Broken tooth

I'm in sooo much pain! I had one of my back teeth break on me at around 3 am Saturday night when I was out of town and of course the first available appointment I could get isnt until tomorrow morning. Plus my dentist said he probably wont be able to do anything besides antibiotics and an xray. I'm hoping I can talk him into some pain killers as well! I'm pretty sure I can though. But he thinks that I may have a wisdom tooth pressing against it which is what caused it to break the way it did.... but that means I'm going to have to get that taken care of asap too. I cannot catch a break with all of these medical bills! Gah!

Is there anything I can do to help with the pain right now? I only have another half of a hydrocodone to last me so I'm wanting to save it until tonight so I can hopefully sleep. I tried 600mg ibprophen last night but it didnt seem to help very much, and I have tried clove oil and it works for about 10 minutes... but thats it! Anyone have any ideas?

Yikes! I really don't know what can help with the pain. I broke a tip off one molar but it honestly didn't hurt. Hope it can be simply fixed for you!!

Originally Posted by MoochNNoodles

Yikes! I really don't know what can help with the pain. I broke a tip off one molar but it honestly didn't hurt. Hope it can be simply fixed for you!!

Click to expand...

I wish but they are thinking they are going to have to pull it ontop of with my wisdom teeth coming in they have made my bottom teeth shift really bad so I foresee more braces in my future

Oh man that really stinks!!! You can take 800mg of Ibuprofen every 8 hours. That's the prescription strength, but it's no different other than it's one pill rather than several. You can take Tylenol along with it.

Have you tried any oral gel? I don't know if it will numb the nerves in your tooth, but that stuff works pretty well. That really stinks that your dentist can't see you for awhile. When my mom broke her tooth, we were out riding the horses and she got dumped, the dentist took her in as an "emergency" right away.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Oh man that really stinks!!! You can take 800mg of Ibuprofen every 8 hours. That's the prescription strength, but it's no different other than it's one pill rather than several. You can take Tylenol along with it.

Have you tried any oral gel? I don't know if it will numb the nerves in your tooth, but that stuff works pretty well. That really stinks that your dentist can't see you for awhile. When my mom broke her tooth, we were out riding the horses and she got dumped, the dentist took her in as an "emergency" right away.

Click to expand...

I tried orejel and it would work for about 15 minutes but then it would start stinging like mad. I dont know what was causing that. I decided it wasnt worth it. I also tried the mouthwash but it just kind of took the edge of the pain off and not for very long. If the dentist wont give me anything I can get my mom to call me in something luckily. I'm really hoping I can find something that last a bit longer. The 600mg of ibprophen lasted for around 5 hours I think. The swelling is what is on my nerves. I thought ibprophen would help with that but guess not. So Instead I have a heating pad covering my face... seesh!

Sorry you are having this pain. You could go to the emergency room if you can't wait for your dentist. What kind of dentist doesn't take emergencies?

Try ice packing to reduce inflammation.

Originally Posted by otto

Sorry you are having this pain. You could go to the emergency room if you can't wait for your dentist. What kind of dentist doesn't take emergencies?

Try ice packing to reduce inflammation.

Click to expand...

one of the only ones that is willing to help out with paying options in our area... which is why I'm going to him. But right now I am trying to figure out something about work tomorrow but no one is answering my texts.. gah

Have you tried Ambesol. I know a toothache and an earache are among the worst pain, I hope you get some relief soon.

I can only sympathise with you. That sucks. My DH might have suggestions as his teeth are horrible. His dentist told him as a child he had no enamal (SP?) on his teeth, so brushing off the plaque would be bad. I don't understant this at all. But... he was a child in the '70s, so...

He suffers everyday with tooth pain, and I think his dentist was dead wrong in the advice he gave. He's 37 and has maybe 1 or 2 teeth that are in tact, but most of them are broken and rotting. I fear for him because of the health risks that pose. I tell him I am sorry every time he is in major pain or gets an absess (SP?), and he says it's not my fault... I know, but I still feel bad for him.

I hope the pain gets under control soon, tooth pain is horrid.

Be safe.

^If they're that bad, why not pull the teeth? If there's infection it can kill.


To the OP: A broken tooth can be fixed, but you'll be looking at a root canal since the nerve is exposed. If enough of it is gone you'll probably need a post and crown on it. Unfortunately, none of that is cheap.

Keep up the ibuprofen. You can't do a one time dose with an anti-inflammatory if you want to keep inflammation down. You have to keep it in your system. Try acetaminophen, don't exceed the recommended dose and if you get any other pain medicine containing it don't take any more of it. While it's not a super strong pain med, it works a little different than even the narcotic ones do - which is why it gets combined with a lot of them.
While many narcotic painkillers do little for my pain, I can actually get some relief from acetaminophen because it metabolizes a little differently.

No heat. As already pointed out, ice is better. Plus I could have sworn when there was the possibility of infection (which there always is in one's mouth) that heat could make it much much worse.

