Toothache

[Munchkin Blender]

A tooth or two on the left side of my mouth is killing me. I already have a dentist appointment planned later this year as my dentist is booked until than. I did request to be called immediately if anyone cancels as I would like to get this issue resolved. I don't believe I am going to say this but I can't wait to see my dentist.

I take 4 ibprofin to help with the pain - it works for about 6 hours and than bang - OMFG it hurts. After taking another 4, I'm good in about an hour for another 5 or 6 hours. The dentist recommended this to help fight off the pain. The issue with my teeth are cavity related and like I said, I already have an appointment and I'm waiting for a cancelation.

I would like to know if any body has any advice other than seeing the dentist sooner on how to reduce the pain. It doesn't hurt all the time; only after the Ibprofin wears out, which is about a half hour or so before I take more. Also, it is not OMFG pain all the time; maybe once a day if that.

I am now flossing and ligthly brushing after I eat anything - just to help those wonder teeth of mine. I am using listerine in the morning and after lunch and right before I go to bed I use flouride mouth wash. I'm trying my best to make sure when my appointment arrives I still have a tooth to work with.

I'm so looking for my dentist appointment on 12/30. There I said it, I'm looking forward to seeing my dentist. Damn, my teeth.

[Blades of Vanatar]

They won't take an emergency case right away? That's crap! Booking cleanings and checkups 6 months in advance i understand, but I have never gone to the dentist with a bad toothache and waited. They should make room for you. Otherwise, I would switch who I use.

[Dave the Magic Turtle]

Yep dentists definately should make room for you if you're an emergency (immense pain, fillings falling out, cracked teeth). I have no personal experience beyond what my parents have had, but they have never waited more than a day to see the dentist in an emergency Just bust in the door scream at the receptionist how much pain your in, and demand they make time!

[T2Bruno]

Call them, tell them you must see a dentist today or tomorrow -- if they cannot see you ask for a referral (or two or three).

[Rotku]

Until then take paracetamol, if you can. It's more effective for most toothaches than ibprofin.

[Stefanina]

Yep, if they cannot take you immediately, ask for references to someone who can. You'll be amazed how quickly an appointment shows up.

[8people]

Paracetemol and Ibuprofen can be mixed without negative interaction as long as you don't exceed eithers stated dose.

Paracetemol is better suited for handling the primary tooth pain while the ibuprofen can handle the muscular pain attached. When a tooth hurts (or most things for that matter) the muscles around the area will tense, often putting more pressure on the area or attached nerves. So taking both can help ease two parts of the pain.

[Kitrax]

When I shattered my tooth, the only thing that helped was 800mg of Ibuprofen and Orajel...lots and lots of Orajel.

[Silvery]

Hold a shot of whisky in your mouth against the tooth that hurts. It's a very old, very good remedy and mch more fun than taking pain killers!

I used to be a dental nurse and the dentist I worked for recommended it!

[Drugar]

On a side note: my dentist warned me not to use Listerine products because they are alcohol based and aren't as good for your teeth as the commercials suggest. I don't have the exact explanation, but it had something to do with the corroding properties of the alcohol and the fact alcohol doesn't mix with your saliva, so it doesn't stick to your teeth.

Use water based mouthwash instead!

Good luck with your toothache. I know how it can be and it's no fun! Is your tooth broken or damaged in anyway?

[T2Bruno]

Hold a shot of whisky in your mouth against the tooth that hurts. It's a very old, very good remedy and mch more fun than taking pain killers!

Repeat every two minutes until the pain has subsided ... or you don't care about the pain.

[Blades of Vanatar]

But the next day it won't just be your tooth that hurts. I have had a bad hangover while having a toothache at the same time. I wouldn't recommend it, it sucks! I tried using ALOT of beer to make the pain go away. It came back with a vegenance the next day.

[Munchkin Blender]

I could easily call my old dentist to get the issue fixed; the problem is the dentist I go to is the only dentist in my area that accepts my insurance plan. With that said, I could go any where and pay the full price out of my pocket to get the issue resolve or wait until my scheduled appointment. Seeing as I have 6 cavities to get fixed at $200 a pop and my insurance is paying 80% I would rather just wait and save some money.

I am a little upset about my situation because I did have a scheduled appointment back in October to get my cavities fixed. The day or two before the appointment the dentist office cancelled on me and did not have any available openings that worked with my schedule until December 30th. Their error and they should have done everything in their power to get me in on my schedule, which would have been a few days after they cancelled on me, but nope.

The thing is I have known about my cavities now for a year and planned on getting them fixed this October since I had the time and money. After I scheduled the appointment (2-3 hours are needed to fix all of the cavities), confirmed it and was ready to go, they cancelled. I went through my schedule to get in ASAP and did everything to get an appointment this month but the earliest appointment they had available was not until the end of December.

