EXPOSED DENTAL NERVE!! HELP!!

[Mercenary Dragon]

I have a broken tooth with an exposed nerve that has become infected. I went to the dentist today and they told me that the tooth would have to be extracted. He gave be a scrip for some vicodin which absolutely does not work for my pain (took 3 in 2 hours and pain just got worse) and for some amoxicillin. They told me I would have to come back for a consultation with the oral surgeon in order to get the tooth extracted. That is 3 weeks away on the 29th. Meanwhile I am in the worst pain of my life, I can't sleep because of it much less think. Does anyone know of a way to kill of the exposed nerve so that I may have some rest sometime in the near future until I can get the consultation?

[RobRich]

Three weeks for emergency dental care? What you do is go get another dentist and/or oral surgeon ASAP.

As for tonight, you might try some over-the-counter orajel to possibly numb the affected area. YMMV.

Otherwise, I suggest you get the problem addressed, and by addressed, I mean something immediately done in the next day or two - not three weeks from now.

[2monsters]

I speak from experience. The worst thing you can do is lay down,try to keep you head elevated. I recommend like a lazy boy or a lot of pillows if your gonna lay on a bed. Try taking an anti inflammatory like Motrin or advil, vicodin did not work for me either. Keep taking that antibiotic til its all gone. Iam surprised they gave you such a long period of time before you see the oral surgeon. I feel your pain been there done that. Good luck!

[Detritus]

Three weeks for emergency dental care? What you do is go get another dentist and/or oral surgeon ASAP.

As for tonight, you might try some over-the-counter orajel to possibly numb the affected area. YMMV.

Otherwise, I suggest you get the problem addressed, and by addressed, I mean something immediately done in the next day or two - not three weeks from now.

QFT

Sorry, but I don't think there's much you can do for an exposed tooth... try advil, that works better than vicodin for me... 4 advil to be precise. That would be precription strength. I'm not sure about combining Vicodin an advil though.

[Mercenary Dragon]

I've tried sleeping reclined and it still hurts too much to sleep. Anbesol and Orajel don't work long enough. Even tried Eugenol and that only works for about 20-30 mins. Not long enough to get any sleep.

[RobRich]

I would not suggest combining Vicodin with a NSAID antiinflammatory. Naturally, I am not a doctor, but it does not sound like a good idea IMO.

Rolling back a few decades, you might try applying clove oil on the infected tooth. You can probably find it at a local drug store. It was used way back in the day to ease tooth pain.

[Mercenary Dragon]

Hmmm.. thought Eugenol was the medical name for clove oil. Tastes alot like it and has the same effect.

[RobRich]

Looks like clove oil is an ingredient of Eugenol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenol

Frankly, I suggest getting help faster than three weeks. You can try your dentist again. Call and tell him (her?) that you can't deal with the pain. Tell him you are going to need to get the problem resolved, even if that means he has to refer you to a different oral surgeon.

If that doesn't work, try another route. Three weeks is ridiculous for a broken, infected tooth.

[2monsters]

Looks like clove oil is an ingredient of Eugenol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenol

Frankly, I suggest getting help faster than three weeks. You can try your dentist again. Call and tell him (her?) that you can't deal with the pain. Tell him you are going to need to get the problem resolved, even if that means he has to refer you to a different oral surgeon.

If that doesn't work, try another route. Three weeks is ridiculous for a broken, infected tooth.

QFT I agree.

[Atomic Rooster]

Well, the main problem is that it's infected. Most dental surgeons would like the infection taken care of before surgery to lesson any complications arising from the infection spreading during the extraction. So unfortunately, you may have to wait a bit. You could try to get a prescription for something stronger for the pain. OxyContin maybe?

[Chuckiechan]

Call the dentist back and tell him you are in pain.

They can do work on an infected tooth. If you dentist is too inexperienced to do it get someone else. Call around.

Too bad his boat is paid for, or your tooth would be in your pocket that afternoon!

The short story is: Make noise and demand treatment.

[Cmptr-Gy-Dv]

if you know anybody with some anti biotics get some, that will make the pain go away,

but the reason it hurts is because of air getting into the hole,

there is some stuff you can get at a drug store, it looks like white putty,
you pack it in to your tooth, and it will also stop the pain,

I don't remember the name of it, (the girlfriend used it) she said it works great,
she will be home shortly, and I will ask her what it's called,

[Keymaker]

I know about tooth pain, it a mother isn't it.

Excedrin FULL STRENGTH my friend. Works great!!! Try it and see.

