whitebear, try anbesol, its an adult strength get that you rub on the tooth/gum and is pretty good.
i went through a few tubes of it when i had a similar problem as elvis, the side of my face came up like a balloon and was sooooooo painful, unearale to touch.
i never did go to the dentist, i know i should have done, ut i fear them and its flared up like that a few times (luckily ive not had it for about a year now)
mine burst on the outside of my face of all things, not inside! lol ... and my god did some rubbish ooze out, infact it almost pumped out! loads of it!!! but what a lovely relief it was to my face afterwards though lol.
ive still got a little dent like scar just under my jaw/chin where it erupted.
try that anbesol get and keep rinsing your mouth out to keep it clean. the gel kind of numbs the area a bit and eases the pain. you can get it from boots for about £3 ish.
if you can, try and get to the dentist cus you dont want to end up with a face like mine and elvis do you lol. - not a pretty sight!
hope the pain eases for you bear as theres nothing worse is there, good luck xx