Now I am here in pain and wondering if there will be any cancellations. I may call again and complain and state the pain is unbearable and I don't care who I see, which I already said more than once as I called them three times since Friday.

I want to get all of these cavaties fixed at once. Even though only two of the cavaties are bothering me I would rather get my all six of my cavaties fixed at once rather than make mutiple appointments. I hate needles and knowing it takes a total of 5 shots of novcane to num my lower and another 5 shots to num the upper mouth I would prefer one visit vs. 2 or 3 visits.

Hmmmmm.....What to do....

[Silvery]

Ring up and whine like a woman until they get you in!!

[starfox64]

Don't take more than 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen in an 8 hour period. Side effects of Ibuprofen include mouth ulcers, throat ulcers, and stomach ulcers; not to mention it can seriously damage your liver. I wouldn't use Ibuprofen with anybody's alcohol remedies though, they don't mix well and can cause irreversible damage to your liver. I used to take Midol for toothaches. I understand it's for menstrual cramps but it always got the job done for me. The active pain killer in Midol is Paracetamol, which was already mentioned in a previous post. All in all, I hope you feel better. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do for a toothache except take pain killers.

[Dave the Magic Turtle]

I guess the benefit of living in England is that most people don't seem to care about their teeth so the books are always pretty open After that statement I think I will dip out as I have no more suggestions...also I've never experienced pain I couldn't over come with the attitude that its only a passing moment, a moment in many, philosophy cures all my ailments I don't really ever take painkillers or stuff.

I hope things work out soon for you though! I think you'll need to write a formal complaint after, criticising their organisation and customer service.

[T2Bruno]

... not if he wants to go back.

[Munchkin Blender]

I did end up getting an earlier appointment. The dentist cleaned it out and put some medical filling in to help with the pain. If the tooth still ache after a week I was informed to go get a root canal or have the tooth pulled. Today was a week and my tooth still hurt, so I made an appointment on 12/16 for a root canal.

My grandparents paid for all of my dentist appointments when I was younger and I promised to take good care of my teeth, which I haven't. So, I am now going to live up to my promise by getting the root canal and I have scheduled another dentist appointment to fix the rest of my teeth so that I will have no cavities come January 2010. Yeah it is going to cost me close to $2000 but it is worth it as I am able to keep the promise I made.

[Barmy Army]

I had a problem with the nerve in one of my teeth a bit back, and the pain was unbelievable. I couldn't find any tablets that were strong enough to take the pain away, it's all I could think about.. one thing I found to help though was holding an ice pack to the area. It just numbs it, and the cold seems to stop the ache. The problem being, as soon as you take it away the pain starts to gradually return... it helps when it's really excruciating though. They root canal'd it eventually, but they had to create a huge hole in my tooth to extract the nerve, so now it's got a cap on it (gold! check me out! bling bling mofo!)

Toothache is the worst thing ever, it really is. When I had my problem it kept me from work, and the pain made me cry out sometimes, and brought tears to my eyes... proper man tears though, not little piddly girly tears.. I was butch about it!

Good luck with it pal, let us know how you go on.. and remember, when the pain is overpowering, ice pack!

---------- Added 0 hours, 2 minutes and 14 seconds later... ----------

... woah though! $2000 it's costing you! Jesus christ, dental care is the US is expensive... I'd probably just take it out myself as best I could and leave it at that, for that price! That's ridiculous. Thank god for the NHS.

[Saber]

Dental care is wicked expensive - to get my 4 wisdom teeth removed (+ an odd bump under my tongue) was $3500. The 2 mm wide bump (which they called a stone?) was $950 dollars to remove. Ridiculous.

[Barmy Army]

That is obscene. I'd just try and cope with it! That's the cost of a car. A decent one at that. For me.. initial treatment, diagnosis, root canal treatment (which took about 4 visits, due to problems with the nerve), crown prep and fit (a gold one rather than a silver one) was £180, all in...

[Kitrax]

BA - how much does your government rape your earnings every year for such services?

When I had my root canal/crown, I only payed $150...

[Barmy Army]

I'm not even going to begin to start an argument about that. NHS > private health care - end of.

[Cap'n CJ]

When I opened this thread I was fine, now my tooth hurts.

Funny how your mind works.

[Munchkin Blender]

Originally Posted by Barmy Army

... woah though! $2000 it's costing you! Jesus christ, dental care is the US is expensive... I'd probably just take it out myself as best I could and leave it at that, for that price! That's ridiculous. Thank god for the NHS.

The root canal after insurance was $550. The crown after insurance is $500. Both services without insurance is $1100. Just having the roots of a tooth removed with a crown is $2200. That is one tooth.

I also have 6 small cavaities that need to be fixed. Each tooth is $200-500 without insurance.

Within 1 month time I would have spent over $4000 grand at my dentist without insurance. With insurance it will be under $2000.

I really hate paying all this money out just to keep my teeth from falling out. I'm really starting to think that pulling out all my teeth and getting dentures.