EDIT; I can’t reply to everyone individually but thanks for all the suggestions! Opiates are out of the question, doctors here will only prescribe those in terms of absolutely extreme suffering or end of life care. I also don’t particularly feel interested in developing a hard drug habit. Diclofenac and such are available but also only on separate prescriptions, I’d have to visit another doctor for that. I’m well stocked on paracetamol & ibuprofen, and apart from that, lots of ice cream, pudding & soup :)
Also, since a fair few people seem to doubt the veracity of my story, here’s the 22 extracted teeth (the other 10 were already gone in previous extractions).
Pain meds get denied all the time. There are many reasons a surgeon might want to pull all teeth (although I agree thats extreme). Medical malpractice happens. And yes sometimes healthcare will approve tooth removal over other treatments. One of my friends couldn’t afford a root canal and his insurance only approved tooth removal so… that’s what happened.