The unexpected, abrupt pain in your tooth may convert your good day into a bad mood in a split second. I am a long-term practitioner of dental care. When a toothache strikes, it doesn’t come at a convenient time – it tends to attack you on the weekend, during a holiday, or just before an important appointment.
However, the positive side is that you do not need to keep silent about it. Finding relief is easy and does not involve any dangerous expedience, right from the comfort of your house. Here, I will share some of my old tricks that can help you control tooth pain until you can visit a dental office. Now, let’s cover the most frequently asked questions I receive every day, and you’ll feel better in no time!
What is causing my tooth to ache suddenly?
Your tooth may not be behaving properly for several reasons, and identifying these reasons can help you correct it more quickly. A typical cavity has become deep enough to damage the nerve in your tooth. It is equivalent to having a small bully tapping away at the most crunchy and tender part of your tooth!
Some devious reasons include cracked teeth (possibly due to chewing ice or hard candy), unhealthy gums that expose the tooth roots, or even pressure on the sinuses that forces the upper teeth down. There are times when food lodges between the teeth and causes pressure, which appears like a toothache.
I am a professional dentist in McKinney, and I often meet patients who grind their teeth at night, even without being aware of it. This may leave the teeth super painful in the morning. Achy teeth may also be caused when one consumes hot coffee or ice cream, which causes the temperature to shift and, consequently, the pain. It lies in determining what is bothering your tooth to come up with the appropriate solution.
Do Gels or Ointments Exist, Which Are Instant?
Some of the heroes are just waiting there in your medicine cabinet or nearby pharmacy, in over-the-counter forms.
Clove oil acts as a natural anaesthetic; apply a little to a cotton swab and gently rub it on the affected tooth. It functions because it incorporates eugenol, a natural numbing agent that dentists have long used.
Benzocaine gels can give instant relief as well. These may help answer your call on how to stop tooth pain, offering tips to prevent pain impulses from reaching the brain. Dab only a little (just on the tooth and on the gum around the tooth).
It’s great because Ibuprofen helps combat swelling and pain. Follow the directions on the package – it is as though your tooth had a chill pill! Others prefer to use ibuprofen and acetaminophen to alternate every few hours, which suits them best.
Take them to be a bodyguard of pain; they will work until you can visit your dentist to have them removed.
What Is the Best Thing I Can Do at Home to Relieve Tooth Pain?
For answers on how to stop tooth pain fast at home naturally, let’s convert your kitchen into a mini dental first-aid station. The first one is to flush your mouth with warm, salty water – take half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water. This will clean up the area and swell down.
- Your friend is ice, intelligently used. Place an ice pack on the outer side of your cheek and keep it in place for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not put ice on the tooth at all; this may exacerbate the pain.
- Use the peppermint tea bag trick: boil a peppermint tea bag, and then, when slightly cooled, apply the bag to the aching tooth. The natural numbing properties of peppermint will also allow you to feel some control over the tooth pain, effectively.
- A hydrogen peroxide rinse can assist in this; you combine equal amounts of hydrogen peroxide and water and swish that solution around inside your mouth for about 30 seconds, but make sure to spit it out. This helps kill germs that could cause infection.
Make sure that you place your head higher when lying down. Getting strange tooth pain that throbs when additional blood flow to your head occurs, especially when you are lying flat, is sometimes a symptom.
Should I make an appointment when the Pain disappears?
This is one great fact to consider: the absence of pain does not mean you are finished with the issue! Tooth pain is a similar scenario to that of a fire alarm, although it may silence, there is still a chance that there is a fire that requires some form of intervention.
Immediately consult a certified Mackinney dentist if you experience a fever combined with a toothache, face and/or jaw swelling, or if the pain is so intense that you are unable to sleep or concentrate. This may be a sign of an acute infection that requires urgent medical attention.
Intermittent pain, even when it is not bad, should be investigated after a week or two. As a tooth implant dentist, I know that small issues are generally less painful, less expensive, and easier to manage compared to larger, more critical problems that have already become emergencies.
When you have been taking pain medicine for over a day or two to be able to function normally, then it is certainly time to call. Your teeth should not always require medication to feel all right. If there’s something serious, your dentist may suggest tooth filing as a permanent solution.
Never overlook a pain that increases when you bite, take a hot or cold drink or pain that keeps you awake at night.
Is It Possible that My toothache Ache Is a Serious Infection?
Indeed, and that is where we take our responsibilities in dentistry very seriously. Tooth infection (which is most referred to as an abscess) is a potentially dangerous problem when it is not treated, as the infection might spread to other systems of your body.
Signs of danger include swelling, which causes your face to appear lopsided, a persistent bad taste in your mouth, fever, or swollen glands in the neck. If you are unable to swallow properly or open your mouth wide, this is a dental emergency – go to the emergency room or call your dentist.
A small bump or pimple on your gums near the painful tooth may be a sign of an infection at times. Your body attempts to dry out the infection in this way, but that is not enough because you require professional treatment.
Another reason dental infections are so scary is that they can occasionally cause the pain to disappear. This does not mean that it is better; it may mean that the nerve within the tooth has died, but the infection remains there and is spreading. Some dental clinics also offer services such as teeth whitening alongside relieving you of the pain.
Get Immediate Relief with Our Emergency Care!
Dental Emergencies Can’t Wait!
- Immediate Pain Relief
- Same-Day Extractions
- Urgent Dental Treatments
Conclusion
A toothache is not a reason to spoil your day or have sleepless nights! In these basic tooth pain tips, you will now have a set of safety-related, dependable means of seeking at-home relief. These remedies are like a band-aid on a cut; again, they will make you feel better, but you still must address the core issue.
Toothaches are extremely painful, and we understand that they cannot wait for a convenient appointment time. At LiT Dental, our mission is to help you get back to enjoying your life without worrying about the persistent toothache. There is too little time in life to be wading over a painful tooth!
