May I ask for pocket duties, please?

dreamdaisy

Tomorrow I have an appointment at 1pm which guarantees misery, pain and general unpleasantness: I would appreciate some positive thoughts (and gin) to help me through.

I have put off going to the dentist for years and now my cowardice is rightly coming home to roost. One of the double teeth on the bottom right (which is all filling and capped to boot) is shooting shafts of exquisite pain into my gum and jaw, I suspect I have an infection/abscess and accept that something needs to be done before things get worse.

I am a glum girl. DD

stickywicket

I have a thought to cheer you.

Mr SW is currently in a similar situation but, as there was an infection, the dentist could only give him amoxycillin to sort that out before doing anything drastic with pliers, hammers and chisels . I hope you'll have a similar outcome though it does leave the scary stuff to be the subject of nightmares for a week or so.

GraceB

DD, I'll be in your pocket but please leave your coat in the waiting room as I hate the sound of the dentist drill!

GraceB

daffy2

Oh you poor thing DD. I do hope it gets sorted for you tomorrow. When I worked for a dentist more than 40 years ago I well remember what a leveller an abscessed tooth could be - big strong men reduced to grey faced misery.
If it's of any comfort, although it is obviously better to have regular check ups that won't necessarily prevent such a thing happening, especially to a much doctored tooth.

Claudette

Dear Dream Daisy,

I hope things work out better than you imagine. You can't always tell with teeth and nerves to them. I've twice experienced excruciating tooth pain. The first time it turns out I'd got a crack through the centre of the tooth..dentist thought I'd been grinding/clenching my teeth.This ended up having an abscess and I lost the tooth. Another time excruciating pain on a gold inlay tooth went on, on and off for a month. Dentist didn't know the reason. Ended up taking the gold inlay off and left tooth naked and raw for several months! Pain sensitive then but better.Then on re-examination found I had a crack at the base of the stump. Thought then at it was his fault for leaving it.Thought I'd lose it but he put a crown on which he said would clench the crack at base together. He said it might last a couple of years but much more years still going strong. I swear by my "kitty jet" though. This is the third one I've owned over maybe 15 years. It is an oral irrigation system which jets your teeth and clears all remaining harmful debris last thing at night. It jets your teeth.
Good luck for tomorrow.Pain is the worst thing and tooth pain tops the lot. It can't go on for ever. Hopefully you will look beautiful again no matter what the outcome. Implants are expensive as a final resort but they look fabulous.( I always need my exit plan in place just in case).
Hope you sleep peacefully
xx

dreamdaisy

Thank you, ladies, for your replies, they are much appreciated. I took my strongest coco mix at 8am and that will have to be sufficient to see me through. I am feeling nicely nauseous with pain so the promise of one bit maybe being stopped today is enough to get me through his door.

My teeth are weak, always have been (another genetic gift from my beloved Pa). I use an electric toothbrush (one that has more speed settings that days of the week) and, in deference to advancing years and my overall crumbling I now alternate the usual brush head with a softer version. My gums were bleeding before Christmas but no longer - they are receding though so it will be interesting to hear his thoughts on that.

Sticky, the thought of the pliers etc. doesn't bother me but the anti-bios does: more time without the meds means increasing the risk of the PsA waking up, oh how lovely! The rancid icing spreading on top of the rotten cake which is me. Maybe that's why my teeth are shift, too much cake . . . . . DD

[Deleted User]

Hi DD
of course the mods will be with you for this unpleasant appointment, bringing cake and tea to revive you afterwards
Gentle hugs
Sharon

daffy2

You are between a rock and a hard place DD re anti-bios. Understandably you don't want to have them because of the implications with your other dross, but acute infection means that anaesthetic injections to enable dental work don't work properly. I do hope something can be done to help.
I sympathise about the weak teeth, I too am in that unhappy ship. To look at my teeth you would assume a lifelong avoidance of the dentist, but that isn't the case.

dreamdaisy

Thank you Daffy, I was a frequent flier at the dentist for some time but as the arthritis truly bit I decided I had enough pain in my life and wasn't volunteering for more, a decision reinforced by a very bad experience in the chair thanks to a butcher/dentist which resulted in my needing oxygen - no big deal but that kinda thing doesn't help one's confidence. My husband has reassured me that the world of dentistry has moved on - if it hasn't I shall be headbutting a total stranger in my own inimitable style.

