Hi, just wanted to let you know that I am dealing with the exact same situation, but mine is with my bottom right wisdom tooth. It is broken and infected with swelling. Listen to me on this one,
Ibuprofen is one of the best things for the pain,
Tylenol does very little for pain when it comes to teeth. Swooshing, gently, cool (not real
cold) water in your mouth helps with the pain as well, but has to be done almost repeatedly. I spent a full 24 hours doing this the other night. Do not listen to the ER people on the phone. You should always go to an ER when you are sick with an abscess and cant go straight to a
dentist, that is what dentist tell you to do. I have no insurance either, so I'm in your same boat. I went to the ER, they saw the infection and wrote me a script for an anti biotic and pain meds. Once you are on an antibiotic the pain will begin to subside and you will need less and less support from the pain meds. It is still important for you to find a way to get into a dentist, even if the infection recedes, because in most cases, the infection will come back in several weeks and often times is worse than the first time. You can also try placing an ice pack rite on your jaw joint and keeping it there, it helps numb the nerves. But as I said, DO NOT hesitate to go to the ER for a
tooth infection if you cant get into a dentist.
Tooth abscess is nothing to mess with and the infection, if left untreated for long, can spread and pose further health risk.Also, if you tell the ER that you have little money or insurance, they can offer dental clinics who can work with you and also many ERs keep samples of anti biotics in the ER for people such as us. Good luck to you, and I wish you peace soon.
Robynn :)