this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2024
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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).

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[–] [email protected] 152 points 4 months ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 4 months ago

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.

[–] Carighan 27 points 4 months ago

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

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[–] [email protected] 113 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)

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:

  1. Wake up. Drink some water.
  2. Drink a protein shake and some water. Take your medications with them.
  3. Walk around the block. Or if unsafe or to pained, walk in place. Get that heart rate up.
  4. Shower or bath.
  5. Go back to sleep.
  6. 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.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

Thank you for the advice, you've made me realize I'm unintentionally given myself a dry socket.

Can not 2nd how much pain I was in, you wish the pain were so intense you'd simply black out. You won't though

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

I read all this. God damn, I thought root canal procedure was a pain...

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 4 months ago

I have no useful advice but much sympathy.

[–] [email protected] 61 points 4 months ago (12 children)

Did your dentist not give you that advice?

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 months ago (1 children)

+1 wondering why someone in their 40s had to have all teeth extracted. I'm really sorry.

[–] Kyrgizion 41 points 4 months ago (6 children)

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.

[–] TexasDrunk 19 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (4 children)

I feel you. I grew up on well water (no fluoride), have a genetic 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.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (4 children)

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.

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[–] Etterra 18 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Do what I did as a kid getting my wisdom teeth removed. Have your mother steal the prescription meds and then suffer for two weeks with Tylenol.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (3 children)

I still don't understand how a lot of our organs evolved to self repair and generally be so sophisticated but our teeth need so much care to avoid pain and infection.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago

The human diet changed so quickly and the ability to do things about tooth pain and infection aside from dying means that there isn't really evolutionary pressure in most of the world for teeth to meet the current "needs", as it were.

[–] explodes 14 points 4 months ago

Sugar fucks you up.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Our teeth do much better when we eat a diet that's more in line with our evolution. Check out pictures of primal tribes. They very often have beautiful smiles.

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[–] Akasazh 14 points 4 months ago (5 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

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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[–] BonesOfTheMoon 12 points 4 months ago

Omigod you poor thing.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)
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[–] nieminen 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

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 🀞

https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/tooth-regrow-drug-dental-health/

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

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

[–] Hikermick 10 points 4 months ago

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.

[–] Nounka 10 points 4 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

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

[–] Aevironis 8 points 4 months ago

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!

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 8 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Combined Tylenol and ibuprofen is probably your best bet otc.

Like Motrin.

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