Apologies for any weird formatting. I'm a lurker with no idea how to post. For context, I live in the USA, asscrack of the planet.

I had a surgical extraction of a broken tooth at an oral surgeon in a town about an hour away from me. It was a little bit brutal, so I was told to load up on the prescribed ibuprofen/acetominophen and start antibiotics that evening after surgery.
After the hour drive home, I went to the pharmacy that I had listed in my paperwork. They had no scripts for me since last year.
I called the surgeon's office. The woman on the phone said she saw them in her system, had an hour left in her shift, and would call me if she saw them sent out. I told her not to worry, that the pharmacy would contact me as soon as they received it. I assumed there was no way they'd leave a patient without post-op meds. Well, I was wrong.

They never sent my prescriptions before closing up for the weekend.

The office doesn't have an emergency number of any kind. Voicemails or text messages can be left for them to check on Monday. What in the world do I do or even say to these incompetent assholes?

I'm managing my pain with my own medication, but it's expensive, and they sure as hell aren't antibiotics. I'm broke, if that helps.

Call your insurance provider they might have an emergency solution for you.

Fellow American so I know how much this suggestion sucks but... ER? Do you have insurance?

Call another dentist's emergency number if the pain necessitates it

First thing I'd do is call the pharmacy again, explain the situation, and ask if they can contact the doctor directly. This is not likely to work, but sometimes they have communication channels beyond the main office line. Pharmacies can sometimes override a prescription and offer enough of a med to get through the weekend, but not likely if this is a one-time prescription and not something you take regularly.

The only other approach is to try to get a prescription from elsewhere, like a telehealth service or an urgent care clinic, but that will require a consult which might come with a copay depending on your insurance (assuming they cover any part of it at all). You might be able to argue with your insurance that this was not your fault and they should cover it due to the circumstances, but they'll likely tell you that you should have gone somewhere in network anyways.

And this is all on top of the fact that you need pain medication, which could be interpreted as doctor shopping if you're not careful. If the original script was placed but not signed off and it shows up in an opioid control database (likely won't if it's just extra strength tylenol, but would if it's percocets), there's a good chance any other prescriber will say no and tell you that you have to follow up with that office when they reopen.

If you have no meds and the pain is unbearable, then you go to the ER. Depending on insurance, prepare for a high cost. Don't take an ambulance if you can help it.

Yes the USA is fucked.

I'm not a doctor, but I did have an extraction from an oral surgeon a few years ago. My understanding was the antibiotics are more of a precaution than a necessity. I'd definitely try some of the things other commenters suggest, but you'll likely be fine if you aren't able to start them until Monday.

Generally an ER has to treat you if you show up and wait... it's america, so they will try to bill you and ultimately send it to collections but it's an option.

Depending on how broke you are, where you are, and how desperate you are, nitrous oxide might be an option as well. Generally sold at "smoke shops" as either small whipped cream chargers — for which you will need something called a cracker and a balloon, or a variety of tanks. The tanks are generally a better value and range from $40-200, they generally come with a nozzle to attach a balloon to.

Never underestimate the power of an ice pack, 10-15 minutes on, 5 minutes off, so you don't freeze your face.

Lastly a super saturated salt water rince will help with potential bacterial growth.

Please be careful with the nitrous if you're inexperienced. It's a heavier than air gas, so open windows/doors! Extract it slowly or the balloon will freeze — get a few extra.

Prescriptions via telehealth are pretty common in the USA, and while people do sometimes request antibiotics for dumb reasons, OP's reason isn't.

I'm sure it's hard to get drugs people use recreationally that way, or something extremely risky, but not something common and low-risk like amoxicillin. You can just mail order that as long as it's marked for use in fish tanks.

That's not just unethical advice, it's fraud. And extremely easy for the office to check. Don't give this kind of "advice" to people.

You can safely stack some types of pain medications because they work in completely slightly different ways. Ibuprofen + acetaminophen are much more effective than either one by itself. IMO the combination at maximum dose of each is just as effective as prescription pain medication.

Cleveland Clinic: “Both ibuprofen and acetaminophen are pain relievers and fever reducers. They both can reduce inflammation, but they work in slightly different ways and are processed by different parts of the body,” says family medicine physician Amy Bernstein, DO. “It can be safe to take them together if taken as directed.”

Also keep detailed notes. In the unlikely event that significant complications occur due to your surgeon's incompetence you may need them.

