i'm 40 years old and just had ALL my teeth extracted in one go. The pain is excruciating. Any tips for pain relief?
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 :)
Also, since a fair few people seem to doubt the veracity of my story, here's the 22 extracted teeth (the other 10 were already gone in previous extractions).
Hi. You've gotten a lot of comments already. I hope this one is not lost in the pile.
When I was 39 I had all my remaining teeth extracted in one go. There were somewhere between 12 and 18, since many were remnants and not whole teeth.
Due to the fact that previously in my life I had addictions of many kinds, mostly alcohol and meth related, I was not prescribed opiates. When the procedure was done, I was awake and given only a local anesthetic.
After they were removed, I was given Amoxicillin (antibiotic) and Prednisone (steriod). They recommended I take Ibuprofen and to avoid acetaminophen (same as paracetamol i think). The latter due to many over the counter versions of it have caffiene. That brings me to my first advice.
Avoid caffeine at all costs. It will increase your pain, make you edgier and you may grind your gums in your sleep. Check your paracetamol packaging, make sure it does not have caffeine. You might want to avoid it regardless because it can irritate your stomach lining and you'll be swallowing a lot of blood which increases your chance of vomiting.
If you vomit, you will almost certainly get dry socket.
You do not want dry socket.
Ice cream is painful. Anything too cold or too hot is painful. Soup should be room temperature.
Bouillon cubes aren't bad, if you can get liquid soup stock or broth, it works better.
Do not eat breads for at least a week or two. It sticks to you clots. That can easily lead to dry socket.
You do not want dry socket.
Same thing with (american) bananas. They might seem perfect but they can cause dry socket potentially from their stickiness.
I have had dry socket. Once from smoking cigarettes. Once from being clumsy with a spoon. It was the worst pain of my life until I had to pass a few kidney stones.
Avoid foods that require cooking. You don't want to cook.
One a day shakes should be your new best friend. Meal replacement shakes. Here in the states they come in chocolate and vanilla and don't taste terrible. Brands include Ensure, Boost, Slimfast and a ton of others. They are packed with protein. They often have vitamins in them too. You can just pour the shake right into the back of your gullet. Bypass your gums and tongue entirely.
Another medication to consider is sleeping pills. I'm spelling them wrong but see if you can get Amitryptaline or Tramadol. Sleep as much as you can while your body heals.
Water, water, water.
Drink at least 2 liters a day. Never drink more than 1 liter in an 8 hour period because water poisoning is very uncomfortable. If your pee is clear, you don't need to drink water for awhile. The better hydrated you are, the faster you will heal. Drink a lot of water after drinking one of those meal replacement shakes if you can find them. Your body will absorb the water better. Same applies to the soup stock.
On that note, shower. If it is too painful, take a bath. Again, this helps you stay hydrated, plus is will improve your mood possibly, which in itself can ease the pain.
Move. Walk around the block if you can. You want to get your heart rate up and keep it up for about 15 minutes, twice a day. Again, this helps your body heal faster. Walking is great unless you are a daily runner, in which case run. Walking is enough for most people.
A perfect routine would be:
- Wake up. Drink some water.
- Drink a protein shake and some water. Take your medications with them.
- Walk around the block. Or if unsafe or to pained, walk in place. Get that heart rate up.
- Shower or bath.
- Go back to sleep.
- Repeat 3-4x per day, depending on how much you can sleep. It gets harder to sleep the more your do it. The exercise helps a lot.
I am not a dentist or medical professional.
I am not a professional of any kind.
This advice is all from personal experience.
Here's some useless personal information that can be skipped:
December of 2021 when my teeth were all removed. Since then I have gotten dentures. They didn't fit and hurt to wear and needed adjustments, but the dentist that made them quit the business a week after I got them. Other dentists would not take my insurance or work on them for liability purposes. Sucks being in america. I opted to get implants instead. I'm supposed to have a full set of teeth in about a month, at age 42, for the first time in my entire adult life.
Good luck. May dry socket never happen to you.
Edit after reading a few of the comments here.
