Quick version – after a bad bout of toothache following a big filling last week, I’m booked to have the whole tooth out tomorrow (Thursday), but in the time since booking the op, it’s, er, got better, could the filling have just taken a long while to “bed in”, or should I just go ahead and have it out?
Long version – one of my wisdom teeth has a huge filling in it (“more filling than tooth” my dentist says) and was refilled last week after a bit dropped out. It felt uncomfortable straight away, but got more & more painful as the week went on, peaking at the weekend, when I accidentally bit down hard on it and almost passed out when a bolt of pain went right through me… I went back to the dentist ASAP who said she was afraid this might happen with the size of filling, the only real solution is to have it out, and booked me in for tomorrow accordingly. Since then though, it’s gotten better & better every day, to the point where it genuinely almost feels back to normal. I have been on antibiotics for a few days, so maybe that’s why, though a few hours with a hot water bottle pressed against my face seemed to have the best effect…
So anyway, does anyone know if it’s normal/possible for a filling to take 9-10 days to settle in? I don’t want to have it out unneccessarily (though it’s right at the back, so not a cosmetic concern), but also don’t want to leave it to fester if it’s just going to come back or get worse later… all advice appreciated, especially professional if there’s anyone vaguely qualified here – cheers!
It might not be hurting anymore because the tooth has completely died?
But of course you should go back to the dentist.
Does anyone know if Lenny Law lurks or has he gone forever?
He’s on FB, so he’s alive and well. Here? I know not.
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Another option, rather than having the tooth out, is root canal filling and possibly a crown – if there really is more filling than tooth, a crown will be a longer-term solution compared to another filling. You can’t have the crown without the root canal work first (which kills the nerves and the tooth).
I have a few stumps like that with gold crowns (not the cheapest option but the longest-lasting). I’m worth more melted down than standing up, so my funeral costs should be covered!
Root canal filling can be a long process, up to an hour in the chair.
I’ve had fillings take a while to bed in but I’d go back to the dentist (but then my NHS dentist is brilliant – she knows I’d rather go through a bit more pain to avoid having a tooth out). If you’d rather not have the tooth out and you’re not convinced you’re getting the best advice, get a second opinion, after all, the urgency seems to have gone out of the situation. What you can’t see (or feel probably) can be seen with a sequence of x-rays.
If you’ve never had a root canal before then brace yourself for a bit of discomfort but you keep the tooth and in the long term, granola on a toothless gum is worse!
I had a crown that took 2 or 3 weeks to feel like it was part of me, you may have had a bit of infection present which has cleared up thanks to the antibiotics.
I’m booked into hospital for friday to have a wisdom tooth removed that is actually growing sideways and hasn’t broken through my gum. I’ve never had a general anaesthetic before and I’m shitting myself!
Good luck. I once had 4 wisdom teeth removed on the same day. No general anaesthetic and at one point the dentist was effectively chiseling away on them. Several hours in the chair, took me a while to get over that.
I had a general for an Apicoectomy (google it and pray you never need one) trust me..modern anaesthesia really is a thing of wonder.
You have nothing to fear and may even feel wonderful as the sedetives wear off.
Make sure your partner video’s your dosed up ramblings on the drive home….always good for a laugh.
The anaesthetist told me he was giving me the equivalent of a double vodka to chill me out then I woke up in recovery! Not been able to sleep as I usually sleep on my right side and every time I turned the golf ball sized lump on my jaw shocked me back awake.
To replicate the after effects of the extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth just have a walk around Barnsley town centre wearing a tee shirt saying “ I voted Remain” and wait for the baseball bat to the face.
Fillings don’t “bed in”: Your gums might be sore for a while, the jabs if you had them might have residual ache from the stab wounds, or there may be an infection, but the filling in the tooth ain’t gonna move.
Sounds like you had an infection which has subsided. My advice would be to get the tooth properly root-filled before it flares up again. You won’t necessarily need to have a crown – your dentist might be able to fill it again once the roots are cleaned and filled.
I had exactly that and had root canal treatment. My gum had swollen so that my tooth was sticking right up. Root treatment and various bouts of antibiotics have got it under control but it still flares up occasionally. My dentist, who is definitely of the “avoid major treatment where possible” persuasion thinks if it really acts up again it’ll have to come out. Like you I’m seriously hoping this isn’t necessary.
