Grr. My dad is hurting.

[Akoto]

I just need to vent here. It's 1am and seeing my dad hurting is ticking me off.

It's a tooth. He's a real tough guy, so when he asks for help, you know it really must hurt like hell. Dad finally gave in and went to the oral surgeon, who took a panoramic X-ray and said the tooth didn't look all that bad. Gave him antibiotics and sent him home with the suggestion that it might be a sinus infection.

One day later (today), it's just terrible. He went to work anyway. When he got home, mom and I convinced him to call the oral surgeon, and he gets an appointment for tomorrow morning. Naturally, dad also asked for something to help with the pain overnight, and the surgeon refused! Quoting the message his nurse relayed, "Painkillers only mask the pain, and the solution isn't masking the pain. It's pulling the tooth."

That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain why he has to go through this terrible night. What would it have hurt when the tooth was just coming out tomorrow? I suspect it's more that the guy doesn't want to prescribe pain meds at all, which wouldn't surprise me. I'm on pain management myself, and I've heard all sorts of stories.

:rant:

[kentauros]

1. Whether the oral surgeon wants to prescribe or not, he's being an idiot.

You want your patient rested and relaxed, not worn out because they couldn't sleep. I've been through that pain, too, and my dentist had no problems giving me both the painkillers and the antibiotics after initial examination, and she's a "holistic" dentist!

Now, everyone is different, but I found that Aleve worked the best, though my dentist did suggest alternating between naproxen, ibuprofen and the other one I can't think of that's not aspirin. Just cycle through each one according to the directions for each. I'm not sure of the reasoning for this method, but I've heard it before from others.

I hope he gets some rest tonight. You might also try some of the home-remedies at Earth Clinic :)

[denbot]

2. Change dentists

Seriously, don't give that insensitive jerk anymore business.

[elleng]

3. Agree.

Coming to this 'party' late, but imo NO decent doc would do this, ALL would and do prescribe for pain, immediately, even without request.