Thank you! I'm alternating between 800mg Ibuprofen and 500mg acetaminophen every 3 hours. Can confirm that it does the trick enough to get a few hours sleep at a time!
Detailed notes are a great idea, just in case I do end up having complications without antibiotics. Great thoughts!

You rock! I can't really play any nitrous games due to my tendency to win respiratory problem prizes, but that might be the most clever/productive application I've heard since whipped cream. Ice has been incredible. Your salt water idea makes me wonder if I could do an epsom salt compress on the site like an icepack. Thank you!

Don't alternate, take them together and take the maximum dose (on the label) of each. It makes a massive difference.

Really appreciate you for sharing your wisdom on that! Thank you for reminding me about that fact. It's easy to get all kinds of freaked out with this pain and chaos. I didn't have a pre-existing condition that would make antibiotics necessary. Still, the audacity to take thousands of dollars from me and then... oopsie! Sheesh!

Urgent care or the ER, which ever is more affordable. Report that clinic.

Your very welcome, I'm glad it's working. I had a few terrible budget dental experiences over the years so I feel your frustration and pain. Hang in there! Report the fucker to your states "board of pharmacy" if they still have one... and make sure to let the office staff know you intend to — nothing puts the fear of god in them like the kinds of audit they will do :-)

I'm not sure about a compress... the rinse comes directly from getting impacted wisdom teeth extracted, so I know that's solid... to much salenity might end up over-drying the area which could lead to a painful condition called a dry socket.

The pharmacy has been as stumped as I am because the Rx was never placed, but those are great ideas. Ive been afraid of being labeled as a malingerer iin this process jsut because pain meds are involved. So sad! Thank you for your suggestions and feedback!

I wish that were allowed! No dentist/oral surgeon;s office will even speak to you without a referral. Appreciate the thought though! Thanks

If it's legal in your area, cannabis (get an indica strain that is noted as effective for pain) can help, when you take it with ibuprofen and acetaminophen, plus use ice packs. It's not nearly as good as proper pain meds but will help a lot, and can help with sleep.

Forgot to mention that the important thing to keep in mind is the maximum daily dose - 4,000mg for acetaminophen and 3,200mg for ibuprofen.

My insurance is garbage. I feel as though any ER department in my city is basically at its breaking point, so I can't really justify going unless I'm literally dying. That and the massive life-destroying bill I would incur. Thanks for understanding! It's never been more important to go vote, and get everybody we know to go do the same

My insuurance provider does literally nothing except bill me. Wish it had anything like that! Thank you anyway for the thought!

Yes! And if you're anything like me, expect your stomach to feel like raw hell during the 800ibuprofen/500acetominphen onslaught. I'm also on a liquid diet, please pray for me! Lol

I wouldn't recommend cannabis as a panacea for pain if the person has no prior experience with it. I have chronic pain and cannabis makes my pain much worse.

I'm not able to do any kind of smoking, vape or edibles. HOWEVER! There are topical salves out there that help immensely. They're usually 100% on thc and cbd in an oily little tub. That and my massive pain tolerance are what I'm using currently. Excellent tip!!!

Dry socket comes from dislodging the ...(GORE DISCLAIMER) blood clot from the empty tooth socket before it can harden and heal. Epsom salt wont cause that, but the dehyration of the area via salts sure as hell wouldn't help. I totally get the conern, though! Had to look it up to be sure

Who to report to? I was thinking of going full Karen on their office manager, just on principle. I can't imagine how this would be for a patient coming out of a more intensive prcedure!!! But that feels like unsheathing a sword to find a limp cod in your hand...

I'm not sure to be honest, whatever government entity investigates ethics.

You win the oscar for matching my exact feelings with infinitely less outrage

No worries! That does sound frustrating. And recovering from extractions is painful.

As I understand it, the antibiotics are mainly because mouths are full of bacteria. You don't want bacteria breeding in the extraction site and turning into an infection. If your surgeon gave instructions for rinsing with warm salt water, that can keep bacteria from growing there too. Just make sure to be gentle until it starts to heal more.