For the infection defiantly use that amoxicillin. Ya, the vicodin sucks! It doesn't seem work and it makes you sick. It did for me anyway. You should rinse with warm salt water. That will help reduce the infection and ease the pain, some what. I used Baking soda as it not only cleans your teeth it also has sodium it it to dry out that infection.

I don't know what tooth it is or the damage, however I would ask the dentist why not saving the tooth is not an option? You could have a root canal. Believe me it's not as bad as it sounds, I had one. The crappy thing is you will have to get a crown for it. Not a big deal, at least you save the tooth.

They do sell that dentist's toothache gum and there's DenTek temporary filling material. It's the same temporary stuff the dentist uses. I'm not sure about your pain. It might be hell to pack it in the tooth. Not only that, but its awfully hard to do with the spit in you mouth. So you have to spit a bunch before your little tooth packing operation.


In the future you experience sciatic nerve problems, let me know. That sht sucks! Out for a month, could not sit or walk. Only the biggest damn nerve in your body that runs down the back of your ass through your leg. Literally feels like an ever present knife stuck in you. I found a very good chiropractor and still getting treatment. Isn't what it was though, that's for sure. I really fell blessed. I had almost given up and thought I needed an operation to pull the disk out and have a replacement or fussion. That's another matter.

Anyway,

The best you can do is keep a steady flow of Excedrin and try not to think of it. believe me, I know your pain. I actually don't like taking any pills, even anything like salicylic acid (Asprin) but this was the exception and as you doubt know too.

I used a combination of Excedrin and doses of oraljel on my tooth.

Oh, you should know this, don't eat on that side!

[nunyadam]

I didn't see it mentioned and don't know your age, but no Alcohol with the anti biotic s.
I have used whole cloves before when i didn't have oil. kinda like chew a little between your cheek and gum, then let your saliva do the rest.
The swelling from the infection is causing most of your pain. give the anti-biotic s time to work.

I feel for ya man I've been there. Dr gave me Tylenol 3 (Tylenol with codeine) worked well enough but I shouldn't have been driving, especially on snow and ice.
Wound up rolling the Van. That didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as the Sesame seed i bit down on when i finally got a ride home.

[MegalosSkylaki]

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) cause thinning of the blood. interfere with prothrombin time, and cause bleeding. Advil is a NSAID.

What is the reason for the delay?

What were you told about the dosage level of the Amoxacillin --which is a synthetic pennicillin -type antibiotic and should be avoided by people allergic to pennicillin.

Were x-rays taken of the root of the tooth as an infected nerve can form an abcess at the root. This can spread to adjacent nerves. Often two x-rays have to be taken of same tooth --one of the crown and one of the root and the latter is sometimes missed.

Also, why not get thee to an oral surgeon or an endodontist right away and let him/her supervise the treatment.

Check with your Physician for any otherwise benign heart conditions such as mitral valve flutter as oral infections can spread to the heart because of anatomy of vascular system.

Ask your Dentist these questions. Call his office and have him paged.A weekend can be a long time.

MegalosSkylaki

[MegalosSkylaki]

PS.His office answering machine should have either a page number or a Dentist to reach in an emergency.

You are not clear about what you mean by infected tooth, but if is an abcess at the root tip (apex) , an apicoectomy can possibly save the root, in concert with a root canal if necessary. Sounds like the tooth will have to be crowned if you go a more conservative approach.

The problem with an extraction is that other teeth may shift; a bridge may be needed.

The problem with a delay is that t can trigger Trigeminal neuralgia. The trigeminal nerve is a cranial sensory nerve that runs thoughout the jaw and part of face; irritation anywhere in the path can trigger the condition which you *seriously* want to avoid.

[Chuckiechan]

They don't pull teeth like they used to. Now they almost always do a root canal.

Go find another dentist, and get it done.

[cadetstimp]

Forget the dentist... look for and go straight to a good endodontist. A good endodontist with newer/better scopes/tools could determine root canal vs extraction quicker and get the infection under control right away. They will have a better grasp at addressing the nerve without causing complications - especially if it is a a mid to front tooth that might have a curved nerve.

Once the endodontist has the root canal / nerve under control - a good denist can address and finish the crown / bridge / implant

[pullmyfoot]

Three weeks for emergency dental care? What you do is go get another dentist and/or oral surgeon ASAP.

As for tonight, you might try some over-the-counter orajel to possibly numb the affected area. YMMV.

Otherwise, I suggest you get the problem addressed, and by addressed, I mean something immediately done in the next day or two - not three weeks from now.

how bout he is absolut;y right. your dentist is nonsense if he tells you to come back in 3 weeks...

[Steve R Jones]

Do you have a local hospital that has an EMERGENCY ROOM? Could get that think yanked out in no time.