My Tooth Hurts

It hurts to the point that it's crippling. It's worse than a migraine.

I've had a cavity in one of my molars for a long time, but since I work in the restaurant industry I've never had access to a legit health insurance plan.

It's been bothering me since last September, but I knew I couldn't afford dental care without insurance so I let it go. I stopped drinking soda, even the diet stuff because it has aspartame.

For a long time it was an off and on pain that would make the entire left side of my jaw hurt all the way up to the point I could feel it in my ear. The past few weeks, it has gotten worse. It hurts on a daily basis, but today, like other days, it' so bad that I couldn't sleep last night and today I feel like a freakin' zombie.

Since I don't have access to a dentist who could actually fix the problem, I put a band-aid on it by buying a bottle of cheap brandy. Luckily, I don't have to work today, so I can get away with this.

I can't help but realize that if I lived in virtually EVERY OTHER WESTERN COUNTRY, I could have gone to the dentist a long time ago FOR THE MONEY I PAY IN TAXES. Unfortunately, the money I pay in taxes goes to funding their CORPORATE EMPIRE instead of a MODERN healthcare distribution system.

I know that posting on this board is not going to solve my problem, but I also know for a fact that there are more people out there with worse situations than me and I'd like you to use this thread to tell your American health care system horror stories.

I support Obama's healthcare initiative ONLY because it seems like a step in the right direction. Personally, I think it needs to be more drastic. My honest opinion is that we need a single payer system in this country.

The 'anti-tax' and 'small-government' folks think that it's more important to maintain the our global military industrial complex than to provide the basic necessities for the people of this country and I'm just about done with it.

They looove to chant "America, love it or leave it". I'm just about ready to leave it for a more sane society like Canada, England, France, Germany, Brazil, Peru, Israel, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Finland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Just wait until you get sick.

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reply to post by milesp


Sorry you have a toothache dude, but I would like to point out a few things to you.
1. The taxes you pay today are used for other things than healthcare. So if you want government paid for health care then you should expect to pay WAY HIGHER TAXES or much more for whatever products you buy from whomever they do tax to pay for healthcare.

2. There are health plans that are available for people who do not have company sponsored healthcare. So I suggest you budget that in if you want healthcare insurance now.

3. There is this thing called saving for a rainy day. You set a little aside each week to pay for this sort of thing yourself.

I believe that we end up with the government in our business because we:
1. Want Big Brother to solve all of our problems, because we think the money or benefits we recieve from them just magically appear.
2. We are not responsible enough to take ownership for our own lives and own problems and solve them ourselves.

Not to flame or blame you. I just wanted to point out things I believe to be true.

A couple of suggestions:

1. dilute some hydrogen peroxide 5 to 1 with water. Swish it around your mouth several times per day. Should help alleviate any infection that is present.

2. Apply clove oil, diluted in some oil around the area that hurts.

3. Go to a free health clinic. They would be more likely to pull it than to fix it though.

Dental pain is tough to handle, but will usually subside with time. Lingering infections can be a problem if left alone.

reply to post by milesp

but since I work in the restaurant industry I've never had access to a legit health insurance plan.

If you're able to, you should apply at The Cheesecake Factory. My wife used to work there when we lived in America and they have a really good health care plan. When she was pregnant and was at her OBGYN's office, they were really happy with her insurance coverage because it was top of the line. It was only like $50 a month extra out of her pay check too. You can ever cover other people in your family!

Go to a dentist and tell him of your plight. Dentists are usually good and generous people and are more than willing to help people in financial trouble.

I Trade my craft and labor for dental work. Perhaps you can barter with your dentist also. It never hurts to ask. Good Luck!

I also trade with my car mechanic, Attorney, and CPA.

I do agree there needs to be a national health care plan.
I want the same kind of health care plan my reps and congressmen have. My tax dollars pay for their health care.



[edit on 22-6-2009 by whaaa]

Sorry for your pain. I have read a lot of post about health care lately and in my opinion they are all missing the basic math. There are approx. 280 million people in the US. If everyone paid 50 bucks a month that comes to 14 ,000 ,000 ,000. Multiply that by 12 months and you get 168,000,000,000. Multiply by 10 years and you get well over the 1 trillion, which is what the public health care option would cost. I bet most people would love to only have to pay 50 a month for health care. In order to pay for the poor to have it just cut back on welfare cash payments, food stamps, do away with schip, medicare, medicaid, put everyone on the same plan that wants it. And as far as those people who scream about rationed care let them buy private health care. The rest of us are dealing with no care, so even rationed care sounds better than no care at all.

reply to post by milesp


I feel for you,dental health is important and I myself have the privilege of having a dentist in my close family so I fortunately enjoy free dental care(which I´m grateful for).I live in a high-tax country where health care is accessible for anyone but dental care still costs even here and you have to pay for it yourself and are not included in the general health insurance policy that all citizens are covered by.
The result is as for many Americans,a lot of people can´t afford dental care whenever they need it though some steps have been made to make it less costly for the individual.You may for instance "insure" your teeth by paying a monthly fee,how high it is depends on how your dental health are,but it is affordable to almost anybody.
And I totally agree,health services should be affordable to anyone.In my opinion,a country where it´s only accessible to a limited part of the population(the one with good financial resources)may be setting itself up for problems.Some basic things such as basic health/dental care should be accessible to anyone.In the end,it will be worth it.Healthy people will in the end be more productive.

reply to post by milesp



I can't believe what I,m reading!!

It's 2009 there are are very remote controlled robots on mars.

Animals have been cloned

You can communicate with me from any part of the planet, quicker than I can type.

Human beings have been living in space fro long periods at a time.

