Toothaches may be small insize — but they can cause a colossal amount of pain.
“Pain is your body’s way of telling you to go to a doctor,” says John
Dodes, DDS, a dentist in Forest Hills, N.Y., and author of
Healthy Teeth.
If you have a severe or persistent toothache or other mouth malady, you
should visit your dentist in case it’s a serious dental health issue
that needs treatment.
However, some minor toothaches and pains can be treated right at home
(or at least mitigated while you wait to see your dentist). Next time
your mouth is troubling you, give these home remedies a shot.
Grab some clove oil. Oil of clove is an age-old
home remedy. It works thanks to the chemical eugenol contained in the
oil, which has anesthetic and antibacterial properties.
To use it for
tooth pain, soak a cotton ball with a mixture made of two to three drops
of clove oil and ¼ teaspoon of olive oil.
Put the cotton ball in your
mouth near the tooth that hurts and bite down to keep it in place. One
caution: Don’t go to sleep with the cotton ball still in your mouth.
The
FDA no longer considers this treatment effective enough to recommend
it, although some dentists still believe it has benefits.Clove oil is
available at pharmacies and health food stores.
Pop in a cough drop. Cough drops or lozenges
usually contain a small amount of anesthetic (menthol and sometimes
benzocaine) — which means they may relieve minor tooth pain, too. Pop
one or two in your mouth and suck on them (don’t chew!).
Another
solution? Apply a dab of Vick’s VapoRub on the outside of your cheek
where your tooth hurts, then place a paper towel on your pillow and lie
down on that side.
Flush it out. Sometimes, the root of your toothache is food that’s trapped between your teeth. In this case, try flossing,
rinsing with mouthwash, or using interdental brushes (small brushes
shaped like Christmas trees that work between the teeth).
In fact, this
home remedy can save you a trip to the dentist’s office — but if food is
constantly getting stuck in your teeth, talk to your dentist, because
there could be an issue with your gums that needs medical attention.
Try these other kitchen staples. Some other home
remedies that have proven to help toothaches include applying a hot tea
bag directly to the tooth. Tea contains tannic acid, which reduces
swelling.
Other solutions: A cucumber slice placed on the tooth or a
cotton ball soaked in brandy - alcohol has numbing properties, too.
Some
people also report that garlic, onions, spinach, wheat grass, or a
simple salt water rinse relieves tooth pain.
Home Remedies for Your Other Mouth Maladies
Canker sore? Use these OTC concoctions. Canker sores
usually go away on their own — but the pain can be excruciating in the
meantime.
While you’re waiting for one to heal, you may find relief by
applying a mixture of half hydrogen peroxide and half water to the sore
with a cotton swab, then follow with a dot of Milk of Magnesia; you can
repeat this up to four times a day.
Another home remedy to try is a
mixture of equal parts Milk of Magnesia and liquid Benadryl; gently
swish the mixture around your mouth for 60 seconds and then spit it out.
Sensitive teeth? Try this toothpaste. If your tooth
feels sensitive to pressure, or when it’s exposed to hot or cold
temperatures, whitening toothpaste is a no-no (it can just make your
teeth more sensitive).
Instead, try this simple solution: Switch to a
no-frills toothpaste or consider buying toothpaste made especially for
sensitive teeth, Dr. Dodes says. “They have chemicals in them that
desensitize the tooth,” he explains. If sensitivity persists, talk to
your dentist, who can investigate the cause.
Got jaw pain? Eat this. Until you can get an
appointment with your dentist to check out your jaw pain — or while you
wait to see if the pain resolves on its own — switch to a diet of softer
foods.
“Don’t eat big, overstuffed sandwiches or hard bagels,” Dodes
says. “Give yourself five or six days of eating a soft-food diet and see
if it gets better. If you twisted your ankle, you wouldn’t run hurdles,
would you?
If it hurts, give it a break.” Just be sure to call your
dentist if the jaw or tooth pain doesn’t go away.
Got swelling? Take these steps. Mouth pain is
sometimes caused by swelling of soft tissues in the mouth. Swelling
should be checked by a dentist because it could be a serious dental
health issue, Dodes says.
In the meantime, try taking an
over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen (Advil
or Motrin).
“Still, if you’re in enough pain that you need a pill,”
Dodes says, “you better get to a doctor because dental pain tends to get
worse and worse.”
Broken tooth? Do this ASAP. If you break a tooth,
get to your dentist as soon as possible — this pearly-white problem
needs immediate assistance.
If you find the piece of tooth that broke
off, you can preserve it at home by putting it in water or milk — don’t
leave it on a counter, for instance, and never scrub it with cleanser,
Dodes says. Sometimes dentists can bond the tooth back on.
“By putting
it in milk, you’re helping to keep the cells alive so that they will
re-grow when it’s reattached.”
