I am on drugs so this may not make sense.
Some of you will be happy to learn that the excruciating crazy-making death-wish-inducing pain I have been suffering today is not connected to my Major Undisclosed Illness. It is a new thing. At first I thought it was a migraine starting but as the hours ground by like shards of broken glass, I understood that Something Else was afoot.
Short story: I have a cracked molar with exposed nerve. Not a rotted tooth, no decay, just a gigantic old filling from my youth and a lifelong tendency to grind my teeth. And so somehow I cracked my molar yesterday and it is split and Something Must Be Done.
Choices:
- Extraction.
- Root canal with crown in some desperate freakish attempt to hold the tooth together for the future, like I give a fuck.
- Suicide.
I want extraction. It’s the backest back molar and I’ve always hated it anyway. Who’ll know? It would leave me with one molar on that side, but Dad reports he has managed fine on less since childhood.
Extraction will cost a little over $100. Root canal + crown will cost $2000. I don’t have the money. Besides, tooth will then just crack again anyway, I think.
Also, I want more drugs. This candy-ass Vicodin shit is not cutting it. Also, the antibiotic is supposed to be helping but isn’t. Why not? Should I pull the tooth out tonight with a pair of pliers? What should I do?
Advice would be appreciated. I want to say something to the dentist in the morning (or have my mother say it for me as I am rapidly approaching Nixonian chipmunk status) to make them give me pure heroin and general anesthesia and an immediate extraction. If this does not happen I am going to kill myself. I am not kidding with this.
Does anyone have any other ideas?
167 Responses to “I am on drugs so this may not make sense.”
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octogalore says:
If by “backest back” molar you mean the third molar or the wisdom tooth, you don’t need it. I’ve had three of mine out and many people have them extracted. If that is the case, the extraction is the easy answer.
If it’s any other tooth, then you ideally don’t want to lose it, I don’t think. If you did lose it and didn’t want to get an implant (which I’ve done, it’s incredibly painful and expensive), you could do a denture.
But I am hoping it’s what it sounds like — a wisdom tooth. Let us know!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:38 pm EST -
Violet Socks says:
No. I had my wisdom teeth out when I was 16. They were impacted.
I have 24 teeth. 12 top and bottom. I had four extractions when I was 10 years old prior to getting braces. That was to alleviate crowding. So on each side I have two molars, then the not-quite-a-molar tooth, then the canine. And then the four front teeth.
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nakedthoughts says:
My mom just had a cracked molar removed. they are telling her she either needs an implant or a denture. Though she has to wait 6 months for the extraction to heal before they can assess which will be “better” for her.
if a crown can be done, it might be cheaper in the long run, I’d talk to your dentist about what they think about needing the tooth. If you end up feeling the need to replace it, it could be VERY expensive.
and here is the ambivalence, so that I am actually not helpful. My mom went in for a root canal, they decided they could not save the tooth and ended up extracting it. So now they get to charge her twice. So if you think the tooth can’t be saved, don’t let them charge you for a root canal, then have them try to charge you another couple thousand for an “implant” or to then be fitted with a bridge for dentures. (which is apparently non too cheap because they have to do stuff to your other teeth so the dentures will stay on).
though the one thing I am not ambivalent about is that option 3 would be bad.
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Rachel Ann says:
I would rather crown than extract. When you lose a tooth you either need to put something in to keep the space or your teeth will move. Not good.
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Becki Jayne says:
I vote for extraction ASAP. I feel for you. Had periodontal surgery in 2000, the most excruciatingly painful event in my life! The pain pills don’t make a dent, and I have had mucho painful experiences such as a massive ovarian cyst that ruptured. That took my breath away — but tooth pain, exposed nerves is by far teh worst.
Do you have access to medical marijuana? Will help manage the pain more than the pills until you can get the molar pulled.
Wishing you a quick recovery, Violet.
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Jackie says:
Violet, I’ve had extractions, root canals, implants, abscessed teeth, and surgery that has cause a life long severe pain in my jaw. I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH.
First, if your mom can call, I would see (I don’t know where you live nor am I asking but it depends on your locations) if she would call the nearest ER and tell them your situation. They may know of a 24 hr dentist.
Second, if that is a no, I would suggest holding out for the night. And I say this (and I know its kinda bad advice) but take the recommended vicodin and have a glass of wine. That may help with the pain for a few hours as you get through the night.
I understand the temptation to pull it out yourself but that is not going to stop the pain. As a matter of fact, it may make it worse as you may not get the root out and infection (even though you’re on antibiotics) can spread FAST. As soon as 7 am comes about your mom should be on the phone with the dentist. KEEP CALLING TILL YOU GET HIM. Have him give you extra novacaine so you can sleep when you get home from the extraction.
Good luck! And so sorry.
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Toonces says:
I had a tiny crack in a tooth a few years ago and ended up having to get a root canal + crown. It’s basically a fake tooth shell they put over a tooth nub after they get rid of the infected nerve. It’s a lot like an implant, I think. It feels like a fake tooth but it’s harder to floss (just my experience). Mine’s on the backside of one of my canine teeth so I definitely needed it. The worst part about getting it done was the smell of the burning tooth/gum tissue and the little bits of teeth flying around and hitting me in the face. The pain wasn’t as bad as when I had my wisdom teeth out, which wasn’t as bad as the pain of the infected nerve from my cracked tooth.
I don’t know which way I’d vote. Teeth are good to have, heh, especially molars. But some people manage to do pretty well without having that many teeth. Then again, at some point we all lose our teeth, so we end up with dentures or implants or whatever (if we can afford it) anyway.
Would getting a dental implant later cost the same as a crown now? If yes (or similar) you could do the extraction and if it doesn’t work out so well, get an implant later.
I hope you feel better soon. An abscess is the worst pain I’ve experienced — woke me up from a dead sleep, didn’t know what the hell was going on.
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Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian says:
I hope you can save the tooth. It will help maintain a strong jaw bone. Bone loss follows tooth loss.
For the future, try using a night guard so you don’t break more teeth. Stress Guard is a good one and very cheap.
If you are grinding your teeth at night AND you wake up not feeling refreshed, you may have a sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea. A sleep specialist will know how to advise you. Sleep medicine is too new for your family doctor to have much of a clue — go for the sleep specialist.
Also, sugar and chocolate both have analgesic qualities. Which I’m sure I’ve read somewhere.
Good luck.
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Michele Braa-Heidner says:
I also had a cracked molar in the back (same as you) and I got a root canal and a crown. This is what you should look into doing. If you can keep your tooth do it. You need it to chew properly and for proper jaw alignment, trust me. Now about the pain. This is going to sound stupid, and I thought it was stupid too before I did it, but when I had my wisdom tooth out even after taking a bunch of Percoset it hurt really really bad until I finally took 4 Advil and put ice on my jaw, then the pain went away because both take down the swelling and it was the swelling that was causing the nerve pain. Then I got relief and the actual narcotic pain meds kicked in. Also, don’t eat yogurt when you take the narcotic pain meds as its properties may interfere with them. This should help until you can get your tooth fixed.
I hope you feel better pronto!!
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RalphB says:
I had major oral surgery and implants done under general anesthesia followed by vicodin for over a week. If you don’t let the pain get started, it can be controlled well with vicodin as I had little pain from any of it. My dentist told me that if the pain get’s started it’s much harder to control but it can be done. I wish you the best of luck and pain free times ahead!
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RalphB says:
Oops, almost forgot the vicodin was every 4 hrs with a 1000mg Motrin at the 2 hr point between vicodins to stop swelling.
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NullityPersonified says:
I’m not a professional, but I have read that it’s best to put something in the place of an extracted tooth. Teeth support one another. When one is missing, the other teeth shift around. The resultant bite problems can cause headaches or hasten the development of periodontal disease.
One option that hasn’t been suggested yet is treating the pain and attempting to schedule an appointment elsewhere, where the cost may be lower than at a private dental practice. If you have a dental school nearby, they may have a teaching practice, with lower fees. In a teaching practice, faculty members assist dental students in providing your care. The quality of the care is as good as the average dentist, but they take longer to complete the work since they are learning.
Here is a link to a dental school teaching practice: Harvard Dental Center – Teaching Student Practice
I realize that you may not have enough time to investigate this approach, but if cost is preventing you from obtaining the better treatment, trying this would certainly be better than choosing option number three.
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Penny says:
You name the dental problem, I’ve had it. Here’s my advice in chronological order.
You need to make it through the night, so do “whatever” to at least trick yourself into thinking that the pain may be a bit less than what it is. Deep breathing helps, and so does shaking your head hard to one side and the other, waiting to see which side gives you more “relief”. If that doesn’t work, then hang your head over the side of the bed. Walking in circles can work too. Even if it doesn’t, it helps to tire you out. Just keep trying “stuff”. Believe it or not, you will eventually fall asleep from exhaustion.
Tomorrow, get the tooth pulled and forget about all the other “wonderful” options. Cracked teeth are inherently weak. Don’t let them talk you into a root canal and crown for a back molar. It’s like throwing your money away. An implant would keep the rest of your teeth from shifting, but trust me, let ‘em shift until you feel up to another round of a whole heckuva lot of pain, and a bill you need to take a loan to pay.
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Patti says:
So how are you now? Please don’t do anything drastic. Until you get to the Dr, it seems to me you could try covering the exposed area of the tooth with something like wax or gum (sugar free). I’m not sure why you’d need a root canal if there is no decay. A crown will completely cover the cracked tooth, hold it together and eliminate the pain (in theory). I had the same situation with an old filling, except my dentist caught it before it cracked all the way so my only pain was from cold and hot liquids.
I suggest holding a fundraiser for a new crown. I’ll donate.
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Keri says:
Extraction as soon as possible, especially with the hellish pain. My mother had root canals and every single one failed and the tooth had to be pulled anyway, so she had to pay twice. I learned from that to just have them taken out- 4 so far- great teeth up to mid 30′s then mom’s side with the crappy teeth kicked in- all 4 that had to be removed were back teeth and no moving of front teeth so extraction doesn’t always mean front teeth move, my mom’s didn’t either… Facial muscles shape changed a bit, but not sure if that’s just middle age (43 now) or a bit with the open space left by teeth too. No big deal, and better to have the bad teeth gone from my mouth.
