Thread: Painful Cracked Molar

Originally Posted by sunsetter

delaying the inevitable

You know don't you Sunny ,, however I think we all are probably guilty of that in the past , hoping / thinking it will eventually get better , but inevitably sooner or later we end up in absolute agony !

Originally Posted by natalie8

suggesitons on easing the pain until I get to go see the dentist again at the end of May

nat, I've highlighted the best comments on here. I cannot stress enough- There is no pain worse than toothache or earache !!! and it will wait until a Friday night on a Bank Holiday weekend and rock your world, Forget those Cloves, 2 litres of Whiskey, Nothing will stop that pain, although I never tried the Heroin, but If I would have thought about those bag heads down the boozer I reckon I probably would have jacked up to relieve that agony. You will cry, even though you women do have a higher threshold for pain and not telling your spouse you're dying when afflicted with the flu or common cold

Originally Posted by taxexile

if you leave it too long then you might traumatise the nerve inside the tooth

Originally Posted by david44

See a good dentist immediately

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

Nat I'm afraid your only putting off the inevitable ,, its down to the dentists asap

Originally Posted by withnallstoke

you don't need to chew beer, so have them all extracted

Ok, an update. I've been using the clove oil and herbal toothpaste. Last night I took a couple of Nuprofens before bed and they seemed to have helped. I'll find out about a dentist Tuesday morning.

Originally Posted by Kwang

nat, I've highlighted the best comments on here. I cannot stress enough- There is no pain worse than toothache or earache !!! and it will wait until a Friday night on a Bank Holiday weekend and rock your world, Forget those Cloves, 2 litres of Whiskey, Nothing will stop that pain, although I never tried the Heroin, but If I would have thought about those bag heads down the boozer I reckon I probably would have jacked up to relieve that agony. You will cry, even though you women do have a higher threshold for pain and not telling your spouse you're dying when afflicted with the flu or common cold

Thanks Kwang!

Natalie
stop been a big sissy
show that tooth who's the boss
make it wait 'till you get back to Dubai

just keep it nice and clean with mouthwash or salt wash or hard liquor
it will get fed up in a day or so and calm down , at least for a few weeks.

constant pain from a tooth, that starts without any stimulus, as opposed to the short sharp shock you can get such as when you touch a sensitive spot near the gumline bite down on something hard, or drink something too hot or cold usually indicates that the nerve is becoming inflamed due to trauma or infection.

the nerve tissue becomes infiltrated with white blood cells. this is the normal response of the body to trauma or infection, the increased blood supply causes swelling of the nerve tissue, just the same as you will get some swelling around a wound or insect bite. however, the nerve tissue inside a tooth is unable to expand because it is encased within the hard tooth and a pressure builds up that causes pain.

sometimes, if the cause of the trauma to the nerve tissue is removed, the nerve will recover. if the trauma is allowed to continue, the process can become irreversible. resulting in an increase in pain and discomfort and possible infection. root canal treatment to remove the damaged nerve is necessary.

eventually the increased pressure will close of the blood supply to the nerve and the nerve tissue will die, the pain will subside but the necrotic nerve tissue will usually become infected, resulting in an abscess.

any constant toothache, or residual toothache remaining long after the stimulus has been removed, should be investigated sooner rather than later. it may go on for a month like this, low level tolerable discomfort, or it may flare up suddenly into a very painful toothache. there really is no way of knowing.

hopefully yours is very low level trauma.


it is a fact that weekends and bank holidays are very lucrative times for dentists who offer emergency treatment for just such cases, enabling them to work 3 day weeks, travel the world, and take early retirement.

Originally Posted by taxexile

the nerve is becoming inflamed due to trauma or infection.

Nat, go and sort it out as soon as you can, don't wait for Dubai.
I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy. In one word-- Excrutiating,
another definition, it's so close to you're brain you won't concentrate or be able to think of anything,only your pain. And those emergency dentists go on holiday too, as I found out

Well, thankfully there's very little pain now. taxexile, thanks for the added info. I found a dentist just down the road from where we're moving to tomorrow. (Yes there's a lot happening this week) It's under NHS so I'll go first thing in the morning on Tuesday. I'll give you all an update after that.

Thanks again for the advice, sympathy and kind thoughts. I've greened everyine that I could. It looks like I need to sprread the love.

Originally Posted by taxexile

there is no shortage of excellent dentists in england, whereabouts in the uk are you?

