I was in the emergency room last night because of a tooth!

oh ouch that makes my face hurt just thinking about an abscessed tooth. i still remember that pain and to have someone pat you right on there.ouch.

OUCH!!! I can't imagine that pain! I had an abscess once and if someone just LOOKED at me too hard it hurt more! Oh, man! Even though it's in the past, I still feel your pain!

I think teeth are one HUMUNGUS human flaw. They cause almost everyone problems and, of course, the inevitable dental bills. The only good thing I can think of about teeth is if you're a dentist. I asked my son if he wanted to go to dental school. LOL His visit today, a simple extraction since the emergency room put him on antibiotics and gave him pain pills, cost over $500.00! I also told my son to invest in a good pair of pliers in case another wisdom tooth has to come out.

As I told Hatley, she had NEVER done that before, I guess that swollen cheek just HAD to be touched.

And it really wasn't that bad an abscess, even I knew that, just a little one.

But, unlike my 2 roommates, I still have all my teeth - well except for those pesky wisdom ones. Seems my teeth grew in with pits to have to be filled because they became cavities quickly and the wisdom ones were doing the same thing.

Hi Neil. I don't know if you've seen the movie "Castaway" with Tom Hanks but there was a scene in that movie where he was alone on a desert island and had an abscessed tooth. He had opened up some boxes that had washed ashore, one of them containing a pair of ice skates. He took one of the skates and jammed the blade into his mouth to get the tooth out and relieve the pressure and pain. Of course, it made him pass out because of the pain. My son said he had been thinking of doing just that to his tooth.

Well, it's out now. I almost fell over when they told me how much it cost: over $500.00! That is with a 10% discount for paying cash, too! Luckily, I had the money in a medical debit card because my son doesn't have that kind of money. (I STILL haven't received a thing from Social Security! One more week and I can call them again but I HOPE I get something before then!)

He told me this morning that it felt a little better since he started taking antibiotics yesterday. Also, those Lortabs didn't hurt, either! They're extremely strong pain killers. One would knock me out and he was taking two because of the pain. He's very glad it's all over now. I am, too!

I'm still here at the same place. I still haven't received any money and besides, I've invested too much time and money in this house. So, if anyone leaves, it will be him. I figured out how I could afford this house by myself and it is something I can do. I don't know what is going to happen, though, because he's been very good lately and keeping out of my hair. He's working on his invention of some kind of engine that runs solely on magnets and electromagnets. If he gets it working, we could potentially be billionaires. Wouldn't that be a hoot? I'd definitely stick around for that! LOL All my friends here in myLot would also benefit from his invention because I'd just have to share!

Hi Joody. Welcome to myLot!

Tooth pain has to be the worse, you are so very right about that! My wisdom teeth were all surgically cut out all at once. I don't recommend that to anyone! Man, that hurt! And, I swelled up like a basketball. LOL The dentist gave me 2 Demerol tablets (100 mgs each... pretty strong stuff) and 4 Darvons which, to me, seem like nothing more than glorified aspirin. I am SO glad that wisdom teeth don't grow back!

Abscesses have to be the absolute worst pain one can endure. I'd put it above childbirth on the pain scale. The dentist asked my son what his pain level was on a scale of one to ten and he said "75". I know that pain. I had an abscess once, too. I hate teeth!

The kicker is that she had never done that before weird!

Oh, wow, Hatley! I know all about Demerol. I was given two 100-mg tablets, only two, after they surgically removed all four of my wisdom teeth. They were PLENTY strong enough, but I broke each one in half. I've had Demerol many times in the hospital before, so I know just how strong that stuff is!

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad you had such a wonderful, caring landlady! Wow! If she hadn't been there, you might not be here with us now. Wow! I hope that druggist fired that helper! You just can't make mistakes like that!

Mine were all surgically removed at the same time. That sucked! I'd love to know why we, as humans, still get wisdom teeth since there is usually not enough room for them in our mouths. They almost always cause problems. You are so lucky to only have had two! Oh, what I would have given to only have had two!

Mine were all impacted, facing forward under the gums. They never poked through, but caused me all kinds of problems. I still have very crooked bottom teeth because of them. Luckily (I guess), I had a space between my top front teeth and the wisdom teeth, pushing foward, moved them together so I no longer have that gap. LOL

My son is feeling much better now. He's very relieved that it's all over but the healing. I am, too! I said to him, "This sucks!" He replied, "Try being me!" I told him that I know it hurts him because he's going through it but, as his mother, it's my duty to feel his pain. LOL So, we're both very glad it's over.

He's still on the antibiotics but I doubt he'll need too many more of those pain killers. I'm sure he'll be sore from the extraction but nowhere near as bad as before the tooth came out.

Wow, all 4 at the same time! My sister had hers removed two at a time I think. I'm glad hear your son is feeling better.

Wow, paula! You are one of those rare exceptions to the rule, I guess. Lucky you! Mine all had to be surgically removed because they were all impacted and facing forward, pushing my other teeth together. One of them kept getting infected so they were all removed.

I've never heard my son in so much pain before and he's had plenty of reasons to scream. He broke his thumb once where the bone had separated and moved apart. The doctor had to pull on his thumb and realign the bone so it would heal properly. He did this with no pain killers and my son never screamed. He never even groaned, so I know this tooth hurt him bad.