Fuck these naysayers that think you're making this up. Even if you are, fuck 'em. Trying to shit on a person while they are already down. No benefit at all, just cynics, they're disgusting.
I'm going to add that my teeth were in terrible shape long before I had addiction problems. My dental problems were due to braces getting fucked up and mangled beyond belief by a scammy dentist/ortho.
Medicaid and Medicare can be free healthcare in the states. While I don't think OP is in the states, it is a thing that the poorest of people can receive and the care is exactly what you pay for. All the questions about speaking to a doctor or the dentist about pain management are laughable, knowing that for the poor in the states, that simply doesn't happen in many areas.
People saying OP deserved it from not brushing or questions about how one could need a full extraction at age 40 are ignorant and can't summon even the smallest bit of empathy. These types along with the naysayers can go fuck off back to reddit or 4chan or whereever they came from. They are not adding to the conversation.
If you have read all this, anyone not just OP, I hope you have a nice day.
I have no useful advice but much sympathy.
I had 6 teeth removed at once. I can remember the pain. I found crushed or blended ice was helpful and doesnโt have risk of getting stuck.
It will be okay. Setting your expectations will help mentally. Itโs still really rough. Did they prescribe you anything in terms of pain management?
OTC: Tylenol didnโt touch the pain. Ibuprofen helped some but was still pretty mild.
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.
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.
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.
Omigod you poor thing.
Sorry about that dude! This doesn't help with the pain right now, but they've just started human trials on a new therapy that re-enables your tooth buds, allowing you to grow a new set of adult teeth. Maybe it'll be available soonish ๐ค
https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/tooth-regrow-drug-dental-health/
I don't have much advice to offer, but I wish you the best
I do have a friend who self medicates with marijuana and CBD products for pain management. They have a number of undiagnosed and late diagnosed health problems they're working through that cause different kinds of pain. Depending on local legality and availability that could be an option. Just keep dosage extremely low of you've never tried it before, as in single digit milligrams low dosage as the side effects of too high of a dose can be unpleasant
I had an infected tooth and the pain was awful. The dentist told me to take four ibuprofen. When I mentioned the instructions said no more than two at a time he said it was okay for a short period of time.
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.
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
Those rocket icecreems Cold pack
Eat stuff you don't have to shew... So you don t open the wounds again.
2% betadine mouth wash... Not against pain but to keep more pain away.
I love the 1000 paracetamol with codeine alternated with brufen 600.
In a day or 2 it will be beter. Hang on.
Diclofenac was my aid to sleep with a broken arm
Holy shit... When I got my wisdom teeth out, I literally broke down in tears after being awake for 20 minutes without Percocet
Friend, it's ok to take opiates sometimes...
Kratom could be an option. You make it into tea, the first cup is a weak stimulant, the second (on an empty stomach) will start to work as a weak opiate. The third or fourth might give you stronger relief. The red strains are supposedly better for pain relief
You can't OD on it, it's commonly available in head shops or online. The addiction potential is very low, you'll make yourself nauseous before getting what you'd get out of normal opiates. It's most closely related to the coffee plant - the toxicity concerns are all about contamination, the plant itself is pretty innocuous
I can give brewing instructions if anyone wants to go down that path, I drink it for anxiety but others say it helps with pain management
Clove oil. You can get it in a tiny vial at the chemist. You pick off small bits of cotton, roll them into little balls, and dip into the clove oil. Wring out most of it against the side of the bottle, then place directly on the site of pain and bite.
In your case you might want to make strips of cotton or something.
It tastes absolutely horrible and will make your whole mouth numb, but it is antiseptic and will give you enough relief to sleep.
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!
I dont have an answer to your question but I do wanna say that prescription opiates are given at a dose that isn't expected to cause addiction in someone who doesn't already take these drugs. I've been prescribed opiates after every surgery I've hadโusually don't take them cause I don't need them but I have done at times when the pain has been bad enough. I understand that your docs won't prescribe them though, and I don't recommend taking them without a prescription if you can't guarantee that you're getting them from a safe source.
