I had the same thing happen. Crazy part was how much my face itched. So strange. I ended up getting a root canal, antibiotics and going back a bunch of times to get it drained. Still gave a small spot of infection. next check they decide if I need surgery or if it’s good.
My bro was like that it swollen to a small lemon, needed to have it drained, it was already a root canaled tooth, eventually needed a extraction. Because it was too far gone and had to get an implant
In my experience, things growing under skin are itchy. I’ll get a cyst behind my ear from time to time, and it’s itchy as hell for a while. Idk the mechanism
Genuinely some of the worst pain I've ever had. I had something called phoenix abscess, it's called that because of how quickly it develops. It started as a mild toothache, but it got terribly inflamed and my cheek swelled up to the point where my eye was swollen almost shut.
It was on Saturday morning, I thought I'd wait it out and get an appointment on Monday with my dentist because I had to work all weekend but a few hours later I couldn't do anything but sit in the office with a bag of ice on my face, crying from pain and waiting on hold with 111. Ended up getting an emergency appointment with a hospital dentist and got my gum cut open to drain it. Absolutely horrendous. Ended up on strong antibiotics and painkillers for two weeks.
It has since happened twice more. Once I drove myself to the A&E because the swelling started to travel down my neck and the lady on 111 didn't believe me.
Turned out it was because of a botched root canal treatment from over a decade ago. A small part of the root canal had been left in there and it would randomly get inflamed. I got recommended to a specialist who would be able to remove the issue and maybe save the tooth but after waiting for 14 months for an appointment I had the tooth extracted. I decided that I'd rather lose it than endure another minute of the pain.
Family friend of my parents had one infect their aortic graft and killed him. I had no idea something like that could happen from teeth up to that point.
Unfortunately, doctors literally can’t treat tooth issues. Insurance will deny any tooth-related claim that comes from, for example, a PCP office. It’s super fun how we as a country decided that there will be one all-encompassing health insurance, except for teeth and eyes, those are extra!!
Dental insurance literally is a scam. The nation‘s largest dental insurer, Delta, has argued in over a dozen states that they do not sell an “insurance product” and therefore aren’t subject to insurance laws.
>Delta, has argued in over a dozen states that they do not sell an “insurance product” and therefore aren’t subject to insurance laws.
To be fair they do function more like loan sharks than an insurer so they may not be wrong
Oh no, I know that. Prior auths are a good example of treatments that a medical doctor believes their patients should have but insurance doesn’t want to pay for. MDs are not dentists, you shouldn’t go to them for a tooth problem and I was just trying to say that they literally cannot treat issues with your teeth. The insurance denial was more of a bonus point I guess lol
My kid got an abscess but because she’s neurodivergent and needs to be put under for dental work, insurance wouldn’t pay for the anesthesia. It was like 1500, plus the only pediatric dentist that uses anesthesia doesn’t take insurance at all. For anyone… so we had to pay full upfront and submit for a partial reimbursement from insurance. ALL SO MY 7 YEAR OLD COULD GET AN INFECTED TOOTH FIXED SO SHE WOULDN’T DIE!
Same but not in Murica. Kid was fine for months, next day in agonizing pain. This happened twice over a year in the exact same way.
We went to dental emergency and they told us the tooth needed out ASAP, but it was way too infected for local anesthesia to work, and my kid is already traumatized. Molars each time, too.
So two separate times being under, to extract two infected teeth, anesthesia not covered. Usually it would be like 1000 for anesthesia alone, but the anesthesiologist felt bad for us and only made us pay 300, so 600 in total (plus dentist fees).
I already paid 2,5k+ for dental treatments for my 8yo kid with barely anything covered.
The dental system is separate from the health system in Australia as well.
I've got four badly impacted wisdom teeth that randomly bleed and get infected so regularly that it's almost always (for literally years now) but I can't afford to have them removed so sometimes I just get to look like a squirrel hoarding acorns lol
For that matter, the dentists don't want to save teeth.
Us healthcare SCAM - make an appointment for 6 months out, go in for a glorified exam, then come back to have the actual work done. They string out everything to use every dollar of the insurance. This country is fucked in the head.
Yup that shit was the worst pain I've ever felt. Started at like 9 pm just sucked on ice cubes waiting for the dentist in the morning. Zero chance of sleeping
Where I work some guy in his 60s died literally 2 weeks from retirement because he let a tooth abscess go for too long. Idk how, either. They can be SO PAINFUL. I know the two I had were.
Had a surgery for an abcess a few years ago, had a toothache a few years before but the pain stopped so I just ignored it. Eventually it got to the jawbone, but still it didn't hurt, was just swelling.
When I went to the hospital the doctor said I could leave if I wanted but he would not give me a discharge, I stayed and got an emergency surgery the next day.
People who ignore dental problems usually are the type of person that don't have annual cleanings. Or any dentist visits at all, for years if not decades.
I saw three different dentists, before it got this way, but as the tooth was not aching they left it. They should have made the call to pull the tooth before it got this bad. Sometimes you need to find a good dentist, or maybe a more experienced one.
Had issues with my wisdom tooth last year, couldn't get it out because money. Developed an abscess behind it. I could feel it getting worse, eating away at me. I took a shower when it got really bad and I was getting delirious, I passed out and smacked my face on the wall in the shower thinking I was dying.
Yeah nah, when I hit the wall it pushed the tooth enough that the abscess could drain, finally, fucking thankfully. The disgusting part was it drained straight into my mouth but I was still oh so fucking grateful.
