View Full Version : Removal of molar - agony in jaw
Hi all,
I had to have a molar removed from the bottom left of my mouth as a wisdom tooth had cracked it and exposed the nerve.
The surgery itself was basically boring. All those horror stories I've heard over the years were proven to be just that - stories.
The molar was removed along with the nerve. The hole is ok, no undue pain from the hole itself.
However I am having SEVERE pain (intolerable without painkillers) in the gum around it, which looks inflamed. I think this is where the needle went in.
Today, day 3, has been the worst. I've had to take paracetamol AND ibuprofen, as paracetamol alone is not cutting it any more.
I haven't been able to stringently wash my mouth with salt water due to work and a meeting of my aspergers support group. I'm worried that this intensity of pain means I've got an infection - or is it normal to feel this bad for a few days? How long will the pain last at this level?
hi poet, i had the same done last year 3 extractions, 2 wisdom teeth, my dentist told me that i might have trouble with one particular extraction, and i did, like you say paracetamol and ibrupofen, rang him after 3 days, and was told to give it a couple more days and it should settle, and it did. if you had an infection your dentist would have known.
i know its painfull, like you i had no probs getting the work done, but im sure it will pass as mine did xx
From what I remember when I had my tooth removed there was a bit of pain there but not like your describing so it probably has got an infection in it. If it doesn't get any better then maybe you should go back
I think it's quite normal for it to be sore for a few days. Perhaps see your GP for stronger painkiller if it doesn't ease over the weekend. You could also try OTC Solpadeine, which is a bit stronger than what you've been taking.
Hi everyone, wow, thanks for the fast replies.
At its worst, the pain was like lava in my brain. None of the self-help techniques I have learned so far have helped me at all. I've just realised that my painkillers wore off about an hour ago and the pain is not quite so vicious so maybe the worst is over?
In the last two hours I've washed my mouth out with hot salt water twice and I've used a flouride mouthwash. Mouthwashes were recommended to me by colleagues who have also had teeth out.
I phoned NHS Direct as I didn't think anyone would reply on here so fast. They're getting a nurse to call me back. I guess I am looking for reassurance that this pain, for all its ferocity, is normal and is not an indication of some major infection or something. The ghost of health anxiety!
My breath is none too pleasant today and I normally don't have problems of that nature, so it made me worried there was some kind of infection in my gum.
I had a similar experience this week, I had my wisdom tooth extracted. To be honest any pain I feel now is nothing compared to the pain I was in before it was taken out. But yes, it can be very uncomfortable around the gum. I was given a weeks supply of antibiotics 3 x 500mg a day, and told to use ibuprofen for the pain.
I am feeling much better now, I had it removed on Tuesday evening. I hope you are on the road to recovery too.
There is something called dry socket that you can get after an extraction and it is very painful....you may need to go back if the pain persists. Take care, Kitti :)
Hi, thanks for the advice, I have heard of dry socket but to be honest it's still bleeding a tiny bit (nothing major, it looks normal).
Since washing using hot water and salt, the pain has lessened and I am only on paracetamol at the minute. Hopefully today was the worst of the pain. Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll post again if it does not go away.
I also had a back tooth removed a couple of years ago, and the pain was incredible.. to the point of me just crying on the sofa. I went back to the dentist thinking it was infected, but it wasn't.... to help, they put a dressing inside the socket, it was a herbal thing, can't remember exactly what it was, but it tasted like herbs and cloves, and it helped so much! By the time it dropped out, the pain in my jaw had begun to fade, so that dressing got me through the worst couple of days.
If you think there's any chance it might be infected, I would recommend you do show the dentist or even your gp... it might just be trauma pain though, like I think mine was.
Hi Daisy Sue, it sounds like you might have had "dry socket" as Kittikat suggested. To be honest our symptoms fit dry socket, notably the immense pain.
My own pain seems to be much better now. I've washed it with mouthwash once, and I've rinsed with hot salt water about five times.
I would emphasise to anyone who has to have teeth out to make sure they have appropriate painkillers afterwards and follow the instructions your dentist gives you to the letter. Maybe things wouldn't have been so bad if I could have started washing my mouth out with salt water sooner than today.
Hi Daisy Sue, it sounds like you might have had "dry socket" as Kittikat suggested. To be honest our symptoms fit dry socket, notably the immense pain.
