Skeptic Project

I'm dealing with a big dental problem right now, and I've been researching on the 'net for some things I can do at home to make the pain more bearable until I can see a dentist. There's plenty of shit out there...like this!

Do you really have a dental problem? Is so what is the problem?

@2012 CT

A couple nights ago I woke up at who knows what hour with a really bad toothache. I could isolate which tooth and everything. Since then, the pain's generally only gotten worse and is causing swelling under my eye, discomfort in my ear and other symptoms around my face. I don't see a dentist until Wednesday. It got so bad I went to an ER yesterday (no other choice, the community clinic couldn't help me), as over-the-counter meds weren't helping much and I wasn't going to bear that pain until Wednesday. The ER doc was actually glad to see me, though, as I probably have an infection or abscess, and I least got some prescription meds to control the pain more effectively until my dentist appointment.

@ Rox

Take some time to check out the whole site. It's such a pseudoscientific mess of bullshit that's it's hilarious. Also, he advocates organics of course and hints that modern agriculture causes dental problems.

@alexa

I hope you understand if I'm a bit skeptical of that. ;) But thanks for trying to help. To be honest, though, I've been prescribed an antibiotic since it's probably an infection and that should help clear it up a bit until I see a dentist. The doc also recommended I use an anti-septic mouthwash, which I was doing anyway. I also got some sensodyne, which helped make brushing itself less painful. I also have pain relievers, one of which is vicodin, which is really helping. Also, I don't have any of the constituent ingredients on hand anyway. At this point, I just want to keep the pain under control until I see a dentist Wednesday.

"Too many crazy claims floating around out there"

Check out the website I posted in this thread if you want some crazy claims. :D The guy basically takes the idea that diet affects dental health (which it undeniably does), and in his articles takes it to an incredibly stupid extreme to the point of denying just about any other factor in dental health, while mixing in other woo. It's probably a safe assumption that in the book he's selling it's more of the same.

It's not just a cavity, as the pain feels like it's deeper into my gums, and the pain has been spreading and shifting around. It might be a gum infection. I have brushed, flossed, and used anti-septic mouthwash on the area. Also, zit like things on the gums are actually signs of infection and abscess. Either way, not something I want. Shortly after my ER visit and before I took any of the meds, I did suddenly have a weird nasty taste in my mouth. I suspect it could be some infected area draining or something. Whether it's good or not I don't know.

Either way, I don't know. I can only speculate and I'll find out on Wednesday. Until then, I just want to control this damn awful pain. The meds I've got and watching what I eat (soft foods requiring little to no chewing, and nothing too hot or cold) is working well enough for me to at least tolerate it.

But again, thanks for at least trying to help. :)

@Wolf Bird Sounds like a food particle has gotten stuck up in your gums are and therefore your gums are inflamed. What you may want to do if you feel up to it is take take two fingers and put them on the sides of your gums. What you want to do is with your fingers on both sides of the inflamed area of the gums is to press the area down and squeeze the inflamed area with your hands going up all the way to your teeth. This is a attempt to get the food particle out of your mouth or even to cross of the list that it isn't a food particle stuck within your gum area. After you do that you should use mouth wash and swish it around your mouth making sure to hit the inflamed area really good.

Or you could just wait to go to the dentist but it's not that big of a deal if you tried it out well it won't hurt anything.

@2012 CT

Tried, nothing much happened except making it hurt more for a bit, even after I stopped applying pressure. I don't think it's just a food particle. And even if it is, that alone wouldn't produce such symptoms without bacteria making it this bad. It makes sense to me that it's an infection, and one way or the other, that infection needs cleared, whether by antibiotic or a root canal if it's gotten into the pulp of the teeth.

@alexa

Agreed. I do think some herbs have some effect for minor problems, especially for localized minor pain relief. My mom always kept aloe when I was a kid, and whenever I got burned, she would take a piece off the aloe plant, split it open and rub the gel on the burn. It certainly helped to relieve the irritation for a while. I think the beauty of modern medicine is that scientists can isolate whatever medicinal compounds are in any given herb and thus make it more effective so it's not so diluted (unless, of course, you're talking to a homeopath, lol). And they can synthesize it too, so fewer plants have to be killed or harmed for medicine. That said, I wouldn't take herbal remedies to try and cure cancer or some other nasty disease. I'll take an herbal remedy for minor pain if it's all I have, but I prefer the pharmaceuticals because they are generally more effective and longer lasting. I would also never ever trust anything from someone claiming to be practicing 'Chinese herbs', as those things can be so contaminated with who knows what (and ironically, apparently a lot of them get contaminated with real pharmaceuticals).

And right know, I love my vicodin.

Sorry if I came across defensive. Really, I am thankful you're at least trying to help. :) But at this point, I think I've got all I can do to get me through to the dentist appointment Wednesday.

Again, that's the problem with the above website and probably 99% of the others out there. They act like they're a cure all and they're not. Take my suggestion of the rosemary/sage blend. I've seen it knock out infections but that doesn't mean you cancel your dental appointment. Some things just help until you can get the right care. Others, like aloe, might be all the care you need. I wouldn't take an herbal remedy to cure cancer either but I might use one to help ease the side effects of chemo. I'm not against pharmaceuticals at all, (I have running scripts for percocet and oxycontin) but then again I'm not a naturopath or a homeopath either. I found homeopathic remedies to be some of the most frightening stuff I've ever read. Sadly, the simple home herbalist gets lost in all of that craziness. The difference there is that I don't claim to "practice" anything or treat people or charge for services. I've just learned a handful of good home remedies over the years that I share if I think it will help someone. I mainly grow my own, for both culinary and medicinal reasons and when I can't grow something I stick with a couple of trusted sources.
I consider tooth infections to be up there with kidney stones on the pain scale so I'm sure you're lovin that vicodin right now.

I am loving that vicodin. I probably try that herbal preparation you suggested. The vicodin is making me incredibly lazy and I don't have the constituent ingredients.

I actually meant I probably won't try it, as I don't have the ingredients and am lazy. but my previous post has a typo that I didn't notice until after I was unable to edit the post. It would probably be a waste of time in that case, anyway, as I have the antibiotic and my appointment is 3 days away.

Also, the vicodin combined with lidocaine topical is doing great to control the pain. It makes me sleepy and lightheaded and loopy, but the pain is sure tolerable.

The pharmacist did say to expect loopiness, dizziness, lightheadedness and drowsiness from the vicodin. And also relieved pain. :D

Yeah, feeling somewhat better. The pain is under control. The vicodin side effects are pretty out there (I had extremely lucid dreams last night), and I lack the drive to do anything. I'm having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, but I'll take that over crippling pain. I just wish this didn't have to happen over the Fourth of July. Weather is beautiful and I wanted to take a bike ride, but in this state, I wouldn't trust myself on a bike.

^lol. Maybe I should bike to one of the zillion reikists, chiropractors or acupuncturists in the area!