About three weeks ago I was grinding my teeth in my sleep and I broke my wisdom tooth. At first it didn't hurt at all. I have no dental insurance and my husband had lost his job. He is starting a new one monday. I did go to the dentist because it started hurting very badly. The dentist did xrays and an exam. He told me there was no cavity but the tooth is broken and a nerve is exposed. He said it would have to be removed. I expressed to him that I had no insurance and no income. He gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and Vicodin. He told me if I didn't have it removed the pain would go away eventually. (not that he recommends waiting) I got an estimate on having it pulled. The estimate was $700. At the moment for me that is not an option. I tried to look into clinics but couldn't find any. Also looked into dental schools but the wait time is 6 weeks plus.
Would you know here it is 6 am and I have been up for three hours in the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. Took a Vicodin and that helped a tiny bit, but that horrible pain is still there. My husband had gotten me some stuff to put over it that seals the tooth off so the nerve isn't exposed. I put it on, but still no luck in the pain going away.
Does anyone know of anything else I can do? I wish I could find a clinic or something. I even considered going into the er, which would be totally stupid because they wont do anything and my bill would be ridiculous. But at least they would accept payments. The cost of dental work is disgustingly high and most places will not accept payments.
I am at a loss for what to do except push through the pain and pray it goes away very soon on its own until I get insurance or at least save up the $700.
After a few days of suffering I finally gave in today and went and had it pulled it ended up costing me $320 and I just put it on a credit card. Got back home a few hours ago and already pain free.. thanks for the responces.
You might try crushing an aspirin and packing it in the tooth. That is the advice I have always been given. Check first to make sure it won't interfere with the meds the dentist gave you. You have my sympathy, nothing compares to tooth pain, not even natural childbirth!
Do you have health insurance? If you do, you could call them and see if this would be covered. I broke a tooth once and it was covered as an "accident." They paid 80%. Just a thought.
You can use cloves. Google it.
Did you see a regular dentist or an oral surgeon? If it was a regular dentist, call them back and ask if they would be able to place a sedative filling on the tooth. It's a temporary filling that would cover the nerve until you have insurance and can get it pulled.
Would definately call around to see if you can get the tooth pulled for less. Even when your husband starts his new job on Monday most of the time you will have to wait a little bit before you get insurance and even then it is not said that they will cover it as they may see it as a pre-existing condition and not want to pay for it.
I hope you feel better soon!
I, too, suggest you call around and see if another dentist would be less expensive. And I'd definitely make an appointment now with the dental school so that if you haven't found relief you'd at least have an appointment coming up.
Several years ago I needed a painful tooth treated. I made an appointment with an endodontist (I think that was the specialty) for a root canal. The estimate was $2700. But when they drilled they discovered that they couldn't save the tooth. I went to my regular dentist who pulled it for a couple of hundred dollars.
Pack it in gauze soaked with clove oil. Borrow the $700 and get it fixed. Infections in your teeth can affect your heart-talk about pricey. Have you even contacted your insurance provider-sometimes extractions are covered-it's worth a try. Good luck-don't wait too long. The Listerine in the purple bottle is amazing when it comes to keeping everything clean. Take care.
