Tooth self extraction... how best to go about it?

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,880
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I haven't seen a dentist for years (not since NHS dentistry went down the chute) and I haven't got one anymore, I don't think.

Anyway, they are generally fine, but recently one of my back molars has cracked & split into two (due to my bruxxing, I think) :( I don't have toothache as it's not painful in itself, but it is slightly loose...you can wiggle it about in its socket (a bit tender too)

I googled and it seems even with NHS dentistry you would be paying £42 for an extraction. :eek:

So I would rather do it myself if feasible. Should I wiggle it a bit every day to work it loose? Bite on an apple? What's the best way? (least painful, please!) :o
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Comments

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 24,724
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    My parents said get a piece of string, tie it to the tooth and door. Then shut the door really hard:D

    Seriously, I would get it seen to, otherwise it will crack and be painful. I had a tooth break and leave it's root. I had to goto the dental hospital to have it dug out.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 195
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    Eeek! That makes me wince just reading it! Go to the dentist - I hate them too (lets face it, you'd have to be a complete weirdo to enjoy going to the dentist... no matter how cute they are) but just go and spend the money. Just think how much it'll cost if it all goes sceptic... Otherwise drink loads of whisky and give your best evil mate a pair of pliers... :)
  • AchtungAchtung Posts: 10,480
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    They probably won't charge £42 for a full extraction as as you say it's cracked and loose already so it'll just be a case of quickly whipping it out.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,940
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    Last extraction I had done by an NHS emergency dentist cost in the region of a tenner. That was last summer so it won't have changed much, if at all. I'm not registered with an NHS dentist (am on waiting list).

    Track down your nearest emergency NHS place and get it done through them.

    If you're determined to go down the DIY route route, I reckon you will need:

    1. A sadistic friend.
    2. A full bottle of vodka. (Mainly for you but possibly some for the sadistic friend)
    3. A pair of needlenose pliers.
    4. Your head looked at!
  • CaxtonCaxton Posts: 28,881
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    Achtung wrote:
    They probably won't charge £42 for a full extraction as as you say it's cracked and loose already so it'll just be a case of quickly whipping it out.

    Oh yes they will, £42.50 to be precise thanks to Mr Bliar and his money-grabbing government. Although that price will cover more than one extraction or filling if needed. So it is better to go and have a lot of treatment rather han just an odd extraction or filling

    http://www.nhs.uk/England/Dentists/DentalCharges.cmsx
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 102
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    If you have a dental hospital - go there - as they don't charge anything. You often have to queue at the crack of dawn. It'll be done by students, but I've been and never had any problems. ( I think you are only supposed to go if you are not already registered at a dentist, and are in pain)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 23,067
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    My father-in-law once did his own thing.
    He tied one end of a a nylon thread to his tooth, the other to a lump hammer.
    He then stood on a step ladder and dropped the hammer.

    His daughter, a trainee dental nurse, went ballistic when she found out.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,218
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    It's only £42...go and get it seen to.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,655
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    dont is the best answer i can give. go to the dentist.

    i paid £29.70 to have 4 wisdom teeth removed last year.
  • InMyArmsInMyArms Posts: 50,766
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    SuperFool wrote:
    It's only £42...go and get it seen to.
    not everybody has £42 spare
  • Vite.dfeemtoonVite.dfeemtoon Posts: 5,397
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    Seriously, you don't want to be messing around with it. You can get infected, bacteria in the blood leading to heart problems, etc, and end up in a bigger mess than you are now. Just beg, steal or borrow the money and get it done. Then you can get other stuff done too, if need be (and it sounds as though you might).

    Failing that, I remember when I was a kid I lost a wobbly milk tooth by eating a toffee - I bit down hard on the toffee (which covered the tooth), and when I opened my mouth, the tooth stuck to the toffee and pulled it out. You could always go to Thornton's and get their tradtional sticky toffee and see if that does the trick.

    In all seriousness, get thee to an emergency dental hospital now, hang the expense, and get it seen to - even if it means eating baked beans for the next two weeks.
  • susie-4964susie-4964 Posts: 23,143
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    You can't remove a back molar with the old string and doorknob technique, all you'll do is break the tooth off and leave the root behind, and set yourself up for trouble. Go to a dental hospital, as someone suggested, they might even give you a nice new crown for it!
  • coshamcosham Posts: 5,875
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    if he can get a nhs dentist. quite hard to find these days.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,269
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    sancheeez wrote:
    If you're determined to go down the DIY route route, I reckon you will need:

    1. A sadistic friend.
    2. A full bottle of vodka. (Mainly for you but possibly some for the sadistic friend)
    3. A pair of needlenose pliers.
    4. Your head looked at!


