<p>I feel slightly embarrassed to be making one physical complaint after another, but here goes. During the 10-period prior to yesterday, I had what was easily the most excruciatingly painful toothache I’ve had in the last 20 years or so – sharp stabbing pains in and around the last molar in the back on the bottom right of my mouth, especially whenever I ate or drank anything cold. (So I neither ate nor drank any more than I absolutely had to.) I finally went yesterday to see my dentist, who found a deep crack in the enamel on the back of that tooth, filed the enamel down, and filled it.</p>
<p>It actually felt quite nice to have that part of my mouth completely numbed by Novocaine and to be without pain for the first time in 10 days; J. and I had dinner before it wore off, and it was an immense relief to be able to eat comfortably.</p>
<p>But ever since the novocaine wore off sometime last night, that tooth has continued to hurt. A lot. Not a sharp stabbing pain like before, or particularly affected by cold liquid, but a dull, intense, throbbing pain. All the time, which actually makes it worse than before. Advil and Anbesol haven’t helped at all. So I’ve eaten nothing, and drunk very little liquid, and gotten no work done, the entire day. I haven’t even been able to nap at my desk, despite being a champion daytime napper!</p>
<p>I’m assuming that this is just the residual pain from having the procedure done. But should it still be hurting this much, more than 24 hours later? It’s been so many years since I’ve had a filling that I just don’t remember. My dentist’s office was closed this afternoon when I tried to call, so I suppose I’ll have to wait until Monday to try again.</p>
<p>Not fun at all. I wish I still had some tylenol with codeine from the last time I was in the hospital. But no such luck. </p>
<p>All I can say is, I’m glad I said “no thank you” when my dentist suggested trying to do the filing and drilling without giving me any novocaine. I’m no hero when it comes to pain.</p>
<p>Based on what you are describing, I bet you might need a root canal. I have had a dentist try to be conservative and just do a filling, but even if just a wee wee bit of bacteria or decay is any where near that root, your body is going to let you know. I would call the after hours line and at least get an appointment for Monday a.m. Sorry you are going through this. I hate toothaches!</p>
<p>Sometimes if there is an opening to the root and bacteria got in, once they seal it, then the root throbs. Not a fun way to test it on a Friday night, but oft times when a tooth screams at heat (as opposed to or in addition to cold) that mean the root is dying/dead and needs to be removed. So sorry this is happening at all, but even worse on a weekend!</p>
<p>Thanks. Ugh, wouldn’t a root canal be lovely. I wish that I had thought to ask the dentist how long I should feel pain afterwards, but I was so relieved to get <em>something</em> done that it just didn’t occur to me. A lot of dental information sites on the Internet have advice to the effect that post-filling pain can last a couple of weeks, and you should call your dentist if it doesn’t go away by then. Somehow I have a feeling that I won’t be waiting that long. Not that I really have time for yet another medical appointment next week, since I’m already scheduled to have an ultrasound to follow up on my mammogram (something I’m tempted to skip or reschedule, since the swelling has definitely decreased), and to see my gastroenterologist about some Crohn’s Disease issues I’ve been having recently.</p>
<p>Plus I got a new work assignment late this afternoon. Just when I love to hear about that kind of thing – past 5:30 pm on a Friday!</p>
<p>But at least J.'s planning to be around for a good part of the weekend. I hope I feel well enough to do something fun with him or at least converse with him. If not, I won’t ask him to stick around, and will encourage him to go back to NJ to be with my ex, or spend time with friends. He deserves to enjoy himself on his vacation. No, I"m not being a martyr; that’s what I believe.</p>
<p>Donna - is there an emergency number you can call for your dentist? Perhaps he could call in a prescription for pain meds to get you through the weekend. I’m sorry you are going through this, it sounds miserable.</p>
<p>Donna: all dentists have emergency call numbers either through an answering service or someone on call…let us know if you reach him/her; agree that it sounds like either something got caught back there (bacteria) or a root issue…</p>
<p>I have had many root canals, and this sounds like one brewing to me. You may have an abscess, and once the crack got sealed pressure builds. Call your dentist. He can at least get you some effective pain relievers to tide you over until you can be seen. Good luck.</p>