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Nadai says:
I’ve read that a little wine (like a glass) taken with pain pills makes them work a lot better but I’ve never tried it myself. Unfortunately, I think even antibiotics that ultimately work take several days to help.
I wouldn’t try to pull the tooth; getting a good grip on a back molar would be a bitch and you’d likely just end up crushing it, not yanking it out. I suspect that would be bad.
I’d probably go with an extraction myself just to get the thing out as quickly as possible, though I must admit I often go for short-term solutions with long-term downsides.
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lalala says:
Ouch. I’m one of those few lucky bastards who has never had a cavity because I was one of those weird kids who didn’t eat sweets and drink soda. I’ve also been anal about brushing my teeth 2-3 times each day since I was two, also weird because my mother is the total opposite and doesn’t take care of her teeth at all. I’m crossing my fingers that my teeth remain in good health for the rest of my life because I don’t have insurance or the money to fix any part of my body right now.
Please do not even try to take matters into your own hands regardless of how much pain you are in, that much I do know. Extraction sounds like your best option right now. Just take the sucker out and hopefully you won’t have to spend thousands of dollars to do anything else. Good luck and I hope this doesn’t cost you a ton of money.
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Larkspur says:
Good luck; I know what you’re going through. Among my less-than-hilarious dental exploits was a root canal from hell. The abscess was in a molar, and my dentist was determined to take care of it herself. She was a very good dentist, but she was young, and I think maybe a little arrogant. She ought to have referred me to an endodontist at the start. I went through several months of recurring episodes of excruciating pain, then more excavating to clean out the canals. Then the side of my face blew up like a tennis ball, and I ended up having surgery through the gum, after the infection went down.
In terms of naturally-occurring non-lethal pain, abscessed tooth pain is said to be right up there with childbirth and kidney stones.
Of course you should try and keep the tooth – it’s better for your jaw. But $2,000 is $2,000, and if you don’t have it and can’t get it right away, you may have no choice but extraction. I hope since posting this, you’ve gotten some relief from the pain.
I was prescribed Percocet, and it didn’t even get close to alleviating the pain. When I combined it with 800 mg of ibuprofen, it finally took the edge off. In the meantime, try applying ice packs and/or heat to your jaw. Sometimes all I could do was space out and lean into the pain. It was bright yellow, like a bright yellow lava ocean, with me as a tiny sailboat in blood red.
Well, I can’t imagine having helped you, but please know that I’m wishing you the best.
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LabRat says:
One of my molars split down the middle when I was still a teenager. Not that I didn’t brush, not that I ate all that much sugar (far less than other kids), I just have genetically weak teeth on both sides of the family. It’s crowned now, but if it splits again I don’t think I’d have it done again- I’d have an extraction and an implant.
If I couldn’t afford the implant? I’d have the extraction pereiod. Folks are right about jaw alignment and about jaw starting to erode where you lose teeth, but it’s a problem with a far longer fuse than what you’ve got now, and there’s just only so many times you can “fix” it, just like there’s only so many times you can glue together broken pottery.
They’re also right about the alcohol helping a little as long as you don’t overdo- but it helps to have a high resistance to alcohol and anesthetics in general. I always do this, but also since I was too young to even sniff alchohol, I’ve always shrugged off anesthetics and sedatives to the point where I’d be awake through stuff I really wasn’t supposed to be.
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Jeff says:
Hydrogen Peroxide and Temparin Max (temporary filling on clean nerve).
Aleve, 4, then 2 every 4hrs.
Iced Tequila. Hold in your mouth until warm, spit. You’ll get plenty to work with the drugs but take it real slow.
Between shots, Ambosol gel on gums. Don’t try to get any on the nerve; doesn’t seem to work.
Food, any food. You’ll be working your chemistry pretty fast and need a damper. Watch for shock – chills, sluggishness different from drugs/alcohol.
Crown if you can, techniques and polymers getting better every day. That cost seems high, though.
Woman Dentist. Big brains, little hands.
(I’ve got two right now, but the roots are already ‘canalled’ and dead. Crowns came off. I grind too)
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Lori says:
Take a swig of the strongest alcohol you can get your hands on and swish it over the tooth until the pain stops – and the pain will stop. Then swallow the liquor. Take another swig just good measure. As soon as the pain starts up, pop another swig in your mouth. Keep the bottle near by.
Oh, and remember, as few as 8 Tylenol can kill you. Be careful.
Get the tooth extracted unless it can be repaired simply. Then, go to Mexico in a few months where a top notch dentist that you couldn’t dream of affording here in the US will cost you a quarter of what it does here. Even with the air fare it will be dramatically cheaper.
Best of luck. I went through this a couple years ago when a tooth shattered and got infected. My blood pressure shot up to 195 over 140 and so the dentist was afraid to use anesthesia. The receptionist had to explain to him in very clear terms how hard it is to get an actual prescription in southern california when you don’t have insurance. he finally, trepiditiously, loaded me up and got the infection cleaned out in preparation for a root canal. He piled a hunk of dental cement over the cracked tooth and it’s been fine, but I am going to need to go to Mexico and deal with it soon enough.
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Lexia says:
I really hope the pain is better by now and that at least one of the other commenters suggestions worked. Nothing else comes close to having a tooth’s nerve exposed.
Please get a tooth guard as soon as you can. They’re much cheaper now than they used to be and will save your other teeth.
I think you should consider having a dentist extract the tooth. I’ve had two badly done crowns start becoming infected periodically very shortly after they were put in ten years ago. The dentists I’ve seen recently to get them fixed have all airily said “Oh, crowns just go bad over the years and need replacing” – at over $1000, each, out of pocket, -with- insurance!
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Sandra S. says:
Traditionally I find it really obnoxious when people give advice on the internet, so I try not to. But I did want to say that you should be Careful about combining Vicodin and booze. The last thing you need right now is to be vomiting all night.
For the pain, try anti-inflammatories, oil of clove/anbesol, and ice packs. If you become desperate, go to the ER and beg for better drugs. Try to find an emergency dentist if possible.
If there’s any supermarket or gourmet store around, you can try getting your hands on some nitrous oxide whipped cream chargers (make SURE they’re Nitrous Oxide and not Carbon Dioxide seltzer chargers). These require a whipped cream dispenser, though. You use them normally, but with no cream in the dispenser, and then suck on the dispenser tip while pulling the trigger. If you’ve got a foodie friend who might have this stuff, you might want to wake them up.
Also, let us know if you need a little financial help. Dental stuff gets stupidly expensive fast.
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Adrienne in CA says:
Clove oil is supposed to work wonders, or seemed to on Dustin Hoffman. Probably hard to get ahold of late at night, though.
I was popping ibuprofin 5 at a time for 3 months before finally insisting that my (former) dentist refer me to an endodontist. By then I’d spent my annual insurance max on his pseudo treatments, so I had to pay cash for the root canal. A slow learner, I had that same dentist install the crown, which my new dentist just had to replace only 4 years later because it was improperly sealed.
I absolutely second the advice on the night guard. My teeth would be stumps by now without it. A lot of people grind at night and have no idea. Could explain all the weak teeth described here.
And don’t suffer with a lousy dentist for 20 years like I did. When I finally switched, I was amazed at the modern, pain-free, friggen delightful experience I’d been missing.
*****A
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Adrienne in CA says:
Oh, and hope you feel better soon!
*****A
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Cyn says:
Pull the fucker. I’ve had 4 infected teeth in my life, starting at age 18. If you go with the root canal and crown, eventually you will lose that, too, as the stub they put the crown on no longer has a root and is dead.
The infection must be cleared up before the extraction. My various dentists would drill a small hole in the tooth to relieve the pressure, give me an antibiotic and pain killer and I felt human again in 24 hours.
My thoughts are with you. The pain of an infected truth is unbearable.
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Cyn says:
Oh, and I found some relief with a teabag gently placed on the tooth. Moisten it with warm water first.
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SweetSue says:
Tooth pain is the worst; there’s no getting away from it. I kissed the endontist’s hand after my first root canal.
If he doesn’t return your call immediately, just show up at his office. Dentists always have open periods for emergencies and you are an emergency.
My best wishes to you, Violet, this will be over soon. -
janicen says:
I’ve had more dental work than I care to admit. I can’t imagine why the antibiotics would help if there is currently no infection. It sounds like they were prescribed as a preventive measure which is fine, (although I thought they stopped doing that because of overuse of antibiotics) but it’s not going to have any impact on your pain. If vicodin doesn’t help, the dentist can prescribe something else, call your dentist and let him/her know that you are still in pain.
My experience has taught me to save the tooth at all costs. You will need it in the future. Maybe not the near future, but twenty years from now, you may wish you had it, especially if you grind your teeth. Having said that, if you can’t afford to keep it, you can’t afford it. There’s no way around that. Good luck, Violet. I’ve experienced the kind of constant pain you are having and I know that it will drive you insane and make you really, really cranky, even with those you love the most. When the pain stops, the relief will be wonderful.
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votermom says:
When you lose a tooth you either need to put something in to keep the space or your teeth will move.
Yes.
Nothing hurts worse than teeth!That said, if you grind your teeth anyway, maybe another option is to get the tooth pulled and ask the dentist to make you a custom nightguard (like a retainer) that you commit to wearing every. single.night. That will actually also prevent the other teeth from moving. Now I have no idea how much that will cost, but I have a feeling it may be cheaper than rootcanal + crown.
I know because that’s basically what I’m doing right now. I have a bunch of missing lower back teeth (no access to preventive dental services in the first 25 years of life) and I went to an orthodontist as an adult. They aligned the teeth but the jaw bones have thinned so implants are not an option. I’m delaying in deciding on dentures and bridges (which actually weaken teeth) and my ortho assures me that retainers will hold the teeth in the proper places indefinitely.
Good luck!
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Violet Socks says:
I’m alive. Amazingly, since there’s a loaded gun in the house. Right now I’m waiting for the dentist to call me back. I haven’t been able to talk to him yet.
