Teeth are being a pain... still

My upper molar (the one which had the second part of the root canal done the other day) is still aching a bit, but less so than yesterday.

It seems that the gum just above the tooth hurts a bit when touched or pressed.

The actual treatment was not painful at all (surprisingly) - it's just afterwards that is when you get the pain.

After the anaesthetic wears off, the drilling right inside the tooth, right to the bottom of the root is what causes the pain later - the tooth is rather traumatised by all the sharp drills and having part of its enamel and dentine removed is a traumatic experience for living tissue and teeth are living tissue!

I know that a tooth that has its root removed is technically no longer alive, but it still gets some sort of blood supply and is still in contact with other teeth, nerves, tissue around it - the other nerves around the root of the tooth may also get traumatised by the vibration of the drilling, which can be causing my pain now. That's the only explanation I have for it to be still painful!

Tooth and gum around it hurts today

I know it was expected, but that still doesn't ameliorate the pain!

The tooth that had the root canal work done on it yesterday is hurting me today, as is the area in the gum above it and to the side of it.

The pain in the gum area is the worst. It's like this hot, searing pain and if anything touches it (like a bit of food), it hurts even more. In general and most of the time, there is a dull ache type of pain, which gets worse when anything puts pressure on that part of the gum - even me smiling or moving my mouth a certain way will do it. Yikes!

Damn, it's annoying.

Nothing much I can do about it, other than take some painkillers and I don't have any. I may get some tomorrow if the pain is still bad.

It was hurting a little last night and earlier today, but has seemed to get worse this evening after I ate dinner. Maybe it was the act of eating food, moving my facial/jaw muscles around (even though I was careful not to eat on the side of my mouth where the tooth is located), that has irritated the tooth and gum around it.

The same thing happened after the first part of the root canal treatment, so maybe that's all it is - the tooth is a little traumatised from all the drilling work done into its very roots and is inflamed now and it will take a few days for it to get feel normal again.

If it still hurts this much tomorrow, I may also call the dentist to ask them what I can do about it - they're probably the best people to ask, as they would know why it would be reacting this way and whether or not it was normal.

Right side of my face is all swollen and it hurts

The day after I had the first part of the root canal work I woke up and the right side of my face was all swollen up. It was swollen quite a bit and there was also quite a bit of pain in the gum area at the root of my tooth, plus my tooth was quite sore to touch too.

I think because the tooth had quite a bit of work done to it in the root canal, by removing all the yucky pus and dead roots, that it was all infected with an abscess and already really painful especially in the gum area just near where my jaw meets the gum line, that inflamed the tooth even more.

And while cleaning out the infected parts was what was needed, because that means the abscess wont have anything to infect, right now, tampering with the infected tooth (while totally justified and required) just inflamed it a whole lot more.

I got the first part of the root canal done on Friday afternoon and on Saturday the side of my face was quite very swollen and was hurting a bit, on Sunday the swelling and pain started to go down quite a bit, as did the pain. Now today (Monday), the swelling is almost gone.

The only thing that hurts today is the gum area above my tooth, where the root of the tooth is, that is still quite sore, so maybe the abscess isn't totally gone yet. It is getting better because it was more sore the last few days, but it is getting better very slowly!

It's take a while longer for the inflammation (swelling) to settle down and that is because I haven't been taking any medication (anti-inflammatory medicine), but at least it is starting to get better, so that is the main thing.

It will probably take a few more days till it's all good and the pain completely goes away.

Had the first part of the root canal done today

Finally, I decided to have the root canal treatment today (or at least the first part of it).

I was scheduled with another dentist to have an appointment early next week, but I couldn't wait any more.

I have been on antibiotics for two weeks now and started another one this morning and it's enough!  I started on one type, then when that one want working very well any more, had to get another type, which I took for a week, finishing my last dose yesterday afternoon.

I got another type yesterday, the strongest of the lot and didn't start taking it until late this morning, so from last night, there was almost 24 hours in between taking no antibiotics and I could really feel it this morning!  The right side of my face was a bit swollen again and it was starting to hurt a lot again.

I took the new antibiotics and within about 1/2 an hour, I could feel the pain starting to get better. I was directed take a double dose for the first dose, so that was why I could feel the antibiotic taking effect almost immediately. It didn't make the swelling go down that quickly, but stopped the pain from getting worse.

