Suspected Tooth Abscess

rebrascora

rebrascora

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
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She/Her
For the past month or so my insulin levels have been so steady it has been amazing. I can't remember such a long spell of relatively easy and straightforward management and my insulin needs have been the lowest they have been since my honeymoon period ended. It has just been bliss! Of course I knew it couldn't last!

At the start of last week, my levels started to go up a bit and not come down and I started having to increase both basal and bolus. The last few days I have had a throbbing gum which I thought must be a seed from my breakfast embedded into it and irritating it. I have brushed regularly and vigorously and flossed and used interdental brushes to try to fix it. Of course it is a very back tooth so not possible to see or get to easily, but giving it a really good brush has helped each time, only for it to return again. Today it has become really uncomfortable to eat and is significantly throbbing and I have to accept that it is not something I can fix myself and I need to get an emergency dental appointment tomorrow. I am hoping as a private patient (there surely must be some perks to the exorbetant monthly payment I make) I will be successful but I know that dental care is really difficult to access for many people and during the summer hols they will likely be shorter staffed, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

What makes it worse is that I am due to fly out to Tenerife in 2 weeks to visit my brother and his wife who live there, to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and I am already anxious about that as I never go anywhere on holiday and I will have to leave my elderly horses in the care of someone else as well as making provision for my other animals. Also it is my first time travelling abroad with diabetes and insulin although I am well genned up on that from posts that you lovely lot have made to others. Got myself a Frio pouch etc. Just don't need this on top of all the other angst about going. Not even looking forward to it other than giving my brother a hug, as it is not a place I would choose to visit and will be FAR too hot for me, plus I will have to be sociable for 4 days in a row (we are only going for 4 days)! That will probably be one of the biggest challenges. Hope I am not too grumpy as a result and don't spoil it for others!

Anyway, on the bright side, it is better that this has happened now and not a week or two hence .... assuming I can get an appointment to deal with it reasonably promptly. Really don't want an extraction at this stage, so very much hoping AntiBs will fix it at least short term, but if it needs an extraction, then I don't want to leave it much longer and have to have it out just before we go. Really, really don't want to lose a tooth though!

Just shows though how our BG can give us advance warning of an issue that wasn't immediately apparent but clearly brewing. Currently needing 7 more units of Levemir than I was and not quite twice as much Fiasp. At least I now know why things suddenly went haywire, which is a relief and makes it a bit less frustrating. Time in range for this week is down to 81% from my usual 92-94%, even with some quite aggressive insulin adjustment.
 
Hopefully you’ve caught it in good time @rebrascora and you’ll be feeling a lot better in time for your holiday. I had a tooth abscess as a child and although I can’t remember much about the symptoms, I do remember having the tooth out and feeling a lot better within a few days. I hope it all goes well for you. You’re doing the right thing getting it checked out asap.
 
As an interim measure (until you see a dentist), it may be worth using a salt mouthwash a few times a day, or a mouthwash that includes an antibacterial. Hopefully this may help reduce any infection in / around that area.
I hope you can get this resolved soon
 
s'nic said:
As an interim measure (until you see a dentist), it may be worth using a salt mouthwash a few times a day, or a mouthwash that includes an antibacterial. Hopefully this may help reduce any infection in / around that area.
I hope you can get this resolved soon
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Was also going to say this. Sorry to hear of your dental dramas @rebrascora and hope the dentist can sort it all out for you promptly.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and sympathy.
I was thinking perhaps a cold compress as the cold water when brushing seems to ease it a bit, probably because cold will reduce swelling. Also toying with swilling my mouth with rum which I did many years ago when I had horrific tooth pain and that was the only way I could get any relief until I could get to the dentist. Will try the salt water though. I think I have some sea salt which will have some iodine in it, which might act as an antibacterial. This is different to that previous toothache though... just throbbing and soreness and my mouth feels out of alignment, like that tooth is pushed up a bit, not direct pain like the toothache, for which I am hugely thankful, but obviously a concern when I suspect it is a deep seated infection. I am actually starting to wonder if it is perhaps partly responsible for the tinnitus I have developed in that ear over recent months. I assumed it was old age or diabetes related, but maybe this has triggered it. I believe abscesses can be months in the making.
 
I suspect if it is an abscess you will need antibiotics. I had what I thought was an abscess but it turned out to be mumps, the most painful thing I have ever had in my life.
When my wisdom teeth were coming through I kept getting infection which needed antibiotics. If you have any Corsodyl mouthwash or gel that may help temporarily.
 
Oh poor you - you do have my sympathy.
 
Put some mouthwash in the fridge and swish with it several times a day.
I had a swollen gum a while back and tried it over an anxious weekend - on the third day a little chunk of something went down the drain leaving an awful taste in my mouth, but all was well in a day or so - I have no dentist so the power of prayer might have been involved.
 
Ouch. Toothache is horrid. I hope that you can get some relief from the cold water/rum or mouthwash and that you get things more settled before you go away. As you say it is good that we get the early warning signals by the rise in Bg often a bit before things become more evident.
Let us know how things settle.
 
Barabara, I’ve had a tooth abscess twice in my life, firstly when I was 14, and lastly 43 years later it raised its ugly head again. This is in one of my front teeth where I have a crown. The pain is excruciating and nothing helped so I’m thinking ( and hoping) your’s isn’t an abscess. If it is, some packing will probably be inserted in the offending orifice. The relief is instant, then two weeks later I had it filled. I think you’re probably right and there’s a seed stuck, fingers crossed it’ll be an easy fix.

