Wisdom tooth removal on NHS? 3 week wait in pain!!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My lower wisdoms got done under local anaesthesia. I needed antibiotics with the second one, but had no real problems, even though the second had roots twisted like a corkscrew - it just took a while and the assistant held my hand as the dentist exerted a bit more force.

I must be lucky in my area, as the only people I know who have to faff around with the hospital are those who say they're too scared of the needles and have to have a general instead.

Having said that, if I were to have a real problem (or my DDs were) and there was pain involved, despite qualifying for free NHS treatment, I'd have no hesitation in going private. I already see the hygienist privately and where it comes to my health, I think it's a reasonable expense.

However, I understand that not everyone can or would want to do this, so all I can say is keep on with the tablets and mouthwash and good luck.

nottslass_2

JenC wrote: »

Hiya

I've been through the same so you have my sympathy. I was told that it was an 18 month wait for the surgery on the NHS :eek: I then went private and had them out under general anaesthetic within about 10 days. (Please dont' shout at me for private health insurance not being money saving!)
Make sure when you do get seen, you ask if there is any chance of the other set needing removing. I begged the surgeon to take the lot out as I was in so much pain and he said the bottom ones wouldn't be any trouble. Predictably, I ended up having another op last year. Lucky surgeon then gets paid twice!

I found a warmed wheat bag to be really hepful with the pain. Hope you get sorted soon.[/QUOTE]

No,please don't put anything warm on it,like a wheat bag or hot water bottle - The heat will "feed" the infection !!!!( I think the same thing may apply with clove oil as well)

I found that taking nurofen plus and paracetamol/codeine at the same time is about the only thing that kills toothache.

Toothache is probably the worst pain ever,but hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon.

janninew

You poor thing, i had exactly the same problem last year. I went to my dentist but because there was an infection he wouldn't remove my tooth. I was on antibiotics for 10 days, but he didn't give me anything for the pain! I went to the chemist and explained and he gave me the strongest painkillers he could (without prescription!) these didn't give me any relief so i went to my GP who gave me a weeks supply of strong painkillers! I was so flippin glad when my appointment came round, i was ready for pulling the tooth out myself!!

Take care, i really do sympathise, its the worst pain ever!

londoner1998

jugglebug wrote: »

Erm nope,
You need a dentist who is willing to do it.
1st tooth I ever took out as student was an impacted wisdom tooth. If they were that hard they wouldnt let some cack handed student have a go would they?

Truth is we are all trained to do em, but like all things if you don't do them often you tend to get out of practice, and end up being a bit slow. You often then get to the situation where it is kinder to refer out as what would take a house officer 30 minutes as they are doing em every day would take me 45 minutes to an hour.
Also the post op swelling and pain then gets blamed on the hospital, not the guy who you will be seeing for the rest of your dental life.
My friend hasnt taken one out since we left university.
Might be something to do with the fact he is a specialist kids dentist though.

Agree- my dentist is an implants specialist and one of his partners in the surgery does this kind of thing...but more often than not they are not straigh forward and a ot of people prefer to be put under ..also, they get referred to a hospital and end up having it done there because is free. My friend was in this category- my dentist's partner had a look at it and it was fine to go ahead, but my friend couldn't afford the fee.. Got checked in Greece, where he is from and was told that no way, dental surgeon, my friend... ended up in hospital, wih a general anesthetic and all done in 20 min... however, they dispached him when he could barely wolk properly...

janaru

I have a wisdom tooth that is giving me a lot of pain and I've been told it will be nearly 7 weeks before I can get it removed on the NHS!

This is particularly annoying as it wasn't hurting at all until the dentist drilled half of it away to try and put a filling in a couple of weeks ago. Now I've got a massive hole that's getting increasingly painful (presumably because of infection). I'm hoping that antibiotics will calm things down, but 7 weeks seems like a long time (especially when I can only get a couple of hours sleep a day).

How much does it cost to get it removed privately?

Toothsmith

If you need a general anaesthetic, it will be very expensive indeed. Under local it's still very dear, especially if it needs a specialist to do it.

It should settle down OK quite soon. How long have you been on the antibiotics?

custardy

i had the same sort of wait for a removal under general
it was terrible,TBH i felt ill with all the painkillers i had taken
i had the same where the dentist had tried and failed to remove it,i remember that night getting home from the dentist and laying wrapped in a devet in a lot of pain!!!
however once out the pain from removal was nothing

Mrs_P_Pincher

A dentist who qualified in the 1930s told me years ago that rinsing with hydrogen peroxide solution was good for mouth infections (specifically round wisdom teeth) as it has oxygen in it and the anaerobic bacteria don't like it.

It's always my first port of call with anything in the mouth and seems to me to be effective.

Might be worth a try - unless the more recently qualified dentists disagree...

Mrs P P

Toothsmith

Peroxide is good, but get a peroxide mouthwash like Peroxyl, rather than trying to dilute your own (And DON'T use neat H2O2!!!)

System

Aww, been there and I know how you feel. Not sure if this will put your mind at ease but 3-4 weeks is actually pretty good for NHS - you could try to get earlier by calling up the dentist and telling him that you are losing sleep etc - might push you up the list a bit. Or ask the doc for something stronger or specifically for teeth pain? Don't think it's a good idea to take general painkillers non-stop for a month. I think private will take about 2 weeks (up to 1 week for consult, around 1 week to book op), depending on the surgeon, hospital etc. but usually to get with a better/popular surgeon you will need to wait longer.

Bonjela teething gel REALLY helped me.