<p>I did the same thing eating a tootsie roll. My dentist hoped that the cracked tooth could be fixed with a filling and a crown. He tried…the throbbing continued. I needed a root canal and if you think you felt better after the last procedure, you will feel GREAT if you need a root canal and then have one. Call your dentist and describe your symptoms. Good luck…oh another thing…I had quite a few “powerful” pain relievers (as I was going away for four days…didn’t eat the whole time…) and they didn’t TOUCH that pain.</p>
<p>Definitely call your dentist. I’m sure he has an emergency number. The pain you describe here warrants a phone call.</p>
<p>Don’t fear a root canal. The hardest part for me was sitting in the chair with my mouth open for a length of time. It’s usually done in stages and can take 3 or 4 visits to complete.</p>
<p>Call your dentist – don’t wait until Monday. The filling may need to come out now before the pressure builds up too much from an infection. I tried to get through the weekend with one years ago, and even with Rx painkillers I was in agony. It hurt way more than childbirth. Way more. I also needed antibiotics.</p>
<p>(Taking out the filling isn’t necessarily saying you’re going to do a root canal at the same time – usually my RCs (and growing up with years of braces in an area without fluouride means lots of dental problems) have been done by endodontists. The last one I had was done in 90 minutes from start to finish.)</p>
<p>Donna, I hope even as I type this, you might be in a dentist’s chair, getting this thing resolved. An abscess is nothing to take lightly. So, if there’s any chance that that what’s brewing, you need to take care of it. Blood infections have been known to result from abscesses. Don’t spend the weekend in agony (why do things like this always happen at the start of weekends?!:rolleyes:).</p>
<p>Sounds like a root canal to me - I started a long root canal thread here about 14 months ago. I’ve only had one but that’s enough for a lifetime.</p>
<p>You might try some stuff from the drug store as that might help with the pain. I used Extra Strength something or other until I got the root canal. The dentist prescribed my a Z-Pack to take care of the infection - probably a good idea leading up to the root canal work itself.</p>
<p>Donna, in case you need a root canal, I wanted to insert a reassuring note. I’ve had several of them and personally, I find them no worse than a normal filling. You’re numbed up, so what difference does it make which specific procedure the dentist is doing? The only thing that’s hard for me is that it takes longer which makes my jaw hurt. So I always ask for the rubber block which props my teeth apart, relieving stress on the muscles. Seriously, I have literally dozed off during root canals. And they solve the problem. Don’t worry. :)</p>
<p>ETA: I just noticed this:</p>
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<p>Your dentist really wanted to drill without numbing you? This sounds odd to me…</p>
<p>I’ve had 7 root canals and am probably headed towards my 8th. This sound just like one to me. It’s not that bad but I would recommend having it done y a root canal specialist. Mine is an endodontist. The dentist does the crown, but the endodontist does the root canal.</p>
<p>Donna - Wish I would have read this yesterday. It certainly sounds like you will need a root canal. Please don’t wait. You should not be feeling pain now. The whole reaction to heat is the hallmark of the infection spreading to the root.</p>
<p>My DH once had a root canal that did not respond to the antibiotics given. He continued to get worse and needed to be seen by an oral surgeon to drain infection. Don’t wait.</p>
<p>And BTW - I am a not some tough cookie, but the root canal is no big deal.</p>
<p>I don’t use painkillers when I have dental work done. I did get the pain killers with the root canal but the dentist went light on it because of my concerns. So they wore off during the procedure (it was a lot longer than he had estimated) and he had to squirt stuff in while cleaning out the living material. Quite painful even though I do have a very high tolerance for pain.</p>
<p>Well, yeah, BC, if you weren’t numb, I can see why you wouldn’t want to go through it ever again. But the OP needs to know that with numbing, which she is not opposed to, she isn’t going to have that kind of experience.</p>
<p>Just wanted to add that before my (one and only, thank heavens) root canal, I had that excruciating pain too. For some reason, good old-fashioned aspirin helped A LOT.</p>