Skip Navigation

i'm 40 years old and just had ALL my teeth extracted in one go. The pain is excruciating. Any tips for pain relief?

EDIT; I can't reply to everyone individually but thanks for all the suggestions! Opiates are out of the question, doctors here will only prescribe those in terms of absolutely extreme suffering or end of life care. I also don't particularly feel interested in developing a hard drug habit. Diclofenac and such are available but also only on separate prescriptions, I'd have to visit another doctor for that. I'm well stocked on paracetamol & ibuprofen, and apart from that, lots of ice cream, pudding & soup :)

Also, since a fair few people seem to doubt the veracity of my story, here's the 22 extracted teeth (the other 10 were already gone in previous extractions).

161 comments
  • Hi. You've gotten a lot of comments already. I hope this one is not lost in the pile.

    When I was 39 I had all my remaining teeth extracted in one go. There were somewhere between 12 and 18, since many were remnants and not whole teeth.

    Due to the fact that previously in my life I had addictions of many kinds, mostly alcohol and meth related, I was not prescribed opiates. When the procedure was done, I was awake and given only a local anesthetic.

    After they were removed, I was given Amoxicillin (antibiotic) and Prednisone (steriod). They recommended I take Ibuprofen and to avoid acetaminophen (same as paracetamol i think). The latter due to many over the counter versions of it have caffiene. That brings me to my first advice.

    Avoid caffeine at all costs. It will increase your pain, make you edgier and you may grind your gums in your sleep. Check your paracetamol packaging, make sure it does not have caffeine. You might want to avoid it regardless because it can irritate your stomach lining and you'll be swallowing a lot of blood which increases your chance of vomiting.

    If you vomit, you will almost certainly get dry socket.

    You do not want dry socket.

    Ice cream is painful. Anything too cold or too hot is painful. Soup should be room temperature.

    Bouillon cubes aren't bad, if you can get liquid soup stock or broth, it works better.

    Do not eat breads for at least a week or two. It sticks to you clots. That can easily lead to dry socket.

    You do not want dry socket.

    Same thing with (american) bananas. They might seem perfect but they can cause dry socket potentially from their stickiness.

    I have had dry socket. Once from smoking cigarettes. Once from being clumsy with a spoon. It was the worst pain of my life until I had to pass a few kidney stones.

    Avoid foods that require cooking. You don't want to cook.

    One a day shakes should be your new best friend. Meal replacement shakes. Here in the states they come in chocolate and vanilla and don't taste terrible. Brands include Ensure, Boost, Slimfast and a ton of others. They are packed with protein. They often have vitamins in them too. You can just pour the shake right into the back of your gullet. Bypass your gums and tongue entirely.

    Another medication to consider is sleeping pills. I'm spelling them wrong but see if you can get Amitryptaline or Tramadol. Sleep as much as you can while your body heals.

    Water, water, water.

    Drink at least 2 liters a day. Never drink more than 1 liter in an 8 hour period because water poisoning is very uncomfortable. If your pee is clear, you don't need to drink water for awhile. The better hydrated you are, the faster you will heal. Drink a lot of water after drinking one of those meal replacement shakes if you can find them. Your body will absorb the water better. Same applies to the soup stock.

    On that note, shower. If it is too painful, take a bath. Again, this helps you stay hydrated, plus is will improve your mood possibly, which in itself can ease the pain.

    Move. Walk around the block if you can. You want to get your heart rate up and keep it up for about 15 minutes, twice a day. Again, this helps your body heal faster. Walking is great unless you are a daily runner, in which case run. Walking is enough for most people.

    A perfect routine would be:

    1. Wake up. Drink some water.
    2. Drink a protein shake and some water. Take your medications with them.
    3. Walk around the block. Or if unsafe or to pained, walk in place. Get that heart rate up.
    4. Shower or bath.
    5. Go back to sleep.
    6. Repeat 3-4x per day, depending on how much you can sleep. It gets harder to sleep the more your do it. The exercise helps a lot.

    I am not a dentist or medical professional.

    I am not a professional of any kind.

    This advice is all from personal experience.

    Here's some useless personal information that can be skipped:

    December of 2021 when my teeth were all removed. Since then I have gotten dentures. They didn't fit and hurt to wear and needed adjustments, but the dentist that made them quit the business a week after I got them. Other dentists would not take my insurance or work on them for liability purposes. Sucks being in america. I opted to get implants instead. I'm supposed to have a full set of teeth in about a month, at age 42, for the first time in my entire adult life.

    Good luck. May dry socket never happen to you.

