Posts Tagged ‘toothache pain medication’

10 Ways to Treat a Toothache

Posted on: November 8th, 2011 by Nicholas Geller, DDS No Comments

Toothaches are nothing new. We’ve all experienced it in one form or another over the course of our lives. Thankfully, we are experiencing it less and less than our ancestors with advancements in dental care, and regular checkups. But, should you be so unfortunate to get a toothache, there are some simple steps you can take to minimize or possibly eliminate your tooth pain.

10 Tips for Treating Toothaches

1. Take two Aspirin, Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen is best since it does a good job of reducing painful inflammation. However, be sure to read the instructions on the bottle for proper usage whichever you choose.

2. Use Antiseptic Rinse Regularly
Using Antiseptic rinse regularly and brushing 2-3 times per day will help to prevent future toothaches, and relieve minor toothaches in the process.

3. Chew a Clove of Garlic Every Morning
If you try this and loved ones suddenly begin avoiding you – don’t blame us.

4. Apply garlic and salt to the tooth
Mash a clove of garlic together with a pinch of rock salt and apply the paste to the site of the toothache. Garlic has allicin, a powerful antibacterial compound. This is thought to help stop the bacteria which cause toothache.

5. Put cold compress on side of cheek

6. Numb the affected tooth/teeth with a desensitizing agent
Orajel is perhaps the best known tooth-desensitizing agent. However, this remedy will not eliminate a toothache, just numb the area for temporary relief.

7. Chew on a Piece of Onion
Yes, I know this sounds almost as unpleasant, or perhaps more unpleasant to some of you than chewing on garlic cloves. However, onions are bactericidal, so they can kill off the bacteria causing your toothache.

8. Rinse your mouth with water
This can help to remove any food debris that may be aggravating your toothache.

9. Plug the tooth with gauze or wax
Plugging the affected tooth with gauze or wax can reduce it’s sensitivity to air or debris in your mouth. Again, not a cure, but it will help to reduce painful irritation.

10. Elevate your head
Elevating your head can reduce the pressure to the affected tooth and its surrounding area – thus reducing the pain you’re experiencing.

 

When to go to the dentist

If none of these remedies effectively eliminate your toothache, then it’s time to visit your dentist. A good rule of thumb is if the toothache is causing you to lose sleep or consume your attention throughout the day it’s time to see your dentist. Don’t assume that your toothache is no big deal and let it worsen. What you have could be a tooth abscess which needs to be treated right away to avoid the infection from spreading.

Source: Dental Heroes

Natural Remedies for Toothaches

Posted on: October 18th, 2011 by Nicholas Geller, DDS No Comments

A toothache is any soreness, discomfort or pain within or around a tooth, signifying irritation, and swelling, reddening and possible infection with a possibility of abscess. When tooth decay penetrates the pulp chamber or reaches in its close proximity that contains the nerve endings and tiny blood vessels, a toothache starts emerging.You should consider yourself very lucky if you have not gone through the anguish and agony of toothache. But you never know, it can really hurt you in near future. So you should always have some knowledge regarding some home remedies for Toothache Pain Relief. Be prepared to prevent that immediate, unbearable pain. Although, visit to dentist is always on the cards there, these time proven home remedies offer amazing instant relief from the agony of tooth ache.Well, teeth being one of the most important organs of body and due to the tender and delicate nature of the gums encapsuling their bases, you should be extremely cautious while making experiments with your own teeth. The remedies illustrated here are not dangerous as most of the remedies involve treatment with natural products carrying no side effects. Here are some of the remedies which are easily accessible to every one offering great deal of relief from tooth aches. Many say they help! Let us have a look at them.

  1. Using Icepack: Ice offers excellent numbing properties. Hold the ice around affected area and try to compress it there. Most often, the pain gets reduced as it is excellent in suppressing pain at nerve endings.
  2. Get fresh peppermint (approximately 5 grams), add it in one cup of water and boil it, add half tablespoon of salt. Make the water lukewarm and drink it. When ingested, this solution acts as pain killer and can eradicate other pains such as headaches.
  3. Using cucumber: Get cucumber from any vegetable stores, cut it into thicker slices. Hold these pieces on and around the tooth that is paining and it will start working to give soothing effect. If cucumber is refrigerated, it is better as its very chillness acts as catalyst to its soothing effect.
  4. You can try out swig of whiskey over the irritating tooth. Once the gums surrounding absorb some quantity of alcohol, it delivers a kind of anesthesia to the affected area which results in lessening the pain.
  5. Using oats: If toothache is experiencing the presence of abscess at gums then holding oats there can draw out the puss. The pain will be reduced.
  6. Using dried peppermint leaves: Place a small stack of dried peppermint leaves around the aching tooth for 15 minutes and then spit out. Repeat this procedure 10 to 15 times a day. Peppermint acts in a dual way. First, it brings the abscess to the upper surface if there any and then acts as pain killer.
  7. Using real vanilla extracts: Get a cotton ball and put some real vanilla extract on it. Apply it on the inflamed location and you will be amazed to find out that it numbs!
  8. Using Clove: From ancient times, clove oil has been one of the regular instant therapies. If you are not able to find the clove oil, then search your kitchen shelves to find out few cloves. Try to squeeze this towards the painful area. Clove being analgesic in nature will reduce the soreness.
  9. Asafetida: Another miraculous pain killer! Take a half spoon of it and mix it with bit of lemon juice to make the paste of it. Make this paste Lukewarm and apply the mixture with help of cotton ball.
  10. Use of Iodine: just a drop of iodine put on the tooth do the job. But you have to be cautious and you should not swallow it.
  11. Oil of Oregano: Although it tastes bad and leaves a burning sensation behind after application, it has got natural antibiotic properties.
  12. Garlic: Make a paste of garlic and add some rock salt to it. Make a homogeneous mixture to apply on the affected area.

