My boyfriend has a bad tooth, his gum is swelling up?

When he was young, his mother never taught him to brush his teeth. Although he brushes well now, there's nothing we can do about the decaying, painful tooth he has now. About 5-6 months ago, his gum and cheek swelled up pretty badly and we had to go to the ER. The doctor cut it and drained all the pus. They also gave him a prescription that worked really well. Now the swelling is happening again. I know he needs to get it pulled but we don't have dental insurance, so its going to be very expensive. We already have the doctor bill from the last visit. I know infections like this can be serious since its so close to the brain. Is there anything we can do that will help it until we get the money saved up for an extraction?
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You are right, this can be serious -- so please keep that in mind. The best option are salt-water rinses at least three times a day for a few minutes per rinse. It is as simple as it sounds, salt in a cup of water and rinse around the mouth. This will help the swelling, and in turn the pain. If you have any general antibiotics around the house.. ie: Amoxicillin, Penicillin, or anything in that family it wouldn't hurt to take them. (This is against all sound medical advice to take a prescription medication without it being prescribed for that condition, but it is what is needed.) Though, truly,.. the tooth needs to be pulled as soon as possible. Extractions are actually *not* that expensive. They generally run under $100,.. call around, even to dental schools in your area and you will find a reasonable price. What makes them expensive is that most people want to be 'knocked out' under general anesthesia instead of just having a local anesthetic used. Having a tooth pulled with local anesthetic is NOT painful, and I highly doubt your boyfriend would be too skiddish to sit in a chair for 10 minutes to have it done. Most of the time the tooth comes out in one piece in under a minute or two. Then it is over,.. and even then there is nothing but 'pressure' felt. Take care,
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I have the worst toothache and migraine plus I'm pregnant help please?

I have the worst toothache in my life...I had a filling fall out of one of my back bottom teeth and the tooth is decayed badly. I am also pregnant and can't take anything but tylenol for pain ( which is not helping) I went to the ER last night and they said there was nothing they could do except give me an antibiotic in case it is abscessed. The problem is I have no dental insurance. I am also broke at the moment ( who isn't right now though right) I can not afford to go to a dentist. Is there anything I could do?? ANYTHING??
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Clove oil or oragel would probably help. You can take codeine during pregnancy as long as you're not in the last few weeks, if you're in the last few weeks of pregnancy the baby can have withdrawal after birth if you've been taking it regularly.
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Can my husbands ex collect child support if she refused it in court?

His ex refused child support in court. She was supposed to pay off some of their credit cards and didn`t so we ended up paying them. We also provide health and dental insurance for the child. We paid child support anyway for 2 or 3 years, but didn`t document it. When we realized she wasn`t paying off the credit cards like she was supposed to we stopped giving her money....Can she take us back to court for child support and can she collect BACK child support?
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As long as you have the paperwork stating that she denied child support then you should be fine. She can collect future child support though. No back child support
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What things have you had to cut out of your budget due to the recession?

I have had to cut out: breakfasts, oil changes (have not had one in 1 year and 3 months.),new clothes, new socks, house cleaners,slower internet speedm cutting out cable soon if they let me get out of my package, I alternate between phone and electricity every month so I am constantly behind on one bill. I have to have the phone because I work from home and internet for online courses. I have cut out napkins, medicines sometimes, only put $10 of gas every two weeks, I do laundry once or twice a month. I can not afford laundry detergant so I buy the small box of detergent for $.75 at the laundry mat. I had to cut out acne medication and have had troubles with acne. I use hand soap and hot water to wash my face but still get huge pimples from time to time. I have also had to cut out dental insurance and lost half a tooth. I have to make a tube of toothpaste last for months at a time. I had to stop using mouth wash that helped my gums. I could not even afford to buy software for a class I had to take and almost flunked it. I am not used to living like this but I am willing to live even worse off if it means I can pay all my bills somehow. Paying bills in full is a HUGE luxery. I love to pay bills because when one is paid I feel happy. I work 35 hours a week and I have a degree in Business; working on my degree in communications. I live in the UNITED STATES. Can you believe that: the richest country in the world? really? So how is this recession effected you?
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I'm sure it's affected me more than I first realized. I put off for a couple of years seeing an oral surgeon as I don't have dental surgery. I had one tooth at a time cut out and ended up losing a small part of the jaw bone. I have not had my teeth cleaned in several years as I could always find another use for the money. We have cut back on traveling because of the price of gas. We have also cut back on food. And I think we will be cutting back even more as this year progresses. Four years ago my hours at work was cut in half and were never restored and at this point I'm lucky to still have this job.
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I have pain under my teeth on the left side?

I have pain under my teeth on the left side of my mouth. It just started yesterday but it feels like the pain is in my gums. It just started yesterday. The pain comes and goes, but when its there, its some of the worst pain I have ever felt. I do not know what to do, I have no dental insurance so I am hesitant to go there. I've tried ibuprofen, orajel, and none of it helps for very long. Please advise.
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you probably have a cavity
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White spots on teeth?

I've had white spots on my two front teeth for as long as I can remember. I'm almost eighteen, if it helps. I've heard of a few different reasons why they're there. I believe mine is from the calcium deficiency, but I'm not quite sure. My mother also has them, but in honesty I really used to not take care of my teeth at all for a couple years. The spots haven't really bothered me too much, mostly because my teeth are already pretty crooked and two white spots are nothing compared to how my teeth look. But, after using a sample of the Crest White strips Advanced, I noticed they look a great deal brighter compared to the rest of my tooth. I've used the Crest White Strips Premium, and it didn't happen that time, so i'm wondering why the spots are even brighter. Is there a way (aside from the expensive veneers, I dont have great dental insurance) that I can lessen the brightness of these white spots? I'm now afraid to use more whitener, in case it could brighten the spots even worse than they are now.
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They could be from too much Fluoride, or they are there from a medication you may have had as a child when the teeth were developing. Whitening will continue to make them stand out more I'm afraid. Have you had braces? Sometimes the glue from the brackets can remain on the surface of the teeth. Pop in for a check so the dentist can see what it is and tell you what you can do.
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Abscessed teeth with drainage and calcification.?

I have 2 teeth that are abscessed. Doc. drained and says that the infection is so severe that the old pus that has not drained seems to have calcified. No dental insurance and having trouble getting them pulled. Is this serious? What should I do? All of the antibiotics they have given me aren't working. I have already lost a thumb to MRSA and I am scared that it could come back and get into my jaw. Any help would be wonderful!!!
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wow. try the dental schools in your area. they will do the work of a fully trained dentist for A LOT cheaper. don't worry about the people not knowing what they are doing because the classes are supervised by trained professionals. some schools even let you set up a payment plan.
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