I left the message that I don’t want the root canal. Would prefer extraction. But I want to talk to him. The pain has moved and is less localized in the tooth; now it feels like it’s in my jaw. In fact the hot spot is actually on the underside of my jaw. Is that an abscess? I’ve never had one.
janicen, there is infection, just not tooth decay. When they looked at the x-ray yesterday they saw that my tooth was not decayed. The infection comes from bacteria getting into the crack, which apparently can happen very fast.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for everyone here. I’ve read all your advice and tried to take everything. Last night I doubled up on the antibiotic and the vicodin, plus took xanax. Based on people’s advice here I also started with the nsaids. Took two naproxens. Then two Advils. How many of these things can I take I wonder?
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riverdaughter says:
1.) Go to dentist. Ask him whether your bite will be affected if tooth is pulled. Is it truly a satellite tooth or does it interact with another one one the top or bottom?
2.) If it’s truly an outlier, have the tooth pulled.
3.) If it’s not, get the root canal. Yep, it’ll cost you. Put up a paypal button. -
votermom says:
Took two naproxens. Then two Advils. How many of these things can I take I wonder?
I think naproxen & ibuprofen (advil) are almost the same so basically you have already taken a big dose. Also, try to make sure your stomach is not empty when taking either because of stomach/GI bleeding risk — if you can’t eat, maybe milk or yogurt.
from http://www.safemedication.com/.....llers.aspx
So, to answer my brother-in-law’s question… He could take his naproxen (Aleve) eight hours after taking ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or he could take ibuprofen 12 hours after taking naproxen. However, if he was not getting adequate pain relief from ibuprofen within the eight-hour period, he could take acetaminophen (Tylenol). I advised him to stay within the recommended dosage for both medicines.
Acetaminophen has a more immediately serious overdose sideffect — liver damage & death. No alcohol while (or before or after) taking it and don’t more than the max total dose/24 hours. But it can be taken on an empty stomach.
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Violet Socks says:
Yeah on the nsaids. The thing is, my body is used to two naproxens — that’s what I take for my joint condition, which is very painful. It’s not at all unusual for me to take two or four naproxen a day. So I thought that it wouldn’t kill me to take two ibuprofens in addition.
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Violet Socks says:
However, I suppose it could kill me. Ironic that I should fear death at the same time I’m contemplating blowing my brains out.
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votermom says:
I don’t even play a doctor on the internet, but if you are basically healthy I think the body is more forgiving of an occasional large dose of nsaids, specially if you try to protect your stomach lining while you do it. (But if you have heart disease or a bleeding disorder or something like that it’s different). I think 600-800 mg ibuprofen is equivalent to one prescription dose and my dr told me it’s ok for me to take that if my menstrual pain gets really bad, frex. So don’t worry about dying.
Tylenol/acetaminophen is the stuff with very little wiggle room. It’s perfectly safe until you get to the dose that kills you, you know? So I usually just turn to it for breakthrough pain or fever (only if needed).
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Ann Valentine says:
Yes you should get it extracted ASAP. The General Anasthesia is going to be the major expense in the operation, depending on where you get it done, but you dont’ want to mess around with mouth infections. You especially don’t want mouth bacteria getting into your general veins; that will make you suicidal by itself, or possibly causes heart disease. Anyway..if antibiotics aren’t working maybe you can get a hold of some real colloidal silver
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riverdaughter says:
Oh, as for the NSAIDs? I have found that NOTHING is better than aspirin if you can handle it. There’s a reason why humans have been chewing on willow bark for ages. Advil and Aleve are good. Tylenol might as well be a placebo AFAIK. It’s never relieved any pain for me but it can make you deathly ill if you take too much and too much is kind of like getting drunk. You don’t know when you’ve exceeded the dose until you realize you’ve exceeded the dose.
So, aspirin for sure. Just plain buffered generic stuff from the store. Relieves inflammation like magic.
Great stuff. Wonder drug. Probably wouldn’t get approved these days. -
janicen says:
Oh, I didn’t realize that there was some infection. Then the antibiotics are essential. Remember, when you go for the procedure, extraction or root canal, that local anesthetic, the shot of lidocaine (or even multiple shots), will not work if your tooth is infected. If there is too much inflammation, the numbing stuff cannot get to where it needs to be. I learned that lesson the hard way when I was sent to have a “hot” tooth extracted in the middle of an attempted root canal. I won’t go into the details, but I will never forget it as long as I live.
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Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian says:
Did you know that dentists and endodontists make FORTUNES off their refusal to learn the difference between the symptoms for dental pain and trigeminal neuralgia?
I learned that the hard way with my late life partner, Margaret, who had multiple sclerosis. It is very common for people with MS to have trigeminal neuralgia, which is caused by the pressure of a blood vessel on the trigeminal nerve, which comes from the cervical spinal cord (i.e., neck) and branches to the jaw, cheek and forehead on both sides of the face.
Trigeminal neuralgia is usually a flashing pain and it is severe enough to cause people to commit suicide. However, it can be controlled with Tegretol and Dilantin, which are now available as generics. If it can’t be controlled with these drugs, gamma knife surgery helps. However, we were able to cancel Margaret’s second gamma knife surgery after starting her on Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant.
Root canals and pain medications do not stop trigeminal neuralgia because they are not addressing the real problem.
When you can see that the pain is coming from a broken tooth, then the dentist and endodontist can help you. However, if you can’t see the problem with the tooth and it doesn’t show up on an X-ray, and you have a neurological disorder and are seeing a neurologist, that’s the doctor to consult about flashing pain in the face before you allow a dentist/endodontist to go forward with a root canal.
If you have had one or more root canals that do not resolve your problem of severe facial pain, you could have an undiagnosed neurological disorder, such as multiple sclerosis, and should see a neurologist. Your pain can be controlled without pain medications.
I’m going to post this at my place, possibly with more info.
Good luck.
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Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian says:
When I wrote above that “you could have an undiagnosed neurological disorder, such as multiple sclerosis,” I should have written instead that with those symptoms you could have both trigeminal neuralgia and multiple sclerosis.
What? Where’s everybody going? Violet, put down the gun!
(Play me off, Keyboard Cat!)
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Donald W. Paulus says:
Re suicide–my experience is that often the spirit doesn’t go any place but just remains where it is until some gifted person like a shaman helps it out of there. If you feel desperate, call 911 and get emergency help. Maybe, you should get rid of that gun for a while too.
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songster says:
Dearest Violet, my thoughts are with you.
My vote is for a crown if at all possible. I love my crowns!
Is there a dental school nearby? You may be able to get a half-price crown out of them. I’ve done that.
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jj says:
Longtime lurker here offering sympathy because came back from the dentist about four hours ago with an infection under a back molar that’s already been root-canaled and crowned.
Right now, the dentist is saying it doesn’t seem to be a root infection, but one in space between roots caused from bone loss. Has me on anti-biotics for it and this morning I also developed swelling under the jaw. He says that usually happens as anti-biotics go after the infection.
I only want to add that the root canal/crown were done at least five years ago, so if they have finally failed and the tooth will have to be pulled, that was still five more years than I’d have had if I’d had it pulled immediately.
I’ve had an upper tooth removed on the other side, and that space, so far left unfilled, hasn’t caused damage, yet.
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RedDragon62 says:
Pull the damn tooth!
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lambert strether says:
1. The “swirl the liquor around” works in the short term for some pain; I know, because that’s what I do. Whether it works in your case, I don’t know.
2. I don’t know how dire your situation is, but if it’s affordable, I’d definitely go for what you consider the best treatment, say, in Mexico, as others suggest.
3. I’d call extraction a last resort because it’s not reversible. If you require general anesthesia, it’s also probably going to cost more than $100.
Hang in there! And call a suicide line, if need be.
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octogalore says:
Violet — if it isn’t a wisdom tooth, then I don’t think you want to have less than 6 teeth on either side. As Cynthia says above, tooth loss means bone loss, which means bite issues and more expense and pain later on.
It sounds like they think the root canal will only be a temporary measure. If that’s the case, the 2K doesn’t seem worth it. You could do a denture to avoid bone loss until such point as you might be able to afford an implant (the technology and cost structure for those is changing). If the root canal could maintain the tooth long term, then I’d suggest putting it on a credit card and holding a fundraiser here for it.
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quixote says:
I’ve been offline with a concatenation of (unserious) diseases and (serious?) commitments, and I come back, and what do I see? This.
1) Violet: do not commit suicide. We need you. Got that? Good.
2) Teeth: Keep your teeth at any cost! The bone under a missing tooth decalcifies. The opposing tooth moves outward. (Dentists call that “erupting.”) Both of those make it difficult to get an implant later.
Most important, the teeth shift when one is missing. That means bite pressure does not hit the teeth normally any more. That means other teeth will crack.
I have a relative who did what you contemplate doing after he chipped a tooth on a bit of bone in some hamburger. He neglected it, developed the expected problems, had it pulled. A year or two later, another molar cracked. He had that pulled. Another year, and about three cracked at once. And so on. Now, ten years later, he has his incisors and a smattering of non-opposing molars. (The cracking teeth never conveniently crack in opposing pairs.) His jawbones are so decalcified he can’t get implants. If he could, it would cost him tens of thousands because there’s so much reconstructive work to be done. He’s also in constant pain.
Don’t do it.
If you’ve already had the extraction done, get an implant now before anything decalcifies or shifts.
(And here I thought I’d check my favorite blog and wish you Happy New Year! :( )
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Violet Socks says:
What it is puzzling to me is that they didn’t urge me to get the root canal + crown. It’s not like he said, “okay, we need to get you into the endodontist.” Instead he just asked me if I wanted an extraction or to have it repaired with root canal. He told me the difference in cost. But didn’t urge me.
So then I said (this was yesterday), well, I guess I’ll get the root canal and try to save the tooth. And he said yeah, that’s what I would do.
But as my mother points out, they’re always going to tell you that.I’d never been to this dentist before so I’m baffled.
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quixote says:
I see advice upthread re clove oil. It’s an excellent surface anesthetic, but it doesn’t sound like Violet’s neuralgia is a surface phenomenon, so I’m not sure how much it would help her.
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Sandra S. says:
Wow. That’s weird. Maybe you should just go straight to an endodontist.
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quixote says:
Erm, Violet, that doesn’t sound like what I would call a good dentist. Don’t get me wrong, his work may be fine, but his patient skills are on the deficient side! The reason he’s saying that’s what he would do is because it really is the least total cost solution. Maybe, more charitably, the reason he doesn’t push it is because he doesn’t want to sound like a gold digger.
