Up North

Last Thursday night I bit into a piece of meat that must have had a sliver of bone in it and my tooth hurt BAD so I called and got in today. Ok so far so good, I managed with the hot and cold sensitivity, not being able to chew on that side, I went and they took X rays poked and prodded, said I must have bruised it and it would heal on its own, Ok I was good with that. Came home was eating a piece of Pizza and hmm that tooth feels funny, I look at it and it is broken in half! I can almost wiggle the one half off, Now. why didn't that crack show up on the x ray? He said it wasn't chipped or cracked. Do I stop payment on my check, call back and complain or just find a new dentist? I am leaving tomorrow afternoon for a week of camping. It doesn't hurt but it very well may if this falls all they way apart! and it took a week for an emergency appointment the first time! And I can't chew on that side! GGRRRRR Ok I feel better, gonna go to bed soon!

tlrnhi

I would DEFINITELY go to another dentist. If the tooth is cracked, it WOULD have shown up on the xray. Call another dentist in the area and see if you can get in on an emergency ASAP with them. Lord only knows what could happen while you are camping. You could get an infection in there...infections in teeth can happen overnight and it's NOT a good thing!

Up North

There just isn't anyone around here taking new patients that is the tough thing! Especially since I don't have any insurance. I am going to call in the morning but it is a 59 mile one way trip to go and IF he will do anything?!!

tlrnhi

That sucks!
Definitely call him. Like I said, he SHOULD have found the crack in the xray. Even a small crack should have shown up. If he can't get you in, at least ask him for some antibiotics or something IN CASE an infection develops. Not a good thing to have on a camping trip...or any time, for that matter.

Up North

Good Idea Terri I will ask about the antibiotics and I will call first thing in the morning.

I go To The Sea To Breathe

I found a neat thing to have in first aid bag. Emergency tooth filler, kind of like a putty or wax that you cover the tooth with and it keeps crap out of the hole. It is at wal mart near all the dental things, so prob would also be at drug stores. I would make sure I take something like that with me. just in case....good luck

Up North

I did buy some temporay filling like this but as soon as I put it on it hurt so darn bad I couldn't wait to get rid of it. Now that it is not so sensitive it might work. and I have some so will take it with me or maybe try it in the morning. Thanks for the reminder.

tlrnhi

I had a root canal done and an infection set in that night. OUCH, was NOT what I was saying. It hurt so bad I was in tears on the phone to the dentist. He had a script for a Zpac and some pain killers for me. Then I had to call hubby to come get me since the pain was so bad I couldn't see straight. He had to drive me to the dentist, then to get script filled. Best thing about Zpac is...it's only 5 pills (I think) and it works QUICKLY!

Up North

I am praying for NO infections, Have gone through that enough with my kids!! My Son in Ohio was to ER so often with infections they accused him of just wanting pain meds!! He spent 11 Days in the hospital because of an infected tooth! I just asked my son as the last time he got an antibiotic he had a refill so may go get that tomorrow just in case I need it.

SherriB

I had something similar happen to one of my teeth. I was also eating some pizza that had a crispy crust. I bit into it and felt instant pain in one of my back teeth. I could feel something move when I touched my tongue to it. I had an appointment in a couple day with my hygienist (sp?) so I just waited til then.

She was very gentle while cleaning my teeth and didn't find anything wrong. She even took several x-rays and nothing showed up. She was quite confused at to what was wrong with the tooth. She called in my dentist to check my teeth and he gently probed and found the problem. The entire side of my tooth had completely broken and was only held in by a piece of gum tissue. My hygienist was shocked that she didn't find it and that it didn't show up on x-ray. I am now waiting to have a crown put on that tooth. I have already had the root canal done.

I think the world of the dental office I go to. They are wonderful with extreme dental cowards like me.