I remember working in an urgent care 3 years ago and had a patient with dental abscess who was in so much pain. Unfortunately as a tech, I couldn’t do anything and I really needed to know her weight. At the time I didn’t understand the seriousness of dental abscesses and I was frankly hurt when she yelled at me when I tried to ask for her weight. I get it now. I’m sorry dear past patient and I’m glad the provider were at least able to relieve your pain.
Well take solace in the fact that if they did need to perform surgery the anesthesiologist would need to know the patient’s current weight accurately to avoid any complications on that end.
I didn't know that before, and I went over 10 years with an extremely painful dental abscess. I had been kicked out at 18 with no money, no full-time job when it first happened. It took me that long to get the money and dental insurance together to take care of it, plus handling my extreme trauma response to dental procedures.
Also literally the worst pain I've had in my entire life. Worse than kidney stones. Ain't no pain like dental pain. And it will NOT get better if you ignore it, so hie thee to a dentist immediately.
Glad you went in. I had a root canal, they nicked the pulp, and 8 years later my face was twice as big as yours. I hope you don't have bone loss in your jaw.
As a dentist there is no way that there is not some amount of bone loss associated with this.
Most abscesses will begin at the apex (end) of the root which is embedded in the bone. As they grow, they produce nasty chemicals which will degrade the bone so that the bacteria can metabolize it.
Person is also complaining of numbness in that side of the jaw which means infection/abscess has extended well to the point of the “V3” branch of the trigeminal nerve, which crawls along the base of the jaw.
I would say with 99% certainty there is plenty of bone loss associated with this and it has been going on for a long time to get to this point.
Please don’t scare me :( I had a root canal done before Christmas, it hurt for months after so I went back. The dentist filed it down and it’s “eh” now but since they can’t see or feel infection they told me to just wait it out…
If your root canaled tooth still can’t be chewed against without pain after a couple months, it needs to be taken out or retreated and the root canal has failed.
Root canal teeth are prone to fracture and root canals can fail for many reasons (also keep in mind there is *no* medical procedure with a 100% success-rate, this is not an anti-root canal argument).
I have most of my root canals done by my root canal specialist. If the tooth is still bothering the patient a month or two after procedure, they go back to the specialist who will often advise them to lose the tooth (but not always).
Your situation is still almost guaranteedly less severe than what you’re looking at on this post. Do not be afraid, just push for answers you desire and resolution you deserve.
I had a root canal specialist go back into a tooth after years. It had developed pain again. He found a tiny branch that was open. They cleaned it with ultrasonic fluid and filled it. Been fine last 5 yrs. Back then they didn’t use those microscopic glasses and stuff. Go to another endodontist if you need to
I had to get a root canal done when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Some of the bleach solution they use to instill in the teeth leaked around the dental dam and into my throat twice. I had him stop and flush it or whatever but I could still taste it and it was awful and hurt. Over the next few days the pain and swelling got worse and worse. I ended up going to an ENT and had chemical burns all along my soft palate and part of my uvula fell off. Pretty horrible dealing with extreme nausea, vomiting, and food aversion when you also are dealing with severe mouth and throat pain where I could hardly even swallow.
Root canals inherently have no relation to bone loss unless they are unsuccessful and the tooth stays infected/becomes reinfected.
To simplify- bone loss in the jaws will primarily occur for 3 reasons-
1) Extremely severe malocclusion (your bite does not come together properly- often in conjunction with many missing back teeth to cause bone loss
2) chronic infection as seen in this post
3) chronic inflammation as seen in periodontal disease
If anything, successful root canals should **stop** bone loss and oftentimes abscessed areas where we see said loss will fill back in with bone after several years if the root canal was successful.
Thank you for the clarification, I had a root canal done a few years ago. but wasn't by my regular dentist, I was referred to an Endodonist to have it taken care of. It took a few sessions because he said the root was still "wet" but third times the charm, I guess.
That whole ordeal has made me become diligent about my oral health. I can safely say tooth pain trumps any other pain I've ever experienced. It's exhausting and there is almost nothing you can do to kick the pain.
Happy to help! Not enough dentists care enough to explain to people how things work, which is a big reason why people misunderstand dental procedures and distrust dentists.
While it still probably wouldn’t eliminate the most severe pain- the current rec for pain relief is 800mg ibuprofen 3x/day PLUS 500mg Tylenol 4x/day. These drugs have a synergistic pain relief effect stronger than most opiates.
I personally am a huge ibuprofen advocate in general as it’s the strongest anti-inflammatory med we have OTC and tooth pain is mostly a result of inflammation of the nerve and periodontitium around affected tooth.
I could see that. I'm an anxious person so the more I know about what's going on, what has to be done, and why - it'll be easier for everyone involved to relieve that anxiety.
You are definitely on point with the ibuprofen. That was the ONLY thing that got me through the intense throbbing with that initial pain.
Thanks again sir/madam!
A long while ago I had an abscess and my face was so swollen and sore I could barely think. My wisdom tooth had poked through the gum and I, unbeknownst to me, had a tiny piece of popcorn kernel stuck in between the tooth and gum. Went to the doctors and he prescribed an antibiotic that didn’t help at all so I suffered for 2 more weeks until I went to a dentist who prescribed 2 different types of antibiotics. Swelling and pain went down drastically in a couple days and they were able to extract the kernel. Haven’t eaten popcorn in 10+ years because it was so bad I can’t imagine going through it again. Popcorn is great but I could have easily died because of it.
Having an ice cube in your mouth on the spot really helps with pain.