And speaking of gold: opt for a gold crown. I have two crowns, one ceramic, one gold. The gold is so much better it’s amazing. I can blather on about why it feels that way, if you’re interested.
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Violet Socks says:
I don’t want to have the root canal. They’re painful, expensive, and I think the tooth would just crack again.
I now have two appointments for in the morning: one for a root canal with an endodontist (this appointment was made for me yesterday), and one with an oral surgeon for an extraction.
The endodontist only uses local anesthetic. Not even nitrous oxide.
The oral surgeon uses local as well, but will give me nitrous oxide. If I want general anesthesia I have to reschedule for next week if I’m lucky — or the week after — and I can’t hold out that long.
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Sandra S. says:
I’m confused. Are you getting the root canal or the extraction? Or do you not know yet? I wish you were in Seattle, I could recommend an AWESOME oral surgeon.
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quixote says:
Local anesthetic will, for sure, keep you from feeling any tooth nerve pain. You’ll have the tedium of keeping your jaw open till it aches and the dry mouth from the stupid saliva sucker thing, but, really, local stops any messages from the nerve.
About the tooth cracking again: unlikely these days. Dental materials have improved hugely since the old days. That’s also a big argument for gold. Instead of the crown cracking under stress, as ceramic does, gold deforms by a few microns. And yet it’s plenty strong enough to crack brazil nuts on. (Just kidding. Plenty strong enough for ordinary chewing and tooth grinding. By the way, the night guard idea is a Very Good One.)
The main thing you want to really watch out for, if there’s an infection under the tooth, is to make sure that gets well and truly healed. The best dentistry in the world can’t do squat if that festers underneath it.
Hang in there, Violet!
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quixote says:
(By the way, if you’re following the suggestion to use ice for the pain (which can work very well), be super careful before drinking anything hot. If your teeth tend to crack, that temperature change alone could do it. Let your mouth warm up, and drink the coffee lukewarm!)
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Violet Socks says:
Are you getting the root canal or the extraction? Or do you not know yet?
I guess my options are open, since I have both appointments. I need to call and cancel one of them. I think I’ll call the root canal guy and cancel.
I feel safer with the oral surgeon.
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Violet Socks says:
Here’s my thinking right now. And thinking is hard, let me tell you.
There is infection. It’s now feeling very strong in my lower jaw — in fact there is more pain now in the jaw than in the tooth. So I’m reading all these stories about people having root canals on top of an infection, etc., and it just doesn’t seem to make sense. The ideal, I suppose, would be to somehow get rid of the infection first, but I don’t see that working. The tooth is cracked, the nerve is exposed, I’m in agony, bacteria is going to keep going there, etc.
Getting a root canal tomorrow morning without even laughing gas just seems to me both nightmarish and foolish. And very expensive.
At least an extraction would simply get rid of the goddamn tooth and the nerve. Everything can heal up. It’s also cheaper. And the oral surgeon seems nicer. And he gives nitrous oxide. And I’ve had 8 tooth extractions in my life (childhood molars and wisdom teeth), so that is less terrifying to me than a root canal, which I’ve never had. And it’s cheaper. I think I already said that. And I hate this tooth anyway since I’m always grinding it.
The oral surgeon is going to talk to me tomorrow morning beforehand, and he has good reviews online from people who say he’s very caring, thorough, and gentle. I feel like I can trust him to assess the situation better.
Root canal guy is just scary. No fucking laughing gas?
And by the way, I’m not going back to this dentist who did the initial consult and referral. He’s my Dad’s dentist, but I find him too uncommunicative. I mean, shit, I need some guidance here.
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votermom says:
What’s the rough estimate for extraction then implant?
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votermom says:
Never mind .. I did some googling and apparently even a simple implant costs an arm & a leg.
Ask the oral surgeon what’s the cheapest way to keep the other teeth from moving after extraction. He may know of a good dentist or orthodontist who can make a night guard or appliance or as someone upthread suggested maybe a dental school. -
Patti says:
How Painful Is a Root Canal?
Root canal procedures have the reputation of being painful. Actually, most people report that the procedure itself is no more painful than having a filling placed.This is from WebMD and also what my dentist told me once, although I’ve never had one.
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janicen says:
Since general anesthetic is not an option, I would go for the nitrous, local, and the extraction. If the tooth is still infected, it will not get numb enough and you’ll be in agony during the root canal. I tried it, and the dentist was not able to finish the root canal so he sent me for an extraction anyway. As long as the oral surgeon starts with nitrous, you’ll be okay during the extraction. Sorry you have to lose the tooth, but it’s probably the right thing to do if the infection is getting worse.
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Sheryl Robinson says:
Kirt had a root canal recently on an abscessed tooth, and it took another month for the infection to clear up. He was taking all kinds of pain killers and antibiotics, and it didn’t get better until he read about raw cashew nuts healing up tooth abscesses, and started eating those by the pound. Try google on that one. It worked.
The jaw pain is the infection and/or referred pain from the nerve.
I’d miss you terribly if you killed yourself.
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cwaltz says:
I would go with extraction. I’m a big baby though so that should be factored into the equation. I’m not going to risk a trip back to the dentist later on or an infection potentially spreading. The antibiotic should be helping. How many doses have you taken? (I had a very similar situation and once I started penicillin I swear I was ready to kiss the dentist who wrote me the scrip the next day. It relieved ALOT of the pain).
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octogalore says:
Further thoughts on implants.
Background — I had two crappy root canals done when I didn’t have dental insurance, by a friend who was a dental student (evidently with much to learn). Eventually the two teeth fell out, and then I got crappy dental implants from a hack dentist that came out, ultimately there was bone loss and not enough bone to do a traditional implant. I had to undergo a complicated and expensive procedure in which a screw was implanted that stretched and extended the bone. It was successful in growing new bone so that an implant could be put in. But it’s not a situation you want to get into.
While a denture may prevent bone loss short term, I am not sure if it does so over the long haul. With only one implant needed, and enough bone, maybe it won’t be more expensive than the root canal and crown. (It’s important to get it done right, of course, not like my first attempt).
Good luck!
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cwaltz says:
Oh and on the grinding thing…..go to the sporting goods section at your local Wally World. They have make it yourself mouthgards that you drop into boiling water. One of the dentists I saw recommended it to me to prevent grinding(he said he could make me a $200 gard but these would work just as well and would be alot cheaper).
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Violet Socks says:
Sheryl, did he chew the cashew nuts? Wasn’t that painful in itself?
Eight doses so far on the antibiotic. Clindamycin 300 mg. Got the scrip last night at 5:30pm. It’s supposed to be “3 per day,” but I took 5 last night and I guess 3 so far today. I’m kind of losing track of all these pills. I’m taking all kinds of medicine.
The best thing so far is actually Naproxen at prescription strength (500 mg) or two OTC naproxens with two advils. Those doses are the only things that actually relieve the pain. I think Michelle is right about the swelling being the big problem, because the NSAIDs give the most pain relief.
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Nessum says:
For what its worth, I would go for, actually have gone for – and with great succes! – the root canal/crown option.
Of course the extraction might provide you with the Marlene Dietrich (or was it Greta Garbo who had her wisdom teeth pulled to achieve that?) effect: Hollow cheeks!
As for the pain: Snaps/aquavit poured directly on the tooth. But probably not a good idea on top of all the drugs? Or maybe on the contrary…?
All the best!
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cwaltz says:
My experience with an antibiotic for my tooth was within 2 doses my pain had disappated. They used good old fashioned pennicillin though, not cleocin.
After extraction for swelling it was suggested that a teabag be placed on the area to help relieve swelling (the tannic acid seems to naturally bring down swelling. If you have a teabag maybe putting that on the area could help.
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riverdaughter says:
??? Root canals are painful and expensive?? They’re only painful in the wallet. By the time you have the procedure done. most of the pain, all of it associated with the toothache, is gone.
It’s a bit uncomfortable to have a dental dam in your mouth for what seems like hours but take an ipod with you and stock up on podcasts. It’s not that bad.
Who told you a root canal is painful? They shoot your mouth so full of novacaine you won’t feel a thing. -
riverdaughter says:
I bleed like crazy after extractions so I prefer root canals. It always looks like some hit man worked my face over with a tire iron. The dentist called my house after my wisdom teeth were removed all worried that I was going to hemorrhage to death. Lawsuits and all.
Sucks being a red head. -
Sheryl Robinson says:
He only started them after the root canal had pretty much healed up, but he was still having lots of jaw pain. I’d try them when you’re able, if the antibiotics don’t work fast enough.
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riverdaughter says:
Everything that quixote said about root canals. But IIRC, the dentist cleaned out all of that muck. Root canals take several visits. There’s the preliminary stuff, like cleaning out the infection, and the root canal itself, which is tedious and boring but not painful. Then there’s the crown thingy. First you get a temporary, then the crown. Time consuming, yes. Costly, yes. Other than that, not a problem.
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Anglofille says:
Violet, I haven’t had time to read all these comments, but I had an extraction several years ago. I had a cracked root, so had no choice. I could not afford an implant at the time, so went without one for three years. Not ideal and I did suffer some bone loss, but eventually I got the implant and everything is fine.
Implants are super expensive and time consuming, which is the big downside. I am based in London, but went to Budapest – the dental capital of Europe – for the implant because I could not afford an implant in the UK.
The extraction procedure is a relatively quick process, though of course it is technically surgery. Unless you are terrified of dentists, I don’t think you need general anesthesia. However, there is a lot of tugging involved, so brace yourself for that.
Good luck with everything. I’m glad you are on top of this because tooth infections are serious business.
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Adrienne in CA says:
Re crowns and multiple visits, my new dentist has CAD/CAM equipment that takes an image of the existing tooth surface, converts that into a 3-D model that he can edit on the computer screen as needed, then passes the coordinates to a nifty 4-axis grinder that shapes the crown out of a ceramic blank in 6 minutes flat. Coolest thing I ever saw.
Violet, I was totally OK with only shots for my root canal. A good endodontist can verify pain is suppressed before digging in. Plus, I’d fear being knocked out more than pain.
