I have a toothache that is killing me

[RagingInMiami]

It's been three days and it hasn't gone away. Just keep getting worse. I am wincing as I type this. I know I need to go to the dentist, but in the meantime, what can I do to kill the pain?

Advil sometimes work, but I think it's losing its effectiveness. Booze doesn't help. It gets worse at night when I try to sleep.

It's in the left molar area. I'm not sure if it's the top or bottom molar, but I have never experienced a toothache like this before.

I am 37 years old and have never had my wisdom teeth pulled so I wonder if that has something to do with it. Help me.

[CottonBear]

1. Call your dentist or oral surgeon immediately.

Good luck. I hope you feel better soon.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. Drink lots of water or gatorade type beverage...

Don't drink alcohol...It will make things worse.

Try swishing with warm salt water gently. Oil of clove is excellent for toothaches, if you can find some...I'd stay away from orajel-type products as their relief is temporary, and the pain seems worse when they wear off.

Another thing that might help is Sudafed, since sinuses tend to act up when teeth are infected, and make the nerves even more uncomfortable. I prefer the non-drying (guaifenesin) variety myself.

I'm so sorry...Toothaches suck! :hug::hug::hug:

[RagingInMiami]

4. I just did the salt water thing and it seems to work

Maybe it's the placebo effect, but the pain went away instantly. Of course, now I feel as if I swallowed a mouthful of sea water.

What is oil of clove?

Oh wait, the pain is coming back. Damn. It seems to be spreading to my lower front teeth.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Have you called your dentist?

Sometimes they can refer you to someone who works odd hours; especially in a busy city.

The salt won't make the pain go away; but it will help keep the area clean, which will help keep things from getting worse.

Here's the Wikipedia link that tells about oil of clove: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove

I got dry socket after an extraction last year, and my dentist packed the area with oil of clove, which gave immediate relief. If you've got an herbal shop nearby, you can probably get some there.

[RagingInMiami]

8. My local herbal store was closed

So I bought ground cloves at the local grocery store because they didn't have oil of cloves. Then I went home and realized it wasn't going to work. So I drove back to the store, returned the cloves, then went to the Walgreens and bought some Eugenol, which is supposed to be just as good as oil of cloves.

However, before all this, I was lucky enough to find some old codeine in the medicine cabinet, so that helped with the pain.

I have a few more codeines left so I should be all right until I see the dentist tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.

[dysfunctional press]

3. kanka might help- or oil of clove- or even clove cigarettes...

btw- oil of clove is what laurence olivier gave dustin hoffman in 'marathon man' after he had drilled a hole in his tooth.

and get to the dentist TOMORROW! don't accept anything less than an emergency appointment. you don't want to wait over the weekend.

[xmas74]

5. Let an aspirin dissolve over the tooth.

Tastes awful but it will usually dull the pain.

[bigwillq]

7. Percocet worked for me

when my wisdom teeth were bothering me.

Hope you feel better. :hug:

[RagingInMiami]

9. But you need a script for that, right?

I found some old codeine which has reduced the pain.

[begin_within]

10. Clove oil or Temparin (which contains clove oil) or Anbesol (which doesn't

[Skittles]

11. WHY are you waiting?

GET YOUR ASS TO THE DENTIST PRONTO

[RagingInMiami]

12. During the first game of the NBA Finals?

Where the Miami Heat are playing for the first time in their 18 year history?

I have codeine and beer, plus some stuff I bought at Walgreens. The toothache did me from going to my local pub to watch the game.

[Skittles]

13. I WILL KICK YOUR ASS

seriously, RIM, toothaches can be serious stuff - get thee thar ASAP

[RagingInMiami]

17. You can kick my ass

Because I probably won't feel it considering I'm on even more pain killers. I went to the dentist today and it looks like I'm going to need a root canal. I'm going back next week to let a specialist take a look at it.

It was either a root canal or an extraction, but the denstist said the root is very strong, so he recommended a root canal. I never had one before. I heard they're painful.

