Story of dental abscess nightmare

I am currently dealing with an abscessed jaw. It's been a real nightmare. Here is my story:

I was a student living on my own in a small mountain town in Virginia. I have had some minor tooth issues previously in my life (1 root canal) but never had anything major like what was to come..



I was staying the night at a friends house when I woke up in the morning feel extremely ill, despite not really having any knowledge why. Being concerned, my friend had offered to take me to the emergency room but since I was a student with no insurance living on my own far away from all family, I decided to go back to my apartment to sleep it off. I was extremely tired and nauseous, my friend commented I looked "near death." It was later that day that I was awoken by my neighbor, knocking at the front door. I had seen her earlier and she had come to check on me. She said she thought that I really should consider going to the hospital, and since I was feeling extremely weak and confused, I decided to take the trip into town and check with the doctor.



The doctor suggested that I had a tooth abscess and sent me on my way with a prescription for Antibiotics . It seems that one of my teeth near the back (top) had acquired a tiny chip, and had become infected. I had certainly never experienced anything quite like this. I immediately made an appointment to get seen by a local dentist, which I did, and was told that putting a tiny bit of filling over the chip would solve the issue and prevent and further infection so I gladly offered the little bit of cash I had on hand for the appointment/1st time visit fee and $100 for the actual procedure itself.



It was around this time that I noticed what felt like a small lump inside of my gum right above the infected tooth. The area felt very sore and strange, and from the beginning the appearance of this bump was of some concern, although I was assured by the dentist that the infection had been caused by the small chip. I let the course of my Antibiotics run and tried getting back to 'regular life', ie my job, bills, and schoolwork, all of which I was starting to fall behind on. Still, I was relieved that the issue had seem to have been resolved. I dont know one single person that enjoys tooth problems...



It was about 2 weeks later that I noticed things were not right. I had still had the bump above my tooth, which seemed to grow slightly and increase pressure in the area, as well as give off a sensation that my gut told me wasn't right. I decided to pay another trip to the same dentist, to see if he could possible figure out what was going on with the tooth and gum above the area. He suggested that everything was fine and that, if I wanted, he could extract the tooth or give me another prescription for Antibiotics . Obviously not wanting to have the tooth moved I went ahead for round 2 of antibiotics. It is truly worth noting that at this point I have spent $50 on 2 rounds of antibiotics, $135 appointment/procedure fee at the dentist, as well as now having a $400 hospital bill for my first visit. Being a student and working part time, keeping up with an apartment and medicine for my cat (who has urinary issues and requires medicated food), this was already getting extremely costly and stressful; still, I was trying to stay optimistic that I had the situation under control.



After about 2 weeks or so of the second round of antibiotics, I decided that having the tooth removed was the best option. This was confirmed by the dentist at this point and so I payed another $100 to have the tooth extracted. Once the tooth was actually out, the dentist assured me this would be the last of my problems and showed me the tooth itself, as if to suggest forth the evidence: there was a tiny "bubble" on the very tip of the long root/nerve of the tooth. He said the infection had spread to the very tip of the tooth, and was causing infection from inside the socket, in what had manifested as a tiny pus bubble at the tip of the tooth. At this point it's worth mentioning that NOT ONCE did the dentist make an effort to clean or wash out the extraction site, nor did he suggest seeing an oral surgeon to have the extraction site cleaned.



At the time I had no idea that the area needed to be cleaned further. It was only after getting dry socket (a few days after the extraction) that I began getting suspicious and once again stressed out that something STILL wasn't right. Sure, I had been assured that removing the tooth would definitely remove any lingering infection. The tooth was now gone and the last thing I wanted was to be stressed that the issue still hadn't been resolved. The terrible feeling was still there in my cheek, and an even stranger hollow feeling now remaind from losing the tooth. It was around this time I began to read about jaw cavitations, and jaw necrosis, which is caused from bacteria getting trapped in the sockets of extracted teeth; the skin heals over and traps the infection inside the bone, and gradually starts to spread and poison the person. I began to feel very stressed out as I was going to seemingly now need FURTHER treatment when I was already getting behind on my finances and what I had had saved up.