*****A
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Toonces says:
I can’t remember my whole root canal experience with a lot of detail. I remember the extreme pain of the abscess, I remember them getting me into the dentist very quickly, I remember being worried about a root canal but I ended up going with it because my mom (who has had extensive dental work) told me to, and I remember the procedures as one jumble but I did have to go in numerous times. It wasn’t pleasant but I wasn’t in pain. I don’t like nitrous so I didn’t use any and I still just felt discomfort. I listened music. I wore comfy pajamas. My mom was there with me. I shook some because my body was in shock. And as I said above, the worst part for me was the smell. It’s definitely not pleasant but I was not in pain. I’m a little stoic about these things though so it could be that it’s pure hell for others.
I’ve had my crown for years (I think 5) and have not had problems with it. I suppose it could be infected now and I wouldn’t know until it spread to another nerve. My only complaint is that I always know it’s there. It’s this fake, foreign thing in my mouth but I’m weirdly sensitive about things like that.
What’s the worst-case scenario if you do get the root canal? (Extremely shitty day at the dentist?) What’s the worst-case scenario if you don’t? (Soft/liquid foods early? Expensive dentures early?) That’s usually how I make my decisions. I know you’re wacked out on pain and meds right now though so maybe that’s not the best approach.
I was just looking at Mexican vacation packages — they’re pretty cheap currently.
I really hope you feel better ASAP.
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Larkspur says:
People are making an important point: the painful thing is the abscess or infection that makes the root canal necessary. The root canal procedure itself shouldn’t be at all excruciating; it should be a big fucking relief.
I’m in late middle age, and like many lower middle class people of my era, I had infrequent and inelegant early dental work. I had to get some major work done when I was in my mid-20s. Dental insurance hardly ever covers much of what is needed. You can blow through your coverage in one visit.
When I finally found a dentist I trusted, I committed to cleaning three times a year, and worked out a treatment schedule with him, spacing out procedures so I could afford to pay. Several times he let me pay in installments.
I have a lot of non-original parts in my mouth, but the long hard work (plus careful flossing and stuff) has paid off in the last 15 years. The only procedures I’ve needed have been very occasional fixes for old fillings that were crumbling. Oh, and about $400 for a bite guard because I grind like a demon. (If I have to drive for any significant distance, I’ll slap the bite guard into my mouth. It makes a big difference.)
I hope things are working out well for you, Violet.
To anyone for whom this is even a remote option: spend what you can on dental maintenance. Switch dentists, or at least interview new dentists if you are at all uneasy with your current one. Put in the flossing time. It’ll pay off in the long run. Big time dental problems are so expensive, and the implications for your general health are huge. And the social stigma alone from having visibly poor or compromised dentition is heart-breaking.
I didn’t have access to regular fluoridation or braces as a youngster. Braces were for rich kids. So it’s been catch-up for me, and while my mouth is healthy and I haven’t had a new cavity in 20-some years, my teeth aren’t shiny white and pretty. I still feel damn lucky, though.
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janicen says:
Root canals are not at all painful unless the tooth is infected and local anesthetic is being used. Sometimes, the infection causes inflammation which prevents the local anesthetic from getting to where it needs to be, and they give you shot after shot after shot to no avail. It’s happened to me. More than once. With different dentists. It’s never been fun.
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Adrienne in CA says:
Also, the antibiotic is supposed to be helping but isn’t. Why not?
Violet, how do you know the tooth is infected? Pain in the jaw doesn’t prove that, because the jaw is where referred pain from molars always goes, infection or not. The pain may simply be from the nerve exposure and swelling, which is why the antibiotics haven’t made a difference.
I hear what Janicen is cautioning, but it seems some questions to the endodontist might ease your mind on that point. S/he should be able to identify an infected tooth for which shots are unlikely to take.
It would be nice if your appt with the endo was timed to allow a consult there first, and if you’re really not a candidate and weren’t willing to wait longer, you could still make the extraction appt.
*****A
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editor_u says:
O.K. I’ve come to this thread late, so (please forgive me) I may be covering ground that others have been over before me (as of this moment, the comment-numerator says you’ve got 77 responses already (probably another 77 by the time I write this — I am not a speedy correspondent); if I read them all, in order to make sure I’m not being redundant, I won’t write a damned thing).
I suggest that you get the tooth out now, because it’s cracked. Otherwise I would try to save it. Both my wife and I, seeing separate dentists, had teeth repaired that were cracked, but (in my case) we didn’t know it and had the root canal and crown, or the tooth was cracked (in her case) and they DID know it, yet they tried to salvage the tooth with Root Canal Therapy and a crown anyway.
Both of us had the teeth removed AFTER all of that expensive restoration work had been done.
A cracked tooth, apparently, cannot properly be repaired any more than you can petition the Lord with prayer.
Want the particulars? If you’ve the e-mail address I had to provide, send a note. I may not be checking back to the thread in a timely fashion, if you respond here.
Don’t waste your money and comfort with the root canal.
And certainly don’t kill yourself, no matter how painless suicide may or may not be, because I just recently discovered you (by way of Lambert, no doubt) and can’t bear to lose a new friend.
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Adrienne in CA says:
You’ve probably already researched this, but here’s a site that clarifies which types of tooth cracks are likely to be fixable. If your tooth is split in two, it most likely can’t be saved.
http://www.aae.org/patients/pa.....acksum.htm
*****A
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madamab says:
I have no idea about what you should do for your teeth, but I just wanted to send you a virtual hug.
A careful virtual hug that doesn’t cause you any more pain.
Hang in there, lady!
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Peg says:
Me, too. (((hug)))
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Violet Socks says:
Violet, how do you know the tooth is infected?
The first dentist said so.
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Artemis March says:
As Sheryl says, dont kill yourself, we need you!
Please dont mix too many drugs, and DO keep track of what you take and when, or have your mom track them.
Get rid of the infection asap.
I’m amazed and impressed with the experience and collective wisdom here about teeth.
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Been There says:
Paid about $1800 for a root canal and crown on the left rear bottom molar about 12 years ago. Had pain for years. Finally moved to a country where doctors and dentists don’t cry if they don’t have the fanciest car made.
My tooth was not cracked when the asshole went in.
Dentist took one look at the xray and said dental surgery now. They cut out the tooth and had to spend a couple of hours digging the rot out of my jaw. Pain is nothing compared to having some oral surgeon lift out a half of a spoonful of black goo out of your jaw at a time.Pull it and get it checked that it is out completely. Everything must come out.
My jaw was rebuilt with a German compostion that I am not allergic to. Ironically, the dentist who saw it, the surgeons who operated, the cost of the flights to the surgeon and to the capital to have the various compounds tested on me for allergic reactions and the final successful killing of the rot cost me less than the quack.
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Jeff says:
I hope I’m not repeating anyone. Imo, definitely crown if you can. There are some really good results out there.
The new dentist assigned to me at the group I go to told me she was going to do a triple root-canal on me, and that she was only going to use Novocaine. Yeah. Sure. 20 minutes out of dental school, and confidence to spare. “Trust me! You’ll be just fine!” I was 2.5X her size; I was worried about flinching and her going out the window!
Two hours later, 3 roots gone, pinned, filled, permanent mold made and adjusted, temporary crown in. Two days later, ceramic permanent set. “See sweetie, I said you’d be just fine!” (You’ll have to fill in the Baton Rouge accent)
That was the first of four that she’s done for me. All were cracked, usually a whole side split off. The fifth had to be pulled. (Lots of blood for me, too.) I’m saving up for the two currently broken – bottles stashed everywhere. “Hi, I’m Jeff..and I’m an Ambusolic”.
Previously, I’ve had some dentists that I’ll point my truck at if I catch them in the street. I trusted ‘just one last time’ and I’ve got four rock-solid molars, three to tens years respectively. I grind like mad, but it seems to have no effect on these crowns.
The majority of the money is in the final steps, especially if you use gold. (mine are porcelain on non-precious) Can you get the root killed, filled and a temporary crown until you get the infection under control and can broaden your local references, for quality and price? (Referred patients sometimes get a little slack cut on setting up payment plans).
I can’t afford dental insurance – it all goes to the other. I pay cash, but a $13/month discount plan for two people cuts that in half. $981 becomes $488 for the crown. These plans have gotten a lot better in the last few years. (Are you listening Congress? Didn’t think so.) You’ve probably checked costs like this. Retail costs here match up pretty close.
Rest well, eat well, get well.
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Violet Socks says:
The problem is that I’m in desperate pain and my options are limited. The dentist I went to sucks. He’s young and has a nice shiny group practice and my Dad likes him, but he was the most uncommunicative dentist I’ve ever had. All the stuff that people are telling me here, including about the importance of replacing lost tooth/bone resorbion/implants, etc.? He said none of that. He told me nothing.
This was our conversation:
Him: So..?
Me: Pain. Please stop it. Pain started, thought it was migraine starting because I grind my teeth. But quickly realized not — pain horrific, tooth untouchably hot, filling feels loose…
Him: Let me look. (He looks in my mouth. Doesn’t explore. Looks at x-ray, which the assistant already told me shows no decay, some infection, and that the tooth is probably cracked.)
Him: I think it’s cracked around the filling. That’s a huge filling, right in the middle. I think it’s cracked around it.
Me: Huh.
Him: So you can have a root canal with a crown, which would fill up the roots and the crack and then cap it. Or you can have it pulled. What do you want to do?
Me: ? I don’t know.
Him: Well, the root canal and crown will run you about $2000.
Me: Okay.
Him: We’d send you to the endodontist for the root canal, then you’d come back to me for a crown.
Me: And…what about the extraction?
Him: Oh, that would only be, like, $125.
Me: Oh!
Him: Yeah.
Me: (I look at him, expecting something more.)
Him: So, what do you want to do?
Me: Um, gosh, I don’t know. (Long silence.) Um, why does it hurt?
Him: ‘Cause it’s cracked, and bacteria gets into the root.
Me: Okay, well, I guess save the tooth if possible? Is that right?
Him: Sure. That’s probably what I’d do.
Me: Okay.
Him: Alright, I’ll give you some pain meds and antibiotics. And you’re sure, root canal? Not extraction?
Me: I guess.And that was it. I’ve never talked to him since, he hasn’t returned my calls (though his desk assistant is nice).
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Violet Socks says:
So after thinking about it, and realizing I don’t have $2000, and reading horror stories about root canals, especially root canals on infected cracked teeth that then eventually have to be extracted anyway, I decided I would have the extraction instead.
