Emergency tooth ache

ukmike

Neat whiskey,don't swallow it,just swill it around the aching tooth,works wonders.

mal4mac

Get down to the nearest pharmacy and ask them for the most effective painkillers for your toothache. I used ibuprofen and paracetamol alternatively to the maximum allowed each day and it killed the "unbearable" pain I was suffering. There is stronger stuff you can get over the counter. Go for the strongest you are allowed.

If that doesn't work, head for A & E. They can't tell you to go away if you've already tried the strongest painkillers available at the pharmacy. The NHS site tells you to go to A & E if normal painkillers don't work:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1776.aspx?categoryid=74

How long to wait? Give it half an hour, then head on down to A & E if the pain is still unbearable. (It only took 1/2 hour for my pain to be eased...)

If the painkillers are effective, you may be tempted not to to bother visiting your dentist, or put off the visit. Resist this impulse. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE YOUR DENTIST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You might have decay, which painkillers might hide until it's too late to save the tooth.

brook2jack

If you head to A and E they will be able to do very little. They have no equipment and very often no dentally qualified person available.

Unfortunately many areas , my own included , have as policy dental pain , no matter how severe , is not an emergency.

The official criteria for going to A and E with dental problems is (this is a direct quote)

"Dental bleeding which will not stop
A spreading dental infection/swelling
Have had trauma to the face, mouth or teeth.
Toothache, no matter how bad, is not classed as a dental emergency. Please see your pharmacist for pain relief until you can get an appointment with your dentist."


But those that do run some NHS out of hours service will levy a charge. In England and Wales this will be the equivalent of a band one charge so £13.50 to £19ish.

These clinics will only provide emergency treatment and you will need to go to a dentist to get definitive treatment.

welshbookworm

When I had toothache and I was waiting for my dental appointment I used oil of cloves on my tooth and found it worked.

brook2jack

Never,never,never use oil of cloves. It can leave a very nasty burn if incorrectly applied .

It also interacts with many other drugs.

Avoid .

amersall

Ora Gel is brilliant for toothache it numbs and is well worth the £5.99 I have paid for it.

mal4mac

Ibuprofen was brilliant for my toothache and it's only 30p a box. Paracetomol is also good and it's even cheaper. (Go on, splash out, use both! It's allowed to use both, by the way, I checked...)

mal4mac

brook2jack wrote: »

The official criteria for going to A and E with dental problems is (this is a direct quote). Toothache, no matter how bad, is not classed as a dental emergency. Please see your pharmacist for pain relief until you can get an appointment with your dentist."

The official site I quoted above says, "Go to the accident and emergency (A&E) department of your local hospital if you... are in severe pain that is not helped by painkillers."

"NHS Choices (https://www.nhs.uk) was launched in 2007 and is the official website of the National Health Service in England."

Where does your direct quote come from?

Heck, if you can't get immediate treatment for unbearable, unstoppable pain what kind of country we are living in? Get down to A & E if the pharmacist can't help. Create a scene if they try to turn you away, that should get the adrenalin flowing, which might help with the pain.

jenniewb

mal4mac wrote: »

The official site I quoted above says, "Go to the accident and emergency (A&E) department of your local hospital if you... are in severe pain that is not helped by painkillers."

"NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk) was launched in 2007 and is the official website of the National Health Service in England."

Where does your direct quote come from?

Heck, if you can't get immediate treatment for unbearable, unstoppable pain what kind of country we are living in? Get down to A & E if the pharmacist can't help. Create a scene if they try to turn you away, that should get the adrenalin flowing, which might help with the pain.

Sadly in my own experience (2014 I had a cracked wisdom tooth which was cracked vertically, half I had apparently swallowed and the nerve was fully exposed. My dentist was unable to take the rest of the tooth out as the root was too curved (they did try but it just kept "crumbling"), so they had to refer me to a dental hospital but it being the bank holiday weekend, the referral wouldn't go through for days and then there was a 2 week waiting list for emergency care...it also became infected and despite three courses of antibiotics was still infected and had an abscess so big the roof of my mouth had filled and my nose was blocked...I cannot begin to describe the pain to you...


I was sent to A&E by the 111 service who advised it as I was in so much pain. The Doctor I saw was annoyed I'd been sent there, because she knew there was nothing they could do for me and sent me to the dental hospital I was referred to which was closed for the Easter bank holiday weekend. By then I was so exhausted having not slept more than an hour a night for days, all I could do was ball my eyes out in despair at having to spend weeks in the same agony.


In the end I had managed to find an emergency A&E dental hospital at Kings, it wasn't open until the bank holiday was over and they can't treat every case so people do leave untreated if the problem isn't deemed severe enough or they can't help, it was a sit and wait service run by dental students and I am still years on endlessly grateful for this service. It is though highly likely that you wont be able to be treated that day if the queues are that long.


It is really for severe cases- one girl in her 20's I was talking with needed to have 10 teeth taken out due to decay and though was facing the rest of her life without many teeth (others had previously been removed) was just so grateful she was going to be out of any pain. That's what I mean by severe- the list is long and they will only treat severe cases and they make this clear from the outset. Many I saw were turned away either due to this or because they were aware the list that day was already too long and there would be no appointments left.


OP I hope you've managed to get help as it's Monday and for most people their dentists surgery will now be open, but if you are unable to get any appointments, if you call the 111 service at the very least they should be able to let you know which services are there for you to use this week. I hope you get it sorted though.

Toothsmith

mal4mac wrote: »

Heck, if you can't get immediate treatment for unbearable, unstoppable pain what kind of country we are living in?

There are many conditions - toothaches just being one - where there isn't always a 'magic wand' that can make the pain go away! That's just how it is. Sometimes you just have to wait it out whilst something gets to work.

Women are usually a lot better at this than men, though! :;)