So I have a tooth that's pretty much in a word cratered. Long story short, I got a cavity as a child, got it filled, the filling fell out when I was in high school, then a couple of years ago, I bit down on a tater tot and broke my tooth in half. It didn't bother me in the least bit until recently, and now my gum is all swollen and I go through bouts of almost excruciating pain. So far, I've discovered that rinsing with peroxide does a decent job of cleaning out the giant cavity and I brush my teeth every chance I get. I also rinse with warm salt water frequently, and while all of these methods are okay, they're very temporary pain relief. It will be early to mid-November before I'm able to get the damn thing extracted because that's when my dental insurance finally kicks in, so any advice to quell the pain for a month more? I've been damn near abusing OTC pain killers lately and chugging cranberry juice so I might have a shot at not killing my kidneys with them. Any advice, no matter how tired, would be fantastically appreciated! I kicked the infection's ass for a week, and I hope to have it kicked enough by the dentist date that I don't have to go through an antibiotic regimen beforehand.
Wow, that sounds excruciating! OTC pain meds are probably the best bet you have for controlling pain right now. I think clove oil has numbing properties when applied to the gums, but I would use it sparingly because it can also be an irritant. There are probably also OTC topical preparations for numbing the gums. However, having said that, please do get to the dentist as soon as you can. Insurance is so frustrating and amazingly broken in the U.S., if that's where you are, but get in at the earliest possible chance. A broken tooth can give bacteria a direct line into the tissues below your teeth, and even into the bone. Osteomyelitis (bone infection) resulting from infected teeth can be notoriously difficult to treat. If you develop fever, pain that you can't manage via OTC meds, or swelling that is beginning to spread, you should go to your dentist right away, or even to the emergency room. These can be signs that your body is becoming overwhelmed or is unable to fight off an infection, for whatever reason. Keeping it as clean as possible is a good precaution. Brush and clean immediately after every meal. Rinsing with hydrogen peroxide and an antiseptic mouthwash together is also good. Do drink a lot of fluids. I hope you can get it treated quickly! Good luck.
