Source
r/Dentistry•
gregishere

Immense toothache pain; dentist prescribed antibiotics over the phone and scheduled to see me in 10 days...

So, I’ve had really bad tooth pain the past couple of days. I have been unable to get more than an hour of sleep here and there. I called my dentist to try and see them today, and they prescribed me antibiotics over the phone and told me they can’t do anything until I finish the 10 days on them.

I am only 5 hours into taking them, but the pain is just crazy and does not seem to be subsiding. I am taking the max amount of OTC pain relievers, as well. What is happening now is that a seemingly endless painful pressure build-up begins and can only be relieved by a small sip of milk. It then calms down and builds up again about ten seconds later.

I am afraid to not take the sip of milk because everything else I’ve tried in that moment hasn’t stopped the pain, and the pain is literally unbearable.

Should I be looking for a different dentist or is this the best course that I could hope to get right now?

Posted Jun 22, 2020, 10:34 PM UTC

313
OnceUponADim3•

I believe if you have a tooth infection, the antibiotics should start to help with your pain within a few days. That said, if you really can't handle it then call up your dentist and see what they say. I'm completely there with you... been dealing with tooth pain for 4 months which has flared up and I'm waiting to see my endodontist on Friday.

3
gregishereOP•

Thanks. I’m afraid what will happen if the sipping on milk to relieve the pressure build up stops working. I don’t think I’ve even felt the ceiling of pain this can give me and it already is unbearable.

1
OnceUponADim3•

Yeah definitely sounds like you have an infection :( I hope the antibiotics do help. I'm some weird case because I have no sign of infection and my pain has sat somewhere around mild to moderate for literally 4 months so they kept telling me to wait a little longer. But it's been getting worse since the weekend and I'm struggling.

When it's all over, atleast be happy you're probably a straight forward case and once the root canal is done, you'll be feeling better lol

2
gregishereOP•

Oh jeez. Well good luck, 2020 surely can’t get worse than this.

1
MyDentistIsACat•

I would call the dentist again, tell them you need to be seen ASAP, and if they still say that can’t see you for ten days find another dentist who will see you sooner. And I say this as a dentist.

3
gregishereOP•

So there is still a benefit to seeing them despite not being 10 days on antibiotics first, they made it seem like there is nothing they can do? I hope so because I don’t think I can sip milk every few seconds for a whole week.

1
MyDentistIsACat•

Usually the antibiotics start to work where you can get numb within a couple of days, you need to take the full dose but they start to work sooner.

If you were my patient I would see you in order to asses the tooth for restorability. From there, I would refer you to either an endodontist for a root canal or an oral surgeon for an extraction. Either specialist will have additional methods of getting you comfortable enough to work on the tooth. If you were a patient of record and whichever specialist I was sending you to couldn’t see you ASAP, I would prescribe you some pain meds to help you out.

1
gregishereOP•

Thank you so much. I’m going to call my dentist when they open in the morning.

2
MyDentistIsACat•

I suspect you’re dealing with a front desk person who is either misinformed or lazy or something. Be polite but insistent that you would like to be seen sooner. Do not ask for pain meds over the phone because this is a huge red flag and you will be viewed as a possible drug seeker.

Are you taking Tylenol and ibuprofen? Because you should be taking those round the clock in the meantime, assuming they are both safe for you to take.

1
jmick101•

Do a google search for an endodontist in your area. They will take care of you.

2
_spectacled_•

What you're experiencing sounds like a case of symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (unprovoked, intense, lingering pain). It will only feel better the sooner you take out the inflamed nerve. It's a dental emergency in the sense that it is one of the most painful things a patient could go through, and the nerve needs to be removed. Is there an abscess associated with the tooth?

1
gregishereOP•

Well, you’ve just determined what I’ll be googling for the next 3 hours. Does the relief from milk make any sense with that?

1
_spectacled_•

Take a look at this website: https://www.aae.org/patients/dental-symptoms/tooth-pain/ and see which pain matches what you're experiencing. I don't know about the milk part, to be honest with you.

2
[deleted]•

Red Cross tooth ache.. kills my toothache every time.. it’s awesome

1