I have serious pain in a tooth that has a cavity. I cannot afford to go to the dentist at the moment. I did notice my local drug store has an over the counter dental filling material that allows you to fill your own tooth with a white filling. Will this also take away the pain? I am absolutely miserable.
Greg
Dear Greg,
I am sorry you are in so much pain. The store bought filling material is only designed to be used for a few days and it will not relieve any pain. It’s mostly used for someone who had a filling fall out and they’re waiting to get into the dentist. It is not designed to be the filling itself. The reason for this is the decay and any infected pulp has to be removed in order get rid of or stay off a tooth infection. There are two ways to do this.
First, is to have the dentist physically remove the decay or pulp. If the tooth is infected, that requires a root canal treatment. If the tooth is not infected than just a filling or dental crown will be enough to take care of things. Your second option is to extract the tooth. If you do that, you will also need a tooth replacement, which is more expensive. None of these things should be done without a dental professional.
The fact that you are in pain is a signal that you have a dental infection. It is important you have this looked at right away. Tooth infections spread. If you think about how close your jaw is to your heart, brain, and lungs, you can see how people still die from untreated tooth infections.
If money is an issue, as it appears to be in your case, look for someone who advertises as an affordable dentist. In general, dentists went into their field because they wanted to help people. An affordable dentist will likely be very willing to work with you on payments, especially in the case of a dental emergency, such as yours.
This blog is brought to you by Enfield Dentist Dr. William Cummiskey.
