Wisdom Tooth, Not Sure What To Do

[dawggal]

As some of you read I had a filling earlier in the week. I now need to address another dental issue and not sure what to do.

My jaw and right side of my face is slightly swollen. Also, a lymph node is swollen on my neck. When looking at one side my face compared to another you can tell a difference. When I lay flat down on my back within an hour my top and bottom teeth and lip start going numb. I did have some amoxicillin from my GP that I took... two bottles.

When talking to the dentist about this he said the the wisdom tooth had probably got food in it and it caused inflammation. This caused the swelling. I asked about my lymph nodes and wasn't that infection. He said it wasn't infection it was inflammation and if I had not been taken advil it would probably be worse. He did not offer any antibiotics. The wisdom teeth are completely impacted... so I am unsure how anything could get in there.

So my bottom teeth are not really hurting. Maybe a pain sometimes but I do have the other symptoms listed above.

My thing is that I am scared to death to get that wisdom tooth out. I am over 40 and more worried about nerve damage than anything.

Is the swelling especially in the lymph nodes something that would possibly clear up? I've read that it can go away but come back.

I am going to my GP next Friday to talk to him about it and see if maybe I can get another antibiotic.

Would appreciate any advice... my family is tired of hearing me talk about this.

 

[carole]

Hi the problem with getting antibiotics that aren't backed up with dental procedures is that you are not treating the problem. You are buying time, you really need to have a word with the dentist who will probably refer you to a surgeon that can remove the wisdom tooth easily. They will take an x ray and will be able to tell you how easy or not it will be to remove.

Just to try to put your mind at rest a bit, I had all four of my wisdom teeth out at 30. They were all impacted and were giving me hell, I had a bit of swelling and numbness and strange feelings for a couple of weeks and within about two months everything felt normal. I was given GA for my procedure and slept for the rest of the day after it. The first couple of days were the worst but I wasn't in agony and could carry on with the things I had to do at home as I had a young family to look after. I am telling you this hopefully to help you stop being worried.

Make an appointment with your dentist when you feel you can and get this problem sorted. A lot of people are worried about being left with problems but there are a lot of people on here that have had their wisdom teeth out and have been fine. Look them up on the wisdom teeth thread and read their success stories.

The dentists that preform the surgery are very good and do this procedure all the time, it is just routine for them. They are very skilled in what they do and will do all they can to make you comfortable.

 

[dawggal]

Thanks Carole for responding. I know I will have to get it out. Would like to put it off until November so I can get calmed down from my last dentist visit. Hopefully it can wait until then.

 

[carole]

November isn't too far away so hopefully you will be fine until then. If not I hope you can find the courage to tackle this problem sooner. Think of it this way by Christmas you will be all healed and sorted out and this problem will just be a memory. One that you can forget