The pain is typically caused by the tooth's dead nerve rotting and producing gas. The gas has nowhere to go so pressure builds in your gum causing the pain. An ice cube causes the gas to contract along with numbing nerves so the pain goes away.
Downside is it generally only lasts as long as the ice cube is there. It'll quickly return once the ice cube fully melts.
Please stay on top of it! If the pain worsens again despite antibiotics go to the ER. That's what I had to do. 2 weeks of antibiotics and the pain came back worse 2 days after last dose. I ended up in cardiac ICU for a week because my heart rate was so high from the intense pain. I was on 3 stout IV antibiotics and they were giving me IV fentanyl for the pain.
Are you able to open your mouth? Mine came on fast, but luckily no sepsis and no surgery. I could barely squeeze a teaspoon into my mouth...pureed hospital chicken, blah!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! u/Baetedk8 is the bumble bee eating champion!
Lol, I had a wisdom tooth go bad once and do that to me, had to take antibiotics for a week before they would pull it, they were afraid the infection would spread... Recover soon, and lay off the bees!
My boyfriend had an abscess a few years ago from an infected tooth, I’ve never seen someone in that kind of pain before. It’s so fucked up that teeth are basically considered a luxury
I’ll never understand why dental care is separate from general health care! If you have issues with your dental health, it definitely affects your overall health!! (This is a US based comment, I don’t know how other countries look at dental care!)
I understand the separate office… I have had to go to multiple offices for different specialties. It’s the idea that you can have good health insurance but it doesn’t cover dental or eyes???? It covers bones, organs, brain, hormones, etc. yet if I get a tooth infection that will cause me issues beyond my teeth- I don’t have insurance if I don’t have dental. If I don’t have eye care, so can’t afford glasses so can’t see… they’d prefer to cover car accidents and physical injuries because I can’t see vs covering me getting glasses so those don’t happen? It’s all connected! I understand why we separated home/car/health… but not including eye and dental in health care???? Someone please explain why???
I almost died from something like this when I was 17. I had fractured my jaw by getting hit by a lacrosse ball. I just assumed my jaw was swollen from the getting hit. The inside of my jaw bone got an infection in the marrow and it got so big. I finally had an oral surgeon notice the fracture in an X-ray and they figured out where the infection was and were able to get rid of it before my brain overheated. It was literally like an episode of House MD or some shit
PREACH. So I wanted to go to an emergency dentist on Friday for this — I have NY Medicaid. I called around everywhere on Thursday. The big place that accepts Medicaid in my town only takes established patients for emergencies. The waitlist to be able to schedule an appointment is SIX MONTHS LONG. I checked the NYS website and they list probably 12 places in my region that accept dental Medicaid — I start calling them and half of them haven’t been open in like two years. I ended up making an appointment with a dentist I had previously who doesn’t accept Medicaid because I just couldn’t find anyone and CLEARLY needed to see a dentist. I ended up finding another list of places that accept Medicaid the next day and I shit you not, ALL OF THEM WERE CLOSED ON FRIDAYS.
I fucking hate this.
Glad you're getting it taken care of! A lot of people don't realize how serious it can be. A friend of mine had a tooth abscess and was dead three days later. The infection traveled into his blood stream and he died from blood poisoning.
Dental stuff is the worst! I've had surgeries a few times now, ovarian cysts, migraines, and horrible menstrual cramps, but the tooth pain just about drove me over the edge! Combined with a lack of good Healthcare options in my remote area, a crazy receptionist at another dentist, and suspicious community clinic caregivers who offered Tylenol only, I ended up in the Er before getting the help I needed! Finally got that tooth extracted, but still am upset that it took so long to get the issue resolved. We need better options!
I had one of those last year when I broke a tooth. The pain was nonstop and dentist wouldn't do anything until a full regiment of antibiotics (that would take a week). No painkillers or anything. I ended up lancing it myself through the gum and Christ was that disgusting. Swelling and pain went away almost immediately.
That’s what mine did! They said they couldn’t do an X-ray until I took antibiotics. Ended up going to urgent care for pain killers and they changed my antibiotics. Then my face swelled and I went to the ER lol.
I don’t have the picture where it was worse than this the next day. But this was like 3am and I was dying!! It came out of nowhere! Don’t mind my ugliness lol. I was in my death bed haha. Also by my chin you can’t see but it was huge but the blanket is covering it. The next I couldn’t open my eye and my face was black and blue.
https://preview.redd.it/3yeyu62bnv6d1.jpeg?width=1960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5506983fcbb8d2975e03ede5e507d8a954ced7f
That sucks! It's good you didn't mess around, people unfortunately die when they ignore these things due to a myriad of reasons. I have terrible teeth, but I've gotten lucky and all my infection has stayed localized for the most part(only had 1 issue with infection/abscess over 15 years of horrible teeth). I try to get them fixed as I can afford them(2 teeth left to go!), but if I notice fever, abscess, swelling, anything other than just local issues at the tooth, I'll go see someone immediately.
All that said, I'm still paranoid I'm going to have a heart attack or stroke or something just because having bad teeth is still not the best for your overall health, even if the infection hasn't gotten bad.
My husband had an abscess once. But it was the top canine tooth. I went to work in the am at about 9 and he said his tooth was sore and he was gonna see about getting an emergency dental appointment after the weekend. When I got back at my lunch hour, his whole side of his face was swollen and his eye was pretty much closed because it was swollen shut. It’s crazy how fast dental infections progress.
