Any dentists in the house....?

[tim0409]

Hi there

I wondered if there are any dentists on the forum who could help with the following -

I'm experiencing pretty severe toothache at the moment; pre-covid I went to my dentist as a result of pain and was prescribed antibiotics for an abscess. The tooth in question has been heavily filled over the years and I'm pretty sure it's had root canal treatment although the dentist mentioned there was some root left and would require further treatment. The plan was to treat this tooth then use it for a cantilever bridge as there is a gap next to it. The follow up appointment was cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus.

I don't have any swelling but I am experiencing a lot of pain and the tooth is really sensitive. My dentist's emergency number isn't working and they aren't treating patients at the moment; I suspect that if I go to the emergency dental clinic/hospital they will extract the tooth (from what I've read), and whilst this would solve the immediate issue it will leave me with a large gap for which an implant will probably be required. Is there any chance it could another abscess (without swelling) rather than decay, in which case antibiotics might solve the problem (at least short term)?

Thanks

Tim

[jules_s]

My missus is exactly the same - so I'm interested in any responses

TA

[anonymous-user]

My wifes a dental surgeon (maxillofacial) and sometimes does emergency clinics for routine detail stuff like this.

They wont carry out an extraction if you rock up to an emergency clinic - they will give you antibiotics to kill of any infection and refer you to your dentist for x ray etc.

I know this from previous discussions with her but Ill check in the morning and report back as she's asleep net to me as I reply to this

[ROOCK RACER]

If the pain is severe and you are able to take these analgesics you can try 1g paracetamol four times a day and 400mg ibuprofen four times a day alternating between the two every 2 hours.

If your surgery is closed try calling some nhs practices around you (you don’t need to be registered to that practice.) They should be open for phone triaging and offer advise and possible antibiotic prescriptions which can be emailed to a local pharmacy. If this does not help the dentist can try referring you to one the the urgent care hubs that have been set up.

Hope this helps

[Rollin]

ROOCK RACER said:

If the pain is severe and you are able to take these analgesics you can try 1g paracetamol four times a day and 400mg ibuprofen four times a day alternating between the two every 2 hours.

If your surgery is closed try calling some nhs practices around you (you don’t need to be registered to that practice.) They should be open for phone triaging and offer advise and possible antibiotic prescriptions which can be emailed to a local pharmacy. If this does not help the dentist can try referring you to one the the urgent care hubs that have been set up.

Hope this helps

That

[tim0409]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies. I called 111/NHS 24 (Scotland) and they were really helpful - a dental nurse is calling back so hopefully I can organise a prescription.

[tim0409]

Update...I spoke to the triage at the dental hub (Edinburgh), which are handling emergencies and they didn't have any appointments left over the weekend but suggested I try my own dental practice again on Monday. I couldn't contact them via the emergency number but emailed and they responded this morning. I'm on another course of Amoxicillin (emailed to my local Boots pharmacy) and hopefully it will clear up and I can get root canal treatment as soon as the practice re-opens. Last night the pain was particularly bad, so I reached for the Tramadol which made life bearable....

[Driver101]

You can get this stuff from Tesco for £3.50.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/256...

It's surprisingly effective for short-term pain relief.