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  1. This is a discussion on One of you will be writing about me tomorrow in Emergency Nursing, part of Nursing Specialties ... I had a toothache and called my dentist to make an appointment for Monday. When doing my dental...

    by Jul 10, '08
    I had a toothache and called my dentist to make an appointment for Monday. When doing my dental hygiene earlier today I lost the inside of the offending tooth and now the pulp is exposed. The pain has been excruciating and I have been alternating 800 mg Motrin with 1000 mg APAP with minimal (short term) relief. The pain is traveling up to my ears and I am in so much pain I can barely sit up. I called my doctor's after hours care since my dentist is closed and and they told me to go into ED since it sounds like I may have an abscess. I can't get anything but pain pills if I go but hopefully I will be able to sleep tonight. Hopefully it will stop the pain. Is it worth a trip to ED? I don't really know, but the phone triage nurse thinks it is. OMG, I had no idea a tooth could hurt so damn much. I swear my vision gets blurry in and out. I hate going to the ED. I feel like such a loser, leeching on the services of my overworked colleagues.

    Edited to add: Just called ED and the nurse told me to please come in, there's an on-call dentist. Thank God! I may get it pulled tonight!!!!
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    by kiyasmom Jul 10, '08 6:39 pm
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  3. 19 Comments so far...

  4. Jul 10, '08 by
    OUCH!!!! I hope you can get some relief. It makes my mouth hurt just thinking about how much pain you are in. Feel better.
    kiyasmom likes this.
  5. Jul 10, '08 by
    yes def go to the ED... at least for some pain meds and antibiotics! ouch!
    kiyasmom likes this.
  6. Jul 10, '08 by
    keep us posted on how you are... did they pull it??? ouch !!
    kiyasmom likes this.
  7. Jul 10, '08 by
    You need to go to the ED ASAP. I had an abscess tooth once and it was the worst pain of my life. I think I would rather go through labor again rather than experience that kind of pain again. I hope you feel better soon.
    GrumpyRN63, psalm, loricatus, and 1 other like this.
  8. Jul 10, '08 by
    Quote from JB2007
    You need to go to the ED ASAP. I had an abscess tooth once and it was the worst pain of my life. I think I would rather go through labor again rather than experience that kind of pain again. I hope you feel better soon.
    THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I TOLD DH! I said all four of my c-sections were easier than this pain! I'm on my way now.
    psalm likes this.
  9. Jul 10, '08 by
    Is it common for ED to have dentists?
  10. Jul 10, '08 by
    i've worked in several large teaching hospitals and yes, the eds have dentists.

    i've had abcessed teeth, and i understand just how bad the pain can be. i'm glad you've gone to the ed, and i sincerely hope that they are able to pull or cap or crown or root canal your tooth -- whatever it is you need. you'll probably need antibiotics in addition to pain meds . . . believe me, if it is abcessed you don't want to skip the antibiotics! when i was much younger and didn't have dental insurance, i tried to "save money" by not going to the dentist when i had a toothache. it got infected, and i ended up going to the ed anyway with fever, chills, and a nasty systemic infection. it could have been worse -- at least i didn't develop valvular disease because of my stupidity!

    i hope that when i come back to this board tomorrow, i'll read that everything has been taken care of and you're feeling much better!
  11. Jul 10, '08 by
    I had an abscessed tooth once, it was HORRENDOUS pain!! I hope you went in. Whether or not they have a dentist isn't even the main issue, abscessed teeth can cause systemic infections. You definitely need to see someone!
  12. Jul 10, '08 by
    Excrutiating pain of any kind IS CERTAINLY a legitimate reason to go to the ED. I am glad you are going and hope that you can get relief quickly.

    Please trust me when I say that you would not be treated as if you were making a needless visit for what you are suffering through.

    And yes, I would rather go through natural childbirth again in a minute than to suffer through another abcessed tooth.
    psalm likes this.