painful gum

Do NOT rinse after an extraction for at least 48 hours.

Keep doing the salt mouth washes until it heals because my dentist won't take out a tooth until the infection has gone.

Anaesthetic can't work when there is infection present. He should have given you a course of antibiotics before pulling the tooth. But still, at least it's gone now.

Glad he's not my dentist though.

Thanks for the replies. VQ that's why I wondered about the doctor.
I've just come back from the dentist - sans tooth!
My usual dentist was there and saw me straight away. He said there was no point in trying to save it as it would only get worse.
No-one likes to part with teeth but at least the pain has gone. It did hurt when he pulled - don't think the injection had enough time to work in fact I screamed. OK now TG.

You really need to see a dentist if at all possible. If you've been treating it and it's not improving then you probably need a course of antibiotics. With that in mind it's possible your GP might prescribe them under the circumstances.

I think you will find that, while salt water temporarily alkalinizes the mouth which deters the proliferation of bacteria, it cannot actually kill the bacteria.

Dentists advise the use of Corsodyl gel. You apply it several times a day, and it does kill bacteria.

Yes I'd been recommended Corsodyl gel....and it did seem to work but I do prefer salt water as you can use it several times a day and its pretty much always available.

Corsodyl gel is very good. You could try that.

I have a spot next to my partial that can be a bit of a food trap and can become a problem infection site. At the first hint of something amiss I leave my denture out a bit more and go to the good old salt water rinse twice a day regime. Seems to work better than anything else.

Yes I think you're all right I will have to go in to the dental practise tomorrow morning and hope there's someone there. I think this has been building up for some time and I'll probably have to lose the tooth. It's a lower molar, filled many times.
Bez - that's about the same as I pay for something like that. We have a CVs. Our dentists are very good, but they're very overworked, could do with twice the number of dentists.

Won't the local dentist have a look if you go to the surgery? I get most work done in UK as I have a dental insurance but go to the local chap if I need some treatment quickly - he repaired a front tooth which had a piece come off last week- 43€ with my CV and I will get most of that back. I have app. already booked for when I get back to UK next month to see the family.

Do you have the equivalent of our NHS Direct? I don't think a doctor as such would be interested.

Doctors here won't see you or dental related problems. You could try a saline solution wash as the salt may reduce the swelling and clean gently with a soft brush to remove any food which may be trapped. Surely there is an emergency dentists rota?