    I had a loose tooth that was giving me a lot of gyp pulled out by somebody in my local pub one night. :eek:

    I was moaning about it, and they were all saying they'd pull it out for me (yeah righto) and then one bloke said he'd do it, got hold of a pair of pliers and whipped it out!!! They didn't think I'd do it (I'm a girl) :D A nice brandy afterwards (free from the landlord lol) swooshed around, and no more pain! :cool:
  • GeegGeeg Posts: 23,338
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    Noooo don't do it yourself. :eek:

    You could actually cause more harm and possible infection.

    An NHS dentist is impossible to find, so here is my advice.

    Look for a private dental practise in your area - believe me they are not much more expensive than NHS. You can get a quote, explain the situation. They will see you immediately and if it is going to require a bit more work will do it payed in instalements etc. They do not expect people who go to them to be rich.

    You really need to get it seen to, and that, with the lack of NHS dentists, is the solution unless you know of a dental hospital in your area.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2
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    Your post has caused a certain amount of, shall we say, 'discussion', on a dentists' forum!
    I don't really know where to start!
    DIY surgery of any kind is extremely dangerous, and is not a good idea at all.
    Extracting teeth is something that as a dentist with 23 years post-graduate experience, I sometimes find to be the most difficult treatment to do. The assessment of the patients' general health/medication etc takes skill, knowledge and a great deal of 'background information' - it's amazing how many people forget to put their medicines on the medical history form. Then there's the choice of analgesia. Then it's mandatory nowadays to do a pre-operative X-ray, and properly evaluate it.
    And then (and only then) we might consider the extraction. Which needs a full knowledge of all the potential hazards/problems which might occur - and a fully equipped and staffed surgery - so that if a problem does occur, the team can solve it.
    Or if a really big/rare problem does occur, recognise it and know how to arrange for a friendly local consultant oral surgeon to see the patient as urgently as the situation calls for.
    If you value your own health, then, I think I would make a few calls to your friends to see which local dentists they trust/recommend, and book an appointment, as it is the only sensible course of action.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,880
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    Just an update. Thanks to everyone for all your advice, and Dr Morris for his professional take on it (can't believe I've caused a stir on dentists forum...I didn't mean to..:o)

    Anyway, I've had an appointment at the local dental hospital, and was seen by a really nice dental surgeon (older middle-aged, so highly experienced I should think).

    He did an x-ray and it showed a large dark area all around the base of the broken tooth, which he said was infection (abscess). The tooth was actually split into 3 bits. Well of course it had to come out. When he injected in the local, he said there was pus coming out. :eek: Then he whipped it out with what looks like dental pliers... didn't feel a thing. :D

    Total cost was just over £13 (~£10 for the extraction, and ~£3 for the x-ray), which is fair enough.

    What a relief. :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 14,815
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    Well done you! Glad it turned out okay, and now you will get on a waiting list and get regular check ups, won't you? ;)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,880
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    flicker wrote:
    Well done you! Glad it turned out okay, and now you will get on a waiting list and get regular check ups, won't you? ;)
    Thanks!

    First of all I have to remember to do regular salt water mouthwashes! :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,940
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    Then it's mandatory nowadays to do a pre-operative X-ray, and properly evaluate it.

    Really?

    Since when? (and maybe the rules are different in England ... I'm in Scotland)

    I had an extraction done by an emergency NHS dentist about 7/8 months ago and nobody did an x-ray on me first.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 153
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    sancheeez wrote:

    If you're determined to go down the DIY route route, I reckon you will need:

    1. A sadistic friend.
    2. A full bottle of vodka. (Mainly for you but possibly some for the sadistic friend)
    3. A pair of needlenose pliers.
    4. Your head looked at!

    LMAO!!!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 704
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    Well my daughter had a front baby tooth knocked out when her sister accidently headbutted her.

    Her sister lost a loose front tooth after she fell over and hit it on the floor.

    I wouldnt suggest pulling it out yourself, you could leave part of the root in or something and get a infection, if nyou are entitled to NHS treatment then call NHS direct and explain the problem, they can put you in touch with a emergency dentist.
  • El GuapoEl Guapo Posts: 4,838
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    What an idiot! Go to the dentist! :eek: :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 206
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    Do you want to kill your self..
    we all hate them but go and see the dentist
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,006
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    ive had this problem a few times and eventually they just come out and its fine. Ive had a few teeth fall out at the back of my mouth and havnt been to a dentist, if i lost any of my fronts id be straight there though!

    Human Teeth are crap i brush twice daily and always have done yet they still rot before the end of a lifetime. I think i`ll have false teeth by the time im 40.
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