He's gone to clear the car, I'm off to dig out my wellies. DD

stickywicket

My brother once bit a dentist. He swears it was a reflex action but I've never been sure of that.

Dentistry has, indeed, moved on. My first childhood dentist was the well-named Mr Payne who used one of those drill contraptions that ran along pulleys. My current one is a kind, Polish lady who doesn't. Even so, Mr SW tends to need an injection before he's prepared to open his mouth for her.

[Deleted User]

Hi DD,

I hope it's all in the past now and you are home with a big snugly blanket getting looked after by Mr DD.

I sympathise re antibiotics but if it has to be ... You really are overdue a spell of feeling 'well' ie your version of it, for at least 2 months. I shall send a message when I work out who to send it too!

Love
Yvonne x

dreamdaisy

It was an infection but he concluded that there was not enough of the tooth to save so out it came. I had three dollops of anaesthesia which has worn off. I have been advised to use a combination of ibuprophen and paracetamol so I will. No anti bios at the moment but if it is still hurting come Monday - MONDAY? :shock: - I am to return. I am still in pain but nothing like it was, I have a hottie clamped to the side of my face and that is making things easier. I felt very weak and watery earlier but being tucked up warmly in bed is making a real difference.

Mr DD had the same procedure quite recently, I am trying not to be competitive and I've already lost the 'don't put the tongue in the hole' challenge. I mean, come on . . . . . . as Oscar Wilde quite reasonably said 'I can resist everything apart from temptation.' DD

Buka

Sorry to be late for the pocket duties but my sympathy is there for that thing that is the dental nightmare. Having suffered a drunken school dentist gassing me at the age of 5 I am a total wimp with all things teeth related. I'm facing two extractions on 12th so am really happy that you have been there and worn that shirt and come out the other side. Hoping that the pain eases quickly and you feel better soon. As for the tongue exploring the cavity......where else is it supposed to go? I'll be doing it too - I cant suck a fruit pastille either! Keep warm and cosy.

dreamdaisy

Buka, there is no need for apologies and thank you for turning up. Crikey, that was a nasty thing :shock: and no mistake. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing - mind you utter desperation makes one amenable to anything on offer to ease the pain. Although the tooth was loose in the socket it certainly wasn't keen on coming out, he wasn't quite braced with one leg against the arm of the chair but a fair amount of physical effort was involved. I didn't feel pain but I did feel some crunching. Mr DD had no pain whatsoever, his need for extraction was discovered by chance. What an amateur.

I have discovered that ibuprophen and paracetamol are as much use as taking a deep breath when it comes to dealing with pain. This could be because my body is used to slightly stronger stuff to deal with bigger quantities of pain or it could be that I am not in the mood to give it any credit. The dentist advised against my usual cocos due to the risk of increasing bleeding - a new one on me - but I guess with a raw wound in a filthy place one has to exercise more caution. I will give up with caution after 3pm as that will be 24 hours after the fun and anyway, I'm not bleeding. To be honest I am feeling peeved: I am experiencing the joy of one painful problem being dealt with in one swift action leaving me with two further problems which will never be satisfactorily dealt with for the rest of my days. Wot larks, Pip (or even PIP, see what I did there? )

Another discovery is that tepid tea does not cut my mustard. DD

barbara12

Hi DD I was in your pocket..honest..glad they have taken the tooth out ,and hopefully it will heal well..a tip from my dentist when you have tooth pain was a cold compress..I used heat only to have my face swell up..so now you know for nest time..but hope there isn't one.. x

dreamdaisy

Thank you, Barbara, I wasn't aware of the cold compress (which is daft as my hot swollen joints demanded cold) but this pain (which is back to pre-extraction levels) is demanding the comfort of heat. It is not bleeding and the site appears to be healed over (that quick? Really?) but oh boy is it throbbing. I'm back on the cocos and slow release trammies, the belt, braces and snow grips approach to pain management.

I went to the pub for a birthday lunch and two friends rolled in, by chance, accompanied by their aged fat black Labrador: the result was a lunch which was more delightful than expected. DD

dreamdaisy

I've returned to the dentist today thanks to the pain caused by dry socket, a post-extraction condition to which one may be more prone thanks to immuno-suppressant meds. Gotta love that. DD

stickywicket

OUCH

I send some of my rare ones ((( )))

dreamdaisy

Thank you Sticky, hugs are needed and appreciated. I have just rung my hospital helpline to inform them about the current situation and advice about whether to take the meth and humira or not only to discover that in order to further improve their service one can leave a message between 9am and 1pm only and replies can take up to 72 hours.