My own pain seems to be much better now. I've washed it with mouthwash once, and I've rinsed with hot salt water about five times.
I would emphasise to anyone who has to have teeth out to make sure they have appropriate painkillers afterwards and follow the instructions your dentist gives you to the letter. Maybe things wouldn't have been so bad if I could have started washing my mouth out with salt water sooner than today.
I'm really glad to hear it's settling down for you now :) yes, it may have been that with me... I do know that they told me not to smoke in the first 24 hours, and stupid me did... maybe I made it worse myself. :(
At least your dentist warned you about stuff. Mine just said not to eat or drink hot food/water for a couple of hours, and to make sure I took some painkillers before the local anasthetic wore off.
The pain is a step down from yesterday but I realise I've been in a low mood for the last week due to pain from my mouth. Can't wait for it to go away... I will be over the moon on the day when I realise I don't need painkillers any more!
i had my molar removed on the 8th jan this year. my whole face was swollen and i was in realy bad pain for 6 days. the denist said if the root was deep in the gum it can take a couple of months to heal fully. it is very painful put realy normal. if concerned at all, go back to dentist for a check up- they dont mind checking everthing is ok
Hi Mrsnobody, I'm sorry to hear you went through a similar amount of crap to us. Your dentist gave you some facts; mine just told me to make sure I took pain relief. Amazing how we hear such different things from people in the same profession.
DaisySue, I've read up on it and the one thing every article insists on is that you avoid smoking for 1-2 days, so that probably was what made you ill. I think in my case I just took the bandaging out before the blood had clotted. Losing the clotted blood is a major cause of dry socket.
I went to my dentist today. She cleaned it out and put a medicinal compound on the socket, sealing it off. "My, what an interesting new taste I've discovered," I thought as I nearly retched at its overwhelming antisceptic flavour. While it helped massively, it's worn off and I am unhappy that I'm expected to be in this much pain for a simple, straightforward procedure that had no complications.
My nerves "burn" to the touch in my face, creeping up to my left eye. It hurts to swallow and the pain has also reached my ear. THERE IS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE MILD TO MODERATE DISCOMFORT AFTER HAVING A BLOODY TOOTH OUT.
Also, the constant pain is causing me a low mood, lack of energy, tiredness and a health anxiety bonanza (long thought beaten). I'm upset about having so much time off work - I was off for a week and a half with vertigo and got a disciplinary for it despite having a doctor's note - and people at work basically said "We've had babies, you don't know what pain is".
What they don't say is, they WANTED to have babies. I did not ask to spend six days as a special guest in hell.
Forgive my ranting, I get like this when I experience something new, particularly if it's a load of shite!
:( Really sorry to hear you're still in so much pain.. it's horrid, tooth and face pain are unbelievably unbearable, until someone's had it they just can't imagine how desperate it makes you feel. I found a little comfort from a warm hot water bottle - not hot - held against my face with a flannel between my skin and the bottle.
I think that medicinal compound you mention probably was what they used on me, sounds similar.. and yes regarding the smoking, I am sure I made things worse for myself.. thing is I couldn't eat for days due to the pain, could hardly drink, my nerves were frazzled, & having a cig was the only thing I could turn to.. silly, I know. Oh well, I'm a non-smoker now so if I ever have a toothache in the future I'll have to start sucking my thumb or something :D
Hope you feel better soon!
Hi DaisySue, you said it right, people simply don't know how bad it can get. Several times in the last few days I've felt despair over this, and that's thrown me into a blip which I have had difficulty in managing. Despair is what made me ill with anx/dep in the first place. I tried the hot water bottle and it did help.
The medicinal compound (I call it the "magic poultice") is supposed to clear dry socket up pretty quickly but I've read horror stories of people needing constant re-treatment for 1-2 months, although this seems to be rare.
It's been nowhere near as bad today, I went til 1pm without needing painkillers, but the aching started getting worse around 6pm as usual. The nature of the pain has changed - it feels more "normal" now, not so overwhelming, and it's caused by food getting into the socket.
I can tell my gums are starting to grow over the hole. I'm using an antibacterial mouthwash that can be used whenever needed which is helping more than the salt water. I'm asking the dentist for another magic poultice tomorrow.
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