What should I do about my painful tooth???

[ScreamingMeemie]

To make an extremely long story short (okay, well, shorter than it would be if I told you the whole thing). In February I had a filling (my first ever) on a back molar. In March, it started to hurt again, and the dentist (a good friend, why this matters, I don't know) decided I needed a root canal. But, our insurance (of course) was maxed out. So she put me on pencillin and Vicodin to try and hold out until January.(Which is seeming longer away by the minute). We have done the Vicodin/Penicillin thing on and off since then. Side note, I have an immune deficiency and am getting kind of concerned about infection. I am sick of the headaches (literal and figurative, this damn thing is causing). My husband thinks I should just get it pulled, after all it's just a back molar. I, at 33, will confess I am little vain and am not really liking that idea, but not liking the root canal at full price idea either, but also the whole Vicodin thing...so I am going to use one of my three lifelines here and poll DU...Thanks, Laura

[sangh0]

1. The infection could kill you

I strongly suggest you see a dentist, and quick. An infection in your mouth can travel to your heart and kill you. I don't mean to be an alarmist, but letting this go on for weeks and weeks could be dangerous.

[OrdinaryTa]

13. I Agree With Sangh0

People with compromised immune systems shouldn't fool around with infections. There's no telling what nasty stuff is cooking in that diseased tooth. Get it pulled or get it plugged, but don't leave it there till January.

[AntiCoup2K4]

2. Are you sure this is a regular molar and not a wisdom tooth??

I had awful toothaches a few years back which I put off dealing with for far too long due to lack of dental coverage. The pain got to the point where over the counter meds wouldn't touch it, and infection was obviously present. I was shocked to find out that they were wisdom teeth that had managed to grow in like normal molars, but of course were not strong enough to actually use as teeth. By the time I had them yanked out, 3 of the 4 were literally broken.

Don't put it off any longer than you absolutely have to, it's not worth it!

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. Got my top wisdoms pulled 15 years ago, but that was a good

suggestion...Thanks!

I think I am going to give in and yank it.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. If the dentist is a friend make payment arrangements and handle it

Root canals are cheaper than cardiomyopathy which can be a dangerous side effect of untreated (undertreated) dental infections and taking so many anti-biotics has a huge downside as well.

Get it handled..the sooner, the better...I like reading your posts too much for anything to happen to you

[shanti]

4. pull it

january is toooo long to wait in misery. i was in a similar situation about 10 years ago. very back bottom molar, very painful. i don't even miss the sucker now and you can't see that it's missing without your head in my mouth!

[Bruce McAuley]

5. Do you have another molar back there?

If the answer is yes, then go ahead and get it pulled. Just be careful not to lose BOTH molars on one side, either upper or lower, or you'll need a partial denture there, or a REALLY expensive "bridge", maybe PLUS a root canal on the remaining molar.
BTW, Did you originally get a "silver" filling in that tooth? You may be allergic to the metallic mercury in the filling mix...In this case maybe have your dentist replace that filling with a composite plastic one, not as hyper=allergic, but doesn't last as long, but cheaper than a root canal.
The dentist could also "open it up" andf leave a hole there in your molar with a temporary filling that can be easily removed should pressure build up, but you have to keep it REALLY clean for the waiting period.
Just some thoughts from a former life as a dental technician..
Good Luck!
:hi:

Bruce

[slackmaster]

7. Go for the root canal, videotape it, and sell tapes on eBay

Creative financing.

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Thank you very much for all the input...

I was going to respond to each post...honest, but I keep getting that darned error message...grrr. Suffice to say, I bit the bullet (no pun intended)and called and we're going to have a look see tomorrow...I'll keep you posted what goes on. Look at me, making an issue over a tooth. Ha

Thanks again, Laura

[BritishHuman]

14. Is your appointment at 2:30?

It's good that you've chewed over your options and have determined to bite the bullet.
:-)

[ozymandius]

17. If your dentist is a friend...

I had a similar situation about ten years ago. I had no insurance. A friend recommended me to their dentist and the folks at his office were really cool at letting me pay for the root canal over several months. They just asked me to send whatever I could afford every month.

Maybe your dentist/friend could be so nice.

[SOteric]

9. I had to have a root canal not long ago

And was between dental insurance at the time. The periodontist was quite talented, in a large downtown office, and was able (because of the large client-base and his general level of income, to offer me the option of paying on time payments. He even allowed the option of paying with a revolving credit card, - but I don't use revolving credit.

Maybe that would be an option for you, as well, even if you needed to drive a ways into a large city to make it work.

[KadeCarrion]

10. A comment about getting it pulled

I am still in the orthodontic stage of my dental life, with a ways to go before root canals come up (if they ever do *crosses fingers*) but I would say be sure to do your research about getting it pulled. Teeth can shift and move at ANY AGE (something I recently discovered, sigh) and if you get that molar pulled your other teeth could possibly shift and cause more problems in the future. Maybe this wouldn't even be a factor in your situation, but it's worth checking into. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

PS - I would definitely have to agree NOT to continue the Vicodin thing, whatever you end up doing.

[marigold20]

11. Sounds stupid, but have you tried toothpaste for sensitive teeth?

I had a large filling in a molar and had lots of pain lingering for weeks afterward. In desparation, I tried Sensodyne. It could hava been coincidence, but the pain stopped.

I still have two wisdom teeth which my dentist will not pull - says I might need them someday for anchoring a bridge. Gee thanks doc! I know I could go to another dentist and have them pulled but I like my dentist and will just suffer through attempting to clean these back teeth.

[Nikia]

12. It's up to you

You should definitely not wait. Dental infections are not something to mess around with and January is a long time away. A coworker-friend was in a similiar situation. We have lousy dental insurance where I work that so he had his tooth pulled. He was rather upset about having it pulled since it could have been saved but couldn't afford the extra $400. If you can afford it though and possibly get a payment plan, get the root canal done. I wouldn't want you to regret your missing tooth.

[DemExpat]

15. I had root canal done on a back molar that

did not get rid of the pain....so after months and months of treatments, misery, I decided to have it pulled. I admit I had mixed feelings aobut it, but the dentist assured me that I would not miss it in chewing.

It was the best gift I could have given myself - no more pain, total relief.

I'm not going to live forever, so if I ever get more problems that don't respond well to dental treatment (back teeth) - I'll have them pulled!

DemEx

[nuxvomica]

16. Vanity! Some people have their back molars removed for ...

cosmetic reasons. Gives you that Audrey Hepburn look.