There are a few homemade preventive measures which can be used effectively to counter the emergence of toothache. After each meal and at bed time, rinse with salty water by adding one tablespoon of salt in 12 ounce water. If this doesn’t work, then use the flossing techniques gently. Every day morning, have a gentle massage of gums by fingers using salt.

Most toothaches start at night when there is little you can try than to swallow the pills of pain killer and wait for a dentist in agony. So, just don’t panic. Search your kitchen shelves and you will find numerous ways to get the relief from pain.

Source: Buzzle

How to find Toothache Pain Relief

Posted on: July 12th, 2011 by Nicholas Geller, DDS No Comments


Anyone who’s ever experienced a toothache for more than a few days knows how quickly the situation can turn into a headache. A toothache is usually caused by a bacterial infection or decay that has gone out of hand and may require a visit to the dentist. Until then, there are many products out there that will bring about toothache pain relief. However, not all of those products are effective enough to bring long-lasting relief. The possible remedies to achieve toothache pain relief depend on several factors, but the main one is to identify the problem.  In most cases, toothaches are caused by teeth or jaw problems, such as dental cavities, dental abscesses, teeth sensitivity, root exposure, cracked teeth, gum disease, wisdom teeth, TMJ disorders and other. Unfortunately finding the cause of the pain is sometimes difficult even for the dentist without a detailed examination.

The main method to relieve tooth pain is the use of painkillers, but you can also try several home remedies to stop a toothache. Always remember that toothaches must be treated by a dentist, any tooth pain relief remedies should only used as temporary and never as long term solutions. Some of the available toothache remedies may help in some cases, but contradict making the pain worse if the cause is different. Therefore you should always call a dental office (if you can not visit one) and ask the advice of a dentist for the most suitable remedy for temporary pain relief based on your symptoms.

How to find Toothache Pain Relief

After you have arranged your appointment with the dentist, the following remedies are believed to help alleviate some of the tooth pain until you get professional care:

Clean the mouth

The first thing you can do after experiencing a toothache is to make sure that your mouth is clean from dental plaque bacteria and food debris. Gently brush and floss teeth or use an interdental cleaner to remove any food particles trapped between teeth or between teeth and gums that may cause irritation and toothache. Sometime the pain is caused by food debris lodged into a cavity; removing it will immediately relieve the pain.

Rinse with salt water

Rinsing the mouth with lukewarm to warm salt water can also help not only in cleaning the mouth but also to ease gum swelling and provide some toothache pain relief. Salt water is also reducing the risk of tooth infection.

Toothache pain medication

Several types of medications can be used to reduce or stop a toothache. Some of them are only available on prescription, but many can be bought over the counter and may help until you visit your dentist or physician.

  • Over the counter pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen have analgesic or anti-inflammatory properties (ibuprofen) and they can offer enough pain relief to make the toothache tolerable.
  • Prescription pain medications such as Vicodin containing hydrocodone are stronger analgesics that can help in case of severe toothache.
  • Antibiotics should be taken, additionally to painkillers, when the cause of the tooth pain is an infection, such as in a tooth abscess. Fighting the infection can reduce inflammation and relieve the toothache.
  • Numbing gels such as Anbesol or Orajel can be placed on the painful tooth and provide temporary relief by numbing the area, but they can not help with severe toothaches.

It is advisable that you call your dentist or physician for approval before taking any pain medication, even the OTC ones, especially if you take and other medications.

Sensitivity toothpaste

Brushing teeth with a special toothpaste for sensitive teeth can definitely help if you have a tooth sensitivity problem that causes the pain. It may also help in case of a mild toothache due to a cavity or after a dental treatment as placing a filling or a crown. In this case you can put some toothpaste directly on the painful tooth.

Apply cold

Applying a cold compress or an ice pack on the outside of the mouth over the area that hurts may relieve the pain. The use of cold will help also to reduce any swelling. Apply the ice for 10 to 20 minutes of every hour, taking it on and off during this time to avoid freezing the skin surface.

Applying heat is also suggested but only for certain cases such as in toothaches caused by muscle tension (TMJD). Do NOT apply heat when you have a tooth infection, tooth abscess or swelling. Heat may help spread the infection, expand the swelling and worsen the tooth pain.

Temporary filling

If you have a cavity, or a fractured / broken tooth, or a filling or crown is damaged or lost, the dentin becomes exposed causing tooth pain. In some pharmacies you may find a temporary filling material to cover the damaged tooth and stop the toothache. If that is not possible you may try an alternative remedy covering the tooth with a piece of raw potato to isolate it from external stimuli that irritate the nerves.

Other toothache home remedies

Several other toothache pain relief home remedies have been suggested, using materials available in our home, natural herbs and essential oils. The most popular home remedies to stop a toothache are those involving the use of clove oil and tea bags.

  • Clove oil’s main ingredient is eugenol, which is used also by the dentists as a dental analgesic and anti-infective during filling or root canal treatments. Soaking a small piece of cotton ball with clove oil and placing it on the affected tooth for about an hour at a time works well in relieving tooth pain.
  • Tea contains tannins that can help numb the pain and reduce soreness. For better results you should put a frozen tea bag directly on the sore tooth.
  • Other remedies recommend the use of garlic, onion, vanilla extract, oil of oregano and many others.

Always remember that toothaches must be treated by a dentist. Any toothache pain relief remedies should only used as temporary and never as long term solutions.


Source: Emergency Dentist 24/7