Originally Posted by natalie8

I have to go to St. Bart's Hospital on Tuesday for something else

the only problem with dentists in the Uk is that they are expensive-ish

there are plenty of good ones, some of them are the best in the world

avoid most NHS dentists as they have to work within stupid parameters

have a word at St Barts

Originally Posted by natalie8

So, this long story is just to ask for suggesitons on easing the pain until I get to go see the dentist again at the end of May. I really appreciate any help.

This may sound weird, but works - warm water with salt dissolved in it (yeah, saltwater, warm). I had a similar situation, and my dentist suggested it until I could see her - worked within minutes.

You realize that your situation is a root canal in-waiting, right?

You should order an x-ray of the tooth's area and ascertain if there is infection at the bottom of the tooth (which is what the pressure sensitivity indicates). If the infection is bacterial, you *could* take anti-biotics to calm it down, though if it's irritation based inflammation then the warm saltwater will help, but it's no cure.

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

This may sound weird, but works - warm water with salt dissolved in it (yeah, saltwater, warm). I had a similar situation, and my dentist suggested it until I could see her - worked within minutes.

This doesn't sound weird at all. In fact, salt water is food for quite a few issues with the gums or the threat. The salt draws moisture away from the tissue so that bacteria can't feed. Thanks for that.

And Nigel, yes, some things here are really difficult thanks to the 'regulations'.

unless you have a compromised immune system, there is no need to take antibiotics until you are showing symptoms of infection, i.e. raised body temperature.


Salt water mouthwash rinses are an excellent short term treatment when you have wounds in the mouth, for instance, when you’ve had teeth removed.

The reason they are so good is that the salt is not only a natural disinfectant, but it also removes any swelling from the tissues. So using salt water for two or three weeks post surgery, or if you have an infection or a mouth ulcer, works really well as a short term measure.

I have good news! I went to the densist and she said that there is only a small crack on the surface and it hasn't affected anything in a negative way, so no intervention is needed. She took a look at the work that was done in January, the compund filling and she said that it's in good shape. She only suggested that I keep an eye on it and to keep up with my great program of brushing 2-3x / day and flossing 3-4x / week.

Big Smile!!!!!

If you haven't been using the tooth for a while cos it's sensitive to pressure, it will throb a bit.

I had a wisdom filled last month and because I hadn't been chewing on that side for months, after they had drilled and filled I immedietely started chewing on that side, bad mistake!!!

But, it was only trivial pain, gums and stuff, I didn't need any painkillers. It took about two weeks until I could fully use that side again.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

I had a wisdom filled last month and because I hadn't been chewing on that side for months, after they had drilled and filled I immedietely started chewing on that side, bad mistake!!!

Out of interest Pat ( to tell the truth just being a nosy twat ) was that private ?? as before when I had my wisdom tooth and asked for it to be filled I was told not on the NHS because it would have to be pulled sooner rather than later

BTW Nat have you tried using " The sonic " toothbrush

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

I had a wisdom filled last month and because I hadn't been chewing on that side for months, after they had drilled and filled I immedietely started chewing on that side, bad mistake!!!

Out of interest Pat ( to tell the truth just being a nosy twat ) was that private ?? as before when I had my wisdom tooth and asked for it to be filled I was told not on the NHS because it would have to be pulled sooner rather than later

Because I wanted it done quicklay I had to pay £75++

NHS would have had me waiting about thirty years just to be some dental students guinea pig.

Thanks for the advice Pat.

Nigel, no I haven't tried it.

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

NHS would have had me waiting about thirty years just to be some dental students guinea pig.

don't talk nonsense

^ Agreed it would have been at least 35

Originally Posted by nigelandjan

^ some tooth probs respond to warm others respond to cool depends on the prob ,, thats a standard question the dentist asks when you go.

Good advice about the anti biotics though ,, problem is Nat is not in Thailand she is in the UK at the mo so she can't go to the sweet shop to buy them , its prescription only ,, unless hubby has a little supply of moxy tucked away

It's why I always leave with a serious supply of various antibiotics when I leave Thailand. Keep 'em in the fridge, and they sure do come in handy.

Yeah, when my one trouble tooth exploded one time in Bangkok - nothing worked for the pain (not even talking and negotiating with the tooth - I tried, really), but then I accidentally found out that ice cold water deadened the pain - until the tissue warmed up again. So, my taxi speeding to the dentist stopped every 5 minutes to refill fresh ice water at the closets 7/11 en route.

Apparently, my teeth respond well (so to speak) to ice water.