Advice for tooth pain

[Jen'ari]

So a few years ago (7 or 8 roughly) I had to have a root canal on one of my molars, it has been the only tooth I’ve ever had an issue with, anyway it has been fine-except the initial getting the root canal obviously!, until yesterday where it’s started to hurt, only really when I use it to chew or put any pressure on it, unfortunately I can’t get to the dentist until Monday and it’s rather unpleasant.

Does anyone have any remedies for toothache/pain that works?, if so I’d be very grateful to hear them.

Also I’m kind of surprised by this as I thought root canal teeth are essentially dead and have no nerves left in them?, not sure what the best course of action with it will be, if it is going to cause any more problems I will ask them to pull it out I think and get an implant in it’s place.

[The Last Storm]

Clove oil works a lot for me. Apply some on a q-tip and rub on the gum of the tooth which is giving you pain. For the love of god don’t get any on your tongue though.

[Larry of the Lawn]

Have had good luck with ibuprofen or acetominophen in conjunction with large doses marijuana as far as pain management goes until a doctor can be consulted, as long as numbing the pain isn't likely to aggravate the injury (for example a knee sprain).

[Free Northman Reborn]

See a dentist

[HexMachina]

7 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

See a dentist

Maybe actually read the OP.

 

@Jen'ari

 I found a mix of painkillers, swilling my mouth with salt water (more to keep it clean than anything else) and eating minimally and carefully (i.e. nothing crunchy or particularly acidic) helped until i could get to a dentist. Also sucking ice to numb the mouth, although depending on the cause of the pain this can be counterproductive and hurt like hell. Mine was removed in the end

[Jen'ari]

1 hour ago, The Last Storm said:

Clove oil works a lot for me. Apply some on a q-tip and rub on the gum of the tooth which is giving you pain. For the love of god don’t get any on your tongue though.

 

1 hour ago, larrytheimp said:

Have had good luck with ibuprofen or acetominophen in conjunction with large doses marijuana as far as pain management goes until a doctor can be consulted, as long as numbing the pain isn't likely to aggravate the injury (for example a knee sprain).

Thank you both for the advice and duly noted, I will get some clove oil tomorrow as it's a bit late to now, hopefully it will tide me over until Monday!.

@larrytheimp I've been taking ibuprofen today it does lessen it somewhat but tends not to last the distance until you're meant to take more (4hours), as much as I'm sure smoking weed or rubbing blow on your gums would be a great help, neither of those options are ones I could take sadly .

1 hour ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Maybe actually read the OP.

 

@Jen'ari

 I found a mix of painkillers, swilling my mouth with salt water (more to keep it clean than anything else) and eating minimally and carefully (i.e. nothing crunchy or particularly acidic) helped until i could get to a dentist. Also sucking ice to numb the mouth, although depending on the cause of the pain this can be counterproductive and hurt like hell. Mine was removed in the end

Thanks Helena, I'm trying the ice thing now and it does feel kind of nice, the main thing too is not to keep touching the tooth which is easier said than done for some reason, I've just been using mouthwash to rinse with so far today but I will give some salt water a try.

How was your experience having yours removed?, I'm hoping it's not as bad as having your wisdom teeth out, which I had to have, all 4 of them too , being awake for it and having the dentist having both hands on his instruments and hearing it creak and feeling the pressure was a horrifying experience,as was the pain,discomfort and not being able to eat properly for a good week afterwards!.

I'm hoping if it does need pulling,one regular molar won't be nearly as bad.

[HexMachina]

5 hours ago, Jen'ari said:

 

Thank you both for the advice and duly noted, I will get some clove oil tomorrow as it's a bit late to now, hopefully it will tide me over until Monday!.

@larrytheimp I've been taking ibuprofen today it does lessen it somewhat but tends not to last the distance until you're meant to take more (4hours), as much as I'm sure smoking weed or rubbing blow on your gums would be a great help, neither of those options are ones I could take sadly .

Thanks Helena, I'm trying the ice thing now and it does feel kind of nice, the main thing too is not to keep touching the tooth which is easier said than done for some reason, I've just been using mouthwash to rinse with so far today but I will give some salt water a try.

How was your experience having yours removed?, I'm hoping it's not as bad as having your wisdom teeth out, which I had to have, all 4 of them too , being awake for it and having the dentist having both hands on his instruments and hearing it creak and feeling the pressure was a horrifying experience,as was the pain,discomfort and not being able to eat properly for a good week afterwards!.

I'm hoping if it does need pulling,one regular molar won't be nearly as bad.

Whenever i have tooth/gums/mouth problems i can’t seem to stop poking and prodding so you aren’t alone with that.

