Weird tootache that comes and goes

[Enterprise]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, I made an account specifcally to make this post. Forgive me if im posting this in the wrong section.

Let me start with a little backstory;
I'm a 25 years old male, and I have very very bad teeth.

My parents never really forced me to brush my teeth in my youth so I never realized the dangers (sepsis for example) of an infection spreading.

Right now, I am terrified of this happening. On top of my bad teeth and my bad brushing habbit, I also have dental fobia.
There is nothing in life I fear more than going to the dentist chair.

Becuase of my fear of dentists, I never went on regular check ups etc. I think the last time I was at a dentist was 4-5 years ago as I only went in when I really have pain.

I have a lot of broken teeth and my wisdom teeth came out and cracked the tooth that was next to in half.

My upper most right teeth, once had a root canal and a filling. Right now this is the tooth that is hurting.
The gum around the tooth is also swollen and white colourish. I assume it is an abscess. But I hope not.

Í hear you thinking, go to the dentist already. And I really want to but there doesn't seem to be any dentist willing/able to help me.

They don't even want to take a look, making me fear worse like sepsis.

The only thing the dentist did is write me a referal letter to see an oral surgeon in the hospital. The dentist can't take out the broken teeth he said as he feared breaking them off. So basically only an oral surgeon can help me. But the fact that no dentist wants to check me even if there is a risk of my infection spreading.

I recently started a job as a bus driver, about 4 months ago.
I didn't want to call in sick so I just went to work under the company of some ibuprofen (600mg).
The painkiller took away the pain for a few days but right now every few hours I get a sharp pain in my tooth that lasts for about 10 minutes and then I'm good for a few hours. This all while under painkillers.

Last night I got one moment where the pain got so unbearable where I had to park the bus at a busstop for 10 minutes waiting for the pain the go away.

The big question now is, I have an appointment with the surgeon in the week of 14 feb.
Is my tooth nerve dying or is the infection spreading? Can I last untill 14 feb?

I also tried other dentists btw but none of them have free time or is willing to help.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi there, nobody is going to tell you "go to the dentist already" - this is a support group for people who are trying to work up the courage to see a dentist, so we all know how difficult this is!

We get the question about sepsis all the time on here - you're not the only one who's been spooked by Google - have a read of our FAQs:

Can infections from teeth spread to the body?

Find out if dental infections and abscesses can move to other body parts, spread to the rest of your body, or even kill you.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

(you can also do a search for "sepsis" on the forum, just use the search function). So yes, you should be absolutely fine to wait until the appointment on the 14th, but you can ask for antibiotics if the pain is unbearable over the weekend. If you cannot find any emergency dentists where you live, you can go to A&E instead.

In the long run, you may want to find a dentist you like and trust for your ongoing care. We've got lots of information on how to go about this on this website (use the burger menu in the top left corner if you're on a mobile device - on larger screens, you should find a menu at the top which says "Stories Fears Help Tips Downloads" etc.). Feel free to explore ?

 

[MountainMama]

As letsconnect says, the infection will not turn septic. I had an abscess for over two years. I didn’t even know it was there as the tooth had died so there was no pain in the tooth. It apparently happened over many years and I only felt pain upon biting when it got really bad and caused a lot of bone loss. After the tooth was out and the abscess are cleaned out, everything was good. It didn’t even affect my other teeth.

 

[Enterprise]

Thank you very much, that lessens my fear significantly. Could it then be that the tooth nerve is dying as im experiencing almost no pain today? Or am i getting used to the pain?

 

[MountainMama]

Thank you very much, that lessens my fear significantly. Could it then be that the tooth nerve is dying as im experiencing almost no pain today? Or am i getting used to the pain?

I couldn’t tell you that. My dentist at the time said that everyone experiences pain differently and every tooth acts differently. Mine died slowly and completely painlessly over the years, which is why I had no idea it had died. It did not even discolor like dead teeth do. It was slightly more yellow but barely noticeable.

I had a molar that the nerve was dying in, and I would get these shooting pains that would almost bring me to my knees. They wouldn’t last long and then would go away for a few days, then come back. When the endodontist went in to do a root canal, she said the nerve was necrotic, so it was dying.

 

[Enterprise]

If you cannot find any emergency dentists where you live, you can go to A&E instead.

Well last thursday, I contacted the dentist that had emergancy shift that day but he could only help me at 2:20 pm while I was working that day untill 3:10. Being a busdriver, going home early/sick is not really a thing.

All the other dentists are not accepting new clients.

On a side note; there was this 1 dentist able to help but after seeing al the bad reviews...
He had about 50 reviews on google and only 2.5 out of 5 stars. Most reviews stated that the dentist was quite unfriendly and harsh in treatment. Not taking the time, rushing etc.
This made me cancel the appointment.

One dentist told me my best bet was the oral surgeon (also the dentist that wrote a referal note required for oral surgeon) which I have an appointment with. He also told that the surgeon wont be able to fix any teeth but is more towards extraction/destruction.

I'm from the netherlands, the A&E is uncommon to me, I've never heard of it. What is it?

Today has nearly been pain free luckily, I had one moment today where I had a very sharp throbbing pain for like 10 minutes after consuming a hot cappucino. I also took only 1 600mg ibuprofen today while it was 3 ibuprofens yesterday. I wont be touching any hot drinks the oncoming days. Luckily my work week is over and I have a few days off now.

 

[biffo1963]

@Enterprise, A&E (Accident and Emergency) is the British name for the Emergency department at the hospital

 

[Enterprise]

We sadly dont have anything like that here..

Yesterday was completely pain free but last night I woke up from the worse pain ever.

My tooth now only hurts when I eat or touch it.

The bump on the gum used to be rock hard and unmovable. Now it seems a little softer and it seems opened up and I can push it around with my tongue. The gum now hurts, while it didnt before.

I tried to make a picture but that doesnt really work out.

The bottom of the teeth used to be leveled to eachother but now it seems as if the hurting tooth is coming out. Maybe its getting pushed out by a wisdom tooth?

Does this mean the abscess ruptured overnight or could it be another wisdom tooth coming through that caused all the pain?

I certainly am hoping for the latter.