It's possible to turn 3 huge skyscrapers into nothing but dust with nothing but the heat from jet fuel.

Men can be turned into women and vice versa

Incredibly you have sever toothache , you could get it fixed, if you had money but you have to suffer because it would appear that you don't.

You pay your taxes which pay for aid, in third world countries you can help others but you can't help yourself because the others have beat you to it.

You live in the wealthiest nation on earth, and also the most religious nation on earth. Some of your religious leaders have greater wealth than successful busines people.

It is alleged that over 45% of the population of your nation is christian you may well be a christian yourself, you still have toothache.

Dude 2 weeks ago I got my tooth pulled I was in agony so appreciate where you are, the relief was amazing.

I'm pretty poor myself but I'm sure If I give you a couple of quid and some other ATS people give you a couple of quid then you could get that tooth sorted.

Find a way so a Paypal thing can get some money to your dentist dude, if we all chip in a little then Bob's your Monkehouse.

In the meantime - Chlorhexidine Gluconate mouthwash and salt water rinses helped me out a lot till a got an extraction.

Hope it works out dude

It's sounds like you have an abscess.
There is an infection growing and pressing on the nerve causing the pain.

Today
Clove oil will stop the pain in the short term, its cheap and you can buy it at a pharmacy.
Also try cold water in that area, that slows the growth of the infection.

This week
Have the tooth removed, it may cost less than you think.
Get some antibiotics to treat the infection.
Remember to follow the dentists instructions afterwards such as swilling will salt water.

Get some prices to have your tooth pulled and see if you can borrow the money from family / friends even your employer. If you have bad toothache then you can't work properly.

Finally let us know how you get on.

I hope you feel better soon!

*SNIP* .As for toothache,clove oil,chewed spilanthes are the best bet

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[edit on 22/6/2009 by Mirthful Me]

reply to post by milesp


Go to Walmart. Get Equate orasol gel, about 2.99. .25oz. Get a piece of cotton and put some on it. As closely as you can pack it into the painful tooth area and leave it there for some time like a plug of tobacco. If the infection is localized it may kill it off. One tube of that stuff will kill the pain in repeated applications. I think it kills the nerve like oil of clove.

I don't have health care either.

I'm also in the industry, no insurance....

And same thing as you.. molar tooth. Cavity got worse and worse......it was actually a filling courtesy of US Army....

It was the most excruciating pain EVER!

Now, one night I was so mad, and so in pain, I went down in the basement, grabbed a pair of plyers and yanked the *SNIP* myself.

Pretty hardcore.

It hurt really bad (especially while yanking. The tooth was longer than I expected man.....lol But the relief afterwards I tell ya was well worth it.

Ahhhh!

Have s bottle of whiskey nearby for after the deed.

Good Luck.

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[edit on 22/6/2009 by Mirthful Me]

I was lucky I found a dentist that will help you out, he doesn't charge out the wazoo. But I understand where you are coming from. In the end though you save yourself headaches and more pain by just going ahead and getting it taken care of. Save up the cash and call around to the dentists and ask how much for pulling. Hanging onto cash that hard for pain that bad is a horrible idea.

I am really sorry for your plight at the moment and for the lack of care despite you paying taxes.

I must warn you though that a national health service will not necessarily improve the process. In the UK there is an extreme shortage of NHS dentists and getting onto a dental practice's books can often involve months of waiting. The dental services even then are not free with costs for treatments ranging from $75-$300.

There is a walk in service which, believe me from gruesom experience, is much the same as the poster who went down to his basement with a pair of pliers - except without the whisky afterwards. I had root fragments being expelled from my wound for a couple of weeks after this particular butcher got to work on me.

Health Services are a good idea but unfortunately once bureacrats get involved, which they must, plus special interest groups, which they inevitably do - health services become creaking leviathans were from dentist's chair to hospital ward you take your life in your hands using them.

On another note, the US has already paid for a National Health Service, the UK's with its 1945 loan which paid for it.

reply to post by milesp


GO TO MEXICO!
Dental care there is quite cheap. I got 18 Mercury Amalgam fillings replaced with gold ones there. You can get a gold crown for $120. Maybe even less than that now with the economic situation,drug war,etc.
Just try and get a referral from someone, ask someone in the US along the border who they recommend.

Preventive dental care is not that expensive.

An extraction is not expensive.

It is true that some dental work is very expensive, but so are a lot of things.

A couple of years ago, I was experiencing a difficult financial period when my partial broke.

The cost of a new one was significant, but my dentist allowed me to pay over time without interest.

This is more the norm than the exception.

Seek help and I think you will be surprised what you find.

Good luck.

[edit on 2009/6/22 by GradyPhilpott]

Oh goodness I feel so bad for you, Tooth ache has to be the worst pain..

At the very least get to a Doc! he will give you Anti biotics to at least get rid of the infection! thats whats causing the pain right now,

Originally posted by Ben Niceknowinya
I'm also in the industry, no insurance....

And same thing as you.. molar tooth. Cavity got worse and worse......it was actually a filling courtesy of US Army....

It was the most excruciating pain EVER!

Now, one night I was so mad, and so in pain, I went down in the basement, grabbed a pair of plyers and yanked the fu*ker myself.

Pretty hardcore.

It hurt really bad (especially while yanking. The tooth was longer than I expected man.....lol But the relief afterwards I tell ya was well worth it.

Ahhhh!

Have s bottle of whiskey nearby for after the deed.

Good Luck.

I asked my roommate to do it for me! He refused. I'm at the point where if it gets any worse, Ill do it myself.




That's what my tooth looks like. Right now it's not killing me, but I know when I wake up in the morning...

reply to post by milesp


If you wish to be dependent on the state for your own well being, then I think you should move to a more socialist country.