Yesterday, I woke up with a slight dull ache in the bottom corner of my mouth. It didn’t feel like it was on a tooth, so I figured I had managed to bite the bottom of cheek somehow (I bite the inside of my mouth a lot!) and thought nothing of it, at least until yesterday evening when the pain got worse… and worse. It started getting really painful on the train, and by the time I got home I wanted to cry. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, so I tried rinsing my mouth out with warm salt water (tastes disgusting but works amazingly well on mouth ulcers!). It felt slightly better while I was rinsing, but as soon as a spat out the water, the pain came back as bad as ever. Woe, woe, woe, etc. By now the pain was spread, and I was no longer certain whether it was actually the corner of my gum, or a tooth after all. So I called Jan and told him I wouldn’t be able to do any cooking because a) I had at least an hour of extra work to do if things were going to be finished in time and b) my mouth was in PAIN! Jan asked if I would want to eat at all if my mouth was sore, and I replied maybe some soup. Then he suggested driking some of the cold water he had put in the fridge to see if that would numb it a bit and volunteered to grab some tins of soup on the way home. Miraculously, the cold water did help a bit (if only for a few minutes at a time) and I was able to do my work without being distracted by pain too much. Shortly before Jan came home, I decided to take an Ibuprofen in the hope that it would kick in before bedtime and allow me to get to sleep…
The Ibuprofen started working shortly before we ate, and I was able to consume a bowl of soup and two slices of bread (bread soaked in soup for aaages so it wouldn’t require chewing), then I went to bed. I managed to sleep off and on, with some discomfort, until about 1 a.m. when I woke up in pain again. After tossing and turning for an hour, I went and took another Ibuprofen then lay awake for what seemed like forever waiting for it to kick in. It must have eventually though, because the next thing I knew my alarm was going off.
I had hoped to feel better this morning, but the pain was still there (although not as bad as the night before) and I also noticed I couldn’t open my mouth as wide as usual, so I heaved the greatest of sighs and decided I would have to go to the dentist. Not a good time for it because my colleague is ill and there are only two of us (hence the overtime last night), but there was nothing I could do. Nobody was at work yet, so I logged on and sent an e-mail saying I would work from home and go see a dentist as soon as I (hopefully) got an appointment. Knowing my utter terror of the phone, Jan called his dentist for me and got me an appointment for 10:15. He had to travel elsewhere for work today, so I had to go to the appointment alone…
Luckily, the dentist was nice and (the part I was more worried about than the dentist itself), I was able to explain what was wrong and understand what he told me. Apparantly, the wisdom tooth is coming through (so basically I’m teething at thirty!), and there isn’t really enough room for it plus it seems to be coming in at an angle… which is a bad thing. So he said he was going to give me a referral to a “Kieferchirurgen” (literally a “jaw surgeon!” – orthodontist, I presume…) so I could get my jaw x-rayed and figure out what to do next. He also said the fact that my mouth wouldn’t open properly was not right, but that could also be caused by the wisdom tooth. Later, when I got my referral, I saw that he had written on it that I need a consultation due to “restricted opening of mouth” (terrible attempt to translate from the German that, but I’m sure you know what I mean). He also gave me a recommendation for a Kiefer-thingy practice. So now I need to make an appointment with said jaw doctor… I actually tried calling a couple of times today, hetting myself all psyched up each time only for the phone to be engaged! SO eventually I decided to give the contact form on their website a go instead. So now, I wait… and take more Ibuprofen, I guess.
One thing is certain… I am going to this wine festival on Saturday even if I have to drink grape juice all day!
**Update: The “Kiefer” practice called me back! I have an appointment for consultation on Tuesday morning, first one available… to get one after work I would have had to wait til the week after next! The woman on the phone seemed nice, so hopefully it won’t be too bad**
Confuzzledom 
Wisdom teeth coming through… painful stuff… I decided to leave mine in, and they’ve been fine after the initial bit of trouble.
Best to get it looked at properly, good luck at the orthodontist! Once you manage to actually get an appointment 😉
I have an appointment now… for consultation at least. Tuesday. Then if they decide to take them out I’ll need another appointment for surgery. The dentist said the top ones can probably stay in because there’s room for them there, but he suspects the bottom ones will have to be removed because they just don’t fit (which is part of the reason for the pain – the tooth next to where the wisdom tooth is coming through is being shoved out of the way!).
There’s lots of soup to come…
Nice new Gravatar pic, btw 🙂
Thanks! It’s from my godson’s christenting (hence being cropped to basically just my head to make sure he was not in it!)
If you remember, I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled here and it sucked, but yep, gotta get those puppies out! I can’t believe it started coming in that painfully, I got mine pulled while they were still deep in my mouth. Feel better!
Yep, it is definitely going to suck. But they need to come out!
Apparantly he could see that they had come in at the top as well, but because I have room for them there I never even noticed! The pain is mostly because my bottom jaw is already full of teeth (I had 2 perfectly healthy teeth taken out from the top when I was a kid to make room for teeth that were growing in front of them! Apparantly my jaw is just too small…)
Good luck! It probably won’t be as bad as you think. And the wine festival is medicinal anyway 😉
I wonder if wine relieves pain as well as Ibuprofen? 😉
I’m actually more worried about the having to communicate in German than the consultation itself – I can speak everyday German pretty fluently, but describing dental problems and understanding medical terms… not so sure. The woman on the phone was nice though and she actually understood me, which is reassuring. When it comes to surgery I will probably be a lot more nervous!
Just tell them to give you the drugs 😉
Bluh! Wisdom teeth SUCK. Back when I lived in the States, I had an emergency extraction (bottom right side) because it was causing pain on that whole side of my jaw. I get teething pain on all three remaining wisdom teeth at least once every two months or so, and then it stops.
My dentist here in Germany has said that my remaining wisdom teeth will need to come out soon-ish…especially the top right one that is slowly growing in the direction of my cheek. I absolutely abhor going to the dentist, mostly because pain meds wear off VERY QUICKLY for me. So they’d better put me out to pull my teeth, or I may have a nervous breakdown. Lol.
Oh, and I agree with the whole phone call thing – having to call and make the appointment is almost as painful as actually going to the appointment itself!
I hope your pain lets up & that everything goes well at the jaw doctor’s! Hang in there! I’m guessing drinking wine would help the pain a bit, no?
Yeah, wine is practically medicine… isn’t it? 😉 It will mean NO painkillers all day on Saturday though. Eeep!
The pain seems to come and go. I’ve been trying to put off taking Ibuprofen as long as possible (I don’t have THAT many left) and I’ve found it goes from unbearable all over that side of my jaw to a dull ache that reminds me it’s there but can be lived with. I actually managed to drink a cup of tea during one of the “dull ache” phases earlier! But just now I caved and took an Ibuprofen… only for the unbearable pain to die down immediately afterwards! (And it can’t be the painkiller… even I know they don’t work instantly!)
Dentistry sounds particularly sinister when terms are translated into German. Glad to hear you survived!
Survived the dentist at least… you’ll have to wait til Tuesday to see if I survive the jaw doctor 😉
Oh no! Not the dreaded wisdoms! I had to have all four of mine taken out here in Mexico, omg that was an experience and a half. Good luck! Feeling for you!
Thanks. At least it’s not all4, I suppose.
I’m terrified of my German dentist. I think I just have a pretty rough one, but I’d be interested to read your experiences too.
I hope it all goes well and smoothly (not forgetting painlessly!!) for you!