Dental trauma, exposed root canal edition

June 19, 2024 2:26 PM

I was defeated by bacon. No, seriously. Now I have a broken upper molar with an exposed piece of wire sticking sideways into the mouth. I have had root canal, so it may be a post. New dentist will see me at their first appointment tomorrow. What should I do tonight to stay sane and keep my tongue from being unironically pierced?

Of course, our trusted family dentist and his wonderful hygienist retired last fall.

Good news - our Honorable Youngest Offspring is pleased with her dental team. And really, we need to get on track with them for just this sort of emergency.
The husband and I swung by today and did the paperwork. I mentioned that there was a wire in the tooth sticking out, did we need to do x-rays today, etc. No, all will be revealed at 9:00 a.m.

Now after some research online I have clean teeth and a wad of gauze covering the post to protect my tongue. I'll spit it out before sleeping.
No hunger pains yet (the crispy bacon is chilling in the fridge, dammit).

So... what am I missing? Rinsing, not using a straw, what have I forgotten before my date with my dental pros?

posted by TrishaU to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Best answer: I was in a similar situation, and the dentist suggested something I believe is called "dental wax" - it's a soft and pliable kind of wax you can press onto your tooth to cushion the sharp edges. I was able to get it over the counter at a drug store and it was fairly inexpensive. A single container should last you overnight for certain, if not longer.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:37 PM on June 19 [9 favorites]

Best answer: Yup, seconding the dental wax. It's more commonly used by people wearing braces, and might be called orthodontic wax or similar. A single container will be more than enough for overnight and several days after. Don't be afraid to really cram it in there, it's perfectly safe and has been protecting braces-wearing kids and adults from pokey wires for decades. I can usually find it in with the flossers and other dental stuff in any drugstore.
posted by cgg at 2:52 PM on June 19

Best answer: I once had something like this happen when I was out of town on a week's vacation with no easy access to a store. I had a friend clip my protruding wire close to the gum it was protruding from, and that really helped. Mine was a fairly thin wire (though also irritating in a tongue-poking way) so I don't know if this would be an option for you.
posted by Well I never at 3:05 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]

Nthing: Wax on, wax off!
posted by cnidaria at 3:45 PM on June 19 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Before you apply the wax, try and dry out the area as much as possible. I think I just dabbed with a smidge of paper towel. And don't be discouraged if it doesn't work right away. My first try was golden, then the next one kept falling out, and the third and subsequent tries were perfect (this was over a number of days, though. You just need to get through tonight!)
posted by kate4914 at 3:58 PM on June 19

Response by poster: Update: 4:00 a.m. and I managed to sleep without disturbing the wad of gauze over the metal post in my molar.
Just four-plus hours to go.
Thanks for the encouragement. Signing off now for some more zzzzzz....
posted by TrishaU at 2:20 AM on June 20 [2 favorites]