Just keep you eyes open on the side of the road. Maybe someone will have thrown out an extra tooth or two!

man up. pliers..

I had to cut a bit of the molar gumline with an exacto, but wasnt to bad to pull.

Baz, that's a lot of Ibuprofen. I hope you don't have any kidney issues.

It's a tad loose, you say ? Sounds like it's on its way out on its own.

I've had issues with the upper rear most teeth on the right side of my mouth for the past several years, mainly due to bone and gum loss from being too aggressive with the tooth brush earlier in life and 40 years of smoking. Since having 2 (known) heart attacks in the past 3 years I've been unable to take Ibuprofen. So for the pain in that tooth I had been eating Tylenol almost like candy.

Then a couple of months ago, my Doc said congratulations, you are a diabetic! So from that point, I have done my best to cut out all the past "sugary" things in life. No more sweet iced tea (!) no more sodas. Remarkably, the pain in that tooth has all but gone away. Apparently it was a sugar sensitive kind of thing.

FWIW, in Central Mississippi, my friend Pete had ALL of his upper teeth removed and a complete set of implants installed for right at $10k. It was an "end of the month corporate says we haven't done enough business" kind of deal, done by an outfit that even my Dentist--who is one of the priciest in town---considers an ok outfit.

This.
My dentist said that the pain is from infections. Sometimes a minor infection can be fought off by the body naturally but you aren't 'healed'. The ibuprofen thing is just giving you a few days to see if the infection will decrease but cannot heal an infection. If the tooth is split, it has to come out. Can't do a root canal and crown (ask me how I know). This usually has to be done surgically. It won't just fall out on its own and if only part of it comes out you are in worse shape.

"Bite the bullet" (pun intended) and get it done and you'll be a lot happier for it. I was so relieved to not have worry of the pain come and go that the cost was easy. You'll have a good amount of time while the gum is healing to decide if you want to go with the implant. When I saw that you couldn't see that a tooth was missing is just let it be.

Thanks again for all the replies and input. Much appreciated! SmileWavy

The antibiotics are to fight the infection - which in turns removes some of the pain.

The antibiotic I'm taking is Cephalexin. Seems to be working pretty good as the pain went away right after I took the first one on Thursday afternoon.

Of course, I've also been taking the Advils and did use some of the pain relief gel also on Thursday. But not since.

I think what Joe mentions is what's happened. Split tooth - so chances are it has to come out. But will double check with my dentist anyway about the root canal and crown.

That's funny how everyone else has had the same issue in the same area.

The funny thing about the Cephalexin - if you read my posts in the Dog thread - we are getting through a UTI with my dog and we ran out of Cephalexin! I was trying to get a few more from my vet and it wasn't happening - so this tooth situation totally resolved that issue as well. :)

Thanks again for the help, guys. Happy Saturday!

Go the implant route. Small price to pay for a permanent solution.

Do you trust your Dentist? Walking in off the street for ANY dental work CAN BE a crap shoot. I've been with the same guy 20 years.

...uh, I know you're a Burner and all, which means your pace of life is on a different frequency. And I did not say it's a bad thing, but for the love of everything, please tell me that was a joke, you whacko! :D

I do trust him. Been with him for quite a while. 20 years, at least.

We've actually transacted business outside the practice - and also at his practice. He even brought me a load of bromeliads in the back of his pickup truck on one his visits to South Florida, where he has relatives.

I've delivered plants to him at his home here too, at wholesale and better quality than he could get.

And I totally get the "get another quote" thing. But doesn't seem like this is the kind of thing you could get other quotes for, unless they take x-rays and an exam - which costs even more money and time.

My dentist took x-rays - they do this every year or two - and showed them to me - so that's what we're going by.

Dead serious. Didnt have dental insurance at the time. Wasnt close to a dentist anyway.

Tooth was cracked in half. I'm pretty good at learning. Read up on the procedure, filed the tooth for a good grip. It hurt less than the infection. I had a lot of antibiotics stored up.

Grew up in motocross, learned to suture at a young age. Extreme DIY? sure.

Back in the day, the ‘dentist’ does everything.

Now you have your regular guy, the oral surgeon, the orthodontist and the periodontal surgeons. I call my now removed molar the $10000 tooth 😃

Did you and Pete wipe your arse with a corn cob too? You do know that the appropriate brush is not made with metal bristles? Does he now have a teeth brush?

Just messing with you. Go Rebs.

I got pretty sick last fall. Abscessed tooth. Getting an appointment to get it pulled was difficult. Was denied service by one dentist because I had covid like symptoms.

If you say "Go Rebs" you REALLY ARE messin' with him! :D

It will.
A row of teeth act in unison and support each other under load.
If one is missing, the other two will bend into the empty space and their roots will now be compromised.
Now there is two more ready to crack and be pulled.

I had a cap pop off while on vacation away from home and dentist.
In only a few days the other teeth flexed inwards and made the re-install very tight.
They had to file the sides of the cap to get it back in.

Git'er done son. A jaw abscess is something you don't want to deal with.
$4-6k for an implant is what I've heard.

Don't no where you guys are from the wife is going through one now she is in over 9k and not done yet and its not seen.

Going through what?

Toothache?

Implant?

Some random opinions and definitely not medical advice:
ymmv
-Vitamin D especially if you spend a lot of time indoors.
-Vitamin B for digestive health.
-Vitamin C for general health and teeth. Water soluble and difficult to overdose if kidneys and water intake is good. May cause kidney stones in large amounts.
-Zinc for healing
-Magnesium for bones joints and teeth and digestive tract.
-Calcium can be absorbed better from foods like broccoli etc than from milk. Drink lactose free if necessary which has twice the refrigerator lifespan.

-Rinse with 50/50 3% hydrogen peroxide occasionally. It's a surfactant cleaner. Not an antibiotic. Do not swallow or you will puke.
-Baking soda neutralizes mouth acids (aka bacterial poop) and prevents enamel decay.
-A drop of clove oil on a Q-tip is a temporary anesthetic.
-Soft tooth brush and use light pressure only.
-Floss with a clean mouth and rinse after. Tell your dentist if this is not possible anywhere.

^^Add Vitamin K2 to that list.

Also your best bet for dental pain is Ibuprofen 600mg together with Tylenol 500mg every 6 hours. Can up it to 800/1000 and extend the interval to every 8 hours (think before bed to get through the night).

Yes you take them both at the same time.

Well established in many published dental pain studies that this combo is as effective or more effective than Vicodin/Percocet for dental pain. Plus no addiction potential.

Ha! That's for sure, Baz. My Bullies are 1-1 with Vandy in the weekend series, maybe we can take the 2nd one from them tomorrow.

Hail State!
Go to Hell Ole Miss!

BTW Matt.....only the best Harbor Freight metal brushes and solvents for my teeth, and ole Pete, he's from PA and only been in Mississippi about the last 20 years. I told him a few years ago to check the latest issue of Southern Living Magazine, and that on the inside back cover they had a "Southern Immigration" form he could fill out and I'd be his sponsor.....