Did you ever get a weird toothache like mine?
For the last week a molar (had a crown put on it back in the ‘80’s) started feeling sensitive to the touch. Slowly it became slightly painful and over the last few days it has become very painful at times (especially after eating). Other times there was little to no pain. Two days ago the tooth was so painful that I took 5 mg of OxyContin so I could sleep. There was no decrease in pain (about a level 7) at all after an hour had passed. So I took another 5 mg of Oxytocin. Still no real decrease in pain after another 30 minutes. So I took another 5 mg of Oxytocin and after another 15 minutes I felt no pain and slept like a log all night.
When I got up from bed the next day I expected the tooth pain to return. But it never did. Nevertheless yesterday morning I called my dentist. I left a message on their voice mail (their answering recording said they were “too busy to answer the phone”) requesting an appointment for the doctor to examine my tooth. I have a teeth cleaning appointment a month from now but it is perhaps desirous to see my dentist at an earlier date.
Have you had a tooth that looks normal but is sensitive and painful at times but then feels OK at other times?
What do you think is going on with my tooth?
Thanks.
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22 Answers
You have an abscessed tooth, and when a decreased in pain the abscess is draining off ,get it looked at mine was eating at my jaw bone when draining, not pretty.
@SQUEEKY2 Sorry about your tooth. I expect a very bad result if I ignore this.
“Several risk factors have been identified to predispose oral cavity bacterial infection to cause brain abscess: dental work done in the upper molars; right-to-left shunts in the heart; and poor dental hygiene.”
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10022480/
People with certain heart issues and those with joint replacements take antibiotics specifically because there could be microscopic places for bacteria from the bloodstream to lodge and gather. Personally, I wouldn’t wait, and the lack of pain doesn’t mean there’s not still an issue. I’ve had that happen – where pain goes away – but there was still a problem with the tooth.
Hmm. I think tooth pain can be a lot of things, and if it amounted to a 7/10 pain and caused you to take serious pain drugs for it, definitely have your dentist study it.
My experience offers that even a small bit of food stuck in the wrong place can cause alarming pain (I’d rate the pain maybe 5–6/10) for a couple of days, and maybe some swelling, that then recedes quickly after it leaves somehow. That has happened to me several times over the years.
I had similar problems with an abscessed tooth beneath a crown.
My wife had a tooth that became very sensitive to pressure and temperature changes. Her dentist took some X-Rays but could find nothing wrong and didn’t advise taking any action other than being careful with the tooth and arranging a follow up appointment at a later date. Within ten days the pain had gone and the follow up appointment was not required. We never did find out the reason for the temporary pain which never returned.
I had off and on pain in one tooth for over a year. Never that severe but it would ache for a while and then go away. It was an old crown. The dentist tried several things including a root canal through the crown. Eventually as nothing helped, I had to go to an oral surgeon for an extraction and am now in the process of getting an implant there. It was not an abcess though but the pain went.
Could be a few things. The one not mentioned yet is your gums may have receded a lot in that area and the nerve is a little exposed. It was so severe and so persistent I don’t think it’s that though.
Next time you can try a Tylenol and 600mg of ibuprofen (assuming those drugs aren’t contradicted for you) if you don’t want to use OxyContin. I love the 5mg more and 5 mg more. LOL. :) I’m not a doctor.
Thanks for all your responses.
Two days in a row now with no pain. Will call the dentist again tomorrow (Monday, August 14th) to make an appointment. Hope that they answer the phone. If not I’ll go elsewhere.
@JLeslie I do have gum problems. But they’ve been getting better according to my dental hygienist (3 months ago). “Your gums look good. No bleeding”). I floss, use Oral-B and SoniCare toothbrushes and a water pick 3 times a day. That helps a lot but seems like a losing battle.
I thought about taking ibuprofen but the pain was so intense that I didn’t think it would help. The OxyContin was left over from a previous procedure. I hate using it because it makes me dizzy and nauseous when I stand up. That’s why I only take it at night when I’m in intense pain and need to sleep. Can’t understand people get addicted to it. It makes me sick.
@gondwanalon Tylenol is good for stopping the pain transmission and ibuprofen is good for reducing inflammation.
If OxyContin makes you feel sick I would guess you would try something different next time you need big time pain killers. Maybe Tramadol? I usually stick with OTC. Being dizzy can be dangerous.
@JLeslie Thanks. I never heard of Tramadol. I thought that ibuprofen was good for reducing pain and inflammation.
The pain started coming back this morning while out walking. I know that the pain is coming from one specific molar on the right side of my jaw but the pain radiates across the right side of my face.
My wife gave me Anbesol with 20% Benzocane (rub it around the tooth with a cotton swab). Got good relief from that.
I’ve had every kind of toothache imaginable. Your story is not shocking to me. Your method of medicating yourself was somewhat.
Tramadol is a synthetic and not as effective as an opioid but more effective than OTC meds and it’s more desirable…no addiction worries. You are right, Tylenol is a good fever reducer but not anywhere as effective for pain and inflammation as ibuprofen.
See the dentist asap. If this is an abscess infection can get into your bone. You don’t want that.
@gondwanalon
Tramadol is an opioid and CAN BE addictive, it is weaker than OxyContin @SnipSnip !
Of course Tramadol is addictive. I wasn’t saying it wasn’t.
If anyone is interested:
The dentist did an x-ray on the tooth this morning and it showed an infection so he did a root canal. He worked on my tooth for over an hour to drill out 3 roots. I have to come pack to finish the procedure. He said that that would take another 2 hours. Cost so far is $1,599.30.
Felt great when I left the dentist office. But then the numbness wore off. HA! Just took 600 mg of ibuprofen.
Don’t take hot baths or showers until after the swelling goes down. It will make it hurt worse.
Much worse.
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