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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 :)

oxjox ,
@oxjox@lemmy.ml avatar

Did you and your doctor not have this conversation!?

Or are you more inclined to listen to the internet over the person who’s job it is to pull all your teeth out of your head?

Answer: Oxy.

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah first thing I thought, too. “Have you tried asking somebody who does this professionally? Like, oh I don’t know, THE SURGEON?!”

Poot ,
@Poot@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Entirely this. Where is your health care provider in this conversation???

You should have been sent home with antibiotics, pain killers, and a ream of after care instructions.

whynotzoidberg ,

It was probably Aspen Dental.

Greg ,
@Greg@lemmy.ca avatar

I have no useful advice but much sympathy.

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?

henfredemars ,

I had 6 teeth removed at once. I can remember the pain. I found crushed or blended ice was helpful and doesn’t have risk of getting stuck.

It will be okay. Setting your expectations will help mentally. It’s still really rough. Did they prescribe you anything in terms of pain management?

OTC: Tylenol didn’t touch the pain. Ibuprofen helped some but was still pretty mild.

Xyphius ,

I had 8 teeth pulled at once, many years ago. I couldn’t take Tylenol 3s as they made me sick. I did my best with ibuprofen and acetaminophen (one Motrin, one Tylenol extra strength). My father kept me distracted as much as possible. His advice was to keep your mind distracted as it can help with the pain.

pr06lefs ,

Yeah this is a good option - too much ibuprofen is harmful, as is too much acetaminophen. But you can take both together and get double the pain relief.

intensely_human ,

NO DO NOT TAKE THEM TOGETHER.

You need to alternate them. Taking them together creates negatively synergistic effects which ruins your health.

FOR ANYONE READING DO NOT MIX IBUPROFEN AND ACETAMINOPHEN

Foreigner ,

As I said lower down, you can take ibuprofen and acetaminophen (paracetamol) together . It’s advised you wait an hour after you take one type before you take the other to see if the first medication works well enough. There are even medications sold as a combination of both. What detrimental “synergistic effects” are you talking about?

crawancon ,

everyone has answered your pain management stuff.

what about your condition - how does one end up needing all teeth extracted ? (you know, so other can avoid this fate)

are you getting veneers put in?

Kyrgizion OP ,

Bad teeth since my early youth - mostly genetic coupled with insufficient oral hygiene.

I’m not getting veneers or implants since I can’t afford those (I was quoted 34K €, which is just slightly below my annual salary). Once my gums heal, it’ll be the cheapest dentures I can find since nothing is covered until age 50.

crawancon ,

sorry to hear man. I hope getting them removed ends up being better for you overall.

BudgetBandit ,

I don’t know where you are, but if you’re in Europe I’d get my hands on some Novalgin (illegal in the US because it isn’t addictive) other than that there’s some kind of pads for jaw operations that you put in the freezer.

I personally find pain more bearable than the cold, so no ice and a lot of sleep for me

TheWilliamist ,

Word of warning. Novalgin (Dipyrone/metamizole) will completely fuck your white blood cells.

…lww.com/…/is_it_time_to_restrict_the_clinical_us…

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah but we’re talking about a single-incident use here, the article seems to analyse reports about clinical stay usage, as in, over longer bouts of time.

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

erusuoyera ,

Neat whisky. You don’t need to drink it if you don’t want, just gently swirl it around your mouth for a while and spit it out.

the_post_of_tom_joad ,

Now this sounds like a good antiseptic but wouldn’t that be very very painful?

Kyrgizion OP ,

I was actually warned against this since it can apparently cause actual burns if the liquor is high proof.

the_post_of_tom_joad ,

Lol good, glad you’re getting some good advice. Sorry you are dealing with this op, i dunno what you had to do but i have had a tooth extracted at a dental ‘training facility’ and my body won’t forget that, ever

Carighan ,
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

Do not actually do this, if someone is reading this. Alcohol after dental surgery is a risk, as it can mess with wound healing.

intensely_human ,

DO NO DO THIS; IT WILL DISSOLVE THE BLOOD CLOTS WHICH MUST REMAIN IN PLACE

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.

RememberTheApollo_ ,

Combined Tylenol and ibuprofen is probably your best bet otc.

Like Motrin.

intensely_human , (edited )

No!

DO NOT MIX ibuprofen and acetaminophen!

You need to alternate these in schedule:

  • Take 600-800 mg ibuprofen
  • Wait six hours
  • Take 500-1000 mg acetaminophen
  • Wait six hours
  • repeat

Note that the upper end doses I mentioned are SHORT TERM dosages. Don’t do that more than a couple of days.

Foreigner ,

Where have you been told this? Are you perhaps confusing acetaminophen for something else? Doctors will tell you that you can take ibuprofen and acetaminophen (paracetamol) together . It’s advised you wait an hour after you take one type before you take the other to see if the first medication works well enough. There are even medications sold as a combination of both. What you shouldn’t take ibuprofen along with other Non-steroidal anti-i inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin.

wildbus8979 ,

Weed.

zammy95 ,

If you do this option, don’t smoke, find some edibles. I’m pretty sure smoking right after having teeth pulled is a really bad idea (not 100% sure, but pretty sure)

kambusha ,

Suppositories sounds like the best option here.

disguy_ovahea ,

You are correct. You don’t want to create suction in your mouth for a few days after having a tooth extracted. You’ll end up with something called a dry socket, which is far more excruciating than the initial pain of extraction.

the_post_of_tom_joad ,

Smoking can cause dry-socket which is also incredibly painful. I smoked anyway after my extraction because I’m a filthy addict, rinsing with saline after every puff and got away with it, but it’s a risk yeah

Lupus ,

You better not smoke it with 20+ open wounds in your mouth…

wildbus8979 ,

There are other ways of consuming cannabis.

Poot ,
@Poot@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Well said. Edibles to the rescue if possible to obtain.

Duke_Nukem_1990 ,

Drinkables would probably work better here tho.

Num10ck ,

good luck chewing toothless

pr06lefs ,

ineffective for dental pain IMO

wildbus8979 ,

It was much nicer for me then opioids when I had a bicycle colision, planted my face firmly into the pavement and had to have a number of roots canals and 3 hours of buccal surgery.

pr06lefs ,

For me it just made it hurt weird, it didn’t make it not hurt. Maybe one of those things where not everyone responds the same way.

pigslop ,

I had a similar experience when I got my wisdoms out. Took an edible and when it kicked in the pain felt so much worse. Or at least I felt more aware of it and became fixated on it.

intensely_human ,

That’s what opioids do to me; they just make it hurt weird in a way that doesn’t matter.

Boomkop3 ,

I recently had to deal with a very painful tooth surgery. Unsafe amounts of combined paracetamol, ibuprofen and more did not help. It hurt enough that I considered grabbing pliers and pulling my teeth out.

Eventually I was given opioid medication. I did not remember much of my time on it, but that’s better than the pain

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.

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