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i'm 40 years old and just had ALL my teeth extracted in one go. The pain is excruciating. Any tips for pain relief?

EDIT; I can’t reply to everyone individually but thanks for all the suggestions! Opiates are out of the question, doctors here will only prescribe those in terms of absolutely extreme suffering or end of life care. I also don’t particularly feel interested in developing a hard drug habit. Diclofenac and such are available but also only on separate prescriptions, I’d have to visit another doctor for that. I’m well stocked on paracetamol & ibuprofen, and apart from that, lots of ice cream, pudding & soup :)

Aevironis ,
@Aevironis@lemmy.world avatar

Not sure what’s available where you’re at without a prescription, but I recommend Orajel or any equivalent ulcer/tooth ache gel.

In addition to the other things you’re already using, you can steep black tea bags in warm water and gently bite on that. The tannins help with bleeding and inflammation.

A mouthwash or spray with Cetylpyridinium Chloride in the ingredients list will help with healing, but don’t buy a mouthwash that has alcohol/isopropyl in the ingredients. Dentyl, Oral B Gum detoxify, Parodontax, Biotene Dry Mouth Spray are all good.

I had several teeth removed from my inside my jaw that never came out and had a bone graft placed in the area that had to heal for 6 months before dental implants were placed. The mouthwash definitely helped me heal faster from that surgery than when I had my wisdom teeth out the year before and didn’t use any. Just do a gentle rinse dont swish it around hard! You don’t want to disturb the blood clots and get dry socket.

I hope you start to feel better soon!

Akasazh ,

I don’t know what your dentist is on (he must be high on something) to agree to remove all your teeth at once.

I had all my wisdom teeth pulled and they did that two per side, as otherwise the sedative would relax the tounge muscle, which might cause you to choke. After that I got sent home with a big stack of painkillers (NSAIDS, no opiates).

I’d look for a different dentist tbh, but thats a bit late now.

intensely_human ,

OP a lot of people are advising you to COMBINE ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

DO NOT MIX THESE TWO DRUGS; INSTEAD, ALTERNATE THEM

You can alternate them, taking ibuprofen, then later taking acetaminophen.

But don’t mix them. I’m sorry for spamming the allcaps throughout this thread but there is very dangerous medical advice being given.

davel ,
@davel@lemmy.ml avatar

I mean you can combine them, if the pain is expected to be short term, but in OP’s case the pain is likely to be longer term, where alternating may be a better choice. For example Excedrin is a combo of acetaminophen, NSAID (aspirin), and caffeine.

Croquette ,

They sell ibuprofen with acetaminophen at the pharmacy, off the shelf, so that’s not an issue.

It is recommended to alternate between the two so that you are always under the effect of either one and it reduces the pain throughout the day, instead of having big spikes of pain/no-pain.

ngwoo ,

It’s perfectly safe to take them at the same time and was the exact advice given to me after having my wisdom teeth extracted. You can even buy medication that has both ingredients, like Excedrin. One is metabolized by the kidneys and the other by the liver.

This combination is actually shown to work better than opiates for dental pain

HubertManne ,

ouch. my brother was lucky and the dentist was able to save some including four he said would help a lot with bridge fit.

medgremlin ,

Alternating the paracetamol and ibuprofen on a schedule is the best recommendation I can give. Severe pain, especially post-operative pain, is best managed by taking the pain meds before the pain sets in. The ibuprofen is also an NSAID and the swelling and inflammation are big contributors to pain.

The schedule that I always recommend is:

  • 0800: 650-1000mg paracetamol (acetaminophen)
  • 1200: 600-800mg ibuprofen
  • 1600: 650-1000mg paracetamol (acetaminophen)
  • 2000: 600-800mg ibuprofen
  • (and in the first day or two after surgery, set alarms to wake up and take pain meds at 0000 and 0400 on the same pattern if the pain is really bad.)