As for having mine removed, i won’t lie, it was pretty excrutiating. However, its worth noting that at the time it probably wasn’t actually ‘ready’ to be removed. It was an emergency procedure which had to be done while i was home on break from uni, so i wasn’t registered at the dentist and was heading back to uni the following week. But the tooth was causing me so much pain, to the point that I couldn’t even walk properly without sharp shooting pains going up behind my eye with each step, that i couldn’t wait to get it dealt with. So i made an emergency appointment and they were really good about it actually. The dentist forewarned me it wouldn’t be an easy extraction beforehand and ended up spending much longer than anticipated. I think the worst bit for me was being able to hear the dentist’s tools grinding against my tooth

I don’t think it is usually as bad as that though! I have had to have another tooth out in the past which was more ‘ready’ to come out and that one was a swift push back, yank forward and out no problem, barely felt it.

[Ramsay B.]

I did the salt water rinse and acetaminophen mix when I got a dry socket back in April(wisdom teeth removal). That seems to help for a bit. I got it done on a Friday so I had to wait all weekend too. Tooth pain is the fucking worst.

[Martell Spy]

They sell something in stores, I believe called orajel that works pretty good. An oral pain reliever.

I once had a dental emergency on a weekend and desperately cast about on the Internet for some help. I ended up getting seen by some clinic associated with the University of Washington. Perhaps dental students, but they saw me on the weekend.

[Jen'ari]

9 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Whenever i have tooth/gums/mouth problems i can’t seem to stop poking and prodding so you aren’t alone with that.

As for having mine removed, i won’t lie, it was pretty excrutiating. However, its worth noting that at the time it probably wasn’t actually ‘ready’ to be removed. It was an emergency procedure which had to be done while i was home on break from uni, so i wasn’t registered at the dentist and was heading back to uni the following week. But the tooth was causing me so much pain, to the point that I couldn’t even walk properly without sharp shooting pains going up behind my eye with each step, that i couldn’t wait to get it dealt with. So i made an emergency appointment and they were really good about it actually. The dentist forewarned me it wouldn’t be an easy extraction beforehand and ended up spending much longer than anticipated. I think the worst bit for me was being able to hear the dentist’s tools grinding against my tooth

I don’t think it is usually as bad as that though! I have had to have another tooth out in the past which was more ‘ready’ to come out and that one was a swift push back, yank forward and out no problem, barely felt it.

I can fully sympathise with your experience my wisdom teeth coming out was similarly horrible.

Obviously I’ve spent quite some time reading up about what could be the cause now and it looks like the root canal could be failing causing  re infection,which if that’s the case means I might have to have antibiotics before they can do anything.If that’s the case I don’t want them to try and re do it, going to ask to have it pulled as I don’t want to go through this again if it doesn’t work, I’m guessing an implant wont hurt!.

8 hours ago, Ramsay B. said:

I did the salt water rinse and acetaminophen mix when I got a dry socket back in April(wisdom teeth removal). That seems to help for a bit. I got it done on a Friday so I had to wait all weekend too. Tooth pain is the fucking worst.

Amen, the only thing I’ve experienced that’s worse is childbirth.

I think it’s just that there’s no way to alleviate it by sitting or sleeping in a different position or use ice packs to reduce swelling etc like you can do for a broken bone, it’s just this constant pain and throbbing and it’s right in your head, it really is the fucking worst.

[Inkdaub]

I broke my tooth and so had to have it pulled.  The dentist had to smash it up and sortof dig it out.  I wanted an implant so the gum had to be shored up with bone and stitched up.  They told me I could eat soft foods like yogurt for two weeks then come back and have the stitches removed.  I was pretty depressed about that until they said I could pasta as long as it didn't have anything crunchy/hard on it.  I had to get nitrous oxide because the dentist said if they gave me the harder stuff I had to have someone with me when I left the office.  It turned out alright, though.  The nitrous and the numbing agent did the trick.  The worst part was, as has been said, the horrible sounds and the pressure as the dentist puts his weight behind whatever nefarious tool he is using at the time.  Getting the stitches out hurt worse than the original procedure.  Then the good news about pasta and I was all set.

I asked for as potent a painkiller as the dentist was willing to give me.  I told him I had taken days off work...he knows I drive a train...and had already told work I was getting the drugs.  He said 'well all you really need...' and gave me a mouth rinse and some very low grade codeine pills.  After those ran out he said alcohol free mouth rinse and ibuprofen is all I need.  Talk about anti-climactic.

He was right though.  Once the actual problem tooth was gone the over the counter painkillers worked okay.  It hurt but not too bad really.  The missing tooth felt like I had a hole in my jaw the size of a softball.  I got used to it and now I doubt I will get the implant.  It seems fine as is.

[HexMachina]

9 hours ago, Jen'ari said:

I can fully sympathise with your experience my wisdom teeth coming out was similarly horrible.