Fuji 9?
Still ranks as one of the funniest ever bits of WILTY
I had my wisdom teeth out just last year. I was surprised at how easy and painless it was. Dentist said he didn’t see the point of leaving them as they weren’t needed and could potentially do harm.
I thought I was in line for some dentistry-action the other week.
Rearmost lower left side tooth started aching, felt a tiny bit loose and let me know it didn’t appreciate being chewed upon. Next morning it was much less painful and the day after it was absolutely fine again.
Thanks a lot folks, exactly the sensible, wide-ranging feedback I was hoping for.
Current plan is for me to go to the appointment, but force them to convince me there’s no other option than extraction before I let them strap me down and get the pliers out…
PS thanks especially to @Gary for “easy and painless”, I needed someone to reassure me in case it goes that way!
I just had a regular dental anaesthetic and it just felt like velcro being pulled, that easy and painless. In fact, I didn’t even realise he’d pulled the last one until I felt the empty space where tooth once was. Not that I notice any space in the slightest now. Although I suspect some may claim it has enhanced my cheekbones.
I’ve been quite fortunate too with the two wisdom teeth I’ve had removed. Standard anesthetic followed by the dentist actually pressing down on each tooth with some blunt instrument to basically crack it into pieces, after which he just pulled the bits out. Took about 30 seconds each time. The worst bit was having to swill some salt water before I went to bed and the following morning.
If the roots are growing dead straight, which mine fortunately were, they’re a doddle to get out. I think it’s when the roots grow at a funny angle that it can be more difficult. If you do have to have it out, you won’t miss it as far as chewing your food goes, so long as the others are all present and correct.
Had all 3 Wisdom teeth out (4th never appeared). 2 in the dentists chair which was fine, bit sore after and you need to take care and follow the instructions while it heals. 3rd was under sedation in hospital and that was fine too. Nothing to be scared of.
If Dentist thinks it should be taken out it’d probably be for the best especially if it’s had a few fillings – you really won’t miss it when it’s gone and trust me not worth risking the pain if it does flare up again.
I was a nurse at the Eastman Dental Hospital on Grays Inn Road for a while. I’m a paediatric nurse, so I was mainly there to help prep the kids for the GA, sit with them whilst they’re getting knocked out and then recover them post-op. But I’d then go and help with the adult post-op patients (usually wisdom teeth extraction) once our list had finished.
As an aside, we once had this little girl who was really frightened of the gas mask, so I was sat beside her as the anaesthetist was putting her under. Next thing I hear the anaesthetist telling me to move and quickly. Basically, I was sat right next to where there exhaust bit of the gas mask was, and she saw my eyes beginning to roll!
Anyway, whatever treatment you need will be guided by whether you have an infection there. If you have, you will have a choice of trying to drain it, which will need root canal work and possibly a temporary filling or crown, followed by follow up X-rays to see if the infection has gone and then the permanent filling/crown. Tooth infections generally don’t clear up with antibiotics, they need draining.
However, if your filling is deep it probably aggravated the nerve. Sometimes this settles down, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it will settle down and then keep flaring up. As wisdom teeth are pretty useless, difficult to clean, etc, dentists are more ready to whip them out than they would your other teeth.
I’ve become a bit of an expert over the years because I never looked after my teeth when I was younger, so my mouth looks like Jaws off James Bond. Sadly, as I have looked after them far better as an adult I am now on so much medication post-spinal cord surgery that dries my mouth out it causes all kinds of problems.
But as I have lived in chronic pain for nearly 20 years, and as I have had so much dental treatment, I am quite brave at the dentist, so I never have anaesthetic. My face is the only bit of my body I can fully feel, so I hate it being numb for hours for the sake of a bit of pain. My dentist and my wife think I’m a nutter.
