Severe Tooth Pain

I've missed 4 out of my last 5 days of work with severe tooth pain. Last Friday out of the blue I woke up with a severe toothache, but it went away so i went to work. Sunday night the pain was so bad I thought I was going to have to go the hospital as it felt like my jaw was going to explode. By far the worst pain I have felt, even with having broken a couple bones.

Saw dentist Tuesday he said I need a root canal which I have scheduled for Thursday. He gave me a prescription for Vicodin which I didn't want to take, since the over the counter stuff wasn't working I was left with no choice. Checked with my company and they said as long as it has been 8 hours since I last took one before I start work I'm ok.

They were nice enough to give me 3 days off to see how it goes. Yesterday I worked and felt fine, took a pill before bed that way it would be more than 8 hours before I started. Been up since 2 am in pain guess that pill wore off, I called in and told them I can't make it in today.

Have 2 more work days before the root canal not sure I will be able to make it in for those at this rate.

It is amazing how much pain a tooth can cause, I have been near tears at a few points. I'm glad I hit when I'm at home and not on the road.

Last year I kept putting off a cavity that I needed filled. Until one day while driving I put in piece of gum and chewed directly on it, and got introduced to nerve pain like I’ve never experienced before. Luckily I wasn’t far from the yard, and a local dentist took me in the same day. But that was absolutely brutal. No way I would have been able to drive the next day had the dentist not taken care of it. That particular day is why I always care of a small bottle of tylenol in my bag.

Tooth pain is very difficult to put up with. I just met a driver from our company to relay his load because he had a cracked tooth and was on a pain medication. The company had him on a 72 hour hold at a TA so he could get to a dentist. I could tell that whatever medication he was on made him very much out of driving condition. I hope you get yours treated and the pain goes away soon. Be true to your teeth and they will never be false to you.

My dental pain, when I have any, is twofold. The actual pain and then when I have to PAY the dentist. I hope you have some dental insurance.

You may want to try taking both ibuprofen and acetaminophen at the same time. I had a fall a couple of years ago while hiking and had a bruised tailbone and was in bad pain and my doctor would not prescribe something without seeing me (I was away on vacation) and he suggested this and it helped a lot. My 91 year old aunt had a fall late last year and was hurting pretty bad for some times afterwards and I took her to her doctor and he suggested the same. I told him about my experience and he said it is a great combination and he thinks it will eventually be produced as a all-in-one medication. FYI, 800 mg of ibuprofen is a therapeutic dose that reduces inflammation. I took that plus 8 hour Tylenol (1300 mg). I am not a doctor, of course, just sharing my experience with doctors.

Good luck with your root canal.

and a local dentist took me in the same day

I wish I was that lucky, I can not find anyone to take me faster than Thursday. Really annoying I'm in terrible pain and all the dentists say is take a bunch of pain pills and come back in a couple weeks.

I just met a driver from our company to relay his load because he had a cracked tooth and was on a pain medication

Glad I'm not the only one, I feel like a jerk missing days for a toothache.

I hope you have some dental insurance.

Luckily I do, and it's pretty good from what the dentist office says. Even if I didn't I couldn't stand this and would have to take care of it.

You may want to try taking both ibuprofen and acetaminophen at the same time

I might try that, straight Ibuprofen isn't working and I'm not a fan of the hard stuff.

Dental associates in Alsip were the ones that I was able to get into. I know that’s kinda far from you but I think there are several Dental associates offices in the area.

I went through the wringer with teeth. When I was down to 17 left, I had them all pulled at one time, then proceded after healing to implant mounted dentures Over the years, I've had many painful and hazardous times with teeth pain. Generally it's an abscess or infection that swells and puts pressure on the nerves. They can't extract or root canal until the infection recedes. It's abjectly painful til then.

What I used over the counter was up to 800 MG of nsaid pain reliever alternated with 800 MG of Tylenol per 24 hours. Oral rinse with listenine antiseptic every 15 minutes to half hour for numbing effect and to hopefully Penetrate any openings in the infection. If at all possible get on antibiotics asap, first priority. An urgent care can and will prescribe. Garlic and a few other dietary supplements have antibiotic like characteristics.

I Generally had my teeth extracted when they got that bad, but I dont recommend it. Hope it passes soon and can't stress getting the infection cleared asap as left unchecked it can become septic and fatal.

If at all possible get on antibiotics asap,

Luckily my dentist gave them to me already, I was hoping it would help with the pain but it hasn't yet.

Have you tried Clove oil for temporary relief? Saturate a Q-tip with the oil and liberally apply to the tooth. This helped me once while waiting to get into the dentist. This is an age old herbal remedy.

You need some antibiotics. Infection causes the pain. Once you get rid of the infection, the pain will lessen.