Hi all,
I had a lower tooth, second from the back, which had been rotting for some time, leaving quite a big hole in the middle but the outside of the tooth was still there. I've had a fear of needles since i was young and this is why i put off going to the dentist. Around a year ago i was in a similar situation and had severe toothache with a different tooth and i knew i had to have it extracted as soon as possible. I plucked up the courage and went to the dentist, had a filling first on another tooth and then went back to have that one extracted. I didn't feel a thing when the tooth was being extracted, only pushing and pulling but no pain. The dental nurse was lovely and made me feel at ease. However, that dental nurse retired a while ago and i had to see a young male dental nurse. The dentist looked at that tooth only, nothing else, not my other teeth, gums etc. He then proceeded to prod around the tooth with something which started to cause me pain. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was 'scraping and cleaning out the tooth'. I told him it was sore, and he said that he had made a small pin prick in an abcess which was under the tooth,and he told me the pain i felt was caused by the release of the pressure. He then started to wobble the tooth from side to side, which again, caused pain. The dentist said the area looked infected and gave me two options. 1. He could give me anti-biotics and get me back a week later to extract the tooth. 2.He could 'try' and remove the tooth there and then, but couldn't guarantee it would be painless due to abcess/infection. I decided that as i was already there, i might as well just have it extracted. I was given two injections, the first one was very painful and the second was more bearable. I was sent to the waiting room and waited maybe just over half an hour which i thought was a bit long. The left hand side of my face went numb, the left hand side of my head and ear also went numb. Back in the chair, the dentist wiggled the tooth about and the pain shot right through me which i wasn't expecting at all. I was expecting some amount of discomfort but nothing like that. It felt as though my face, head and ear was numb but nothing else, not the extraction site. I screamed and he asked if i wanted to stop, but i signalled for him to carry on as he had started and i couldn't walk away with half my tooth hanging out! He started again, meanwhile the blood was running down my throat and the dentists assistant was standing watching. Eventually i heard a crack and he told me that was 'one half of the tooth out'. I signalled and tried to ask one of them to use the suction thing to get the blood out of my mouth and the assistant done it. Round two for the second half was just as bad as the first, the pain ripped through my face, mouth, jaw etc and i was screaming, digging my nails into the chair and kicking my legs about, it was that bad. I realised how silly i must have looked and apologized once he was done. After the extraction, i started shaking, felt cold, dizzy and the dentist said i looked very pale. He asked how i was getting home and when i replied i would be driving, he told me to sit in the waiting room for a bit and if i still felt unwell, he would arrange for a lift for me.He also checked the extraction site and said it looked 'spot on'. I asked if he should put some gauze on it and he said no, leave it as it is. The bleeding stopped quite quickly but 33 hours later i still have swelling around my jawline, it feels like i still have toothache and the pain made me cry earlier. I have been taking Co-Codomol and placed a hot water bottle on the area, i am still only able to eat soft foods like soup and noodles on one side. How long should i wait to go back to the dentists about the pain? Should the dentist have extracted the tooth knowing i had an abcess/infection? Should he not have put some gauze on it? This has been a terrible experience for me and i really don't want to go back but i can't suffer the pain. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, i know it's quite long!
I had a lower tooth, second from the back, which had been rotting for some time, leaving quite a big hole in the middle but the outside of the tooth was still there. I've had a fear of needles since i was young and this is why i put off going to the dentist. Around a year ago i was in a similar situation and had severe toothache with a different tooth and i knew i had to have it extracted as soon as possible. I plucked up the courage and went to the dentist, had a filling first on another tooth and then went back to have that one extracted. I didn't feel a thing when the tooth was being extracted, only pushing and pulling but no pain. The dental nurse was lovely and made me feel at ease. However, that dental nurse retired a while ago and i had to see a young male dental nurse. The dentist looked at that tooth only, nothing else, not my other teeth, gums etc. He then proceeded to prod around the tooth with something which started to cause me pain. I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was 'scraping and cleaning out the tooth'. I told him it was sore, and he said that he had made a small pin prick in an abcess which was under the tooth,and he told me the pain i felt was caused by the release of the pressure. He then started to wobble the tooth from side to side, which again, caused pain. The dentist said the area looked infected and gave me two options. 1. He could give me anti-biotics and get me back a week later to extract the tooth. 2.He could 'try' and remove the tooth there and then, but couldn't guarantee it would be painless due to abcess/infection. I decided that as i was already there, i might as well just have it extracted. I was given two injections, the first one was very painful and the second was more bearable. I was sent to the waiting room and waited maybe just over half an hour which i thought was a bit long. The left hand side of my face went numb, the left hand side of my head and ear also went numb. Back in the chair, the dentist wiggled the tooth about and the pain shot right through me which i wasn't expecting at all. I was expecting some amount of discomfort but nothing like that. It felt as though my face, head and ear was numb but nothing else, not the extraction site. I screamed and he asked if i wanted to stop, but i signalled for him to carry on as he had started and i couldn't walk away with half my tooth hanging out! He started again, meanwhile the blood was running down my throat and the dentists assistant was standing watching. Eventually i heard a crack and he told me that was 'one half of the tooth out'. I signalled and tried to ask one of them to use the suction thing to get the blood out of my mouth and the assistant done it. Round two for the second half was just as bad as the first, the pain ripped through my face, mouth, jaw etc and i was screaming, digging my nails into the chair and kicking my legs about, it was that bad. I realised how silly i must have looked and apologized once he was done. After the extraction, i started shaking, felt cold, dizzy and the dentist said i looked very pale. He asked how i was getting home and when i replied i would be driving, he told me to sit in the waiting room for a bit and if i still felt unwell, he would arrange for a lift for me.He also checked the extraction site and said it looked 'spot on'. I asked if he should put some gauze on it and he said no, leave it as it is. The bleeding stopped quite quickly but 33 hours later i still have swelling around my jawline, it feels like i still have toothache and the pain made me cry earlier. I have been taking Co-Codomol and placed a hot water bottle on the area, i am still only able to eat soft foods like soup and noodles on one side. How long should i wait to go back to the dentists about the pain? Should the dentist have extracted the tooth knowing i had an abcess/infection? Should he not have put some gauze on it? This has been a terrible experience for me and i really don't want to go back but i can't suffer the pain. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, i know it's quite long!
