E
EpicentrE
Junior member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2012
- Messages
- 1
Hi All,
I've been having a problem with one of my teeth (upper right second molar, I believe) for months now, and it's really starting to get me down. Here's the story;
I started having severe pain in the tooth earlier this year. I went to the dentist, who told me that the tooth was badly abcessed, and that he could try a filling, but it might be too far gone and end up needing a root canal or to be extracted. I opted to try the filling, and for about a week I was pain free, after which the pain came back as bad as before.
I went back to the dentist, and he gave me a week-long course of antibiotics (amoxicillin). As soon as I started taking the antibiotics the pain went away, and I didn't have any pain whatsoever for the entire length of the course. However, about a week after finishing the course, the pain came back as bad as before, and so I went back to the dentist.
He advised me that I'd have to have a root canal, and then did the first part of the treatment. When I returned the following week to have the treatment completed and the crown put on, I was experiencing some mild pain in the area, however as it was only mild and as I didn't have any pain when the dentist pushed down on the tooth, he continued with the treatment. Once again, I was pain-free for about a week until the pain returned, as bad if not worse than before. So, once again, I went back to the dentist.
He checked the tooth and told me that there was no swelling so it appeared that the root canal treatment had been successful, and so gave me another week's treatment of antibiotics (amoxicillin again), and if that didn't solve the problem the tooth would have to be extracted. This relieved the pain somewhat, but not completely, and a few days after I'd finished the course the pain returned even worse than it had ever been. It was a Friday night when it really set in, so I had to go to the all-night walk in centre and got some powerful codeine tablets (30mg) as well as a different type of antibiotic (metronidazole). However, even with 2 paracetamol tablets and 60mg of codeine, the pain was still not abated whatsoever, and the antibiotics had no effect either. I went back to the dentist on the following Tuesday and had the tooth extracted.
It's now the Saturday of the same week, and the pain came back in full force last night. I don't believe it can be a dry socket, as I've been very, very careful and followed all the relevant advice to avoid one, including rinsing out with salt water multiple times a day, not sneezing with my mouth closed, no using straws, etc. The pain is exactly the same as it was before. I won't even be able to get a dentist to check if it's a dry socket or not until Tuesday.
For a while I've felt like the pain wasn't related to the tooth at all. It certainly feels like it's coming from that place in my mouth, but the fact that every time I have a treatment it stops the pain for a week or so and then it comes back makes me think it's something more serious. And now I feel like I've had a tooth removed for no reason. Even though I keep telling my dentist that the pain wasn't caused by pressure, or temperature, and that it just seemed to be constant, he obviously thought that doing treatments on the tooth (and then eventually removing it) was the best idea.
I don't know what to do now, I've got to go another weekend in pain, barely being able to sleep, and it's depressing me. Additionally, I feel like I've had a tooth removed and paid for various treatments for absolutely nothing, and so I'm finding it very hard to trust my dentist. I'm really scared that he's going to think the best course is removing more teeth until the problem goes away.
I guess what I want is some second opinions. What could be causing this pain? what could could explain the fact that every treatment stops the pain briefly, and then it comes back the same as before? Was the dentist wrong to extract the tooth? What can I do to reduce the pain when over-the-counter medicine and lots of codeine don't seem to help?
Also, any stories of similar situations that have been resolved might make me feel better .
I've been having a problem with one of my teeth (upper right second molar, I believe) for months now, and it's really starting to get me down. Here's the story;
I started having severe pain in the tooth earlier this year. I went to the dentist, who told me that the tooth was badly abcessed, and that he could try a filling, but it might be too far gone and end up needing a root canal or to be extracted. I opted to try the filling, and for about a week I was pain free, after which the pain came back as bad as before.
I went back to the dentist, and he gave me a week-long course of antibiotics (amoxicillin). As soon as I started taking the antibiotics the pain went away, and I didn't have any pain whatsoever for the entire length of the course. However, about a week after finishing the course, the pain came back as bad as before, and so I went back to the dentist.
He advised me that I'd have to have a root canal, and then did the first part of the treatment. When I returned the following week to have the treatment completed and the crown put on, I was experiencing some mild pain in the area, however as it was only mild and as I didn't have any pain when the dentist pushed down on the tooth, he continued with the treatment. Once again, I was pain-free for about a week until the pain returned, as bad if not worse than before. So, once again, I went back to the dentist.
He checked the tooth and told me that there was no swelling so it appeared that the root canal treatment had been successful, and so gave me another week's treatment of antibiotics (amoxicillin again), and if that didn't solve the problem the tooth would have to be extracted. This relieved the pain somewhat, but not completely, and a few days after I'd finished the course the pain returned even worse than it had ever been. It was a Friday night when it really set in, so I had to go to the all-night walk in centre and got some powerful codeine tablets (30mg) as well as a different type of antibiotic (metronidazole). However, even with 2 paracetamol tablets and 60mg of codeine, the pain was still not abated whatsoever, and the antibiotics had no effect either. I went back to the dentist on the following Tuesday and had the tooth extracted.
It's now the Saturday of the same week, and the pain came back in full force last night. I don't believe it can be a dry socket, as I've been very, very careful and followed all the relevant advice to avoid one, including rinsing out with salt water multiple times a day, not sneezing with my mouth closed, no using straws, etc. The pain is exactly the same as it was before. I won't even be able to get a dentist to check if it's a dry socket or not until Tuesday.
For a while I've felt like the pain wasn't related to the tooth at all. It certainly feels like it's coming from that place in my mouth, but the fact that every time I have a treatment it stops the pain for a week or so and then it comes back makes me think it's something more serious. And now I feel like I've had a tooth removed for no reason. Even though I keep telling my dentist that the pain wasn't caused by pressure, or temperature, and that it just seemed to be constant, he obviously thought that doing treatments on the tooth (and then eventually removing it) was the best idea.
I don't know what to do now, I've got to go another weekend in pain, barely being able to sleep, and it's depressing me. Additionally, I feel like I've had a tooth removed and paid for various treatments for absolutely nothing, and so I'm finding it very hard to trust my dentist. I'm really scared that he's going to think the best course is removing more teeth until the problem goes away.
I guess what I want is some second opinions. What could be causing this pain? what could could explain the fact that every treatment stops the pain briefly, and then it comes back the same as before? Was the dentist wrong to extract the tooth? What can I do to reduce the pain when over-the-counter medicine and lots of codeine don't seem to help?
Also, any stories of similar situations that have been resolved might make me feel better .