Bad tooth

United States
August 9, 2010 7:34pm CST
I have a horrible tooth that is in the back that has been bothering me for quite some time, but without dental insurance... a local dentist here told me it'd cost over $1,000 to pull the tooth. The amalgam filling came out a year or two ago and since then... food has gotten down in it causing it to decay all over again and making it weak. It ended up cracking on the lingual side (closest to the tongue) and bothers me a great deal. Now that I have a bad cold, it seems to be hurting worse than ever... inflamed like I have an abcess but I know this isn't the case since the tooth has already died. I have no clue what to do... I just want to get a pair of pliers and yank it out!!!!!! Ugh... so much pain. A toothache literally could make a grown man cry.
1 person likes this
4 responses
• Philippines
10 Aug 10
Hi. Before you think of pulling the tooth out, you need to take care of the abscess first. To do that, you will need to take antibiotics, most of the time we use amoxicillin 500mg. And to take care of the pain and probable swelling, you will need to take either mefenamic acid or ibuprophen, 500mg. Antibiotics are taken every 6 to 8 hours for 3 times a day. Mefenamic or ibuprophen is taken every 4-6 hours for 3-4 times a day. When your tooth does not feel anymore hurt, you may go ahead and have your extraction done. If you have any question, just let me know.
• Philippines
16 Aug 10
Is your tooth still aching? I guess this is a little bit too late, but if its not, then let me go ahead and say this.. So the affected tooth is under an amalgam filling. Yes, its right to take an xray. However, before you proceed with that, you might want to have the amalgam filling removed first and temporarily put a small cotton ball in it, with some IRM (intermediate restorative material) liquid. This is to allow the swelling to burst. It will also allow cleared view of the xray, as the amalgam may cause false reading because it is metallic in nature as it contains several compounds such as mercury and silver.
• United States
12 Aug 10
**Best Reponse Award**
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
11 Aug 10
I've got a couple of bad teeth myself. One of the things that a close friend of mine shared with me to help numb the pain from a bad tooth is to get an aspirin tablet and let that dissolve on the tooth that is bothering you. It tastes really bad when you do this, but it really does make the tooth stop hurting you. I really can't believe that a dentist told you it would cost $1000 just to get a single rotten tooth out of your head. As far as that goes, I think I would probably check with other dentists and see how much that they will charge to pull the tooth. One of the beautiful things about dentists is that unlike medicine, they will tell you what their charges will be.
• United States
12 Aug 10
You're right... I do need to check around more and get other medical opinions. However, it will probably be higher for me anyway without dental insurance.
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
10 Aug 10
Hi, mrscalland22. I really do wished that you could get this tooth pulled out. I know that it is bothering you like crazy! Do you have medicaid or medicare? There has to be a way for you to get this tooth pulled out without the expense! I hope that you can get your tooth pulled.
• United States
10 Aug 10
Yes it does bother me a lot... some days worse than others. Today it is swollen. I did have medicaid.. but not now. And even when I did have it, I was told that if I was over 21, they don't cover the dental aspects of the insurance coverage. It's ridiculous. I'm just hoping eventually that I can get it out... Thanks for your concern!!
@sa1816 (4)
• United States
10 Aug 10
Oh That Sucks Dude
• United States
10 Aug 10
Yes it does really suck... and to make it so bad. I am a Certified Dental Assistant here in my state. Years ago, I worked for a Dentist here locally in town and I fixed one of my own teeth on my lunch break one afternoon. That one is still perfectly in tact... but the one he fixed is the one where the filling came out that I am dealing with now... hmm.. I wonder who that makes the better dental professional?? lol. Thanks for your concern!!