    Edit after reading a few of the comments here.

    Fuck these naysayers that think you're making this up. Even if you are, fuck 'em. Trying to shit on a person while they are already down. No benefit at all, just cynics, they're disgusting.

    I'm going to add that my teeth were in terrible shape long before I had addiction problems. My dental problems were due to braces getting fucked up and mangled beyond belief by a scammy dentist/ortho.

    Medicaid and Medicare can be free healthcare in the states. While I don't think OP is in the states, it is a thing that the poorest of people can receive and the care is exactly what you pay for. All the questions about speaking to a doctor or the dentist about pain management are laughable, knowing that for the poor in the states, that simply doesn't happen in many areas.

    People saying OP deserved it from not brushing or questions about how one could need a full extraction at age 40 are ignorant and can't summon even the smallest bit of empathy. These types along with the naysayers can go fuck off back to reddit or 4chan or whereever they came from. They are not adding to the conversation.

    If you have read all this, anyone not just OP, I hope you have a nice day.

  • Weed

    • Terrible advice unless it's with edibles. Smoking weed (or anything else) will lead to dry socket most likely and should be avoided at all costs.

  • Not sure what's available where you're at without a prescription, but I recommend Orajel or any equivalent ulcer/tooth ache gel.

    In addition to the other things you're already using, you can steep black tea bags in warm water and gently bite on that. The tannins help with bleeding and inflammation.

    A mouthwash or spray with Cetylpyridinium Chloride in the ingredients list will help with healing, but don't buy a mouthwash that has alcohol/isopropyl in the ingredients. Dentyl, Oral B Gum detoxify, Parodontax, Biotene Dry Mouth Spray are all good.

    I had several teeth removed from my inside my jaw that never came out and had a bone graft placed in the area that had to heal for 6 months before dental implants were placed. The mouthwash definitely helped me heal faster from that surgery than when I had my wisdom teeth out the year before and didn't use any. Just do a gentle rinse dont swish it around hard! You don't want to disturb the blood clots and get dry socket.

    I hope you start to feel better soon!

  • Holy shit... When I got my wisdom teeth out, I literally broke down in tears after being awake for 20 minutes without Percocet

    Friend, it's ok to take opiates sometimes...

    Kratom could be an option. You make it into tea, the first cup is a weak stimulant, the second (on an empty stomach) will start to work as a weak opiate. The third or fourth might give you stronger relief. The red strains are supposedly better for pain relief

    You can't OD on it, it's commonly available in head shops or online. The addiction potential is very low, you'll make yourself nauseous before getting what you'd get out of normal opiates. It's most closely related to the coffee plant - the toxicity concerns are all about contamination, the plant itself is pretty innocuous

    I can give brewing instructions if anyone wants to go down that path, I drink it for anxiety but others say it helps with pain management

  • I had a friend do this. It was utter misery for over a year. Most of his teeth were shattered, so he had to wait for a lot of fragments to expel naturally.

    Do not discount pain management that involves opioids. Not saying to use them for weeks nor do I know your personality for bad habits, but if it gets bad please don't suffer for no reason. Getting ibuprofen or acetaminophen with low dose codine may be a good middle ground and is even available over the counter in some countries. Extended pain is mentally exhausting and isn't worth the hit on your mental health.

    f you are struggling taking pills, get liquid ibuprofen. Sometimes you can get a chemist to make a suspension for you, otherwise get childrens. I do that if my throat gets too infected and I am unable to swallow. Honestly, it works far better than the pills and I needed a lot less.

    Best thing is to be honest with your doctors, even if you do not want anything stronger. Be sure to communicate any discomfort due to ill fitting dentures. Ask questions if anything unexpected comes up. My friend's doctor was super shitty and didn't even tell him about all of the left over fragments that still had to come out on their own.

  • Dude, meds. Just rejoice in all the medication possible. It wont last long, hang in there

    • Im assuming if op had to get all his teeth removed he also can't afford the meds or the anti-drysocket paste that dentists should use to help with this pain. I could be wrong

      • oh man sorry i forgot about this (not american) but maybe do a donation page? Having pain, in the head nonthe less, is fucking horrible no one deserves it

  • I dont have an answer to your question but I do wanna say that prescription opiates are given at a dose that isn't expected to cause addiction in someone who doesn't already take these drugs. I've been prescribed opiates after every surgery I've had—usually don't take them cause I don't need them but I have done at times when the pain has been bad enough. I understand that your docs won't prescribe them though, and I don't recommend taking them without a prescription if you can't guarantee that you're getting them from a safe source.

161 comments