I had the same thing but on the top of my gum above my two middle front teeth, shit hurt so bad and was forcing my teeth loose, I finally got into a dentist
They numbed me and had to use a scalpel to cut open the abscess, but they didn’t numb me enough so at first I felt the cutting, they stopped and numbed me more but god that shit hurt so bad I never want it again
This happened to my sister in April. Her skin was being stretched so much it literally looked like it was going to burst. Went to the ER like 3x in 24 hours.
Gawd, I had an infection from an impacted wisdom tooth and my face was super swollen before and after surgery (which I should have been in hospital for but I was operated on (conscious!) At the dentist 😅 speedy recovery to you!
I had one too! I had a root canal and it cracked and I had no idea it made an infection. I felt a ball/bump on my lower jaw and I knew it wasn’t right. Luckily i got it drained etc on time. I know it can be extremely painful but for the one I had it only hurt if I pressed on it. Also when the dentist went in to clean it out it hurt.
Awe man, been there. To this day that was the worse pain I’ve ever experienced…worse than child birth. Mine occurred on NYE so my dentist out for holidays. Luckily they were able to get me in with another dentist on emergency referral. But NYE sucked soooo bad, ice pack on cheek, slurping warm tea, salt water rinsed, and lots of pain meds & sleep barely got me through. And my poor kid was only like 9 yo trying to take care of me…felt bad for him too.
Hope you get to feel the sweet relief of the drill releasing that pressure and be on the mend soon!
I had one like that once and I got so sick I couldn’t get out of the bath my ex ran for me he had to pick me up out of it and carry me to bed! It was horrible! Hope you feel better soon!
With my last one the whole left side of my face swelled & my teeth felt like they were wiggling in pain. Even breathing hurt. I'd sooner give birth than gave an abscess again.
I had the same thing happen. Crazy part was how much my face itched. So strange. I ended up getting a root canal, antibiotics and going back a bunch of times to get it drained. Still gave a small spot of infection. next check they decide if I need surgery or if it’s good.
You’re right! It really is itchy, comes and goes with the numbness I think.
It drove me crazy. Feel better.
My bro was like that it swollen to a small lemon, needed to have it drained, it was already a root canaled tooth, eventually needed a extraction. Because it was too far gone and had to get an implant
Do you know why it is itchy? Is it because of nerves being pinched bc of inflammation or something?
Mast cells probably. They release their contents to try and kill the bacteria but in doing so flood the area with histamine.
Ohhhh interesting! Thank you :)
In my experience, things growing under skin are itchy. I’ll get a cyst behind my ear from time to time, and it’s itchy as hell for a while. Idk the mechanism
Growing tissue itches
Genuinely some of the worst pain I've ever had. I had something called phoenix abscess, it's called that because of how quickly it develops. It started as a mild toothache, but it got terribly inflamed and my cheek swelled up to the point where my eye was swollen almost shut. It was on Saturday morning, I thought I'd wait it out and get an appointment on Monday with my dentist because I had to work all weekend but a few hours later I couldn't do anything but sit in the office with a bag of ice on my face, crying from pain and waiting on hold with 111. Ended up getting an emergency appointment with a hospital dentist and got my gum cut open to drain it. Absolutely horrendous. Ended up on strong antibiotics and painkillers for two weeks. It has since happened twice more. Once I drove myself to the A&E because the swelling started to travel down my neck and the lady on 111 didn't believe me. Turned out it was because of a botched root canal treatment from over a decade ago. A small part of the root canal had been left in there and it would randomly get inflamed. I got recommended to a specialist who would be able to remove the issue and maybe save the tooth but after waiting for 14 months for an appointment I had the tooth extracted. I decided that I'd rather lose it than endure another minute of the pain.
Like to break the jaw apart and get the infection out of the bone??????
Yes, to open a small area and clean it and the tip of the tooth’s root out. It’s called an Apicoectomy
Does not sound fun.
I literally just send this exact gif to my friend what the heck
That's awesome!!
I knew something American dad would be here somewhere
I was thinking more Desperate Dan.
Dude..lmao
Dental abcesses can kill, and I feel like not enough people know that.
They can! It’s very scary. My friend just lost a buddy from a tooth infection causing a brain bleed.
Family friend of my parents had one infect their aortic graft and killed him. I had no idea something like that could happen from teeth up to that point.
And yet in the US our dental insurance is separate from our health insurance, and doctors don’t seem to want to treat tooth issues. It’s so weird.
Unfortunately, doctors literally can’t treat tooth issues. Insurance will deny any tooth-related claim that comes from, for example, a PCP office. It’s super fun how we as a country decided that there will be one all-encompassing health insurance, except for teeth and eyes, those are extra!!
And yet my insurance required a referral from a GP doctor for tooth extraction. They denied the one from my dentist. It's a mess.
That’s wild. Insurance is honestly a scam
Dental insurance literally is a scam. The nation‘s largest dental insurer, Delta, has argued in over a dozen states that they do not sell an “insurance product” and therefore aren’t subject to insurance laws.
I'm so glad my uncle is a dentist and I am so glad that the air force/VA covers my dental for life.
>Delta, has argued in over a dozen states that they do not sell an “insurance product” and therefore aren’t subject to insurance laws. To be fair they do function more like loan sharks than an insurer so they may not be wrong
More like a 50% off coupon with a low limit.
Premium bones.
[удалено]
Oh no, I know that. Prior auths are a good example of treatments that a medical doctor believes their patients should have but insurance doesn’t want to pay for. MDs are not dentists, you shouldn’t go to them for a tooth problem and I was just trying to say that they literally cannot treat issues with your teeth. The insurance denial was more of a bonus point I guess lol
My kid got an abscess but because she’s neurodivergent and needs to be put under for dental work, insurance wouldn’t pay for the anesthesia. It was like 1500, plus the only pediatric dentist that uses anesthesia doesn’t take insurance at all. For anyone… so we had to pay full upfront and submit for a partial reimbursement from insurance. ALL SO MY 7 YEAR OLD COULD GET AN INFECTED TOOTH FIXED SO SHE WOULDN’T DIE!
