Possible wisdom tooth infection in Tokyo- please help!

Hey guys, I’ve been on a trip to Japan a little less than a month, will be here about 2 months overall. Yesterday I started having very dull wisdom tooth pain and today it’s just full out painful. I’ve already had a wisdom tooth infection a couple months back and they had X-rays done and such. They recommended a removal but it was complicated because my wisdom teeth is close to a nerve so they just preferred to keep it. Mentioning this to say that I don’t need extensive medical care for it (ie removal), just need a dentist to assess if it actually is an infection, clean it, and prescribe antibiotics if necessary (last time I had to take antibiotics and was in severe pain until they started working).
I have no idea who to talk to? Should I wait and see if the pain continues before jumping to a dentist? It’s literally just started but I don’t want to be in pain for weeks now. Are there any dentists in Tokyo who accept foreigners and know good English? (Unfortunately going back to my home country rn isn’t an option either regardless). Thank you to those who help!! 🙏🏼

Edit: thank you so much for the help everyone 🥹 Ill go to one of the places suggested!

11 comments
  1. Yokohama has a big population of expats, you might find what you’re looking for there.

  2. Do you not have Travel Insurance?

    If you do, contact them and they will make arrangements for you

  3. Go to Trust Dental Clinic! It’s in a convenient location on the back of Laforet Harajuku and the main doctor worked in US, his English is excellent (whole staff speaks English too, just with a bit of accent).

    You can call them for appointment, but this might be hard without Japanese number. I simply popped there last week with a pain from a tooth that I had root canal for a few weeks ago. It wasn’t bad pain, but the tooth was still overly sensitive, and as I will be travelling for a long time (and in less developed countries) I preferred to have it looked at quickly. I was lucky and they just had cancellation so I was seen on the spot (I waited maybe 20mins). But if you say it’s emergency appointment (because of pain) they should be able to fit you in quickly.

    I paid 6k yen for a visit, 1k yen for the xray of the single tooth and 6yen for antibiotic that I got there immediately.

  4. So this is the second time that wisdom tooth is bothering you? You almost certainly need to get that tooth taken out as chances of the infection happening again and again is pretty much 100%.

    Are you sure you understood your previous dentist correctly? In the presence of an infection, it is very very rare that an extraction is contraindicated due to proximity to nerve. I can have a look at your xray if you happen to have a copy.

    They should have at least sent you to see a specialist if they weren’t comfortable with removing your wisdom tooth as it was close to the nerve.

  5. I think you needed a second opinion. They can cut it open, drill it out, split it, extract it, pull it up, etc.

    Leaving it after an infection is the worst possible action.

  6. Salt water also helps btw.

    My dentist recommended it when i had an infection

    Some lukewarm water, dump salt in it. Put in mouth and kinda use as mouth wash.

    Best is if you got like a syringe so you can use it to get the water in the right spot and use it as mini pressure wash

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