I called his office and he didn’t call me back. I called his emergency line and he didn’t call me back. I finally talked to his desk assistant, who booked me with an oral surgeon for in the morning.
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Vera says:
Good luck, Violet. I hope you feel better soon.
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Adrienne in CA says:
Hurray! Good for you making a decision out of this blizzard of advice. You’ll be pain free soon.
Damn this country with its careless, backward attitude towards health care, and particularly dental care! They force us to worry ourselves sick in a wretched, stressful life they won’t let us change, grinding our teeth into shards, then charge us a fortune for half-assed patch work, never mind prevention. DAMN THEM!
*****A
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SweetSue says:
Hang in there, Violet, it won’t be long now.
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Donald W. Paulus says:
Violet, sure hope your pain is subsiding and that you are on the mend. My dentist is very communicative, always seems to have the latest equipment in his office and, for a few years, was the president of the county dentists’ association. My family has always been most satisfied with him, so once well, ask around and find yourself a competent one. Word of mouth (pardon the pun) is about all we have to go on in cutting through the chaff to reach a dentist of quality.
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Peg says:
Here’s what I think happened. There is a God, and he’s male. All the little goddesses designed the human body with its incredible, complex systems, brain, heart, kidneys, muscles – and He said, Oh, let Me do something so I can take all the credit. And he created teeth, which can muck up everything else. And also crappy dental plans.
‘Bet there’s no dental coverage in the health deform bill. Sigh.
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monchichipox says:
Extraction. Most people who would recommend having a root canal probably haven’t had one. I had two on the same tooth and it still had to be extracted. Mine was the second from the last, upper right. Even when I smile wide you can’t notice it. A root canal is a long involved process. Mine was several visits lasting hours. They are just horrible. It involved several long, thing needles. I just can’t properly describe the horror.
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votermom says:
Good luck, Violet!
I don’t know if it’s coincidence, but most of the dentist & doctors on my list are solo practicioners, and all of them love to explain and re-explain and always get back to you. I had one dud of a dentist who would advertise heavily (even on local tv) but was impossible to reach — never called back. Never went back to that one. So I think you made the right choice in ditching the first dentiat.
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monchichipox says:
I mean thin needles but somehow thing needles does sound better.
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Ann Valentine says:
I concur. I think the best thing to do is have it removed, extracted. There is no point in trying to save the tooth, except aesthetically, and it’s a molar. That way they can clean out the infection instead of leaving a breeding ground.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
Ha, Monchichipox – that reminds me of a Gary Larson cartoon where the object of the interrogator to make a person talk was called Mr. Thingie.
Yes, those thing needles are something – I have a piece of one left as a residual of a root canal. It shows up on the XRays, but I don’t set off any alarms. Not in that manner, anyway.
Violet, I hope you’re feeling better after the extraction. Please keep us posted and take care of yourself!
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janicen says:
Shopping for a dentist reminds me a lot of shopping for an auto mechanic. You have no idea that she/he sucks until they screw something up and you go to another dentist or mechanic who tells you how incompetent your last one was.
Good luck, Violet. The pain will be gone soon.
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teresainpa says:
ugh, so here I am to tell you a bad story.
MY nephew by marriage who I suppose was not my nephew anymore…but still, I knew him since he was a little boy…
He had an abscessed tooth and no dental insurance. The infection spread to his ears and sinuses. He started treating the infection with over the counter meds, antihistamines and sinus relief meds. One day last week he called his grandmother to tell her how sick he felt. The next day they found him unresponsive, rushed him to the hospital where he was in intensive care on life support and he died. the infection had crossed the blood brain barrier. They declared him brain dead and pulled the plug after several days of praying and grief.He was 27. You raise a kid and he dies of a fucking bad tooth because he has no money and no insurance. Unbelievable and so damn sad.
Whatever you do, DO IT NOW.
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teresainpa says:
this happened last week and the funeral was Wednesday. I couldn’t get there.
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votermom says:
((((teresa))))
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janicen says:
I’m so sorry that happened, teresa. My heart goes out to you and your family.
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Donald W. Paulus says:
Deepest condolences.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
Teresa, that is so tragic and my deepest sympathies to you and your family.
The health care situation in this country is shameful, to say the least. Profits for the insurance companies, our “representative” get unbelievably good health care compliments of we the people – it’s criminal. It’s as bad as Dickens’ stories of 19th century – even Scrooge redeemed himself. I don’t hold any hope for the corporations nor our representatives.
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Larkspur says:
Teresa, I am so sorry.
Violet: after the extraction (when you are feeling better) ask your oral surgeon (assuming you’re satisfied with how you’ve been treated) to recommend a new dentist. Have your requirements ready: nitrous available, good communication skills, thoroughly up-to-date education, no reports of being a flaming (or even a smoldering) asshole. (Also, maybe google any prospects, or check on line for disciplinary actions.)
Then go to see that dentist for follow-up. Schedule a cleaning, get the X-rays if they are really necessary, and get an idea of what the dentist thinks your treatment priorities should be. Oh, and tell the dentist up front that this is the stuff you want to know, and ask how much it will cost to find this shit out, on account of you don’t like dental surprises. Cheerfully convey that you are (figuratively) on your last nerve, and have no time for anyone who treats you as anything less than a fully competent adult, one who still has teeth, and can therefore bite any hand that treats her bad.
Better times are coming.
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teresainpa says:
thank you everyone for the condolences. This happened right after Rush declared there was nothing wrong with health care system because he got such good treatment. I would sincerely like a chance to spit in his face.
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Violet Socks says:
I’m so sorry, teresa. My heart goes out to you.
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Violet Socks says:
I’m back from the oral surgery. You guys wanna hear what happened? I’m in the twilight period right now, pain-free because the novacaine still hasn’t worn off. I imagine when it does there will be agony. But at least the tooth is gone.
So, the great thing is I made the right decision! Oral surgeon said no way this tooth could have survived a root canal. It was cracked down the middle, all the way down. I told my mother that my intuition had been telling me that ever since I saw the first dentist. I agreed to the root canal, but on the way home started thinking that it was a mistake. Even before I got online and started reading about cracked teeth and root canals, I just had the feeling that my tooth was so cracked that it wouldn’t work. Well, intuition or not — I was right.
The oral surgeon was great. Informative, clear, business-like but warm, too, and very caring. He looked at the tooth and said immediately it was cracked in the middle. I asked him the questions that the original dentist didn’t address: should I instead get a root canal? No, he said. It wouldn’t work. It would fail, he said. This is a deep crack. “I see this all the time,” he said. “People start root canals and then they have to be sent to me to have the tooth out anyway.” So, was extraction the right decision I asked, just to be sure. Absolutely, he said.
I asked about the stuff you all have talked about – which the original dentist never mentioned: implants, bite problems, teeth moving, bone resorption, etc. The oral surgeon said he didn’t expect any problems with this tooth. If it were the first molar, yes, or one of the other teeth, yes. But this tooth, in this position, he doesn’t expect any problems. No need for an implant, etc. The only thing that might happen is that its mate up top might over-erupt (grow out too long), in which case it should be removed too. But he said that might not happen. If it does my regular dentist should see it.
I told you guys this was a way back tooth!
Let me post this then I will tell you about the horrible surgery.
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Toonces says:
Oh that’s awful, teresa. I’m so sorry.
Violet, I hope you’re feeling a little relief now that you’ve made your decision. It’s going to get better soon, so hang in there.
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FembotsForObama says:
Violet — YOU POOR THING! “Winter is the absolute worst time for this, since just breathing pulls in cold air which irritates the tooth (makes you want to jump sky high while cursing like a truck driver, that is).
I’d have it extracted since it’s your back tooth. Root canals do cost a lot, is a time consuming procedure, but they are worth it. I’ve had 2. A few years back during the winter, had the same thing as you but was 2nd to last tooth next to baby tooth, so both were pulled simultaneously.
For pain, ibuprofen (decrease inflammation), Anbesol (rub that stuff everywhere), and shots of whiskey. I did this and it worked, plus ice-ice baby (if you can stand it)! Heat tends to make inflammation worse.
As for illness, if chronic and involves pain/fatigue, or GI stuff, I have a lot of experience dealing with that. But no experience with cancer.
Gosh, take care of yourself!!!! WArm hugs ;)
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Toonces says:
Oops, I posted without refreshing. I’m glad it’s over, and you’re pain-free for the moment! It’s always easier when the person working on you isn’t an asshole.
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Violet Socks says:
So they gave me nitrous oxide, and here’s the funny thing: it didn’t have much effect. When I was a kid that stuff was like being on LSD. I even hallucinated. But today, I almost got nothing from it. It was mildly relaxing, but I was fully awake and aware and cogent throughout.
Fortunately the surgeon did a great job of numbing me up, in stages. The first injection is always the hardest, but he did a great job and I barely felt it. Later he gave me three more, only one of which I felt. But he got everything well and truly numb.
Thank god because pulling this tooth was like a war. Maybe because it was broken, maybe because of the curved roots. I guess it only took about 5 minutes, but man, I actually had my knees drawn up and was digging my heels into the chair while they pulled. What really hurt like hell was my jaw joint, which is troublesome. I had jaw surgery on that joint 10 years ago because it dislocated (part of my bizarro joint condition), and it’s always sensitive. And of course that’s also right where the tooth was. So that was hurting the most — the pressure on that joint as he pulled.
Also interesting: the extremely loud cracking sound when the tooth came out — I guess the crown parts. Right after that he said to his assistant, “Well, I guess we know where the crack was!” I meant to ask him about the sound but forgot. But when he showed me the tooth remains (which I brought home with me), he said that the crown parts broke off, and so I’m pretty sure that was the cracking sound. Then he had to pull out the roots, and he had to call his assistant to bring in root picks. “Root picks to 2!” Very exciting.
When it was over I told him I felt like I’d been in a war. He said “so do I!” We shook hands. I told him I’m concerned about a dry socket (I got that when my wisdom teeth were out) and also concerned about the trauma to my jaw joint. So, he gave me Vicodin and advice to deal with both.