This pattern keeps you covered on pain control, and you can shorten the intervals to every 3 hours if this isn’t enough without exceeding daily dose limits on either medication. If you are an American reading this and you’re also taking something like Norco, make sure to account for the acetaminophen/tylenol/paracetamol that’s in those because exceeding the recommended dose on that one is bad news for your liver.

Like some other folks have said, warm saline (salt water) rinses and soft or liquid foods are going to help as well.

SirArchibald ,

Wash your mouth out with salt water, worked a treat when had my wisdom teeth removed.

intensely_human ,

Just avoid vigorous rinsing, because you don’t want to dislodge the blood clots

tiefling , (edited )

Weed and ibuprofen is how I got through my tooth extraction. Mind you, it wasn’t as severe as yours. But I took a large enough (but still reasonable) dose that I kinda just conked out after

Kyrgizion OP ,

Flanders, Belgium

ThrowawayPermanente ,

Y’all got any more of them poppies?

ReakDuck ,

I also realize that taking so often or much of some medicaments could harm your liver.

So I would recommend to see if you can reduce the dosage after week or so when the pain finally reduces a bit.

I am also unsure how much liver damage you can get, maybe I am just paranoid and its not that severe.

tacosplease ,

If you can’t get pain meds I’d try Kratom.

Start with a low dose and work your way up. If you take too much you will puke which would be awful in your current condition.

Take the right dose and it will significantly relieve the pain. I slowly took increased doses until they started to make me feel a little woozy or get cold sweats. Then I knew my personal dose is a little less than that.

I can’t stress enough though - take less at first and try a little more each time.

Either eat food with it every time or take on an empty stomach every time, but don’t go back and forth unless you know your proper personal dose with and without food. It matters a lot with Kratom.

All that said, do it right and it will bring more relief than anything else I’ve been able to legally acquire. Absolutely do not allow yourself to take it every day once the pain is manageable. Plenty of people do… But don’t do that.

Good luck. No matter what - this is only temporary. You will get through it.

TheFriar ,

Also, CBD.

dharmacurious ,

My mom has chronic pain from disabilities and started taking Kratom a few years back. I tried it first to test things out before she started. We misread the instructions, and steeped about 10x more than we should have in orange juice for several hours.

I have never been so sick. OMG. It was 3 days of pure hell.

But here’s the kicker, doing that with any other medication would’ve killed me. This just made me sick. It’s a weird way to begin saying you swear by something, but I swear by the stuff. It is genuinely helpful, and it has an upper limit, so it’s risk for abuse is low. Stuff is great.

JoYo ,
@JoYo@lemmy.ml avatar

most people dont develop an addiction to opiods when taken as directed by your doctor.

speaking of, go to urgent care or your PCP if they can fit you in for a perception. a dentist is going to be worthless for anything other than the mouth bones.

TheFriar ,

Weeelllll….

At the end of your bottle, if you’re taking them as prescribed, which is usually every 4-6hrs? Do that for a week and your body would be addicted. A full bottle + a refill, even two? It’s not about taking them recreationally. Your body and brain get addicted when they’re in your system regularly. I would know, got hit by a car, I think I only had one refill, and I was going through withdrawals at the end. I wasn’t even taking them as often as prescribed, mostly “as needed.” That was still regular enough.

intensely_human ,

Dealing with opiate withdrawal can be less damaging than extreme levels of pain.

Pain is not just a feeling. At extreme levels it reprograms the nervous system in ways that are really, really bad long term.

feannag ,

Ibuprofen (Advil) and acetaminophen/paracetamol (Tylenol). Take max dosage but alternate them. Read the bottle and don’t quote me, but it’s something like 800mg ibuprofen every 8 hours and 1000mg of paracetamol every 6. So take ibuprofen, 3-4 hours later take paracetamol, then back and forth. Do not exceed 2400/4000 or whatever your bottle says.

That’s the method I was taught to get the most/longest pain relief with OTC.

Blizzard ,

Did your dentist not give you that advice?