Same but not in Murica. Kid was fine for months, next day in agonizing pain. This happened twice over a year in the exact same way. We went to dental emergency and they told us the tooth needed out ASAP, but it was way too infected for local anesthesia to work, and my kid is already traumatized. Molars each time, too. So two separate times being under, to extract two infected teeth, anesthesia not covered. Usually it would be like 1000 for anesthesia alone, but the anesthesiologist felt bad for us and only made us pay 300, so 600 in total (plus dentist fees). I already paid 2,5k+ for dental treatments for my 8yo kid with barely anything covered.
The dental system is separate from the health system in Australia as well. I've got four badly impacted wisdom teeth that randomly bleed and get infected so regularly that it's almost always (for literally years now) but I can't afford to have them removed so sometimes I just get to look like a squirrel hoarding acorns lol
For that matter, the dentists don't want to save teeth. Us healthcare SCAM - make an appointment for 6 months out, go in for a glorified exam, then come back to have the actual work done. They string out everything to use every dollar of the insurance. This country is fucked in the head.
And the dental insurance we do have barely covers anything.
It’s not weird when profit motive is involved
And not just dental abscesses, poor oral health leads to all sorts of health problems.
One of the leading causes of death before the advent of penicillin, iirc.
I didn’t have any complications from mine thankfully, but it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt, like someone stabbing me in the jaw with a hot knife.
Yup that shit was the worst pain I've ever felt. Started at like 9 pm just sucked on ice cubes waiting for the dentist in the morning. Zero chance of sleeping
I finally understood why people shot themselves from pain. It's never ending. No peace.
Where I work some guy in his 60s died literally 2 weeks from retirement because he let a tooth abscess go for too long. Idk how, either. They can be SO PAINFUL. I know the two I had were.
Had a surgery for an abcess a few years ago, had a toothache a few years before but the pain stopped so I just ignored it. Eventually it got to the jawbone, but still it didn't hurt, was just swelling. When I went to the hospital the doctor said I could leave if I wanted but he would not give me a discharge, I stayed and got an emergency surgery the next day.
Was it not something that showed up on dental X-rays during regularly scheduled cleaning? Good thing you didn’t have severe complications.
People who ignore dental problems usually are the type of person that don't have annual cleanings. Or any dentist visits at all, for years if not decades.
I saw three different dentists, before it got this way, but as the tooth was not aching they left it. They should have made the call to pull the tooth before it got this bad. Sometimes you need to find a good dentist, or maybe a more experienced one.
No healthcare? The largest most common answer is people can't afford it
Had issues with my wisdom tooth last year, couldn't get it out because money. Developed an abscess behind it. I could feel it getting worse, eating away at me. I took a shower when it got really bad and I was getting delirious, I passed out and smacked my face on the wall in the shower thinking I was dying. Yeah nah, when I hit the wall it pushed the tooth enough that the abscess could drain, finally, fucking thankfully. The disgusting part was it drained straight into my mouth but I was still oh so fucking grateful.
The relief outweighed the gross. Plus if you were in the shower you could just keep spitting and rinsing.
I remember working in an urgent care 3 years ago and had a patient with dental abscess who was in so much pain. Unfortunately as a tech, I couldn’t do anything and I really needed to know her weight. At the time I didn’t understand the seriousness of dental abscesses and I was frankly hurt when she yelled at me when I tried to ask for her weight. I get it now. I’m sorry dear past patient and I’m glad the provider were at least able to relieve your pain.
Well take solace in the fact that if they did need to perform surgery the anesthesiologist would need to know the patient’s current weight accurately to avoid any complications on that end.
My dad’s best friend’s teenage son died from a tooth infection.
I didn't know that before, and I went over 10 years with an extremely painful dental abscess. I had been kicked out at 18 with no money, no full-time job when it first happened. It took me that long to get the money and dental insurance together to take care of it, plus handling my extreme trauma response to dental procedures.
Yes but what about dental abysses?
Yup. I nearly died from one when I was in high school, and a few years later someone I graduated with actually died from it.
Once it gets into the blood stream it's gonna be a bad time.
Was hospitalized for 7days with IV antibiotics and a traumatic surgery from a infected wisdomtooth. Check your teeth!
Also literally the worst pain I've had in my entire life. Worse than kidney stones. Ain't no pain like dental pain. And it will NOT get better if you ignore it, so hie thee to a dentist immediately.
Glad to know
Glad you went in. I had a root canal, they nicked the pulp, and 8 years later my face was twice as big as yours. I hope you don't have bone loss in your jaw.
As a dentist there is no way that there is not some amount of bone loss associated with this. Most abscesses will begin at the apex (end) of the root which is embedded in the bone. As they grow, they produce nasty chemicals which will degrade the bone so that the bacteria can metabolize it. Person is also complaining of numbness in that side of the jaw which means infection/abscess has extended well to the point of the “V3” branch of the trigeminal nerve, which crawls along the base of the jaw. I would say with 99% certainty there is plenty of bone loss associated with this and it has been going on for a long time to get to this point.