Obviously I’ve spent quite some time reading up about what could be the cause now and it looks like the root canal could be failing causing  re infection,which if that’s the case means I might have to have antibiotics before they can do anything.If that’s the case I don’t want them to try and re do it, going to ask to have it pulled as I don’t want to go through this again if it doesn’t work, I’m guessing an implant wont hurt!.

Amen, the only thing I’ve experienced that’s worse is childbirth.

I think it’s just that there’s no way to alleviate it by sitting or sleeping in a different position or use ice packs to reduce swelling etc like you can do for a broken bone, it’s just this constant pain and throbbing and it’s right in your head, it really is the fucking worst.

Hope it gets sorted! And yes, first tooth i had pulled had an abcess so couldn’t be pulled until i had taken my antibiotics for that. 

I would also just have it pulled, especially if its a molar. Not like its your front teeth where it would be incredibly obvious!

again, being a molar and thus toward the back of your mouth - do you find you get shooting pains all up that side of your face, and especially behind your eye? I distinctly recall trying to walk the dog and having to stop halfway round my walk and just sit on the ground whimpering at the pain of it!

7 hours ago, Inkdaub said:

I broke my tooth and so had to have it pulled.  The dentist had to smash it up and sortof dig it out.  I wanted an implant so the gum had to be shored up with bone and stitched up.  They told me I could eat soft foods like yogurt for two weeks then come back and have the stitches removed.  I was pretty depressed about that until they said I could pasta as long as it didn't have anything crunchy/hard on it.  I had to get nitrous oxide because the dentist said if they gave me the harder stuff I had to have someone with me when I left the office.  It turned out alright, though.  The nitrous and the numbing agent did the trick.  The worst part was, as has been said, the horrible sounds and the pressure as the dentist puts his weight behind whatever nefarious tool he is using at the time.  Getting the stitches out hurt worse than the original procedure.  Then the good news about pasta and I was all set.

I asked for as potent a painkiller as the dentist was willing to give me.  I told him I had taken days off work...he knows I drive a train...and had already told work I was getting the drugs.  He said 'well all you really need...' and gave me a mouth rinse and some very low grade codeine pills.  After those ran out he said alcohol free mouth rinse and ibuprofen is all I need.  Talk about anti-climactic.

He was right though.  Once the actual problem tooth was gone the over the counter painkillers worked okay.  It hurt but not too bad really.  The missing tooth felt like I had a hole in my jaw the size of a softball.  I got used to it and now I doubt I will get the implant.  It seems fine as is.

 

[Jen'ari]

28 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Hope it gets sorted! And yes, first tooth i had pulled had an abcess so couldn’t be pulled until i had taken my antibiotics for that. 

I would also just have it pulled, especially if its a molar. Not like its your front teeth where it would be incredibly obvious!

again, being a molar and thus toward the back of your mouth - do you find you get shooting pains all up that side of your face, and especially behind your eye? I distinctly recall trying to walk the dog and having to stop halfway round my walk and just sit on the ground whimpering at the pain of it!

 

Thank you , I will just have to wait and see what they say tomorrow.

When you had antibiotics, can you remember how long it took for them to start working and the pain from the infection to lessen?, oddly this is the only tooth I've ever had an issue with, my others are all straight,white and healthy .

I get the shooting pain you describe if I touch or prod it or bite down on something (done that a couple of times while chewing and kind of forgotten and used that side of my mouth, OW!) but overall its more this constant throbbing ache that I feel in my teeth and that side of my jaw and my glands in my jaw/neck feel all tender and swollen too, what you experienced sounds even worse than this!.

[HexMachina]

24 minutes ago, Jen'ari said:

Thank you , I will just have to wait and see what they say tomorrow.

When you had antibiotics, can you remember how long it took for them to start working and the pain from the infection to lessen?, oddly this is the only tooth I've ever had an issue with, my others are all straight,white and healthy .

I get the shooting pain you describe if I touch or prod it or bite down on something (done that a couple of times while chewing and kind of forgotten and used that side of my mouth, OW!) but overall its more this constant throbbing ache that I feel in my teeth and that side of my jaw and my glands in my jaw/neck feel all tender and swollen too, what you experienced sounds even worse than this!.

Hmm, that one was years ago so i could be misremembering, but i think there was only a week or so between the appointment where they prescribed the antibiotics and then having my tooth out. Wouldn’t like to say for sure though.

Is yours top of bottom tooth? From what you say it sounds like bottom,? Based off the swollen jaw glamds and neck i mean. Mine was top so the swelling was in my cheek and all across the side of my face. Because i was, um...at a low point, health wise, at the time, the contrast between the left and right hand sides of my face was actually quite comical

[polishgenius]

1 hour ago, Jen'ari said:

When you had antibiotics, can you remember how long it took for them to start working and the pain from the infection to lessen?

This is gonna depend majorly on the infection I'd imagine.

