teething

Former Member

okay so i suspect that my wisdom teeth are preparing to come through. what a wonderful time they've picked, when i'm far away from England!

Well my jaw currently feels like ive been punched, and my gums also hurt. I've not got any bonjela with me, but i do have germolene and an ibuprofen gel. would these or any other easily obtainable medicine be any good for putting on my gums?

Former Member

How about ibuprofen tabs, or paracetamol?

Former Member

Kentish wrote:

How about ibuprofen tabs, or paracetamol?

Preferebly soluble paracetamol. (Well, this is what I got told last time I had problems with my teeth anyway)

Former Member

Doesnt matter what the formulation is.

Former Member

Yup i've taken some ibuprofen tablets for it today, which has helped, i was just after a locally applicable medicine too.

Also if it is my wisdom teeth, do i need to go to the dentist about them now or just let them do their thing? cos i'm mortified of the health services here!

Former Member

My wisdom teeth came through without a fuss, just sore on the inside of my mouth for a little while.

TBH, I'd steer well clear of a dentist in a foreign land if I could possibly avoid it, unless I was desperate. Although in Beijing I'm sure there must be an international hospital for all the expats. Maybe ask at the British Embassy or phone your health insurance company for advice.

Former Member

Yeah there is an international hospital here, a reasonable few i think actually, i just don't want to push my insurance too much if i can help it!

one thing i forgot to mention regarding my wisdom teeth is that i don't have enough space in my mouth at the mo for my teeth that i have let alone new ones, i've had loads of orthodontic treatment. But okay i'll just dose up on ibuprofen and hope it goes away soon!

Former Member

How long are you away for?

Former Member

She's away for a year.

Former Member

Fiend_85 wrote:

She's away for a year.

But she could be due back in one month or 12.

Former Member

january, for a brief visit. But she's there for one acedemic year.

I'm not stupid enough to say that she's away for a year if she's already been gone 11 months.

Former Member

Fiend_85 wrote:

I'm not stupid enough to say that she's away for a year if she's already been gone 11 months.

You've obviously got your wisdom teeth then.

Former Member

Yeh back in jan quickly, i've got a dentist appointment then, as long as the dentist doesn't mess me around like they did last time!

Former Member

the NHS waiting lists for wisdom tooth removal can be up to 2 years :| alternatively you can stay awake and pay for the priviledge.

if it's sore gum pain, it'll eventually get better. ibuprofen and something like bonjela are fab. or try swishing a bit of boiled (and cooled!) salty water round your mouth.

if it's agonising throbby deep-jaw tooth pain, the roots are probably infected and they'll need to be taken out. don't expect them to have any kind of speed about this (can you tell i'm talking from experience?).

they will only remove them if they are diseased or damaged. being cramped or at a dodgy angle isn't a good enough reason, apparently.

Former Member

they seem to have settled down now, i was ill at the same time so im not quite sure what sort of pain it was but next time i shall look out for it. i shall just have to hope that it doesn't ruin all the orthodontic treatment that the NHS itself paid for then

Former Member

kaffrin wrote:

the NHS waiting lists for wisdom tooth removal can be up to 2 years :| alternatively you can stay awake and pay for the priviledge.

OMG I was looking at some old posts the other week and came across your wisdom teeth ones - couldn't BELIEVE that if you'd stayed on that waiting list you'd probably still be waiting NOW! How can they expect someone to live with that kind of pain for 2 years.... I'd probably top myself before then. Well I suppose it's one way of cutting the waiting lists.

I still feel really outraged about it and it wasn't even my teeth.

Former Member

Wisdom teeth can often come in at a weird angle and lead to paid in the gums. I got a lot of blood in my mouth and seering pain at the beginning. Keep flossing round them & brushing and you will be fine hopefully. I got worried about mine and went to the dentist who assured me that until they had fully grown in place it was too difficult to tell if I would have problems. The pain comes and goes and thats been going on for about a year now.

Former Member

tell me about it. by the 3rd month, if i could have pulled them out myself with pliers, i would have done. annoyingly though, the one they left in that was 'incredibly unlikely ever to surface' just over a year on, yeah, you guessed it. it surfaced. bloody hope that one doesn't go the same way.

still, my private hospital experience was fab. it was more like a mini-break than an operation.