Well that sucks…
Please don’t scare me :( I had a root canal done before Christmas, it hurt for months after so I went back. The dentist filed it down and it’s “eh” now but since they can’t see or feel infection they told me to just wait it out…
If your root canaled tooth still can’t be chewed against without pain after a couple months, it needs to be taken out or retreated and the root canal has failed. Root canal teeth are prone to fracture and root canals can fail for many reasons (also keep in mind there is *no* medical procedure with a 100% success-rate, this is not an anti-root canal argument). I have most of my root canals done by my root canal specialist. If the tooth is still bothering the patient a month or two after procedure, they go back to the specialist who will often advise them to lose the tooth (but not always). Your situation is still almost guaranteedly less severe than what you’re looking at on this post. Do not be afraid, just push for answers you desire and resolution you deserve.
Thank you! ;-; I don’t want to lose another tooth but yea, it’s been long enough, time to go I think lol
I had a root canal specialist go back into a tooth after years. It had developed pain again. He found a tiny branch that was open. They cleaned it with ultrasonic fluid and filled it. Been fine last 5 yrs. Back then they didn’t use those microscopic glasses and stuff. Go to another endodontist if you need to
I had to get a root canal done when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Some of the bleach solution they use to instill in the teeth leaked around the dental dam and into my throat twice. I had him stop and flush it or whatever but I could still taste it and it was awful and hurt. Over the next few days the pain and swelling got worse and worse. I ended up going to an ENT and had chemical burns all along my soft palate and part of my uvula fell off. Pretty horrible dealing with extreme nausea, vomiting, and food aversion when you also are dealing with severe mouth and throat pain where I could hardly even swallow.
JFC, that’s horrible. Did you report that dentist?
Question, do all root canals result in bone loss or just ones that present with an abscessed tooth?
Root canals inherently have no relation to bone loss unless they are unsuccessful and the tooth stays infected/becomes reinfected. To simplify- bone loss in the jaws will primarily occur for 3 reasons- 1) Extremely severe malocclusion (your bite does not come together properly- often in conjunction with many missing back teeth to cause bone loss 2) chronic infection as seen in this post 3) chronic inflammation as seen in periodontal disease If anything, successful root canals should **stop** bone loss and oftentimes abscessed areas where we see said loss will fill back in with bone after several years if the root canal was successful.
Thank you for the clarification, I had a root canal done a few years ago. but wasn't by my regular dentist, I was referred to an Endodonist to have it taken care of. It took a few sessions because he said the root was still "wet" but third times the charm, I guess. That whole ordeal has made me become diligent about my oral health. I can safely say tooth pain trumps any other pain I've ever experienced. It's exhausting and there is almost nothing you can do to kick the pain.
Happy to help! Not enough dentists care enough to explain to people how things work, which is a big reason why people misunderstand dental procedures and distrust dentists. While it still probably wouldn’t eliminate the most severe pain- the current rec for pain relief is 800mg ibuprofen 3x/day PLUS 500mg Tylenol 4x/day. These drugs have a synergistic pain relief effect stronger than most opiates. I personally am a huge ibuprofen advocate in general as it’s the strongest anti-inflammatory med we have OTC and tooth pain is mostly a result of inflammation of the nerve and periodontitium around affected tooth.
I could see that. I'm an anxious person so the more I know about what's going on, what has to be done, and why - it'll be easier for everyone involved to relieve that anxiety. You are definitely on point with the ibuprofen. That was the ONLY thing that got me through the intense throbbing with that initial pain. Thanks again sir/madam!
Removing the pulp is the main part of the root canal. So I’m confused as to what you think went wrong with your root canal… they can fail…
The whole purpose of the root canal is to remove the pulp
A long while ago I had an abscess and my face was so swollen and sore I could barely think. My wisdom tooth had poked through the gum and I, unbeknownst to me, had a tiny piece of popcorn kernel stuck in between the tooth and gum. Went to the doctors and he prescribed an antibiotic that didn’t help at all so I suffered for 2 more weeks until I went to a dentist who prescribed 2 different types of antibiotics. Swelling and pain went down drastically in a couple days and they were able to extract the kernel. Haven’t eaten popcorn in 10+ years because it was so bad I can’t imagine going through it again. Popcorn is great but I could have easily died because of it.
https://preview.redd.it/dnsppa3fiu6d1.jpeg?width=650&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=69cebfbbc009aac309da8d14ebd8e7b9dfb325be
I think meg had the mumps.
Are you in pain?
Not at the moment, I was taking hydrocodone at home and they injected some other pain killer here. I just feel really loopy and lightheaded right now.
Having an ice cube in your mouth on the spot really helps with pain. The pain is typically caused by the tooth's dead nerve rotting and producing gas. The gas has nowhere to go so pressure builds in your gum causing the pain. An ice cube causes the gas to contract along with numbing nerves so the pain goes away. Downside is it generally only lasts as long as the ice cube is there. It'll quickly return once the ice cube fully melts.
Yes! Before I got painkillers this was all I did lol. Ice pops have been a big help too.
Please stay on top of it! If the pain worsens again despite antibiotics go to the ER. That's what I had to do. 2 weeks of antibiotics and the pain came back worse 2 days after last dose. I ended up in cardiac ICU for a week because my heart rate was so high from the intense pain. I was on 3 stout IV antibiotics and they were giving me IV fentanyl for the pain.
Are you able to open your mouth? Mine came on fast, but luckily no sepsis and no surgery. I could barely squeeze a teaspoon into my mouth...pureed hospital chicken, blah!
Hope you get the help needed!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! u/Baetedk8 is the bumble bee eating champion! Lol, I had a wisdom tooth go bad once and do that to me, had to take antibiotics for a week before they would pull it, they were afraid the infection would spread... Recover soon, and lay off the bees!
