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Toothpain on a decayed tooth. How much time do I have?

Enarete

Enarete

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Sep 18, 2017
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Hi there,

panicking due to a dental problem...

My last dental visit was in March and the next one will be in September. My upper right first molar needs a filling - the corner of the tooth is grey. I have seen two dentists in March, my regular dentist said it needed a filling but we had time with it. He explained that decay was a dynamic process and with my oral hygiene the decay could stay like that for a long time. He didn't want to do any treatment that wasn't absolutely urgent because I wouldn't be able to cope yet but he also was confident that if I ever had an emergency, we would be able to handle it somehow.
The second dentist advised me not to wait for longer than one year with the filling.

It's been few weeks that I noticed slight pain on the tooth any time I bite into something chewy. At one point today I had a sudden short sharp shooting pain on that tooth after biting into bread.

I am wondering what does the pain mean - did the decay reached the dentin now and will spread in a fast manner so that I will need a root canal if I wait till September? Could it go that quickly even when two dentists gave me so much time with it? My dentist is in a different country and it takes a flight to get there. I have a week off next week which would be the only opportunity to get there before Semptember.

And since I never had a dentist before.. does this count as an emergency? I would like to email my practice but their webpage says that if a problem is urgent, patients should contact them by phone. Is this an urgent problem? I'm afraid of starting to cry on the phone if I call them..

Thank you for any insights..
 
Hmmm. Pain when chewing bread is not a long term situation anyone should have to live with.

You have a week off, which is good. Can you start making calls Monday morning to get in to see a new dentist?
 
Thank you, Dg6300, you are right.

It plays no role in which stage the decay is or isn't or why and how this could happen. I have toothache which means I need to see a dentist. Period. I will contact my practice on Monday and ask them if they could fit me in on Tuesday or any other day of the week. I will then get there and get the filling done.

Time to walk my talk and just get through it. Great opportunity to get my desensitization into the next level. Gonna open my journal again to survive till Monday.
 
Wonderful!

You can do it. Let us know how it goes.

Btw, I have always appreciated the excellent advice and encouragement you have so generously shared in this forum.

You’re going to make it.

Keep us posted.
 
How did you do?

Are things any better now?
 
Thank you for your lovely words, I really appreciate it and also thanks for checking on me.

No pain currently, but since Sunday I only eat soft foods and avoid chewing on that side so that might be the reason.
My apt is on Thursday and my travel starts tomorrow. Anxiety on a very high level, struggle with paralyzing headaches and stomach aches and some sickness during the day, it just comes and goes. I had this week to study which is not easy in this state, but doing my best... no, actually not, just hanging here on the forum most of the time :giggle:

A small part in me is happy about the challenge, I know that beating the fear can get addictive and the after a successful dental visit I feel like a superhuman.
 
Good.

Just keep posting here. You’re going to make it through this.
 
Me again...

The original story ended as a crack on the 16 (FDI) and I got a composite filling. My dentist said something about deep contact on that tooth and mentioned grinding as a possible cause of the crack. I never grinded in the past but might now - I could noticed some light abrasion on my teeth too.

The tooth settled nicely and I am able to chew on the side again, but had noticed slight pain when biting on chewy foods again, this time on 17.

Assuming it is a crack like it was on the 16 and assuming it was caused by grinding, how much worse will it get if I wait with it till September? Could the tooth get cracked further so badly that a filling wouldn't fix it?

I am scheduled for 4th September for a checkup and could get it fixed there. I won't be able to travel earlier due to a new job. If getting it checked was very very important and chances to damage the tooth further very high, I can let it had looked at in a different place, but it would be much more stressful and really challenging and much more sleepless nights and anxiety and tears and feeling out of control.. and I just so much would like to avoid it at any costs.

For now I stopped chewing on that side, started to meditate more and made some adjustments in my evening routine to sleep as calmly as possible in the hope that the grinding stops.

So my questions are:

Can this wait till September? / What can I do for it to be able to wait till September?
 
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