We went to the oral surgeon at 1:45 today. The tooth is out now and he's so relieved! I am, too. Only three more to go, now.

Thank goodness for that!I hope the other three are not so bad! Geez...The thumb thing sounds mighty painful to me! Your son sounds like a brave soul! Hope all is well with him now!

I have to agree with you about labor pains being less intense than tooth pain can be, although my son said his mouth felt like it was going to give birth any second. LOL

What a great day we had, huh? Mother and son bonding. Right. Our kids are our kids until we die, I suppose. Well, the tooth is gone now with only 3 more to go. I'm SO glad he's not having problems with the other three.

YOU are so lucky! No problems with your wisdom teeth. That's rare, you know. I never even saw mine. They were all impacted, well below the gumline and pushing forward. They all had to be cut out and that sucked.

I can't imagine your pain, two whole days with raw nerves! OUCH!!!! That's kind of what happened to my son. He had a filling in that tooth but it had come out. Apparently, there was decay under the filling that kept growing. That's what it looked like, anyway. The dentist who did the filling, I found out later, wasn't that great a dentist. He did a root canal on one of my teeth and I can still feel it! The nerve is supposed to be removed in a root canal so there should be no way I could feel anything but it's been years now and I still feel it every now and then. I'm glad we're not seeing that dentist anymore.

well i try my best to keep up with my dental care, but i have noticed lately that my gums are receeding and that needs some attention because they become very sore at times, but the tooth ache thing, i would rather give birth to a rhino than go through that pain again....

Teeth don't really care what time they start acting up, that's for sure! Having all four wisdom teeth taken out at once is nothing I would ever recommend. I had that done and my face swelled up so badly that I couldn't open OR close my mouth. I could fit my pinky finger between my teeth but nothing else for about a week. That really sucked!

It sure sounds like you've been through the wringer! My son had an abscess but the oral surgeon pulled the tooth, anyway. He didn't put stitches in because he said he wanted it to drain. It was pretty infected, too.

As for your sinus infection, I know perfectly well that it could have been caused by your tooth infection. That happened to me so I know it does happen. One of my upper molars was causing shooting pain to go right up into my head and I developed one sinus infection after another until that tooth was extracted.

I had a friend once who had a wisdom tooth extracted and she developed an infection so badly and so fast that her throat almost closed completely. She called me to help her get back to the dentist, then I took her to get antibiotics. She took her first one and it got stuck in her throat! The pharmacist told her to eat a piece of bread and it actually worked. The pill went down. It was close but she made it through her ordeal. I'm VERY glad that you didn't wait. I'm just sorry to hear that you had to wait 2 hours at the oral surgeon's office. No one should ever have to wait that long!

I hope things work out well for you and your infection clears up fast so that tooth can come out. Yes, watch out for those extra-strong pain killers! They can be nasty if neglected. Plus, what you have are so strong you won't be able to study or work on your business. You sound like an awfully busy person for 19! I'm impressed!

Oh, by the way, welcome to myLot. I hope you like it here. It's a pretty cool place to hang out and make a little money, too.

Ah, geez. I see you've been a member here for awhile now. Well, I hope you can find the time to spend some time here. If not, I can certainly understand why! You've really got a full plate!

Yeah I know its not the smartest idea to get 3 wisdom teeth out at once, but it has to be done. I plan on transferring to Stevens Institute of Technology in January, so you can see why I want to get the wisdom teeth out before I get there. I can deal with pain pretty well (busted my lip open from a skateboard when I was 11, had 16 stitches, got my tonsils out a couple years ago). Your son's oral surgeon was smart to pull the abscess, better to get rid of it and not have to worry about the risk of having a problem later. Your friend who developed the horrible infection after a wisdom tooth extraction is very lucky, that must have been scary. I would flip out if I had a pill stuck in my throat!

Thank you for being impressed with my 19 year old motivation. Even on antibiotics and feeling like crap from the infection I will still do all of my work, because thats just the work ethic I've developed over the past year. The video production I do is kind of like my creative outlet where work is really fun for me. The engineering I'm studying for is where I can apply all my science/math skills to challenges and problems! When I was in the oral surgeons office today, I realized I will be redesigning and improving many of the instruments and equipment they use everyday. Its a very cool thing to look forward to. Thank you for your very nice response, I hope to be posting more around here!

You made me remember a picture I saw of Laurel and Hardy where Laurel has a handkerchief wrapped around his jaw/head. I think there was an actual reason for that... like a poltice or something. Maybe I should have done that with my son. LOL

Anyway, the tooth is history now... and so is $514.00! I can't believe that oral surgeon charged so much. AND, that was with a 10% discount for paying in cash! I had a tooth pulled about 6 years ago that cost $175.00. I thought that was high! Geez, dental costs have risen about 200% in 6 years. I don't know of anyone else's salary that has risen that much, especially these days. Dentists sure do take advantage of our pain!

I guess my son is okay today. I haven't heard from him since I dropped him off at his house. He was very relieved once the tooth was out and I sure can't blame him. He's usually pretty quiet when he's in pain but he was literally screaming! That's why I had to take him to the ER Wednesday night. The doctor who treated him said it's not that uncommon, either. He said my son was the second person that day he had seen with an abscessed tooth. I'm just glad they could help him.