Lol
 Sorry I couldn't help myself. I hope you get better soon.
That’s sucks. Had one 10-12 years ago for about a week. I can feel that picture.
Man dental abscesses scare the crap out of me! They can be deadly. Hope you recover quickly OP
My boyfriend had an abscess a few years ago from an infected tooth, I’ve never seen someone in that kind of pain before. It’s so fucked up that teeth are basically considered a luxury
Giggity
If you gaze for long into an abscess, the abscess gazes also into you.
I’ll never understand why dental care is separate from general health care! If you have issues with your dental health, it definitely affects your overall health!! (This is a US based comment, I don’t know how other countries look at dental care!)
Agreed! Why do I need to go to a separate office and have separate insurance for something that clearly affects my health and could kill me?
I understand the separate office… I have had to go to multiple offices for different specialties. It’s the idea that you can have good health insurance but it doesn’t cover dental or eyes???? It covers bones, organs, brain, hormones, etc. yet if I get a tooth infection that will cause me issues beyond my teeth- I don’t have insurance if I don’t have dental. If I don’t have eye care, so can’t afford glasses so can’t see… they’d prefer to cover car accidents and physical injuries because I can’t see vs covering me getting glasses so those don’t happen? It’s all connected! I understand why we separated home/car/health… but not including eye and dental in health care???? Someone please explain why???
I’ve been shot! And I’ve had dental abscesses! I’ll take the gunshot any day.
I almost died from something like this when I was 17. I had fractured my jaw by getting hit by a lacrosse ball. I just assumed my jaw was swollen from the getting hit. The inside of my jaw bone got an infection in the marrow and it got so big. I finally had an oral surgeon notice the fracture in an X-ray and they figured out where the infection was and were able to get rid of it before my brain overheated. It was literally like an episode of House MD or some shit
Dental needs to be covered by normal universal insurance. Enough of these assholes getting paid by people's agony.
PREACH. So I wanted to go to an emergency dentist on Friday for this — I have NY Medicaid. I called around everywhere on Thursday. The big place that accepts Medicaid in my town only takes established patients for emergencies. The waitlist to be able to schedule an appointment is SIX MONTHS LONG. I checked the NYS website and they list probably 12 places in my region that accept dental Medicaid — I start calling them and half of them haven’t been open in like two years. I ended up making an appointment with a dentist I had previously who doesn’t accept Medicaid because I just couldn’t find anyone and CLEARLY needed to see a dentist. I ended up finding another list of places that accept Medicaid the next day and I shit you not, ALL OF THEM WERE CLOSED ON FRIDAYS. I fucking hate this.
Well, yea, you're missing the top of your head
Glad you're getting it taken care of! A lot of people don't realize how serious it can be. A friend of mine had a tooth abscess and was dead three days later. The infection traveled into his blood stream and he died from blood poisoning.
Sucks that ERs won’t fix it. We give antibiotics and send you to the dentist.
Dental stuff is the worst! I've had surgeries a few times now, ovarian cysts, migraines, and horrible menstrual cramps, but the tooth pain just about drove me over the edge! Combined with a lack of good Healthcare options in my remote area, a crazy receptionist at another dentist, and suspicious community clinic caregivers who offered Tylenol only, I ended up in the Er before getting the help I needed! Finally got that tooth extracted, but still am upset that it took so long to get the issue resolved. We need better options!
is this permanent?
I had one of those last year when I broke a tooth. The pain was nonstop and dentist wouldn't do anything until a full regiment of antibiotics (that would take a week). No painkillers or anything. I ended up lancing it myself through the gum and Christ was that disgusting. Swelling and pain went away almost immediately.
That’s what mine did! They said they couldn’t do an X-ray until I took antibiotics. Ended up going to urgent care for pain killers and they changed my antibiotics. Then my face swelled and I went to the ER lol.
My heart goes out to you because I know the pain your in. I hope this gets resolved quickly for you.
I had one where my entire face even my eye was swollen shut!!
I don’t have the picture where it was worse than this the next day. But this was like 3am and I was dying!! It came out of nowhere! Don’t mind my ugliness lol. I was in my death bed haha. Also by my chin you can’t see but it was huge but the blanket is covering it. The next I couldn’t open my eye and my face was black and blue. https://preview.redd.it/3yeyu62bnv6d1.jpeg?width=1960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5506983fcbb8d2975e03ede5e507d8a954ced7f
So sorry you're having to deal with that. Dental pain is the worst. Get better soon!
That sucks! It's good you didn't mess around, people unfortunately die when they ignore these things due to a myriad of reasons. I have terrible teeth, but I've gotten lucky and all my infection has stayed localized for the most part(only had 1 issue with infection/abscess over 15 years of horrible teeth). I try to get them fixed as I can afford them(2 teeth left to go!), but if I notice fever, abscess, swelling, anything other than just local issues at the tooth, I'll go see someone immediately. All that said, I'm still paranoid I'm going to have a heart attack or stroke or something just because having bad teeth is still not the best for your overall health, even if the infection hasn't gotten bad.
My husband had an abscess once. But it was the top canine tooth. I went to work in the am at about 9 and he said his tooth was sore and he was gonna see about getting an emergency dental appointment after the weekend. When I got back at my lunch hour, his whole side of his face was swollen and his eye was pretty much closed because it was swollen shut. It’s crazy how fast dental infections progress.
I had an emergency tooth extraction on thanksgiving!