I’m worried I don’t have the gauze in here right, and that’s the key thing to make the blood clot form so I won’t get a dry socket. I think my next plug-in for the blog will have to be a kind of virtual interactive web cam so you guys can actually look inside my mouth.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
Glad to hear that the tooth is out and you’re home, pain free for the moment. Hoping that’s the case when the novacaine wears off.
Continue getting well!
Nix the webcam for your mouth, but maybe turn it Raoul’s way?
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quixote says:
Dear God, teresa, what a terrible thing to happen.
Violet: I was busy writing a commenting, and I see you’re back from the war! Great! Good for you! You’re in less pain, right? And, yes, take care of that socket. If you get any increase in pain at any point, get on the phone. Don’t tough it out like my dumb relatives do, who then wind up with even bigger problems! The pain should just gradually abate if it’s healing right.
Oh, and, fwiw, here’s my method for finding good doctors or dentists in a strange town. I’ve moved about twenty times in my life, so I’ve had way too much practice. :S Unfortunately, it only works if you’re near a medical/dental school. Look up who teaches there. If you need a specialty, see who teaches related classes. It doesn’t matter how part time they are. Just find someone who teaches something related to their profession. Drive a hundred miles for appointments if you have to. The difference in care is amazing, and it’s worth every penny. (Although usually it’s no more expensive than anyone else.)
Keep us posted how things go!
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votermom says:
I think my next plug-in for the blog will have to be a kind of virtual interactive web cam so you guys can actually look inside my mouth.
Ahhh!!!!!!! *runs away*
sneaks back to say: So glad it’s over & you survived! Make sure to pamper yourself a bit while you heal.
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monchichipox says:
Glad it’s over. I hate the dentist. One thing I really hate about the dentist is I have over active saliva glands. No matter how much suction they use every minute or so I’m gargling on my own saliva. It’s my own private water boarding. I’ve never had a dentist that it didn’t piss off. Doesn’t help that I’m one of those people that sickens at spit and saliva. bleed all over me no problem. Spit near me and I get the woozies.
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FembotsForObama says:
Sorry, Violet, somehow I missed seeing your last post. Soooo glad that you are feeing better and finally got some good advice. I would consult this endodontist from now on for everything tooth related.
I’m also gonna say that I have tooth grinding probs which increase during times of stress, and I’m getting fitted for a brux guard too, since my root canals and bridges equals the sum of buying a nice used car. But, having massages on my back, shoulders, neck, especially fascia relief (you can go to a massage school for cheap ones) alleviates this prob, which my endodontist has even commented about the benefits. But still for times of extreme stress, he recommends any brux guard, better than none.
Changing my diet, was the singular best thing for ridding my migraines. Not just eliminating chocolate, red wine, & caffeine, but also glutens & dairy was essential.
Have a great PAIN FREE weekend!
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Lexia says:
Yay for the tooth solution and even a temporary relief from pain!
Please, please, please get that bite guard ASAP!
I’ll never forgive my dentist the 10+ years of misery, with her “H’mmm, guess I should have hurried a little on getting that guard” long after she noticed the evidence of grinding and after the two cracked teeth. My only consolation was that her dental assistant had severely underestimated the out of pocket amount I insisted on knowing beforehand so as to be able to pay it, then I lost my job and insurance and she ended up stuck with half the cost, as I absolutely couldn’t make up the difference after that.
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FembotsForObama says:
Great story! reminds me of mine own about a decade ago, forgot about the root picks though!! The ice really does help when the anesthetic wears off (a frozen bag of peas works great and doesn’t weigh much).
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madamab says:
Teresainpa, that is horrible news. I’m so sorry it happened to your nephew.
Violet, I am so happy that you are pain-free and you made the right decision. Goddess speed your recovery, and ixnay on the amercay.
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Nadai says:
Teresa, I am so sorry about your nephew. The health care system in this country is criminal, absolutely criminal.
Violet, congratulations on being toothless. :) Hopefully it’ll heal up with no complications. I’d cross my fingers but that makes it damn hard to type.
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lalala says:
Teresainpa, I’m sorry for your loss. It’s always tragic to hear a story like this but especially when it happens to a young person. No one in this country should have to die from a tooth infection or any other injury or illness that can be cured with a simple doctor’s visit. It’s disgusting and shameful.
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Sandra S. says:
So sorry, Teresa. That’s just tragic.
Violet, I hope you heal up okay, and that you’re out of pain soon, that you find a good regular dentist, and that your financial situation isn’t totally ruined by this.
On a related note, I think I’m going to make a dentist appointment to look into getting a night guard for My grinding. And maybe I’ll go floss. Right now.
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cwaltz says:
Vi,
Hapy to hear that things went fairly smoothly. Baby your mouth for the next week and things will improve quickly. Use the motrin to bring down the swelling and only use the vicodin for breakthrough pain if you can. Also this is a great excuse for ice cream which will also pull down that swelling. Stay away from hot stuff, straws and cigarettes(if you smoke) for as long as you can to allow that clot forming to get nice and comfy. Before you know it you’ll be thinking it was all a nightmare.
Teresa,
I’m so sorry for your loss. My oldest turns 18 this year and I am positively paranoid that something like this will happen to him. It’s obnoxious that we don’t treat dental care as health care until it is positively too late. It’s such a waste. Again, my prayers go out to your family for its loss.
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Kiuku says:
congrats Violet! That’s awesome.
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cwaltz says:
Sandra S
In the interim they sell mouthgards that conform to your mouth by dropping them in boiling water. The oral surgeon I saw recommended using one of those to cut down on my grinding(I had a facial fracture that causes temple pain and thusly encourages grinding). The guy was a miracle worker even though he was expensive(didn’t take dental insurance because the reimbursement rates were too low).
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Violet Socks says:
Now that I know my teeth are liable to cracking, I’m highly motivated to find a dentist I like and see if I can do something to prevent more teeth from breaking. I’ve always taken good care of my teeth — I brush and floss religiously — and as a kid I had superb dental care. Military brat, everything done on base or paid for off-base. I haven’t had a cavity since childhood or any tooth problem since my wisdom teeth at age 16.
But I’m getting older, obviously, and I grind my teeth. I guess this is what can happen. It’s weirdly reassuring that my tooth, when it came out, looked okay, except of course for being cracked down the middle. No decay in it or the root. I’m also (now that I’m regaining my senses) wondering about the fact that the oral surgeon said absolutely nothing about infection or an abscess forming or anything (which didn’t show up on the x-ray, either). Nor did he spend any time worrying about the gum or anything after he’d yanked the roots out.
The oral surgeon is himself an ex-Air Force surgeon, and I expect he would not have done shoddy work. He seemed entirely capable and trustworthy to me.
I’m thinking about all this and about Teresa’s nephew, which is so goddamn tragic. I think if everybody had grown up a military brat and knew what it was like to have that “horrible” “socialized medicine” like I had, we would have single-payer by now. And the insurance company presidents would be exiled to Mars.
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apishapa says:
My root canal cost $1200 Insurance paid about 75% I think). I had to take antibiotics for two weeks before they could pry my mouth open enough to get to the tooth. All that time I had to eat through a straw. Don’t wait to long.
I also had a molar which cracked and he put a partial crown on it. It looks real and has never been a problem. It cost almost as much as the root canal though. The last tooth I had trouble with I had a molar pulled a few years ago. That one was cracked all to pieces from eating a burrito. It was my back tooth. I didn’t want to get it pulled because it was next to the root canal, but It’s in back, not noticeable, I didn’t hurt as bad and it only cost about $100 (with insurance). I don’t want to lose any more teeth, but that one was unavoidable and I can still eat anything I want to. I try to stay away from frozen burritos now.
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Larkspur says:
Thanks for the ongoing information, Violet. If you ask the oral surgeon any of your questions, be sure and let us know what he says. We have really got a valuable dental health care seminar happening here.
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slythwolf says:
I had jaw surgery on that joint 10 years ago because it dislocated (part of my bizarro joint condition)
Can I ask you about this? Because I have a bizarro joint condition that I have always had my whole life, and the past year or so I have noticed my jaw starting to partially dislocate sometimes, seemingly based on which side of my face I slept on that night. I also have knee and hip joint shifting going on if I am on my feet for a long time. I just have never met anyone who sounded like they might have something similar to what I have, and if you do, I totally want to talk to you about it.
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Violet Socks says:
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Please don’t tell my insurance company though.
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Dongi says:
Health insurance executives, in my book, are perfect parasites. Why or why can’t we get single payer health insurance? Including dental, of course.
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riverdaughter says:
violet, I was a military brat too and remember the socialized medicine fondly. The dispensaries, the corpsman. The military saved my sister’s life. She is a chronic asthmatic. I think the military style of socialized medicine would be a great alternative to no insurance. It would be a lot like the British NHS. But most middle class people wouldn’t like it. It’s a matter of perception. If the quality of care and services is the same, what’s the diff? Unfortunately, we have come to expect soothing waiting rooms and sense of entitlement. Nome sane? People would have to get used to it and a lot of them would be screaming banshees in the meantime.
One thing we did not have when I was growing up Navy was dental. I don’t know how you guys got it. We had checkups and fluoride treatments but fillings and extractions were on my parent’s dime. Braces? Out of the question on a military salary. -
quixote says:
And the insurance company presidents would be exiled to Mars.
Just what has Mars ever done to you?
Seriously, I hope you’re continuing to mend. And be sure to have a dentist / endodontist keeping an eye on that infection/inflammation. If it’s not the oral surgeon’s specialty, go to someone who’ll pay attention to it. Making sure that heals right is priority one!
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Kiuku says:
Military health care is VERY good at surgeries and taking care of obvious, simple problems, but America’s health is quickly becoming ridden with anomalies, that is problems that are not easily identified. But I think it is a good model. I think we should have communal health insurance, and that the prices for health insurance are ridiculous. The idea is that if doctors had competition, we’d have the best health care, but that isn’t the case. For health care we need, for the best medicine and treatment, first off, consumers, so that new ideas can be tried out, and we need the free flow of ideas in a cooperative setting; that can only be achieved through communal health care.
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Kiuku says:
I can tell you for instance, in my four years in the Air Force, that their health care was a complete failure in my case. Also I’ve seen it fail to diagnose cancer in women. I’ve seen people die from treatable things, but the military doctors could not detect the problem. In training a man died from a sinus infection, that was diagnosed as allergies. There is also a lot of sexism among medical professionals, that exists even in the military. But damn can they cut out an appendix if they have to.