The final time I was in contact with the dentist, to see if he possibly knew why things still didn't seem to be right, he could only suggest I see an oral surgeon and that he couldn't do anything else for me. This was distressing to hear, as I lived about an hour and a half from the nearest oral surgeon, and could not afford the high cost of the specific x ray scans they suggested I get for the abscess. Clearly I wasn't in a position to get the help I needed from the area, so I made the decision to move back to Florida, spend time with my family that I hadn't seen in 4 years, and try to get any medical help as soon as I could. I finished up the semester in school and moved back to Florida around March 2014.



When I returned to Florida I met with a local doctor who suggested that I needed to see an oral surgeon as he thought the area had become reabscessed. I paid for another round of antibiotics, hoping that just maybe it would knock out any lingering infection. It seems that I could no longer feel the tiny bump that had resided above the tooth, but still the area felt infected and not healthy. It wasn't extremely painful so I thought maybe it wasn't anything and that it would just go away...but even after this last round of antibiotics I knew in my heart that it hadn't healed. I knew something still wasn't like it should be. Since i've been back in Florida I've been working like crazy, trying to stay up on my bills while also trying to put aside enough money to get medical attention. The only oral surgeon in the area is saying it's going to cost at least $300 for the scan they feel is necessary to diagnose the issue (not a typical x ray) and so I had been saving up money.



To make a long story short, it is now 2015 and I still have not been able to get the help I need, due to several reasons. Firstly, all of the money I had saved up for medical costs, had to go to getting a new car after the transmission went out in my previous car. This was unfortunately a necessary decision that had to be made; without a car I couldn't work and pay my bills. Secondly, I am having a lot of trouble finding qualified and affordable oral surgeons in my area. The nature of this illness, being that it can go up into the face, is by nature very hard to treat completely. It seems that even most standard procedures of 'grinding away the infected bone' can actually push the infection DEEPER into the bone. There is risk of damaging the trigeminal nerve in the face, which can lead to paralysis. It's obviously not something to take lightly and there is a definite need to find someone qualified.



Although I am still trying to save money to get this treatment, the high cost of rent, transportation, food, and medicine for my cat isn't leaving me with much progress. I am getting more and more worried that my health is being impacted by this issue. It seems that the area has constantly began to feel worse and worse, the gum area above the tooth very inflammed and sensitive, I believe the infection is still hiding in there and possibly spreading. I have begun to feel a throbbing/spasm in my upper temple, directly straight up from the tooth area. It is with all my hope and prayer that this infection hasn't spread far enough to get to my brain. The decision to start this campaign was made when I finally admitted that I need to do something more about this. I began feeling what felt like a medium sized soft lump up on my left temple that seems to cause quite regular spasms, that feel like muscle spasms. I am not sure at all if, due to this having gone so long untreated has gotten worse and spread, but this is what brought me here. I simply do not have the amount of money necessary to get the help I need.....even if I am able to get $300 I will still need money for any possible surgeries, which I worry I will never be able to pay. I have gone to the hospital twice about this now, going to two different hospitals hoping there was maybe something they could do. Unfortunately, they do not have oral surgeons on staff and could not do anything for me other than offer antibiotics. The throbbing/spasm feeling in my head has gotten worse, I sometimes feel for certain I am not doing well and could die at any moment. It is with my hopes and prayers that one day I may possibly have enough money to get the treatments I need while not worrying about my rent being paid and food on the table. I am so scared of losing my job from having to take time out for medical leave, so all of this is really why I am starting this campaign. I simply am feeling overwhelmed and quite frankly, hopeless. This has been an ongoing issue and it is very hard to ignore when the issue is right up inside your face, so I am here to ask for help. Thank you for considering my time.

Thanks for letting me share. As I said it's been a real nightmare and I am still working to get this resolved. I have started a small campaign to help out with any medical fees. If you'd be interested in helping out, you can learn more here: http://gofundme.com/u56xkuw

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