Return of the toothache

[shewhomust]

I posted back in May about my mystery achey tooth, and how some reassuring words from the dentist had almost but not completely cured it. Much the same is true of the antibiotics he prescribed: after the five-day course, the cure was almost, but not quite complete.

Or maybe the cure was complete, but the damage was not quite healed? I gave it a few more days, by which time it was barely noticeable. In the interim, the pain / discomfort has come and gone several times. I try to work out whether it is a response to anything I do: does it hurt more after a glass of wine wih dinner? Or after a second glass later in the evening? Maybe, maybe not. It copes better than you would expect with the current loaf of crusty sourdough...

I thought of taking it back to the dentist ahead of our week on Lindisfarne: what if it flared up while we were away? But it didn't seem serious enough to be worth the trouble. By the very end of the week away, I wasn't regretting that decision, but I was thinking that it might be time to reconsider - and after a weekend at home, I was sure of it.

So on Tuesday I visited the dentist, where the duty dentist of the day (not the person I had originally seen, and considerably junior to him) had a good look at my mouth and at the x-ray her colleague had taken, and couldn't think of any action to suggest. If I had insisted, I think she would have agreed to another x-ray and / or another course of antibiotics, but we both agreed that neither of these was a tool it was wise to overuse. Instead she sent me home with the reassurance that there was nothing detectable wrong with the tooth, with the comment that there was more plaque on that tooth than on the others, and with the suggestion to try rinsing it with salt water from time to time.

I'd have preferred the magic wand and the miracle cure, obviously; but it's nothing I can't live with. I'm posting this mostly as a record of the current state of play, for reference in case of need.

ETA: And keep taking the paracetamol, of course!

Comments

[lauradi7dw]

My husband had a tooth that was painful for about a year for no discernible reason. Their guess was a hairline crack that was invisible but big enough be annoyed while chewing some things. It stopped hurting on its own without treatment. I know this isn't helpful, except to confirm that sometimes teeth are weird.

[shewhomust]

Actually, that is very helpful. A year of painful is not encouraging, but 'doesn't get worse with neglect' and 'eventually stops' are both good: thank you!

And I too am being offered guesses about cracks.

[cmcmck]

Do you use an electric toothbrush?

[shewhomust]

No - and have not previously had complaints about quality of brushing...

[cmcmck]

They do have certain advantages- himself had plaque issues and it cured them.