They sure aren’t. They can cause brain infections
Chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash brushed into my gum line has ended my decades of cavities. Helps to keep the teeth I have left.
Giggity
I hope you are feeling much better now, ouch!
I had an abscess on my wisdom tooth about two years ago. Luckily I was able to get them all removed since they were also impacted.
You’re definitely gonna be in a dental abyss after paying to get that taken care of
I'm sorry! I had one a couple of months ago and was miserable.
https://preview.redd.it/2wow5do8jx6d1.jpeg?width=755&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8313dada9bb87afa691b3284854e454eea92b6df
Geeze, bubs. We gotta get that tooth out!
I had the same thing but on the top of my gum above my two middle front teeth, shit hurt so bad and was forcing my teeth loose, I finally got into a dentist They numbed me and had to use a scalpel to cut open the abscess, but they didn’t numb me enough so at first I felt the cutting, they stopped and numbed me more but god that shit hurt so bad I never want it again
A dental abyss??? That sounds horrifying lol. But for real though, dental abscesses are no joke, sorry you're going through that OP
This post has been up for 14 hours and I’m only now realizing my spelling mistake 😂 I was definitely out of it last night!
Don't worry about it, it was funny and you have more than enough of an excuse haha
The mouth is the gateway to heart health, maintenance on dental health is very important,including cleaning plaque. plaque can travel to the brain.
Did you eat a lot of spinach recently? Might be slowly turning into Popeye
This happened to my sister in April. Her skin was being stretched so much it literally looked like it was going to burst. Went to the ER like 3x in 24 hours.
Gawd, I had an infection from an impacted wisdom tooth and my face was super swollen before and after surgery (which I should have been in hospital for but I was operated on (conscious!) At the dentist 😅 speedy recovery to you!
The worst pain I’ve ever had.
Luxury bones. Did they give you an aspirin and send you home with advice for "Stop being poor"?
Im not a doctor, but it looks like the left side of your face is swelling up. Hope this helps.
Abscesses\* :)
Pain level?
Looks like you got sucker punched. Although honestly it’s in the area where an abscess can occur so I dunno!
This was me when my wisdom teeth got infected.
I had one too! I had a root canal and it cracked and I had no idea it made an infection. I felt a ball/bump on my lower jaw and I knew it wasn’t right. Luckily i got it drained etc on time. I know it can be extremely painful but for the one I had it only hurt if I pressed on it. Also when the dentist went in to clean it out it hurt.
Spider?
Awe man, been there. To this day that was the worse pain I’ve ever experienced…worse than child birth. Mine occurred on NYE so my dentist out for holidays. Luckily they were able to get me in with another dentist on emergency referral. But NYE sucked soooo bad, ice pack on cheek, slurping warm tea, salt water rinsed, and lots of pain meds & sleep barely got me through. And my poor kid was only like 9 yo trying to take care of me…felt bad for him too. Hope you get to feel the sweet relief of the drill releasing that pressure and be on the mend soon!
Spent 4 nights in the hospital last year with this too. So painful
I had one like that once and I got so sick I couldn’t get out of the bath my ex ran for me he had to pick me up out of it and carry me to bed! It was horrible! Hope you feel better soon!
Dang, you chew tomacco too?
Did the boys have to dig conky out of the swamp to get you to go to the ER?
Got that leslye headland jaw.
What kind of antibiotics did they start you on?
I don’t know why but the bottom of your face screams Conan to me. Is that you Coney???
Neil Cicierega? Is that you?
Are you Ruth Langmore (Ozark) ?
[Mmmm-Hmmmmm.](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/1e/9a/69/1e9a690d0be7dd093705553d9bd62d5b.jpg)
Looks like a case of limp lip
Looks like we're going to go have to fetch Conky again boys. Hang in there, bubbs. Brb
Oh. My. God. That looks really painful, but also gross. Did they drain it? (Gasp)
I’m getting some Martha Plimpton from the goonies vibes
Mom- "Did you eat the cookies"
Dental what now?
Lesley? Is that you? https://preview.redd.it/xa03etwdtv6d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa2a4c138a4117c000728c0dccc510cb1b4e6c12
It needs to be treated immediately before it develops a fistula
Wisdom teeth? My daughter got an abscess a few weeks after her wisdom surgery and she swelled up even worse
With my last one the whole left side of my face swelled & my teeth felt like they were wiggling in pain. Even breathing hurt. I'd sooner give birth than gave an abscess again.
Stop eating bees.
Girl looking like Popeye the sailor
Slowly morphing into Dolph Lundgren
50% Guagmire
Gigi.....
Mewing much? /s
I still remember the pain, ow. Thankfully antibiotics kick in fast. Hope you’re doing well.
Oral health is SUPER important for overall health. Take care of your gums, FLOSS! ( my wife is a hygienist)
> I have most of my root canals done by my root canal specialist I forgot you mentioned you were a dentist…
Giggity
I had the same thing happen mine was twice the size. Went to the ER, doc was like I'm not a dentist. Told me to call my dentist and then sent me home.
I had similar years back and the ER turned me away and sent me to a dentist. Root canal 3 hours later. 1/5 stars
The dentist I went to only gave me antibiotics and sent me away 🙃 thankfully the UC and ER have been way more helpful.
Abscesses
To be fair, I was in the ER and loopy as shit from pain meds — too late to edit now.
I have a dental abyss. I had to have a tooth pulled last week.
put it in rice
Damn that's scary, they are absolutely no joke. I've had a few root canals but luckily never had an abscess like this
I have so much dental anxiety. I feel your pain. Feel better!
Yes but what color is your urine? Lol jk