[tenshi816]

25. I didn't find it painful,

just a long procedure (2+ hours in my case) and invasive, what with the dentist constantly poking around in your mouth. For me to say it wasn't painful is something, because I'm a real wuss when it comes to pain and I've had much more painful things happen to me than root canal (childbirth, for example, and broken ribs).

I mentioned in another post how tedious root canal is - if you have an iPod it will help to pass the time.

[RagingInMiami]

26. I've had a broken rib before and that was one of the most painful

experiences I've ever had.

[tenshi816]

28. There ya go -

it's all about context! Since you've experienced the agony of broken ribs, root canal will be a walk in the park for you. OK, maybe not that, but nothing near as bad as the ribs.

[RagingInMiami]

29. I've always heard that toothaches were the most painful

And up until this week, I realized I had never fully experienced a real toothache. The pain is excruciating.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

14. You have Skittles and me to deal with if you don't get your ass to the

dentist!!

If you are poor, he will pull it for $40 bucks, if you have insurance get it fixed!

damnit!

[RagingInMiami]

20. You and Skittles?

That might be kind of fun. I am poor and have no insurance, but I went to this clinic where they took x-rays, wrote me prescriptions for antibiotics and pain killers and charged me $40.

I now need to see a root canal specialist.

[tenshi816]

15. Is it a throbbing kind of pain?

Like a dull, constant ache that also seems almost like it's beating a pulse? If so, you possibly have an abscessed tooth, something I know about from hard experience. If it is an abscess, it's not going to get better until you see a dentist and get some antibiotics.

[RagingInMiami]

19. It's a sharp pain that starts from my rear molar and spreads

throughout the entire left side of my face. I went to the dentist today and he said it was a tooth that I had fractured a while back, where the fracture extended to the nerve. He said the nerve is dying, but it is not abscessed.

He gave me a prescription for antibiotics and pain killers and next week, I need to see a specialist about a root canal.

[flamingyouth]

21. I had a root canal a few weeks ago

I had a similar thing - fractured tooth, tons of pain. After the initial shock of the root canal (not a load of fun...) wore off and I got a crown, all is well. Good luck. Hope you feel better soon. :)

[RagingInMiami]

22. How long were you in pain after it was done?

How much did it cost you?

[flamingyouth]

23. I had a pretty bad infected tooth that had gone on for years

So it was about four or five days (I also couldn't take any time off from work, which sucked), so I couldn't take the pain meds except at night.

I don't have dental insurance and it was about $1400, which also sucked. Usually they'll work out a payment plan with you, though. Good luck.

[dysfunctional press]

32. there is no pain after it's done.

root canals are not nearly as bad as they sound.

[tenshi816]

24. Ouch, sorry to hear that.

This is probably small comfort at this time, but I've had a root canal and I didn't find it nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be. It's a tedious procedure, but once I was "comfortably numb" it wasn't painful.

Once the antibiotics kick in and the infection starts to subside, you should feel better.

Best of luck with this. Toothaches can make you absolutely crazy in the short term because you can't focus on anything else except how bloody much your mouth hurts.

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

16. last time I had a toothache

sometimes chewing, with the afflicted tooth, a raw clove of garlic provided temporary relief.

:shrug:

[RagingInMiami]

18. I like garlic

I might give that a try

[LSK]

27. Ibuprofen

Trust me, I had a root canal a few months back, but the tooth killed me on a friday night. Ibuprofen works wonders.

[Southsideirish]

30. Old Irish remedy - take a big mouthful of whiskey and HOLD it on the sore

tooth as long as you can - then swallow! It will numb the area for a good long time - when it starts to wear off - just repeat.

[RagingInMiami]

31. And I love Irish Whisky

Uisce Beatha, the water of life. I prefer Old Bushmill's.

[Mojambo]

33. Don't wait. Go to a dentist NOW

I just had a tooth pulled yesterday morning. It started hurting on Thursday and by Saturday morning I was throwing up every 20 minutes.

Worst pain of my entire life. I did not sleep for over 38 hours straight. Had I had a gun, I might have ended my own life.

Turns out it was abscessed and they extracted it immediately. I threw up twice DURING the extraction.

I'm uninsured and racked up hundreds of dollars of debt by going to the dentist, but if I didn't go I'd probably be dead right now.