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My first extraction coming soon

A

AbeLinkedIn

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Jan 29, 2017
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53
Good news: I finally was able to get some dental insurance since my last visit here.

Bad news: I'm likely going to have to have one of my molars extracted. The area had a corner of the tooth break and I'm in a decent amount of discomfort. I have to wait 10 days because of Covid making my regular dentist take less patients to sanitize the area between sessions.

The reason I'm making this thread is because I'm scared. I never had any teeth taken out and while the procedure itself isn't what's bothering me, it's the constant "what ifs" and post-op care I.E. dry socket. There's also the shame in being in this situation to begin with as my oral hygiene isn't exactly top notch. I read the article here about helping a socket heal but all of the possibilities are getting to me.

What can I do for pain until then? If I put pressure on it, it hurts. If it wasn't for this damn virus I could have gotten this thing taken care of before it got to this point.
 
Hi AbeLinkedIn, Beckybo recently posted her dry socket experience here. I think the key is not to tough it out but go back to your dentist if you feel something is wrong after the tooth has been removed, because they can provide almost instant relief:


Regarding the pain you're currently in - could you ring or email your dentist and see what they recommend?
 
This morning I don't have much pain except around the gum. Is it normal for this sort of thing to happen? I've taken a tag team of Tylenol and Aleve last night and another Tylenol this morning with no real agonizing pain. I'm able to eat okay, so it makes me wonder if an extraction is necessary or if I should opt for a RCT.
 
I think your dentist will be able to tell you whether the tooth can be saved by and RCT. This has more to do with the state of the tooth rather than the amount of pain you are going through. Would your insurance cover an RCT?
 
I'm thinking of discussing it with him first and if he thinks RCT would be better for me, he could refer me to an endo. I honestly would rather have RCT over extraction but it all depends on what the x-rays say. My insurance doesn't kick in officially until the 1st but my appointment's on the 3rd, so if we decide to do RCT it will cover it.
 
Update: I'm a week away from my appointment and I'm thinking I just want it extracted. I feel I have an abscess in the gum of the affected tooth and because of Covid having dentists booked solid I think it's best I go ahead and have it taken out rather than decide on RCT and wait another month to visit the endo and just take more antibiotics to buy time.

What are the odds this abscess turns into something nasty in a week? Much less kill me? I know the chances are super low but I've never been one to gamble. I'm also worried about the after-care, the bleeding and dry socket, what to eat, the timeframe of recovery, etc.

What can I do in the meantime to keep this thing at bay?
 
Here are few links that may provide you with the answers to your questions / worries:

 
The abscess bit is reassuring. I knew it was super uncommon but I'm still freaking out about it.

I'm sure my dentist will give me adequate after care advice but now my worry is eating after it healed.
 
Someone try talking me down here. I read all of these articles and posts which provide temporary relief but my mind keeps saying I'm going to die of sepsis before I make it to the dentist's chair. I have a gum boil that made itself known yesterday and while it's not highly elevated, it's a decent size and I have to wait under a week to get it sorted.

What can I do to ease my anxiety? I think the worry is worse than the procedure at this point.
 
This is a difficult one. Anxiety really sucks. You see you have evidence (in form of experiences of dentists with years pf experience, explanations about how the body takes care of it on its own by draining it, and and people who had an abscess for years and were fine) that you won’t die of sepsis and the relief is only temporary because fear is not rational. I even suspect that even if you got rid if one fear (sepsis), another one may arise - I always find something new to worry about when it comes to treatment.

I wished there was a quick fix. The only things I could think if is to try to distract yourself. If you keep yourself busy you may find yourself worrying less.
Any chance of being seen sooner to get it done?
 
No chance as of now. I have antibiotics I can take in the meantime but I don't want to become resistant.
 
Another question: What happens if my abscess pops on its own? It hasn't yet but what do I do in the event it does? I don't have swelling on my face or elsewhere that I'm aware of, just an abscess on my gum.


Sorry if I'm spamming you all but I want to be prepared for all scenarios, even if it means writing my will.
 
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If it pops on its own, the pain will often decrease a lot. Any pus you swallow will be neutralised by stomach acids.
 
I'm not in any real pain at this point. I was before the antibiotics but it only really hurts when I press on it. I just got worked up because Dr. Google said a ruptured abscess could be a highway to worse infections and getting into the jaw and brain and whatnot.

