Dentist Dilemma

Gillyx

Agree with Seanymph, if she's in extreme pain, NHS Direct will have to help her, they will direct her to the nearest A&E Department to her that has an emergency dentist there. Although, if you are registered with a dentist from what I recall it can be a nightmare to get them to agree to let you see someone.

Another thing, they won't take the tooth out while she has an infection, which is a bit of a pest.

taurusgb

I know it is frowned upon to post on 2 forums at once but the lovely people on the Marriage/relationships board suggested this might be a better place to post this so apologies for repitition...post as below:-

I am so worried about my daughter. She lives 70 miles away and is in terrible pain with an inection in her jaw and upper wisdom tooth. I can't get to her and feel so helpless.

This started 2 weeks ago, she had antibiotics for a week and was told she needs the tooth extracting BUT it will need to be done in hospital, estimated waiting time 12 weeks :eek:. Within 3 days of antibiotic course being completed the infection came back, a new course of double strength (same antibiotic as last time) are making no difference.

THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS JUST FOR BACKGROUND I AM NOT ASKING FOR MEDICAL ADVICE (sorry for shouting but do not want to get flamed)

It is now Friday, weekend looms and her dentist is on a day off. The receptionist refuses to make her an appointment with another dentist at the practice and I just wondered if anyone could tell me if they can do this? A whole weekend of pain that cannot be controlled with over the counter pain relief is daunting to say the least - surely dentists have an obligation to help a patient in distress (this is an NHS dentist).

My daughter has struggled to pay her dental bills so far and has no money to go to a different dentist - if in fact she could find another NHS dentist in her area.

Any advice (NOT medical) welcomed

Darlyd

Awe love her. I have been there, my dentist (private) gave me antibiotics to get me by, they helped, then at the weekend pain was so bad I rung NHS direct and they put me in touch with an emergency dentist, who gave me more antibiotics, the next week my dentist referred me to another dentist to take my wisdom tooth out. What a relief! It was rotten... In the mean time I used clove oil, was amazing, really helped.... Hope she gets it sorted, for me the pain was worse than labor!!

euronorris

darlyd wrote: »

for me the pain was worse than labor!!

I had surgery on my wrist a couple of weeks ago, and toothache was far, far worse than the pain I felt after the surgery on my wrist!

pauletruth

i have had the same. the pain was that bad they had to give me iv morphine followed by enough morphine tabs to get me through the weekend. then faced with an extraction were the local injection did not work. agony but the joy of the pain being gone was worth it. i also had one were the denist drilled and lanced the abcess to take the pressure off the nerves whilst the antibiotics kicked in. get your daughter to do something the pain will only get worse until its sorted.

pinkclouds

You've had lots of advice re the dental problem - I can't better it. I hope your daughter gets seen quickly and starts to feel better soon.

I also hope that *you* feel better now that you've received some practical information. It always helps to have something to actually do - takes your mind off stuff. I reckon my mom would be twisting up inside if she was in your place, so my sympathies go to you as well as your daughter. x

Toothsmith

Ring the local PCT or NHS direct to access the area's emergency provision.

brook2jack

First the bad news. The twelve week wait will just be for an assessment , x rays etc. The tooth will not be extracted then she will have a further wait to get the tooth removed.Unfortunately even recurring pain is unlikely to get her seen sooner but she can ring up the hospital to say she is willing to take a last minute cancellation appointment.

If this is a wisdom tooth problem it is critical that the area is kept scrupulously clean otherwise the infection will just keep on coming back.

Unfortunately once a patient has finished a course of treatment even if they are on a hospital waiting list the NHS dentist is under no obligation to see them in an emergency in England and Wales. The local pct or lhb has the responsibility to run emergency dental provision and this can be accessed by phoning nhs direct 08454647 in England and Wales . Scots and NI have different arrangements.

An emergency clinic will probably only be able to prescribe different antibiotics and slightly different painkillers but is more likely to sort her out than going to a and e which is not set up to deal with dental problems at all. There will be a charge if she pays £12 to £17 .

If she struggles to pay dental bills then she should pick up a form hc1 from dentist/doctor to see if she qualifies for help with costs on low income.

pulliptears

Oh I feel so sorry for her! I had similar, the problem being that the tooth couldn't be extracted until the infection had gone. As it turned out I had 2 large abscesses, one in my back upper jaw and one in the back lower jaw, the pain was excruciating.
I'm a reasonably fit, normal woman who's had 2 kids but this pain floored me. I don't think I got out of bed for 4 days. Dentist kept telling me I needed to wait a week.
My best friend bless her had some very high strength prescription painkillers and she bought me a handful over (Not at all recommended I add) but they numbed it slightly. At that stage I was past caring about any potential side effects etc. Seems dramatic to say but you do get to that point where you want to be knocked out.

In the end my OH went in to the dentist and explained again just how much agony I was in and that he was seriously worried for my sanity at that point. Both teeth were removed that afternoon and I went home and slept for 18 hours.

Tell her to get to her GP and ask for something stronger. I can't recommend anything over the counter because it simply didn't work for me, although high strength oragel does work for a few moments.
Bless her, hope she feels better soon. Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

merlin68

I know how she feels. Sitting hear, had my tooth out this morning under sedation and i broke it on the 20th october. 3 month wait for extraction.