h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is now around 5:20am and I have been awake most of the night with excrutiatingly painful toothache

I guess the moment has finally come when dealing with the here and now is going to have to take precedence over my morbid fear of Dentists and their whizzing drills. Driving across town at 3am to the 24hour Tesco Metro to buy ibuprofen capsules is not going to cut it any longer

Back from the dentist yet?

I haven't been yet.

I did get some sleep in the end, but as it was so late in the night that I fell asleep I ended up over sleeping and was very late for work. Fortunately my boss is a fellow dentophobic and understood the situation.

So, here I sit. The toothache is under a certain amount of control provided I don't chew with the left side of my mouth, nor eat or drink anything too hot or too cold. Acidic and crunchy food is out for the time being as well, and I'm chucking painkillers down my gullet as though they were smarties.

All in all a success

Well, almost everything gets better on its own... eventually

you can ignore it, it will definitely go away.
altho it might have a bit more to say before it goes.

i hate dentists as well, tho i really need to make an appointment. need to take my son as well and since i keep thinking it would be easier to do both at the same time i keep putting it off.

i hope it's feeling better, gd, and i hope you're getting it taken care of

The pain backed off somewhat so I decided not to contact the sadists, sorry, dentist.

I *know* I'll have to do something in the end, but please let me put it off for as long as possible. The pain is controllable at the moment.

I had much the same problem a couple of years back. I did try, under duress from a friend, to get an appointment with the dentist, but his (or his receptionist's) idea of an emergency appointment was a slot six days later. By the time that day came the tooth had stopped aching so I didn't go.

The tooth has been fine ever since - and I haven't been near a dentist since, either.

You poor thing! I hate dentists as well, and wish you relief and security...

Just to give you all a quick update on the state of my oral health...

The tooth that has been causing the problems is the first molar on the left handside of my upper jaw. The problem in truth started about 3 months ago when the large filling that had been in that tooth for donkey's years fell out. This then leaves the inner element of the tooth exposed to the gruesome bacterial soup that is one's mouth, plus as it has a whopping hole, loads of opportunities to trap food particles.

Well the pain is just about gone. On the odd occasion that I do get a twinge it is easily whacked with a ibuprofen caplet.

As to the future.

Well I could just wait until the next problem and then go and trog up to the local Community Dental practice - the place that is set up by the NHS specifically for recalcitrant patients like me who don't register with a regular dentist. The service is for emergencies only and is rather basic.

The other option that I could explore is to find a regular dentist who specialises in nervous patients. I know that there are a number of such practitioners out there, using things like anaesthetics, hypnosis, soothing music and god alone knows what else to put their patients at ease before the drilling starts. The problem with these dentists is that they very rarely have spaces on their NHS lists for new patients, so I would be paying the full private rate. However if I do follow this option the outlook for my general dental health is much rosier.

Now, guess which option I'll be going for...

I have had really bad tootyhache too It was so bad I had to go and see the dentist on site - twice, and I have to go back tomorrow for a proper fix up and large bill

Woo-Hoo.. this massively weakened tooth in my mouth has just shattered!

The 'outer' wall of the tooth -- ie the bit next to my cheek -- has just snapped off, leaving only the inner section as the sole representive of my first upper left side molar

But I'm *still* not going to go to the dentist because -
1) I'm still scared stiff of them
2) I can't afford it
3) It's now a darned sight easier to suck errant chunks of peanut out my smashed up tooth than it was before

Yeah.... I really needed to know about that just after I've eaten dinner

Oh well, time for pudding

There's a channel here which shows old Avengers episodes - I mean *old* episodes, the ones in black and white, the ones with Honor Blackman , and some even earlier than that. There's one on right now and I swear to god it's got Jimmy Clitheroe in it

Nope - it wasn't the Clitheroe Kid, it was someone called Willie Shearer.