I think you’ll have a fab time in Tenerife, just stay in the shade and slap on the factor 50. It’ll be lovely to see your brother, and I bet you won’t be grumpy at all. Xx
 
Pleased to report it is a bit easier this morning although still very sore and mildly throbbing. I have got an appointment with my own dentist for 12.15pm today, so fingers crossed she can reassure me that it is on the mend or prescribe me AntiBs if I need them or find and dig out a seed if that is in fact the problem.
 
Well, I am back and it is not good news. I have an abscess and I am going to need the tooth extracted. She managed to open up the abscess a bit and release some pus and cleaned it all up and I had the option of going back tomorrow to have the tooth removed by my own dentist but I think I would like an implant and apparently it is better that the implant specialist dentist removes it to preserve as much of the socket integrity as possible. It will not be an easy extraction because it is a very back tooth and it is crowned but there has been some decay occurring under the crown, so there is not a lot to get hold of to pull it out.
I have Amoxicillin to take for 5 days and I need to decide what I want. There are obviously significant cost implications of an implant too, so I think I want to do a bit of research before I commit to anything.

Anyone got any experience of implants.... good or bad?

Have to say, I am positively queasy at the thought of extraction. I have of course had other extractions and I know no one likes or wants them, but feeling serious anxiety about it at a time when I am already anxious about my trip to Tenerife.

Interestingly I had to pay for my Amoxicillin because it was a private prescription even though I am 60 and prescriptions are free, so being a private patient has another sting in the tail.
 
rebrascora said:
Well, I am back and it is not good news. I have an abscess and I am going to need the tooth extracted. She managed to open up the abscess a bit and release some pus and cleaned it all up and I had the option of going back tomorrow to have the tooth removed by my own dentist but I think I would like an implant and apparently it is better that the implant specialist dentist removes it to preserve as much of the socket integrity as possible. It will not be an easy extraction because it is a very back tooth and it is crowned but there has been some decay occurring under the crown, so there is not a lot to get hold of to pull it out.
I have Amoxicillin to take for 5 days and I need to decide what I want. There are obviously significant cost implications of an implant too, so I think I want to do a bit of research before I commit to anything.

Anyone got any experience of implants.... good or bad?

Have to say, I am positively queasy at the thought of extraction. I have of course had other extractions and I know no one likes or wants them, but feeling serious anxiety about it at a time when I am already anxious about my trip to Tenerife.

Interestingly I had to pay for my Amoxicillin because it was a private prescription even though I am 60 and prescriptions are free, so being a private patient has another sting in the tail.
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Oh dear that is not good news for you.
I have had implants 12 years ago. 2 implants with a bridge in between so one unit stuck onto the 2 implants. Also at the back of my mouth. It suddenly fell off 2 years ago but my dentist just glued it back on. The whole thing 12 years ago cost £6000 but may now be cheaper as it it much more common.
Big decision !!!
 
Really appreciate you sharing your experience @Leadinglights

I feel like I should be shopping around for advice and prices, but not sure how you go about that and how much time I have to do that or if delaying a month or two is detrimental once I get the infection sorted. I no longer have a crown on that tooth now as it came off during her exam so I have lost chewing area but not exactly feeling like chewing anything at the moment anyway! 🙄
Decision making was never my strong point and especially when lots of money is involved..... plus I already made my big decision for this week by buying a new pair of walking shoes and they were just £80, not thousands!!
 
rebrascora said:
Really appreciate you sharing your experience @Leadinglights

I feel like I should be shopping around for advice and prices, but not sure how you go about that and how much time I have to do that or if delaying a month or two is detrimental once I get the infection sorted. I no longer have a crown on that tooth now as it came off during her exam so I have lost chewing area but not exactly feeling like chewing anything at the moment anyway! 🙄
Decision making was never my strong point and especially when lots of money is involved..... plus I already made my big decision for this week by buying a new pair of walking shoes and they were just £80, not thousands!!
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When you start chewing again just be careful about biting the inside of your cheek as it is not being held out of the way by the tooth. I have lost a back tooth on the other side and am forever biting my cheek.
It is difficult to shop around as your dentist would normally have a particular place they refer people to but no reason why you shouldn't, you have a bit of time as they won't normally do anything invasive until the infection has cleared up.
My other half was trying to persuade me to go to Hungary which he saw advertised at a fraction of the cost including flights but I thought not on your nelly as what if something goes wrong.
 
Leadinglights said:
When you start chewing again just be careful about biting the inside of your cheek as it is not being held out of the way by the tooth. I have lost a back tooth on the other side and am forever biting my cheek.
It is difficult to shop around as your dentist would normally have a particular place they refer people to but no reason why you shouldn't, you have a bit of time as they won't normally do anything invasive until the infection has cleared up.
My other half was trying to persuade me to go to Hungary which he saw advertised at a fraction of the cost including flights but I thought not on your nelly as what if something goes wrong.
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Yes, I was really surprised that she offered to remove the tooth herself tomorrow when it is obviously infected and I would certainly not want to risk infection spreading to my jaw bone.
No way would I go abroad for treatment. Too many horror stories. I have a friend who when to India for a holiday and to get her front teeth crowned for purely cosmetic reasons (her front teeth were twisted slightly and it has cost her a small fortune to get remedial work done back here since because she has suffered recurrent infections in them. The same friend also went to Poland I think it was, for a facelift and then expected the NHS to remove the stitches and treat aftercare issues, which really made me cross!

Thanks for the warning about the risk of chomping my cheek. I do that occasionally on the other side already. 🙄
 
Oh no, I’m so sorry Barbara. At least you’ve got the antibiotics. I would get on to your GP and explain you’re going away and could they give you a prescription for more incase you need it. TBF I’ve just thought, I think you might be able to buy them over the counter in Spain. I remember my SiL buying some when we were all in Majorca one year. Anyways, I definitely take some with you. Xx
 
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