A little background..one of my teeth (one that I had a root canal in well over 6 yrs ago) started hurting last Monday evening. Motrin 600 worked the first time I took it and never again. Tuesday still hurts. I tried everything from tea bags to Vicoden and nothing worked, it starts swelling Tuesday night. Wed morning it is twice as swollen as the night b4. So I called and dentist and got it at 9:30 that morning. Turns out it is infected so I ended up getting it pulled right there and then. They didn't give me any antibiotics, the nurse told me they had pulled the source of the infection so I didn't need any. So Thursday it is still swollen and hurts, Friday still swollen and hurts. So I called the dentist on her personal line cause they were closed and she says, "Your on antibiotics, right?" I told her no. She had me meet her at the office at noon. She checked to make sure it wasn't a dry socket which she said it wasn't and it was healing well. So she prescribed 500mg of Amoxicillin that I am to take 4x a day (first dose was 2 caplets). I have not missed a dose and I am still swollen and in pain. It hurts from my chin to my ear. Also I have 7 yr old triplets and my husband is always working so it is just me and I tend to be yelling at someone constantly which makes it worse.
THe question is what can I do to help with the pain? I do not know what to do and it hurts all the time. I am even thinking about calling the dentist again tomorrow. I have a horendous yeast infection from the antibiotics but they do not seem to be doing anything for this infection. HELP!
Thank you all for the responses. The antibiotics started kicking in on Monday. I am doing a LOT better today Thank goodness.
Owie, mommy. Mouth pain is really hard. DO see the dentist again. Infections that go into the bone are reputed to be stubborn.
And you might want to eat a good natural yogurt with live cultures, or take acidophilus to help with the aftereffects of the antibiotics. You can also use it vaginally if you want to avoid using a yeast treatment. (Put finger in one, then in the other. Be sure to do in the right order ;-).
My best to you.
I would call again just to follow up and let the dentist know you're still in pain. It can take a good 3-4 days sometimes for the infection to begin subsiding and the pain to go away. None the less, you are still suffering and there's no sense in suffering in silence. Tooth pain is the absolute worst!
You can try gargling with warm salt water and swishing it on your sore tooth. You'll likely not be able to stand it if you have a yeast infection in your mouth as well and you'll need a different antibiotic for that.
(I went through that when I had my wisdom teeth pulled).
Just let your little kids know that you don't mean to be grumpy, but you are really having a bad toothache and if would be great if they could help you out by......
playing together nicely
picking up their toys
helping rinse off their dishes after they eat
putting their clothes in the hamper......
Just let them know you need their help right now.
My kids thought making me some toast was the magical cure.
Just enlist them to be understanding and I'm sure they're capable.
If you're not better tomorrow, call and follow up. Mention the yeast infection because you CAN get it in your mouth too.
Try a heating pad or cold pack, whichever feels better and get as much rest as possible.
Take care!
Call dentist again.. so so sorry.. I had a really bad infection at age 30 when I finally had my wisdom teeth pulled.. hurt so bad I could hardly drive or function ect.. finally the gave me antibotics that were really strong and vicodent... maybe see if they may prescribe diflucan for the yeast infection or the genric if you are able to take thoes.. but it sounds like a different antbiotic would work better.. I can't remeber the name of the med I was on but it was stronger than the one they gave u.
feel better soon. also did they give u a soft ice pack or warm wash cloths.. for pain and swelling.
I'm not a dentist or dental assistant but I have experience with this sort of thing. YES, call the dentist. You may need a different antibiotic. We can build up immunity to antibiotics. Also, you may need a stronger pain medication. People have different tolerances to pain. I suffered from intense menstrual related pain for years but other sources of pain were easily managed. After surgery the doctor said I had a higher number, than average, of pain nerves in that region which explained my intense pain.
As for the yeast infection. Eat lots of yogurt with live enzymes. If I were you I'd also start taking probiotics. I take them daily, all of the time and find that I feel better and am less susceptable to colds, flu. You can find probiotics in the health food section of Fred Meyers, at Whole Foods. I buy mine at Vitamin World because they could tell me which one's were best. I think Whole Foods and "the other grocery" that focuses on health also have clerks trained to help you find the best one.
I also suggest that at 7 your triplets are old enough for a lesson in compassion. While you're calm and before you get to the point of yelling explain about your pain and ask them for help. It may also help, if you go easy on yourself and lower your expectations until the pain is gone.
You HAVE to go back to the dentist! There is a nerve right where you describe called the trigeminal nerve (sp?) This is where all your sensory nerves meet...at your ear. If this infection is aggravating or pressing on that nerve...it's MAJOR pain! I'm no Dr...I just had the same thing. I had such constant nerve pain in my face...I felt like I was going crazy...and my ear turned purple...very purple. That's when I knew how real it was... I'm thankful that you know it is caused by the tooth extraction. I went through about six months of it. X-rays, MRI...all that. I think ice helped the best. Not directly on it, but on my neck and above my ear. I'm not sure if this is what you're explaining here, but it sounded like it to me when you said, "hurts from my chin to my ear." I feel for you either way.