This is what I mean when I say alternating (just for clarity), devised by oral surgeons, not my vibes:

800mg ibuprofen -> (wait 3 hours) -> 500mg acetominophen -> (wait 3 hours) -> Repeat

This could be all I need for one surgery, or completely useless trash for another... but imo, If you take them both together, you'll feel more pain overall when they wear off. Overlap reduces that with a leapfrog effect. Or not. Just listen to your professionals

Right!? Thanks for replying anyway I guess :)

Ibuprofen/acetaminophen are not narcotics, they're prescription doses of over the counter medications (acetaminophen in particular can destroy a liver if overdosed, hence "prescription strength"). Go to the pharmacy, ask the pharmacist what their advice is and what options you have for OTC meds or emergency antibiotics, based on what you were told by the dentist/oral surgeon. Sorry your dentist office sucks U_U

State dental board. https://www.ada.org/resources/careers/licensure/state-dental-boards

Also, malpractice lawyers will often do free consultation.

Get them fuckers.

Oof, I really feel for you. I hope you can part ways with this pain as soon as possible!

That's a good point, thank you.

Even edibles and topical treatments?

Acetaminophen is supposed to be taken every 4-6 hours while ibuprofen is 6-8 hours. When I've really needed serious pain relief I've waited maybe 5 hours between acetaminophen doses and 7 hours for ibuprofen. Because they're staggered there isn't a period where one of them wasn't working unless the maximum daily dose is hit. I made sure didn't happen by waiting longer between doses when I could.

Just listen to your professionals.

I wish. I've talked to my doctors dozens of times about sometimes needing something stronger for pain relief and not one of them has mentioned combining these two drugs. Instead I had to find out about them by coming across an article on pain relief.

I hope you feel better fast.

Thank you, Sir! Boy is that the truth. Nothing over the counter was designed to do this amount of heavy lifting! They're terrible for your liver, kidneys, and are not nice to your stomach. My pharmacy doesn't want a shred of accountabillity, so I can only consult the pharmacist if I have a prescription to discuss. Womp womp U_U

YASSS! Thank you for giving me a good place to start

Thank you! I wish you many deserved joys for having that kind of empathy!

I'm obviously not a dentist, just a guy who's had 3 teeth extracted over the years. So that's where the salt rinses came from... I should probably have included that the instructions were 3x per day.

Somewhat obviously they used the giggle-gas... but that's more personal preference. Obviously that's generally done with medical supervision. The extraction I will never forget (~30 years later) was a sham dental plan where they ended up wanting an extra few hundred bucks for it that I couldn't afford.

The crazy part is that I'm just following what they wrote in the aftercare instructions. I guess it's considered fine to go ham for a few days in extenuating circumstances? Thank you for the kind wishes!

Yep, should be no issue with opioid checks if it's just a higher dose of normal OTC painkillers. Acetaminophen + oxycodone (Percocet) would likely trigger the check, but it'd be the oxycodone part they're tracking.

Last time I had oral surgery though, they prescribed oxycodone, so might just be worth double checking in case the prescription was for more than just extra strength Tylenol.

i would go to your urgent care, your PCP also can order antibiotics and a strong nsaid over the phone too. i recently had a tooth infection with fever and severe pain needing a root canal/ i contacted my pcp, urgent care to get meds asap.

do you have urgent care in your area? most insurance covers urgent care, ER is quite expensive, if er is your only choice go there. urgent care is far cheaper.

also you can call your pcp for an emegency phone appointment.

you can get ibuprophen and acetaminophen(tylenol) OTC, you can buy them from the store. naproxen is better though then ibuprophen at least for me.

not if you take more than the reccommended amount/day of NSAIDs, aceto and nsaids are fine. i only ever had side effects from nsaids, from the RX version of it, which is a much higher dose.

go to urgent care, or call your urgent care number that your isnurance has in network of your insurance.

I'm alternating between 800mg Ibuprofen and 500mg acetaminophen every 3 hours

Looks like your dosage is wrong. The NHS website confirms that 800mg ibuprofen is twice the generally recommended dosage and 500mg of paracetamol is half the dosage for adults.

My doctor did say it was OK to go over the recommended dosage for ibuprofen to me in the short term so is that maybe where you're getting that? 2400mg a day seems like an ass load though.

If I'm in serious pain I alternate them every three hours but always take the ibuprofen with food as it's harsh on the tummy so my schedule would be, for example:

8am 2 x 200mg Ibuprofen with food
11am 2 x 500mg paracetamol
2pm 2 x 200mg Ibuprofen with food
5pm 2 x 500mg paracetamol
Etc