Not that it matters but I have a swollen lymph node on my right jaw which I assume is because of the infection.
 
I’ve had an abscess in the past which popped on its own. Immediate relief - although it tastes foul! And I’ve had abscesses that didn’t pop and made me face my dental phobia and just go to the dentist because they hurt so much! The latest (and hopefully last) one was two months ago and it was huge. I couldn’t swallow properly and lisped when I talked. And it hurt. Fortunately I live in Germany, where the health system is a bit more generous and not under quite so much strain. I was treated as an emergency by an ordinary dentist who squeezed me in (although it was during corona and people weren’t going to the dentist so it was very quiet - lucky for me). She did say “shi*t” (in German) when I opened my mouth because the thing was really enormous. She also kindly lanced it for me - and I’ve been pretty much dealing with the consequences since (it got into my sinuses, my gums are a mess - but that probably happened before it swelled up on my gum).
I think if you’re on antibiotics they will keep everything in check, so you don’t have to worry. I would not worry about becoming resistant - fighting off an active infection is probably more important. And if you have a gum boil then the pus is going there and not into your system, which is also good.
You have an appointment very soon and I’m sure they’ll sort you out.
I hope things settle down.
 
That's super reassuring to me about the gum boil part. I'm just kicking myself for not getting it treated sooner but antibiotics and the tag team of Aleve and Tylenol have helped me not be in pain, or at least not excruciating pain. I'm more depressed about losing a tooth and not immediately having the means to get an implant at the moment.

I've been reading too much Google to find answers and it's all doom and gloom. Antibiotic resistance, abscess ruptures resulting in worse infections and death, dry socket a guarantee, and so on.
 
my mind keeps saying I'm going to die of sepsis before I make it to the dentist's chair. I have a gum boil that made itself known yesterday and while it's not highly elevated, it's a decent size and I have to wait under a week to get it sorted.

Let me ease some of your anxiety - I had an infected molar on the bottom right side of my mouth that, as far as we can date it, was infected for nearly TWO YEARS (at least there was a visible abscess on the gums near the tooth for two years - I'm a dumbdumb and would frequently 'pop' it myself with a safety pin to relieve the pressure; Do not do this, just see the dentist ASAP). The tooth was eventually treated with a root canal and crown, and is now totally fine over 5+ years later. Now, I'm obviously not advising you wait that long for treatment, but it's a fairly safe bet that you'll be okay between now and August 3rd - though, if you notice any escalation in pain or any new symptoms, you could still have them checked out via a phone call or emergency appointment (or even go to the ER, if it's a case of the pain being so severe that you just can't stand it)

As far as a replacement for the soon-to-be-missing tooth, have you asked your dentist about a flipper? They fill the missing spot, keep the other teeth from shifting, and AFAIK, are relatively cost effective. These aren't meant to be a permanent replacement option, but it could carry you through until you can afford an implant, if that's the route you'd like to go.
 
That's excellent to hear. Sorry it you suffered for so long with that but at least you had it taken care of.

As for the flipper, I don't think I'll be doing that. My mother had one done for some of her extractions but she only wore it going out and said it was uncomfortable. She eventually had implants put in but that was years after they were taken out. I'm in no hurry to get one that bad, I just want this infection gone
 
Guess I'll give an update: 4 more sleeps until I get seen and the anxiety is building up. I'm shopping tomorrow for some foods to eat in the aftercare. Ice cream and noodles are on the menu for me I guess, which I suppose is a good thing. I'm worried about what the dentist will think, he's such a great man and I feel like I'm disappointing him when I come in with broken teeth and an abscess.

I do have one question that's been bothering me: How do you resist making your tongue "investigate" the area? I've always had a bad habit of making my tongue feel around my mouth and gravitate towards problem areas in my teeth, and I don't want to give myself dry socket because my tongue is nosy.
 
Another night, another update: Nothing has really changed significantly for better or worse, but a fear popped in my mind: Since I have a gumboil, will that affect the anesthetic? I googled (I know, bad habit I need to kick) and heard a story of someone who had an infected molar be excruciatingly painful because it was abscessed.

Now I'm probably letting anxiety get the best of me (And I'd argue it's somewhat justified) but what are the odds that happens? I maintain full trust with my dentist but this being my first extraction, unlike a filling, I don't know what to expect. I've heard just as many success stories as I have horror so it's jerking me back and forth.
 
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