After that, I decided I couldn't wait the whole weekend, taking more antibiotics, just waiting and waiting four more days, plus I didn't feel so well this morning - the tooth abscess was infecting my sinuses too - so I called another dentist and they had some time that afternoon. The dentist actually spoke to me and was kind patient on the phone, so I felt comfortable about seeing him.  Once I got there, he saw me straight away (I think I got in because they put me in during their lunch hour, as there were people waiting after I left). I explained everything to him, about all of my previous bad experiences with dentists and how I was petrified about being there and I told him about the tooth, which I thought must have an abscess.  He took a look around my mouth and took some x-rays to view the tooth and then asked me if I wanted the root canal work to be started right then, or for me to wait until the following week. I decided I wanted it done then and there. He told me that my assessment about it being an abscess was correct.

He did go slowly putting the needle in, when I could feel anything, he slowed down until I couldn't and when he did the work cleaning the tooth out - all three roots had to be cleaned out - they smelt so gross when he opened up the roots where the nerves were filled with pus and yucky stuff.  I think I was in there with him for two hours. He used two doses (two needles - I couldn't feel the second needle at all) of the really strong anaesthetic and then started drilling, stopping every so often, or when I needed him to. He had a dam over my mouth to stop the infected rotten nerves and other infected material from going into my mouth (prevented me swallowing it). He told me I had to come back for the second part - more cleaning of the roots and proper filling and then later a crown.

I was so happy after the treatment ended!  I felt nothing. Hallelujah! At the start, my legs were shaking in the chair, while I was lying there and I was holding my hands tightly, but by the end of it, I did relax (even while he was drilling) and I was okay.  I think because he explained everything to me in a calm way at the start, it helped to allay my fears a little.

It took about 6 hours for that double dose of anaesthetic to wear off, but now the tooth and the area near the tooth are sore - poor tooth, it was traumatised by all the drilling work that was done on it.  Apparently, it should all settle down by tomorrow night. Thank goodness this tooth is now being taken care of and will be good!

Painful tooth progressively getting better

The abscessed tooth is progressively getting better each day. Thank goodness!  I can now actually touch it with my toothbrush, which, up until today, I couldn't - I had to brush the teeth next to it and prevent touching it, even with just the soft pressure of the toothbrush.

Now that I can brush that tooth, it means I can get into the bit where the filling has chipped off and get some toothpaste in there. It seems like the abscess is draining out of it there, because when I have brushed the chipped bit, it seems very smelly and it wasn't before the abscess (and pain) started. I know this because I tried brushing it without any toothpaste, with just a bit of water on the toothbrush, to just stimulate the area without the toothpaste, at first, then I used some toothpaste.

The swelling in my cheek has gone down too as has the pain in the upper gum area above the tooth (inside my mouth), so that is all a big relief.

I also went to see that dentist today and he was nice, explained it all to me about how the sedation would work.  After seeing him, my gut feeling though, is telling me not to go for the sedation. I don't know why, but this time I am going to go with my gut and try to get the tooth filled awake. I have to decide which dentist to try. But in the meantime, I need to continue to take the antibiotics, probably the two doses - I am halfway through one packet now, so I have to go for the other packet too, as the abscess is rather large and is taking some time to disperse.

Dentists confirms abscess at root of the tooth

No wonder I have been getting such severe pain in my tooth - there is an abscess under the root, near the nerve.

I started taking some antibiotics on Sunday afternoon, because I thought that maybe if the tooth was this painful, there may be an abscess underneath in the root area, that was causing the huge pain.

By the time it was Monday morning, I was in such severe pain that it hurt to even swallow my own saliva! The pressure from my tongue in my mouth was irritating the exposed nerve in that tooth and it hurt really badly.  Not only did that hurt, but the whole of my right side of my jaw, upper and lower hurts so much too. It's just awful.

I don't have a dentist here, so I had to ring around to find someone, but two of the dentists I tried were not available until Wednesday, which was in two days time. That was not soon enough for me, as the pain was excruciating!  I finally found a dentist who could take me in, in a few hours, as they had a spot available in their emergency appointment schedule - thank goodness!

Breakfast consisted of half a glass of a smoothie I made - to give me some energy. I had to drink it through a straw because any of the liquid that touched the tooth hurt so much.