Mind, when I had my abcess they opened it then and there and drained it as well as giving me the antibiotics because I hadn't been able to get an appointment for three weeks so by the time I got in there I hadn't eaten solids or slept properly for a week.

I have a lot of problems with my teeth. Embarassingly so. Which is doubly annoying because I honestly clean loads, but a combination of bad genetic luck and dyspraxia making it difficult to know quite what I've done and need to do when cleaning has caused me bad issues.

Anyway, I know it's a bit late in the day, but do you use interdental brushes? If the issue is caused by swelling and infection of the gums rather than the tooth (which without being in any way an expert seems possible on account of the pressure thing and that having had a root canal already there shouldn't be any nerves in the tooth itself to be hurting, although I know they can miss secondary channels apparently) they can be really helpful in getting whatever is aggravating it out of there, albeit using them in the first place can be a bit painful obviously if it's already swollen.

[Jen'ari]

9 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Hmm, that one was years ago so i could be misremembering, but i think there was only a week or so between the appointment where they prescribed the antibiotics and then having my tooth out. Wouldn’t like to say for sure though.

Is yours top of bottom tooth? From what you say it sounds like bottom,? Based off the swollen jaw glamds and neck i mean. Mine was top so the swelling was in my cheek and all across the side of my face. Because i was, um...at a low point, health wise, at the time, the contrast between the left and right hand sides of my face was actually quite comical

It’s actually on a top tooth as well, I’ve thankfully only got an hour and a half until my appointment now.

8 hours ago, polishgenius said:

This is gonna depend majorly on the infection I'd imagine.

Mind, when I had my abcess they opened it then and there and drained it as well as giving me the antibiotics because I hadn't been able to get an appointment for three weeks so by the time I got in there I hadn't eaten solids or slept properly for a week.

I have a lot of problems with my teeth. Embarassingly so. Which is doubly annoying because I honestly clean loads, but a combination of bad genetic luck and dyspraxia making it difficult to know quite what I've done and need to do when cleaning has caused me bad issues.

Anyway, I know it's a bit late in the day, but do you use interdental brushes? If the issue is caused by swelling and infection of the gums rather than the tooth (which without being in any way an expert seems possible on account of the pressure thing and that having had a root canal already there shouldn't be any nerves in the tooth itself to be hurting, although I know they can miss secondary channels apparently) they can be really helpful in getting whatever is aggravating it out of there, albeit using them in the first place can be a bit painful obviously if it's already swollen.

Wow you managed to get by 3 weeks of feeling like this!, your pain tolerance is commendable that must have been miserable for you!.

I clean with a regular electric toothbrush and floss twice daily, overall my teeth are in good shape it’s just this one that has been troublesome.

[Jen'ari]

So just got back, turns out that yes, the root canal has failed and there is a nasty abscess/infection there, they recommended pulling it out as there’s no guarantee re doing the root canal would work.

Got a heavy dose of Amoxycillin to take for a week then got to have the tooth out a week tomorrow which I’m not remotely looking forward to, thankfully I can get an implant easily enough after.

[HexMachina]

10 hours ago, Jen'ari said:

So just got back, turns out that yes, the root canal has failed and there is a nasty abscess/infection there, they recommended pulling it out as there’s no guarantee re doing the root canal would work.

Got a heavy dose of Amoxycillin to take for a week then got to have the tooth out a week tomorrow which I’m not remotely looking forward to, thankfully I can get an implant easily enough after.

Ouch, i wish you luck and you have my sympathy for the week ahead. Not to be negative Nelly or anything, but i feel i should probably point out that Baby Sith is likely to drive you to distraction during this time what with the pain and difficulties eating proper food. Everything suddenly becomes 10x mor irritating

[Jen'ari]

2 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Ouch, i wish you luck and you have my sympathy for the week ahead. Not to be negative Nelly or anything, but i feel i should probably point out that Baby Sith is likely to drive you to distraction during this time what with the pain and difficulties eating proper food. Everything suddenly becomes 10x mor irritating

Thank you, she has a little bit but at the same time it's not her fault, shes a happy,energetic 2 year old which isn't exactly fun to deal with at the moment but I'm managing ok so far, other mrs Sith has been a big help looking after her today even though she's not feeling too great herself.

[Cas Stark]

On 1/13/2020 at 6:05 AM, Jen'ari said:

So just got back, turns out that yes, the root canal has failed and there is a nasty abscess/infection there, they recommended pulling it out as there’s no guarantee re doing the root canal would work.

Got a heavy dose of Amoxycillin to take for a week then got to have the tooth out a week tomorrow which I’m not remotely looking forward to, thankfully I can get an implant easily enough after.

Will your dentist give you nitrous? Some don't, some will still do it though usually you have to pay extra and insurance won't cover it.  I found it helps tremendously w/the stress and the pain of dental procedures.