in so much pain

[patient]

I do not have to go through the NHS helpline to make a dentist appointment. All I do is phone the dentist and if they have an earlier appointment they will let me know or put me on the emergency call back so if they have a cancellation they will ring me. I would just like to say that when the painkillers work they are fantastic and I am totally pain free but they do wear off and obviously last night when they wore off I left it a little bit too late before taking another one. However I am glad I did because it proved to me that all is not well with the tooth and that I am not any better but because I am taking the pain killers on a regular basis and I am taking them before the pain is at its maximum then I am fooling myself that the antibiotics are doing their job to clear the infection and things are getting better but last night showed me that I really am no better off. The dental nurse on the phone was so sure I had no infection and she said to me you should not still be in this amount of pain after almost all your antibiotics have been taken so this means you have no infection and something else is going on and you need to get to the bottom of it. She made me feel that the antibiotics were a complete waste of time but once you start antibiotics you have to complete the course, infection or not so I am going to phone the dentist and explain what is going on and see if they can give me an earlier appointment. I cannot live my day to day life taking these painkillers to ease the pain because I need to get to the source of the pain and have that treated. My dentist is good and he said he saw infection so I have to believe him. I dont know what to think anymore. I am not in pain anymore because I have taken the painkillers but all they do is mask the situation,

 

[Dg6300]

Something is going on. Keep talking to people until someone fixes it.

And be careful with painkillers, especially if they’re habit forming.

 

[patient]

The painkillers are not habit forming. I have had no pain during the day today so naturally I thought I was getting better finally. However this is what I| found online....

our toothache can also appear to get worse when you get into bed. This is because, when one lies down, more blood rushes to the head, which puts considerable pressure on sensitive areas in the mouth. As a result, your toothache becomes more pronounced and unbearably painful.

Last night I was in a lot of pain and had to take a painkiller. I was not in pain today. Now I am in bed and in a semi laying down position. The tooth is not hurting but it is slightly sensitive. I will see how it goes. I am reluctant to take a painkiller because they are quite strong and to be honest I do not really need one. I hope I am over the worst of it. If I can get through the night without needing a painkiller or without being in the awful pain then I am over the worst of it. I am seeing the dentist again tomorrow. Even though it says above that pain is worse at night, I was needing to take a painkiller half way through the day when the pain gradually started to come back, but I didnt need one today so fingers crossed.

I am off to the dentist tomorrow to discuss this because this is the first day since I had the filling done that I have not been in horrendous pain both day and night

 

[Judythecat]

If you can take Ibuprofen, Boots do a slow-release one which lasts 12 hours. That can be topped up with paracetamol if need be, if you are able to take that.

I hope the dentist can help you tomorrow.

 

[patient]

Update. I was taking Ibruprofen extra strong which lasted for about 12 hours. That was good. I took one tablet at 11.30 two nights ago and assumed that I would need another one once that one had worn off. I did not need another one for the whole of yesterday or through the night. I thought to myself either this is getting better or the tooth is dead. I went to the dentist and explained everything to him and he examined the tooth. He said when he first saw me the gum was swollen and red but now it is normal. He said I was correct in saying that the tooth has probably died so that is why the pain has gone but the infection has certainly not gone. He has booked me in for root canal. I said to him what happens if you just leave a dead tooth without root canal and he said the danger is that because there is still infection in the tooth it can spread and once that happens you can be in a great deal of pain. I said who would be that foolish to just leave a tooth just because it has stopped hurting without getting it checked out by a dentist and he said you would be surprised how many people foolishly think they are out of the woods and just cancel their appointments and then things get worse. I said but surely if you as my dentist tell me I need root canal then I will have it gone whether or not I am still in pain because you are the expert and know what is best so he said not everyone thinks as logically as you. So I thanked him and he said if you have any issues between now and the 27th September when you will have the root canal, then come back or if you have any questions or concerns come and see me. I said I will come back for the root canal and because he did such a good job on my other root canal I have no reason to believe this one will be any different but the difference is that this is a larger tooth so it will be done in three visits not two and larger teeth have more nerves to take out but I am not worried or concerned about the procedure and will be glad to get it all done

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Patient,

Sounds like you and your dentist have a really great understanding and repoir with each other! This is so great. ! What a peace I'm hearing from you . awesome!

 

[patient]

yes but I now need to work out how to avoid tooth infections in future as they are not pleasant

 

[MountainMama]

Glad you got it figured out and are getting it fixed. Good luck with the root canal.

You definitely don't want to leave a dead tooth. My front tooth died painlessly and I had no idea. I chipped it as a kid and they stuck a filling on it. It never hurt until last year, when it hurt to bite. Turns out it was dead and had abscessed. Large abscess and lots of bone loss. No signs at all before last year. That was one where the root canal failed, due to chronic infection. I had to get it out and get the infection manually scraped out by the oral surgeon. Not pleasant. So yeah, don't leave a dead tooth in.