I had an infection under a wisdom tooth a year or so ago and it really hurt. I told the dentist to crack on with it and I have to say it really hurts having root canal treatment with no anaesthetic. I’m not sure I’d do it again if the tooth is already hurting
But it hurt even more afterwards. Ruddy agony really, and this from someone with a very high pain threshold. So I went back and asked him to take it out. The tooth couldn’t be touched without sheer white pain, so I relented and went for the anaesthetic. He said he wouldn’t have done it without anaesthetic anyway. He was putting his foot down! The main reason for the anaesthetic was cos it’s 30 years since I had a tooth pulled and since then I watched a shedload professionally and it looks barbaric. He warned me that it might splinter cos it’s so heavily filled, and I might need surgery if there’s a bit he couldn’t get out, but he got it out in one go, took seconds. Instant pain relief! Then I just had to spend a few weeks trying not to fiddle with the hole, petrified of getting dry socket!
The worst of it all is how much it costs. Brings out the Yorkshireman in me! You pay a fortune so that somebody can do something to you that you really don’t want. But as a Barnsley FC fan I am pretty used to paying good money to make myself miserable.
Edit: Sorry, didn’t realise how long I’d been waffling on. It’s the tablets!
UPDATE – the tooth is out there!
Had it done this morning, the dentist was very patient with me, took me through the x-rays, and assured me that the extraction was the best course. For any future sufferers, it was remarkably easy, and I can assure you there was no pain, it just felt like someone pushing reasonably hard on my gums for a while. Whole visit took less than 30 minutes from front door to payment (£200 if you’re interested.) I took a sickie for the whole day, but in all honesty could have easily gone to work afterwards… for the sake of balance, I had an hour of pain when the numbing wore off, but ibuprofen took the edge off, now there’s just mild discomfort… onwards!
Thanks again for all your comments, it genuinely helped, cheers!
Nice one, Mickey.
Be diligent cleaning the hole where the tooth was. I had a syringe canister and squirted water to remive food.
This was about 15 years ago when I was travelling around rural areas during an insane period of work – beforehand one of my back teeth started throbbing very painfully in a non-negotiable way. I took over-the-counter painkillers to get me through the three day period but they had only a limited effect. I then resorted to my wife’s left over tramadol from when she was recovering from a caesarian a few years earlier. It was like magic – the pain simply disappeared but returned worse than ever a few hours later. I only had a few of those for when things got desperate and I was so grateful to her for thinking of it.
When the working schedule was over, the adrenalin of performance (presentations, not music) had gone and during my three hour nighttime stormy/rainy drive back home, suffering head-rattling constant pain in its full force – I was almost expecting to drive off the road and plunge to my death and felt that at least that would end the pain. On arriving home, the last of the tramadol meant I could sleep a bit.
Of course, I had a full day of work and by the time the early evening dentist appointment came, I was red-eyed and teary while I waited to be seen. The kind young dentist immediately put me at ease and said he would deal to the pain straight away in a very matter-of-fact way. Within a minute or so in the chair I could feel the elation of the pain disappearing for good. The tooth was removed and cleaned up and I was sent on my way. I can honestly say that in that immediate period following the dentist appointment, I had never felt happier and vowed to have regular dental checkups every 6 months. Have I been to the dentist since? No.
I take tramadol every day as part of my medication for my chronic back pain. When the pain is worse than usual I don’t take extra tramadol, as I just end up getting really itchy, which is one of the side effects, but only affects me now if I go over the regular 4 per day. Instead, someone once gave me a brilliant tip, which is to take two paracetmol at the same time as taking tramadol. It really enhances the affects of the tramadol without needing to take more, and usually chases most pain away, both muscular and nerve related, the latter being the pain that stops me in my tracks when it breaks through my regular medication.
The thing you need to be aware of is that it does make you feel a little off your head, so you may ramble on a bit (as my occasional lengthy posts will testify) and under no circumstances do your supermarket shop whilst on the effects, otherwise all sorts of goodies will get thrown into your basket. My wife won’t let me go with her any more when I’ve had to take the cocktail after a legendary shop where she was having to defend the trolley like a goalkeeper. Instead, stay at home and listen to some music, cos it doesn’t half sound fab!
That’s certainly the effect I noticed most. I watched Dirty Harry on daytime telly under the influence of Tramadol. The next day, the man from Amazon delivered the complete Clint Eastwood DVD box set. “I didn’t order that”, I thought. A quick look at browser history said I did.