The American Medical System At It's Finest.

[Fadeaway]

I wasn't really sure where to put this, but I needed to vent. I have a tooth infection. The tooth has been bothering me for a while but over the weekend it went from being a mild annoyance on occasion to a very solid 9 on the 1-10 pain scale.

I saw my GP yesterday and he put me on Antibiotics and Norco for pain, but said I needed to get into see a dentist ASAP. He called and had me referred to the University dental school since I have medicare. I didn't think they would take medicare but the said since he was referring me due to concerns of me having low blood volume (wants me to have another blood transfusion, but this needs to be treated first) it should be covered.

Nope. I have to go through this huge annoying process getting emergency state medicaid that covers dental. I already have supplemental medicaid. t will be next week at best before I get in to see a dentist.

 

[Friday]

What? You don't feel like being charged 10k or more out of pocket to have it dealt with in the ER??? :rolleyes:

Sorry, Fade :( Nuthin but nuthin hurts like mouth pain.

 

[Ocean5]

I never understood why dental, suppose to be so important to your health, is always separate...

In the meantime, maybe try swishing coconut oil in mouth. It's natural antibacterial and suppose to be good for tooth health. From what I remember it's been used thousands of years some parts of world.

 

[Myanxietyhasanxiety]

Ugh. Tooth pain. I'm sorry. And the infurating system in which we deal with

As @Ocean5 said, Coconut oil! Yes. I have been oil pulling recently with coconut oil and noticed it helped significantly. Google oil pulling and some people claim to heal their own cavities. I don't know about all that. But it has been helping. I started out about 5 mins and up to 20 mins now

 

[Fadeaway]

I have been doing the oil pulling for a while, I think it is what held it off from getting bad up until now.

 

[Stickler]

I have found brushing my teeth with salt to be helpful, also swishing and spitting with 80 proof alcohol.
You could call around, see if someone will extract for cash, if it's not a terrifically visible tooth. I assume you're squirting it with orajel.

 

[Neverthesame]

I feel for you, I have had many a toothache over the years.

Though I want to say, give the antibiotics time to work. I know here in Canada, a dentist won't work on a tooth with an active infection, even if it is only to be yanked out. Infections can cause problems with the local anesthetic and healing time. Could end up being far more expensive and painful than it needs to be.

But believe me when I say, I have had the days, in horrible agony. Sitting staring at a hammer. Thinking "hmm, how bad an idea is?....". Never did that though. When DIY home dentistry looks like a good idea, time to suck it up and go to the damn dentist. lol.

 

[Fadeaway]

Yes, I have thought about trying to yank it out, but it isn't even loose. Until it got bad to bad for it to not help anymore, I was swishing chloroseptic throat numbing spray in my mouth since orjel didn't seem to get to it. I have also done salt water rinses.

 

[Neverthesame]

Oh, I thought of something else.

I have tried a few things over the years that fit into the home remedies portion of the Google doctorsphere.

Vodka. - Used as mouthwash not bad. Difficult for me to keep around, seeing as I am overly fond of drinking. Though best used when you start to suspect you have a cavity, long before the "Oh God, make it stop", phase.

Hydrogen peroxide 3% - As mouthwash, you'll want to dilute it some, as even 3% can cause burns to sensitive tissue. Do not use more than once or twice a week.
Also, learned this the hard way. If you have an infection which has created a cavity below the gum line. Don't use peroxide, as it can find its way into the cavity and start bubbling in the confined area near the nerve. Holy hell that hurt. Bubbles plus oxygen combined with nerve is a bad combination.

Oddly peroxide doesn't taste bad. It's gross, but more because of the total absence of any sort of taste. It's just a strange sensation to have something in your mouth with no taste.

I'm not surprised the oragel and cloroseptic aren't working, those are both topical anesthetics. The pain is likely being caused by pressure building up inside the cavity where the bacteria is living. Unlike people, bacteria usually poop gas, not solids. What may have happened is, the hole the bacteria have eaten into the dentin (the material that makes up the inside of the teeth). May have become covered over witha bit of food, plaque or tartar build-up.

With nowhere for the gas to go, it has begun to cause pressure to build inside the tooth, add to this the irritation that bacteria causes the gum tissue. What you end up with is the horrible kind of misery that makes me wonder what kind of sick joke God was playing on us when he designed teeth in the first place.

Are you allowed to take anti-inflammatory medication? (Like ibuprofen, napproxen. That sort of thing.) That would work the best for you. (Admittedly it won't do much either).

Sorry to hear you are so miserable. I have been there. Hopefully the antibiotics start working soon, that will be the best for the pain.

 

[Rumors]

^^^ I am for the above post about swishing with vodka. I recommend every five minutes until you pass out.... Very sorry. Nothing worse than tooth pain. If you have a state medical hospital around they usually keep some type of dentist/oral surgeon on call to deal with those types of things. my town has a university hospital which handles lots of things like this.
Hope the antibiotics help some. Hang in there!!!

 

[Kailani]

Ugggg!!!! So sorry you are having so much pain!!! A week seems too long to be without a dentist unless you are on antibiotics now!!! Awful!!!! The system is in need of some serious fixing!!! Dental and hearing or anything sense related should be under medical!!! It's insane that they are not!!! Minor detail; people have to eat!!!!!

 

[Forgetful]

Soooo sorry you're going through this. About 2 years ago I was there going through the same situation. Money was (still is) very much a part of it. H & I are both on disability with only medicare. No dental insurance.

I found a credit company that is just for medical expenses, any medical. I found a dentist in my area and called the credit company. It's called Care Credit. I was immediately accepted and got to see the dentist the same day. They offer 6, 12 and 18 months no interest. I'm not sure if it's regional or national program but you can Google it and see if it's offered in your area.

A dentist probably won't work on it until the infection has cleared up though, as mentioned above. Good luck...I know how painful it is.