Kyrgizion OP ,

Actually no, I found the entire process to be incredibly rushed and the communication was bad to nonexistent. But that’s “free healthcare” for you. Even in places where medical issues don’t bankrupt you, the only way to get a truly seamless experience is to go to a private clinic and pay everything out of pocket.

daddyjones , (edited )
@daddyjones@lemmy.world avatar

Just to say - this has not been my experience of free healthcare. Not all of it has been great, but most of it has.

SupraMario ,

Hey, you can come here to the states, pay out the ass for it, even with insurance…and still have the same experience. Long waits, lack of communication, and Doctors that are so booked they give you the once over in 10mins after you have waited on them for hours…

TranscendentalEmpire ,

Dental eugenol, it’s a fairly powerful local analgesic made from clove oil. Some people have adverse reactions to it and so it isn’t used as frequently as it used to. So I would recommend applying it in a small test area before applying it more liberally.

You can buy it online fairly cheaply.

WhyJiffie ,

Are you from Hungary?

intensely_human ,

not any more

geophysicist ,

That’s simply not true, like at all. Classic American

Mothra ,
@Mothra@mander.xyz avatar

+1 wondering why someone in their 40s had to have all teeth extracted. I’m really sorry.

Kyrgizion OP ,

I’ve had issues with my teeth almost since birth. My parents both had full dentures by ages 25 or so. It was definitely a combination of genetics and bad oral hygiene. I was actually glad to get them all out now because I’ve suffered from debilitating pain for weeks at least once or twice every single year of my life.

Mothra ,
@Mothra@mander.xyz avatar

Thanks for sharing - I’m glad to know this is an improvement for you in spite of everything. I hope the pain eases soon!

TexasDrunk ,

I feel you. I grew up on well water (no fluoride), have a generic predisposition for terribly crooked teeth, and wasn’t taught basic oral hygiene until I was legally an adult.

I’ve had several extractions but every time it has been either an abscess or an impacted tooth, so just the relief from that pain was almost like a drug itself. About half my teeth are fake at this point and the ones that are left are in pretty good shape because they weren’t too far gone when I actually learned how to properly take care of them.

JoYo ,
@JoYo@lemmy.ml avatar

fluoride in water doesn’t do much to prevent tooth decay.

the fluoride in toothpaste is what does all heavy lifting.

TexasDrunk ,

Fluoride in water can help if you’re not taught proper care and feeding of teeth, but you are right. The fluoride in toothpaste is what should be doing the heavy lifting.

TheRealKuni ,

Are you doing “all on 4”?

lichtmetzger ,

It was definitely a combination of genetics and bad oral hygiene.

I’m in the same boat. 35 and half of them are already gone, my mum had them all removed when she was 40. My dentist is not crazy enough to take them out all at once though, that sounds insanely painful. I hope you’ll get through it soon.

intensely_human , (edited )

I’m so sorry to hear about the pain. Doctors don’t take oral pain seriously enough.

Don’t forget you can ice it too. Alternating ibuprofen/acetominophen thing is your best bet outside of more serious pain meds, but ice is effective for numbing pain.

CascadianGiraffe ,

I’m in a similar situation. Have tried to get where you’re at, but have been quoted in the $30,000 price range. There is no insurance that covers any of that cost, and they all want payment up front.

Any suggestions?

I_Has_A_Hat ,

No one here recommending Orajel? Literally designed specifically for mouth pain.

MelodiousFunk ,

Just empty the whole tube in there and swish it around. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Poe's LawPlease don’t do this

intensely_human ,

Seriously just don’t even say it. Your Poes Law thing requires an active click to see.

OP is a person in pain, whose head is in a new configuration (which is disorienting, reducing their cognitive capacities until the proprioceptive remapping is complete).

The danger of a misread is just too great.

pigslop ,

I think orajel shouldn’t be put on fresh wounds (not 100% on this but I put it on an open sore in my mouth and the pain was excruciating)

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