When I saw the dentist, I explained to her the problem and the pain, as well as my bad experiences with dentists in the past, together with my very low threshold of pain and the fact that I get sinus issues, which makes working on my top teeth very difficult, because the vibrations of the drill vibrate the sinus passages and that causes pain, even with anaesthetic injected.


The dentist recommended that I undertake the treatment to the tooth under light sedation. Because the tooth and surrounding area is so sore, she advised me that she may not be able to get the area numbed enough to be able to treat the tooth. That was disappointing, but at least she was honest and had integrity enough to let me know what my best option was. She gave me two phone number of dentists, one who she really recommended, but didn't know if he did sedation and the other she didn't really know, but knew he did sedation.

I called the first practice, who confirmed they did not do sedation there and gave me the phone number of another dentist (not on the list) who did sedation and who was really good. God, I hope he is, as I am petrified of going to the dentist!

Today when I woke up, the right side of my face was visibly swollen. Not a lot, but enough to be visible that there was an issue underneath. The gum near the tooth was also sore, as was my jaw at the joint. I rang the dental surgery who explained that it was not anything to worry about too much unless the swelling got worse and that I would be okay as I was seeing the other dentist tomorrow.

My appointment with the dentist who does the sedation work is tomorrow morning - it is for a consultation to see what he can do for this tooth. The first dentist already sent over my file and x-ray to their practice, so they know what they're dealing with.

Toothache a little better today than yesterday, but still painful

Amazingly I did manage to get to sleep last night without too much trouble. The whole cloves I used in my mouth did have a good effect, by numbing the gum and tooth area somewhat, enough to stop the worst of the pain. So this enabled my body to relax enough to be able to get to sleep.

Today, I had a bit of pain again when I woke this morning, so I used two more cloves in my mouth near the poor chipped tooth and that seemed to dissipate the pain to an extent where it was bearable, to not hurting at all.

Now, this evening, I am pretty much free of any severe pain, so that is wonderful. The pain is unbearable when it starts hurting, so to be free of it is really great. It is a really sharp undulating pain that comes and goes, but when it comes, man does it hurt a lot. It seems like my whole jaw is in pain.

I really have to find a dentist next week, to refill the hole and probably put a porcelain crown on it, as it needs to be strengthened. Maybe it will need a porcelain onlay or inlay, then the crown. Will have to find out from the dentist.

Sweet foods (chocolate or even hot tea with sugar) make the pain so much worse. Vegetables and fruit, legumes and other natural produce don't produce that much pain at all. My diet is pretty good anyway, my only indulgence is organic or European chocolate, which I now cant eat for a little while, so it wont be difficult to manage. I just cant handle the pain so whatever it takes to prevent it will be done. I also have to eat food on the left side of my mouth because I cannot chew anything on the right side, where the chipped tooth is, at the top jaw.

Really bad toothache from a chipped filling

I have a big chip in one of my fillings near one of my top molar teeth. I haven't had anyone look at it because I always get a lot of pain when I got to the dentist, even if they use the strong anaesthetic. I have realised it is because of my sinusitis that when the drill starts vibrating on the upper teeth, this is especially painful as it reverberates in my sinuses, which are really close to the roots of my teeth (basic anatomy) and then that causes pain in my teeth, more than would normally be felt. I only realised it when one dentist was working on my upper teeth and I was experiencing pain and discomfort, even with the anaesthetic. Yet when he drilled a tiny bit off the bottom of one tooth, there was no pain and he didn't even use anaesthetic. He was perplexed, but it was only after I left that I realised why.

So today, my upper pre-molar tooth is hurting me so badly, it feels like the nerve is pinched and that is a really horribly painful feeling - the pain feels like it's ululating and the whole of the right side of my jaw, both upper and lower teeth are feeling a referred pain! That's pretty painful, to say the least.

I didn't have anything to numb the pain, so I had to go out to the supermarket to get some cloves - they are the first aid to any dental pain, as they help to numb the gums and teeth and reduce the level of pain. They are really efficient and have been used for centuries to numb the mouth. Clove oil is also used for the same purpose.

I used two cloves at a time for about 15 minutes each, keeping them in place with my tongue in the position where I wanted them to stay.  The relief from the pain was almost instant. It was incredibly gratifying to have no pain, simply due to a little, humble flower bud from a spice.

The pain is now bearable, but it comes and goes. Hopefully I can get to sleep tonight. I don't have any cloves in my mouth now and it is so painful! So maybe it may not be easy to sleep tonight.