I have to keep reminding myself that at the bottom of the empty socket there is only a blood clot between me and raw bone plus the nerves. The gums around the site are sore too, however things are not as painful as they have been so that's a blessing. Healing can take up to a fortnight, one of the 'blessings' of the meds is that time is more than likely to be doubled as I have proved before Six weeks to heal a fracture? Nah, take the meds and make it three months DD

Landgull36uk

dreamdaisy wrote:

Tomorrow I have an appointment at 1pm which guarantees misery, pain and general unpleasantness: I would appreciate some positive thoughts (and gin) to help me through.

I have put off going to the dentist for years and now my cowardice is rightly coming home to roost. One of the double teeth on the bottom right (which is all filling and capped to boot) is shooting shafts of exquisite pain into my gum and jaw, I suspect I have an infection/abscess and accept that something needs to be done before things get worse.

I am a glum girl. DD

Good Luck with your dentist appointment, i hope they can sort your problem I have a routine check up myself at the dentist tomorrow morning at 11:35 am not really looking forward to it myself. Anyway look on the brightside if they can sort it out for you the pain will be gone

dreamdaisy

Thanks, I hope your appointment goes better than my mine.

Despite being very careful and thorough in my dental hygiene I was still able to rinse out a piece of pea skin from last night's dinner which had settled at some point overnight in the socket. I am using my electric toothbrush on the sensitive setting and have invested in some sensitive heads; I am not cleaning the direct area of the extraction and rinsing gently but thoroughly so, to have a piece of pea elude me is annoying, and a little worrying. I hope the blood clot is still intact, the next few hours will prove whether that is the case or not. If it isn't then back I will have to go for another numbing, cleaning out, dissolving iodine patch and I will ask for anti-biotics - he has ignored my immuno-suppression which is kinda understandable as it's not his area of expertise but I cannot be the only patient in this particular boat. DD

Landgull36uk

dreamdaisy wrote:

Thanks, I hope your appointment goes better than my mine.

Despite being very careful and thorough in my dental hygiene I was still able to rinse out a piece of pea skin from last night's dinner which had settled at some point overnight in the socket. I am using my electric toothbrush on the sensitive setting and have invested in some sensitive heads; I am not cleaning the direct area of the extraction and rinsing gently but thoroughly so, to have a piece of pea elude me is annoying, and a little worrying. I hope the blood clot is still intact, the next few hours will prove whether that is the case or not. If it isn't then back I will have to go for another numbing, cleaning out, dissolving iodine patch and I will ask for anti-biotics - he has ignored my immuno-suppression which is kinda understandable as it's not his area of expertise but I cannot be the only patient in this particular boat. DD

Sorry to hear that your going through trouble with your socket but i would have thought they would have put a stitch or two in to bring the skin on your gum together to cover up the socket. I had a wisdom tooth taken out from the back of my mouth a few years back at the hospital, the tooth itself broke up because another wisdom tooth was growing into it. When they took the tooth out they put in a few stitches in my gum to cover up the socket. Unforunately ive got another one doing the same thing on the opposite side of my mouth but for now its holding together. I do also brush my teeth regularly myself by the way so it wasn't because the tooth was composting in my mouth or anything :P

About your electric toothbrush, my dentist said to me not to use electric toothbrushes because they are well known to cause more damage then good. Apparently electric toothbrushes can do alot of damage to the gums and sometimes cause infections in the gum. He suggested just to get a standard toothbrush, maybe in your case a soft standard tooth brush and brush them as usual. He told me not to use them because i asked whether i should use a electric toothbrush on a few of my bottom teeth because they tend to get stained alot (tea stains) even though i brush them regularly but he said no keep using your usual toothbrush. Its up to you though if your happy with a electric tooth brush then thats ok, just thought i'll share the info.

Get well soon

dreamdaisy

Re. the toothbrush, we are always at the mercy of the professionals' opinions and preferences but ultimately it's our choice isn't it? I've been taught how to use it but I daresay a refresher course won't go amiss. As I understand it dry socket is more common in wisdom tooth extraction and I have no idea why he didn't put in a stitch, maybe that's his professional preference.

I hope you appointment went OK, I am back on March 19th for more extractions but hopefully only from my bank account. DD