Large Dark Mass On Xray

[FRESTER]

Hi,I went to my nhs dentist yesterday after having bad pain over the weekend,he done a xray and told me that there is a large black mass over three or four of my teeth.
He told me that it was to big for him to do anything about and would send the xray to the closest place that could deal with it,He gave me some metronidazole but I am in agony.Any idea how long these things take before an appiontment.Thanks in advance Teresa

 

[biffo1963]

Hi,I went to my nhs dentist yesterday after having bad pain over the weekend,he done a xray and told me that there is a large black mass over three or four of my teeth.
He told me that it was to big for him to do anything about and would send the xray to the closest place that could deal with it,He gave me some metronidazole but I am in agony.Any idea how long these things take before an appiontment.Thanks in advance Teresa

The metronidazole should calm things down fairly quickly - two or three days hopefully - but you need decent painkillers as well ! I recommend Nurofen Plus, it's been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion. NB I hope your dentist told you not to drink alcohol while you're taking the Metronidazole !

How long your appointment will take will of course depend on where your dentist has referred you to. Did he say where ? He should have done, and you are entitled to ask. Anyway, as I have posted here before, the concept of "urgent" does not appear to exist in NHS dentistry so don't expect anything to happen instantly. In the meantime if the first lot of antibiotics don't do the job, do please go back to your dentist and get some more - make sure he doesn't forget about you !

John

 

[FRESTER]

Thanks for the reply.He did not say where he was sending the xray because he didn't seem sure himself I will try the painkiller you suggested

 

[star79]

you could try paramol for the pain , my mum has been in agony with an abscess over the last few days and has said that paramol have really helped
x

 

[FRESTER]

Just got some Nurofen Plus so I will see if they help.They had better at £6.20I buy Asda brand Ibroprofen for 30p for most things

 

[FRESTER]

Any idea on what the black mass on the xray could be?Is it likely to be an infection because the dentist didn't really say.I just hope it is nothing worse
The metronidazole has started to help a little after three days of taking them but it is still very sore.I don't want to bother my dentist again but how long should I give it to hear from someone about my follow up appointment?I have a feeling it might take weeks

 

[biffo1963]

Any idea on what the black mass on the xray could be?Is it likely to be an infection because the dentist didn't really say.I just hope it is nothing worse
The metronidazole has started to help a little after three days of taking them but it is still very sore.I don't want to bother my dentist again but how long should I give it to hear from someone about my follow up appointment?I have a feeling it might take weeks

Not sure if this is anything to go by but I've been waiting almost four weeks for an appointment to see the Oral Surgeon , to get a root removed - which either of my previous two dentists at the practice would have dealt with themselves anyway. Let me just emphasise that - I've waited four weeks to be given an appointment date, not for the actual appointment itself to come around ! Just as well I'm not in any pain !

Like I said before, the concept of "urgent" doesn't exist in NHS dentistry. In your case though, you seem to have an active infection albeit one which is slowly resolving - so if you're still suffering when the antibiotics end don't worry about whether you should "bother" your dentist, bother him on a daily basis if need be until either the infection clears up or you get your referral. The longer you suffer in silence the longer no-one will feel they have to do anything for you.....

Oh, and if you do that then you might as well insist on being told what the "black mass" (sounds like something out of a Dennis Wheatley novel) actually signifies - it's your body, you've a right to know.

John

 

[FRESTER]

He did say the antbiotics won't cure it only ease it a little.I will see how it is Monday and decide if another visit is in order.I have just spoke to my cousin who had a tooth snapped off at the gum line and was in very bad pain,he waited nine weeks before he even got a date to see a specialist.

 

[biffo1963]

He did say the antbiotics won't cure it only ease it a little.I will see how it is Monday and decide if another visit is in order.I have just spoke to my cousin who had a tooth snapped off at the gum line and was in very bad pain,he waited nine weeks before he even got a date to see a specialist.

Sounds about right ! I think it's about time one of our resident dentists came on here and gave us a little background as to the causes of all these interminable delays - I suspect funding issues, bit I'm ready to be edumified if that's not the case.

Meanwhile, as Mad Max Bygraves would say, "I wanna tell you a story" :-

I had an issue a couple of years ago where a crown broke off leaving its post embedded in the root of the original tooth. My dentist referred me to a specialist to get the remnants of the post extracted. It took about 6-8 weeks for that referral to come around - however I admit I was in no distress as the tooth had previously been root canalled so there was nothing left to cause me any pain, apart from the gap I saw every time I looked in a mirror. Anyway, when I eventually saw the specialist he said "There's more decay in that root, it's not worth saving, I will write back to your dentist and tell him to extract it."

I wasn't overjoyed at this, having paid £198 for a crown which had lasted less than a year, but I tried to be phlegmatic and thought "If I have to have a partial, so be it." The specialist was as good as his word and wrote back to my dentist within a week or so - I KNOW this because he sent me a copy of the letter too! I telephoned the practice to ask them what would happen next, and they assured me I would be called in once my dentist had received and read the letter. So I then sat down and waited to be called back to my dentist to have the extraction. And waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually my next routine check-up came around, four-and-a-half months after the crown had originally fallen out. So I duly challenged my dentist about the lo-o-o-ng silence and asked him what the £$%^* was going on. To his credit, he did apologise for the delay (albeit without offering any explanation) and he did sort out both the extraction and a set of partials for me quite quickly after that - but the whole episode still leaves a nasty taste, I'm afraid. Not to mention the hole in the wallet !

So, it seems to me that those of us who are forced to use the NHS can expect this sort of thing if we have a problem which isn't totally routine.What really bugs me is that, for the first 20-odd years that I attended this particular practice, I could have "gone private" at any time if I had stood to gain by so doing. But there was never any reason to do it. Then, around the time the NHS contracts changed, I reached the end of my working life - so now there are all manner of good reasons to go private but I can't actually afford to do it any more.


John