Dealing with painful tooth

Dale, get a dental appointment.

Thanks Rog but isn't that somewhat like calling a plumber to fix a leaky faucet

Only if having a leaky faucet can cause pain, swelling, infection and an inability to chew your food.


Go to the dentist.

Whenever a tooth of mine has hurt like crazy I've been only to glad to have the dentist rip it out, thank god for dentists..

Yea Fab that was my resort last time but now I regret it, one of the reasons for my OP. The gap is a real nuisance

Leftover tactic from days we were living in caves. It seems like in an era when sending men to the moon got to be so easy we quit doing it 44 years ago, that there ought to be a better way than extraction or root canal

There already is a better way. I've had it done. The tooth is pulled and a permanent bridge partial is attached via the surrounding teeth. When done, there is no gap and you have what looks like a mouth full of teeth. No pain, no annoyance. You just have to floss under it.

Thanks again But but I'm not too enthusiastic about the permanent bridge either. For one thing, it requires chopping away at the adjacent teeth while if one end lets go, in some if not most cases there's no expedient repair, you just have to leave it loose at risk of decay

There is a snap-in bridge requiring no milling but it's pretty expensive and don't know what sort of life to expect of it

I've had mine in place for about 20 years without any problems to adjacent teeth. About the only problem is in the last year the porcelain veneer is starting to wear off. I'd have it resurfaced, but fully expect to need additional bridge work on the other side in the near future so I'm waiting in hope of getting a two-fer package from the dentist when I need it.

At your age, Dale, I'd say the dental work has a very good chance of outlasting you and you'll be buried with it.

It is all about quality of life and where you choose to spend your money. You'll take your teeth and dental work with you, the money will be left behind and not of any use to you. If you enjoy food, don't want to have toothaches for your remaining years, and want to protect the rest of your body from spreading infection and inflammation, it seems to be a no brainer.


I've had this same debate with my 84 year old mother and she is finally getting her 30 year dentures replaced so she can eat something besides mushy food.

She didn't want to spend the money on herself either because she didn't think she'd live long enough to make it a good investment. I told her I'd be sure and have her dentures removed before she is cremated so they can be donated for someone else to use. In the meantime, I want to be able to fix her favorite foods for her and have her enjoy them again.

Thanks But but I remain hopeful

Last time, tolerating it a couple of weeks with occasional application of clove oil, it finally receded, leaving me with, say, another $400 with which to help replace my ancient TV

Nonetheless thanks for your interest and practical suggestion