Keep up with the mouthwash, watch food and liquid temps, and what you eat.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

^If they're that bad, why not pull the teeth? If there's infection it can kill.

Click to expand...

we both know that, unfortunately they are so bad he will need surgery to get the roots out as that's all that's left of most of them. It really grosses me out, but I try not to let him know because he is extremely ashamed. He's gone to dentists who tell him 5K and they will help him. They want the money up front or nothing. We don't really have that much lying around, so he just suffers. I tried taking the money we were 'going to' spend on stuff we didn't need and had a fund going, but that didn't work out.

He is supposed to go to DVR to see if he may be eligable for some help in getting his mouth fixed, but he hasn't. I ask him about it near his days off, and it upsets him, like I am nagging him. I've been at my wits end over this for a while now.

I've never been to the dentist with him, so I never actually heard a dentist say they needed 5k before they would do anything, but I don't disbelieve him. There was a dentist about a 45 min drive from here that he could go see, and he would pull teeth at $200 each, and it worked fine for him. Then one day DH said he coudln't go there anymore because his teeth were too bad for that dentist to work on!?!? I sometimes get the feeling he is punishing himself.

I fear for his health and life. I want him to try to get something done, I even looked into native american benefits to help him, unfortunately his great grandmother never registered as a Cheroke, she didn't feel she needed to prove her breed. So...

Be safe.

That's awful. You may have to be the one to look into everything for him if he's not going to push enough to do it. Most people would probably think it was his responsibility, but if they're as bad as you say they are it just needs to be dealt with.

It's completely possible that some of the teeth will need to be surgically removed - not sure that every single one would need it. And I hope that's the case since pulling would be quicker. Start looking around, call dentists. Look into carecredit, personal loans? Surely if you can pay a percentage of it upfront the rest could be done in payments. See what the state offers. Look into the Donated Dental Services program.

I have an uncle that didn't have any dental coverage and is diabetic. His teeth got bad really fast and the infection hit him so badly one day that a family member found him unconscious. He was in a coma for a couple days because of the infection. They ended up removing all of his teeth at the hospital.

he won't actually let me look in his mouth. He doesn't want to gross me out. I go by what he says... He is under this impression that every one of his teeth cannot be pulled because they will crumble when they put the teethpuller tool on them.

Thank you for your advice, I will start looking stuff up on the net and see if there is something we can do. most places we went to said we needed kids before they would help us.

as for loan.. I had surgeries as a baby that caused me problems later in life. At 18 I ended up with almost 19K in dr bills that have snowballed since then... So... We need to file medical bankruptcy. On top of all that, because of dr screw ups in surgery before I was 1.5yrs old, I can't have children. I have my kitties though

Be safe.

Originally Posted by MyRage

he won't actually let me look in his mouth.He doesn't want to gross me out.

Click to expand...

But I presume he kisses you with that mouth?... Guys are odd. I wish you luck finding someone to help. It's serious and he doesn't need to live with that risk or the pain. Sometime you should ask him what he expects you to do if he gets seriously ill from this? If it were to kill him?

I remember years ago when I had first started dating my DH. It was maybe 2-3 months in when he got a bad respiratory infection. He was using the local town "doctor" (who is honestly a quack - useless) and was only being treated with a rescue inhaler at the time. He had to use it several times a day - going through an inhaler in about a weeks time. After he got over the infection I told him he was going to go to a better doctor, no arguing.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

But I presume he kisses you with that mouth?... Guys are odd.

Click to expand...

LoL... Not deep passionant kisses, I just can't. bad me...

I just remembered this - it's been talked about on local and national news. But there are legit sites/communities online that people can get loans from other individuals and pay back at low to no interest. But for the life of me, I cannot remember what the main well known site is called.

Does anyone remember? It might be an alternative if nothing else is available.

Im so pissed one of the few guys that could work for me tomorrow wont because he has plans to go out drinking tonight. GAH! I'm waiting to hear back from one other girl. I have to figure something out I'm in so much pain and I really cannot work 7AM - 6PM without anything tomorrow

Go to the emergency room! They can prescribe something for you for the pain and get you started on antibiotics. I had to do that when one of my teeth came out. An infection pushed the tooth up out of the gum root and all. It didn't hurt (tooth apparently was already dead) but the infection had me looking like a lopsided chipmunk and ate away part of my jaw. NOT something to mess with. I ended up having to get 5 more pulled the next week, so yes, I'm half toothless but the ones I have left are still healthy.

Wisdom teeth can screw everything up. I did have one of them come in late and it broke off, so I know how painful it can be.

I hope you find someone to work for you tomorrow. It's sad when drinking comes before a co-workers health.

Oil of cloves will numb it for you ........ but you are probably in the bed now... sorry I didnt see this sooner.

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

Im so pissed one of the few guys that could work for me tomorrow wont because he has plans to go out drinking tonight. GAH! I'm waiting to hear back from one other girl. I have to figure something out

I'm in so much pain and I really cannot work 7AM - 6PM without anything tomorrow

Click to expand...

I would be upset too. I'm sorry