I've never gone through this exactly but have had stints of prolonged pain. I really hate painkillers. I try to meditate. I try to remove my self from the pain and see it externally. Not make it disappear, just see it as separate from myself. And I try to focus on the temporary nature of it. It will pass. In time, I won't even remember how intense it was. The memory will be there, but not the detail.
I had a friend do this. It was utter misery for over a year. Most of his teeth were shattered, so he had to wait for a lot of fragments to expel naturally.
Do not discount pain management that involves opioids. Not saying to use them for weeks nor do I know your personality for bad habits, but if it gets bad please don't suffer for no reason. Getting ibuprofen or acetaminophen with low dose codine may be a good middle ground and is even available over the counter in some countries. Extended pain is mentally exhausting and isn't worth the hit on your mental health.
f you are struggling taking pills, get liquid ibuprofen. Sometimes you can get a chemist to make a suspension for you, otherwise get childrens. I do that if my throat gets too infected and I am unable to swallow. Honestly, it works far better than the pills and I needed a lot less.
Best thing is to be honest with your doctors, even if you do not want anything stronger. Be sure to communicate any discomfort due to ill fitting dentures. Ask questions if anything unexpected comes up. My friend's doctor was super shitty and didn't even tell him about all of the left over fragments that still had to come out on their own.
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.
Omg, this sounds awful, you have my deepest sympathy. Didn't they give you anything for pain management!?
Just had mine yeeted 3 weeks ago... and the pain was a relief compared to the pain I was in before... I got by the first couple of days with the oxcodone the doc prescribed in addition to 800mg ibuprofen. After 2 days or so I stopped taking the oxy and took the ibuprofen only for the next week until the big pills were gone and then periodically just taking 400mg as needed for pain. 3 weeks later and there's no more pain at all and I have started eating things a little more solid woth the dentures I got...
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 donโt mix them. Iโm sorry for spamming the allcaps throughout this thread but there is very dangerous medical advice being given.
Try to get some prescription painkillers, ideally opioids. None of the over-the-counter stuff even comes close. Tramadol helped me manage pain after my surgery.
Have you contacted your dentist to see if they will prescribe you something for pain? I had a wisdom tooth pulled yesterday (in the United States) and had the ability to request a pain medication if I needed it.
The handout I was given recommended 500 mg of acetaminophen then three hours later 600 mg of ibuprofen, repeating that throughout day. The last dose of the day (before bed?) taking both 500 mg of acetaminophen and 600 mg of ibuprofen and six hours later start alternating again. You can give this a try but, I am just describing what I was given.
I hope this helps, good luck, and feel better soon.
I donโt know where you are, but if youโre in Europe Iโd get my hands on some Novalgin (illegal in the US because it isnโt addictive) other than that thereโs 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
No opioids, hmm, well, KETAMIN!
ouch. my brother was lucky and the dentist was able to save some including four he said would help a lot with bridge fit.
Cocaine. Seriously.
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.
oxycodone
If you can get your hands on some old viox that would help. It was amazing for tooth pain.
It once worked magically for me to watch television.
Your doctor will only prescribe opiates in the most extreme cases? I'm not buying it at all. Getting all your teeth removed is under no uncertain terms a MAJOR case of extreme pain and precisely what they should be used for. Also, you're a fool thinking that taking them after a surgery like this will lead to a "hard drug habit." Also, no mention of any antibiotics? Sounds like you don't want to fall into a hard successful recovery habit either. And last but not least... An oral surgeon removing all teeth at once?!?!
I also read your comment about this being because of free healthcare and I call bullshit on that as well. There's only two possible explanations for this predicament you're in. The first is that this is a completely bullshit story which I'm leaning towards. Second is that you went to a unlicensed and illegal place that did this procedure. This would make the most sense with your admission of a complete lack of communication and proper prescriptions.
Popsicles. Itโll help reduce the swelling and numb the pain.
Damn, man, with all your teeth gone, I guess the universe is telling you itโs time to switch to IV, huh? No more chomping down on the pipeโnow youโve got the perfect excuse to go straight to the veins. On the bright side, at least you donโt have to worry about your teeth falling out anymoreโtheyโre already gone! Looks like itโs all about that gum game now, right?