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lorac says:
I see that you have solved the problem, so I’m glad. I was going to say that one benefit of saving the tooth was that it would give you options for the future, if something happened to the tooth next to it – for example, if you lost the tooth next to it, you could use the back one for a bridge. But it sounds like it needed to be extracted because of the deep crack.
I’ve always heard that gargling with salt water is a good way to fight back dental infections, in addition to dental interventions. You might ask the dentist if that applies in your situation.
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cellocat says:
Violet, so glad the tooth is out, and that you’re on the road to recovery.
I have a really good dentist with great assistants for the first time in my adult life, and it makes a huge difference! The fact that we don’t provide good health care for everyone in the country is criminal.
Theresainpa, I am so, so sorry. My parents’ neighbor’s kid (a few years older than me) is dying of brain cancer, and the insurance company doesn’t want to pay for anything, even a scan to identify what he’s got. They say it’s a pre-existing condition!!
Sometimes I don’t understand why we’re not rioting in the streets.
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shoes says:
So glad it’s out.
Thinking of you everyday. -
Cyn says:
Without getting personal (we Cancer suns hate personal), the VA is 1000 times better than any hospital within a 50 mile radius of where I live.
Healthcare, even with insurance, is horrible, dictated by the profit of insurance companies and not worth having. One goes to the hospital with breathing problems and is sent home after 5 days each time. A visit with a specialist is made for 3 months down the road (too busy to see any earlier). Finally, due to her frail condition, she falls, is admitted once again, hip is replaced and it’s off to a nursing home for rehab, where she doesn’t last but 6 hours.
However, a diagnosis of primary liver cancer which metastasizes to the bone is treated with state of the art equipment and a staff that couldn’t be nicer in the VA. Radiation, infusions, chemo, palliative care, assistance with nutrition, pain and hospice is all there for the asking.
I’ve see it up close and personal this year and there is no comparison.
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Violet Socks says:
One thing we did not have when I was growing up Navy was dental. I don’t know how you guys got it. We had checkups and fluoride treatments but fillings and extractions were on my parent’s dime. Braces? Out of the question on a military salary.
Riverdaughter, our CHAMPUS paid for that stuff. It didn’t pay for all of the orthodontia, but it paid about 75%.
I know what you mean about the difference between military care and private care. I recall the first time I went to a private dentist — this was to start my orthodontia odyssey at age 10 — and I was freaked out. It was all carpeted and cushiony and there was music….
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kae says:
I had two teeth out when I was 19 to make room for my two front teeth and the single tooth each side of them, the ones beside the front teeth were crowded. The teeth I had out were the sixth top tooth on either side. Everything was fine with no crowding and the teeth were good.
Now I am 51 going on 52 and in the last 10 years I have noticed all my top teeth have gradually moved and I have gaps between them. They’re still aligned properly in my jaw, but spaced further apart. Recently (about 3 years ago), I had the bottom sixth tooth out at it had been partially root canal treated and was cracked, it finally had rotted away under the filling and there was very little tooth left to save, no pain, there was no root. However, after the terrible extraction under local anaesthetic (terrible because it took so long, the tooth roots broke off and it took 50 minutes for him to get it out), I must have sucked in my sleep so ended up with a dry socket. I don’t know what the drug is called in the US, but the only thing which helped me was tramal. It still hurt, but I didn’t care.
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beowulf says:
Go to Mexico– dental (and medical) care is much cheaper. I suppose Tijuana (quick drive from San Diego) is safer than Juarez (a walk across the river from El Paso) these days.
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monchichipox says:
Can I make a suggestion to help avoid some future dental problems? Buy a sonicare tooth brush for about $80. Hating to get too personal here but I had really bad bleeding gums all my life. Often sore and tender. At the advice of a friend I bought one. Within a week my gums stopped bleeding when I brushed and it never returned. Haven’t had a cavity since. During my checkups the hygienist now comments on the extremely low amount of tartar. Which means a lot less time with that evil, scraping hook. Combine that with flossing and an alcohol free oral rinse.
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Dongi says:
What a great dental seminar this thread has become. Thanks everyone.
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Lexia says:
Ditto on the electric toothbrush suggestion. My teeth have almost completely stopped fearing The Pick.
After the episode of the inept dentist, I and my equally poverty stricken house mate split the cost of an electric toothbrush at Costco. They all seem to come with two handles and multiple brush heads. The newest ones even have an extra charger or you can buy one from the manufacturer and still come out ahead.
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riverdaughter says:
Violet: We had CHAMPUS too. I don’t remember dental or orthodontics being part of that package. Maybe it was and my parents had a deathly fear of orthodontists. Maybe they started covering it after my dad retired.
If you’re brought up with naval gray and generic everything, you come to appreciate what it is that people actually do. There’s no smoke and mirrors, no pastel colors, nothing between you and the health care professional but the cold, hard truth. I think the middle class would freak right out. Great health care, BTW. They really are very good. The military is where the talented poor go to get training.
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quixote says:
The military is where the talented poor go to get training.
Yup, RD!
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TaosJohn says:
Well, I’ve had virtually every kind of dental work except for a bridge, and I always vote for keeping my teeth if at all possible. Ya gotta have teeth.
Been there, done that.
GOOD LUCK, anyway. And I hope you feel better soon.
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cwaltz says:
Cyn
You must be one of the lucky ones who falls into the means tested group. I actually have to pay more to use the VA then I would to see a regular provider because of our income bracket.
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Anna Belle says:
I have 24 teeth. 12 top and bottom. I had four extractions when I was 10 years old prior to getting braces. That was to alleviate crowding. So on each side I have two molars, then the not-quite-a-molar tooth, then the canine. And then the four front teeth.
Wholly freakin’ crap! Are you my evil twin? I have the exact same dental history, except I had my back molar pulled two years ago.Did you also have monstrously buck teeth as big as a horse before your braces?
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Violet Socks says:
Nope, no buck teeth. Just crowded teeth.
I’m praying I don’t get a dry socket with this thing. I’ve been ultra careful, but I’m not sure if it looks right or not. As of this evening I can no longer see the dark red clot — oh no! has it gone away? — but at the same time my gum seems to be knitting together there. In fact the two sides are touching now — I mean the two sides of what was once the hole. But surely the hole isn’t really closing that fast. I’m just alarmed that there isn’t the little dark blood clot anymore.
I’m still on Vicodin for pain and taking Advil. The pain is gradually lessening.* I think if it’s a dry socket the pain from that will kick in Monday or Tuesday.
I’ve been so exhausted post-surgery that I’ve mostly just slept. Sleeping and popping morphine-derivatives is not a bad way to live, actually.
*I mean the pain from the surgery, which is the heavy ache of having a tooth ripped out of your jaw. As opposed to the eye-melting suicide-inducing nerve pain of before.
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Adrienne in CA says:
Re dry socket, let’s hope not. Apparently clove oil works for that too.
*****A
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LV says:
A word of warning to anyone taking antibiotics after dental surgery (or for anything, for that matter) – be sure and take probiotics as well. I had all four wisdom teeth extracted a few years ago, and I was so terrified of dry sockets that I followed all instructions to the letter – soft foods, no exertion, NSAIDs, and the dentist also gave me steroids to keep the swelling down and prophylactic antibiotics. It all went fine for the first few days, didn’t even hurt, but then the immune-suppressing side effects of the steroid combined with the broad spectrum antibiotic brought on a fungal throat infection. I can honestly say that was a lot worse than the wisdom teeth. My throat was completely raw and swallowing anything was excruciating. For several days I had to exist solely on blended protein drinks. If I put it in the freezer for twenty minutes beforehand and then drank it down as fast as I could, the cold would numb the pain until about halfway down the glass. After that point it was like drinking nitric acid.
Amazing though to learn how much time it leaves in the day when all meals can be prepared and consumed in two minutes flat.
Anyway. Hope you’re feeling better, Violet!
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Cyn says:
cwaltz, it is my father who uses the VA. He also has a private insurance and medicare, so maybe that is why he is able to afford it.
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Gayle says:
I wish you a speedy recovery!
BTW, I know quite a few people who took the root canal option and regretted it later so I don’t believe there is only one “correct” option.
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slythwolf says:
The military is where the talented poor go to get training.
The talented, temporarily-abled poor. There’s no way the military would ever take me, for instance.
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Adrienne in CA says:
“Temporarily-abled”
Good word. We should popularize this thinking.
“Temporarily-employed”
“Temporarily-insured”
Yes, it’s all temporary. I’ve always liked “there but for the grace of …”
But even that was temporary.
*****A
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gxm17 says:
Just dropping in to send more well wishes for a quick recovery, Violet. Take care and rest up!
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cwaltz says:
Cyn,
It’s based on income unless you have a service connected problem. We have private insurance as well. With the income hubby makes($50,000) the VA doesn’t even enroll people like me(I served almost 12 years) in their clinics anymore. That’s what I meant by “means tested.” Our household is blessed with decent insurance so it hasn’t been too much of a bother for anything other than getting the copies of records from when I was working at walmart and was eligible for care there(and thank God for that because I would have gone into major debt getting lithotripsy for a stone).
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lambert strether says:
Yes, good wishes. And OT: It only took Obama three weeks to throw Coakley under the bus. Nobody could have predicted…
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Joanelle says:
I hope this ifinds you feeling somewhat better.
Nothing makes one feel so miserable as a bad tooth.
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monchichipox says:
I hope when Violet returns she takes on that useless pile of dreck that is called The Game Changer. It’s supposed to be the final say on the 2008 campaign. Of course it’s main thrust is to trash four women. Two not even running for anything.
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Thank you for saving my life! Also: what the hell is going on? | Reclusive Leftist says:
[...] subject of this post, which is my enormous debt of gratitude to those of you who helped me through The Tooth Crisis. I was in so much pain last week, and it was so excruciating to try to move my mouth to make words, [...]
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Support single payer, support Corrente Wire « D2 route says:
[...] Corrente Wire Keeping the heat on and the hamsters fed Now, with Haiti, Arthur’s pain, Violet’s teeth, Susie’s ongoing troubles, this probably isn’t the best time to ask for [...]
