My cousin has dealt with this issue multiple times. He doesn't have insurance or much money, so when any of his poorly kept teeth start to rot, he just rides it out until the nerve dies then the tooth crumbles apart over time until it's either flush with the gum, or some of the root actually crumbles too and the gum closes up around the area and seals it off.
He's already had like 4 or 5 teeth do this, all of them molars or in the back, top and bottom.
He takes OTC pain medication and tries not to bend down alot while the tooth is aching. He refer's to the pain surges as "firing-off".....as in, "that bastard is firing-off again right now! OOOOWWWWWWW!"

I ended up having a broken tooth myself. I decided to ride it out as he did and the same thing happened. The pain was decent, but not near as bad as i thought.
Just let 'em die out and break apart....it's simple.

I asked a dentist about this and he said that you could use a cotton ball (or presumably some equivalent) to thoroughly dry the tooth and fill the hole with super glue. Yes, that's right, superglue. He said you had to be careful, of course, not to swallow it and make sure your mouth stayed dry (fill areas around tooth with cotton balls). He said this would hold for no longer than one week but could be used in an emergency.

There are also some herbal helps for dental problems:

Balsam of Peru treats dry socket
Witch hazel decreases inflammation and irritation (the plant, not the astringent you buy at the store)
Allspice is an analgesic for tooth pain
Cloves is for toothache
Yarrow slows plaque formation and decreases gingivitis
Chitosin treats peridontits
Peppermint for a mouthwash
Bloodroot for antiplaque
Cranberry for peridontal disease
Guggul for gingivitis, pyorrhea, mouth ulcers
Elderberry or anise for toothaches
Castor for abscesses (not recommended unless you're an herbalist and know what you're dealing with)
Chaparral used as a mouthwash helps prevent tooth decay
Mallow for babies teething pain
Marigold decreases swelling of oral, pharyngeal mucosa
Caroline thistle for toothaches
Jamaican dogwood for dental pain
Celandine for toothaches, tooth extractions
Karaya gum can be used as a denture adhesive
Gotu Kola for peridontal disease

Having recently discovering that teeth issues can be painful, I thought I would share some recent dental observations. I am a late 50's male with no dental insurance and I live in the in a sparse rural area which just means I have to travel to town to get supplies and people services and such and there's not a lot of anything between here and there.

First and foremost when I was in the chair I asked my dentist how the Obama health care bill was going to affect him and after a while I thought I would ask a burning question that was on my mind. I asked the dentist if the dollar collapsed and it was really hard times would he be willing to wheel and deal for dental services. He turned his head, paused a while and said, yes, probably would be a good way to makes ends meet in such trying times. He went on for a few minutes while I was being numbed down.

Well when I left the dentist is when I learned my second salient point about teeth issues and professional care. I learned mostly that without insurance for dental care, I paid out a whopping $1,538. dollars bill for just one tooth. I had a root canal, and porcelain gold fused cap. This may be the high end of dental preferences, but to me it beats dentures and all that glue stuff.

The point I would like to emphasize is that right now while you can still pay for it with whatever money is still called money should be used to give yourself a good dental check over, allow the fillings to be done and look and your mouth on a semi-annual basis and if you do such a task, you will be able to pay and prevent what would be in a financial collapse a difficult thing to come up with and it is no time be looking for a willing dentist that will take care of you and trade.

This is why I know for a fact that my own dentist will deal with me even if its a collapsed economy and while he is prone to doing what he can even if I was broke, he still has to pay for his supplies, drugs and in a world where things don't come for free. Knowing what he would accept in trade is a step ahead of those that don't know and probably wont be in the mood to consider if your walking around holding your hand on your jaw while you mumble from some dental problem that makes you hurt so much you just want to die.

Take a good dental checkup serious and while you're there ask your dentist while you wait for the Novocain to take affect if he would deal with you in an emergency situation. This is how I did it and I know more now than when I went in and while my dental care wasn't cheap, it did make me realize that I have to have some items on hand that will allow me to pay him or a medical doctor for some type of emergency care. Keep it close to home and for the most part it will be a good star. Identify, introduce and establish a relationship for hard times.

Tooth removal and survival planning was something I wanted to share. I hope I provided some measure of common sense that just needed to be stirred up. Thanks again and by the way, I have to go back at the end of the month for another bicuspid root canal, but like I said, I'm not waiting to be in misery while I'm in pain ever again. Not if I can prevent it so in that regard I have done my proactive part to keep my teeth free of any dental neglect which as you know will only get worse until you have a problem if you keep putting it off for whatever reason you give yourself.

Thanks for the posting.

Barbers used to perform dentistry. So did general store owners. Apparently some were very good at removing teeth.

As far as the nerve dying and the tooth being rejected that is rot(ha ha)

I have quite a bit of experience with bad teeth and while front teeth MAY work their way out naturally in some cases(though it has never happened to me) this is definitely not the case with molars. The will hang in there for decades and can cause much discomfort.

Get some proper tools and read as much as is possible.



[edit on 16-3-2010 by mrwiffler]

Originally posted by wantsome
I had a wisdon tooth break off at the gum line. I was in severe pain for 3 weeks before it went away. I had no idea what to do so I sufferd. That sucked throbbed day and night. I had no isurrance or money because I was out of work at the time. I'd rather give birth then go through that again. I'm making an apointment to get it removed tomarrow.

I came here for obvious reasons, that post gives me hope....