Abscess under my tooth - very painful :( What are my options...

And yes it hurts a lot :cry: but I started AB's the day before yesterday and it has improved a bit, but i need to keep taking Panadol to make it bareable :(

My dentist said that next week they will open it up and pack it with an antibiotic for the remainder of my pregnancy and probably about 10 months, then after that I have the option of...

1. remove the tooth, about $140, OOP not a lot (which I would then have to replace as it would look horrible!) and OOP would be pretty big I think!! ;)
2. root canal, probably 2-3 treatments leaving me $300 OOP

What is peeving me off, it only happened as I had a cavity, but it wasn't to the nerve, so he drilled it all out and filled it and a tiny bit of bacteria must have remained and over the path 8-9 months it developed into an abscess :( Why didn't I just leave it alone!!! I was in no pain before hand :(

wondering if I should get a second opinion..

Ergh, Beema, massive, massive, massive hugs to you. :hug:

I'm in the middle of a tooth saving process atm. I have a temporary filing in and have booked my root canal therapy for a couple of weeks. I have to have a crown too. I did think about just ripping the tooth out and replacing it but I've seen my Mum go through that and it's a bloody awful process, so I chose to keep my tooth and they'll fix it up as best they can. I'm pain free now though which is great! So yeah, I guess I say go with the RCT.

And FWIW, my dentist did the opposite to yours. He knew there was a small cavity there but didn't want to touch it because it was very small and he thought I could keep it from getting worse by flossing and brushing. Well it got a lot worse very quickly and ended up in the root and here I am now. :(

Thankyou so much for your experience!

Why do you have to have a crown as well? is it because with the RCT it kills the tooth and changes the colour? I want to get an idea of how much this is all going to end up costing me :o But then again i won't be able to get much done while bump is growing...

My cavity might have been bigger and he was very surprised I wasn't in pain :rolleyes: I wish it hadn't been touched!

My mum has had a whole tooth replacement and it was a very long winded process and very expensive, so I think that working on my current tooth would probably be the best, but right now I would rip it out myself it hurts so much and is driving me nutty!

IMO, definitely try to save the tooth if you are given the option. Ask for a second opinion if you are in any doubt about it - once that tooth is gone, it's gone.

Plus - as I'm currently finding out myself - replacing a tooth with a bridge or an implant is an expensive process AND both types of replacements can develop problems of their own.

BTW don't be mad at yourself - my problem developed without dental intervention so either way it could've turned nasty, kwim? :hug:

When i was 38 weeks pregnant with DS2 i had an abscess. It's the worst pain i have ever felt in my life! I thought my head would explode with the pain. I was given the option to have it pulled or a root canal. I chose to have it pulled because it was all i could afford plus i wanted the pain to be gone straight away. I still have a bit of a gap there but its at the back so you can't see it. But i have the added advantage of my teeth are bunched up a bit so it is slowly closing the gap and my teeth are straightening out. Which is why i don't mind having had it pulled.

:hug: what a bummer Vic!!! which tooth is it?