it difficult. A lot of NHS dentist will try to push private work too, although they are not allowed to do this and I believe they can be struck off by their governing body.
I can't believe how much dental is in America! Having said that I often think about the difference between the NHS here and medical services in USA. I work in the NHS in a hospital and the amount of people that attend the emergency department who really don't need to.. I often wonder if they had to pay the same way as you do if people would be less inclined to use it? Do you have dental insurance the same as medical insurance?

Anon - that's the problem, as mentioned above I've not met this dentist I am going to! My last 2 dentists have been fairly good, although the last one seemed reluctant to give anymore anaesthetic... I think what's also getting to me is having never met this dentist, I have absolutely no idea what to expect in terms of attitude etc! There is such a high staff turnover at our dental surgery

Again, thank you both for replies

 

[Icandoit141128]

Is it possible the pain that comes and goes in my upper 2nd and 3rd molar could be where my wisdom tooth is still trying to erupt but there isn't enough space so it's pushing on my 2nd molar? 3/4 of all 4 wisdom teeth are erupted.

As said before I am getting pain in my lower left wisdom tooth, but it's a fairly constant pain no affected by anything, and it almost feels like it's stinging. It's right at the back of my mouth, feels like it's in the joint of my jaw near my ear if that makes sense?

Thanks

 

[sammyjayneex]

I've got this pain in my 2nd molar on the lower right and my wisdom tooth is also impacted and it's come in at an awkward angle pushing on the 2nd molar. My second molar is badly decayed because of this. I'm now in pain and I think the nerve is dying. Does cold water ease the pain for a few seconds? I'm at the dentist today probably to have the 2nd molar out as NHS won't do root canals on back teeth and even if I had a root canal the same thing would still occur coz of these impacted wisdom teeth. I know how you feel but hope you get it sorted

 

[Icandoit141128]

Oh I didn't know the nhs don't do root canal on back teeth - do they just pull it then?
Good luck at the dentist! Let me know how you get on, I'm very interested to see what they say.

 

[sammyjayneex]

I will let you know! I was told last time to have it out as NHS don't do them on back teeth but it's one of the main chewing teeth so don't see why

 

[sammyjayneex]

Well I went to the dentist and he said the tooth 2nd molar next to the wisdom tooth has to come out because it's so decayed it's reached the nerve and I would have to pay £300 to have it root canalled privately and even then there is a risk i would still be in pain with it and the wisdom tooth would just keep damaging it anyway. So I've opted for it out on the 23rd coz he couldn't do today as it was just a second opinion appointment. He said it's unlikely the wisdom tooth will cover all the gap left from the 2nd molar due to my age but might cover some

 

[Icandoit141128]

Well at least you have a solution now! Are you a 'good' patient or a nervous patient? I used to cry at examinations, but now it's got to the point where I'm so fed up I would welcome removal of a tooth! Your actual wisdom tooth must be in pretty good condition to warrant removing the tooth next to it?

I can't wait to get to the dentist and just get it sorted! I just wish I had met this dentist before, there is such a high staff turnover at our dental practice

 

[sammyjayneex]

I'm very nervous but I try to be 'good' lol

I am very very scared of this extraction. I've had a tooth out before but it was 4-5 years ago so I've gone back to that 'anxious state' again so I'm going to have to pysc myself up again
What work do you need doing?

 

[Icandoit141128]

Don't know yet, dentist not until 11th. Will let you know!

You can do it I'm trying to think if anything has to be removed at least then it cant cause me anymore bother! Plus I read somewhere wisdom teeth come in so late because our ancestors used to lose teeth, and so another tooth coming in later helped them to continue to eat meat (or something along those lines)

 

[sammyjayneex]

I read that too!! So I'm trying not to get so hung up on losing the second molar of nature decided we was supposed to lose it. I really hope my wisdom tooth erupts more into the space but not sure with my age! Good luck for the 11th I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think

 

[Icandoit141128]

Went to the dentist, he decided before he had even looked that I needed antibiotics, but didn't do an xray or anything? He barely even looked in my mouth! Just said that people around my age often have problems with wisdom teeth, antibiotics should clear up any problems (but if I feel the problem is already cleared up I can stop the course of antibiotics) and he will see me in May for ml my usual check up? Does this seem right? I feel like it's a bit of a lazy cop out!