Toothaches can be Frustrating and Painful
Toothaches can be miserable. There are as many home remedies as there are types of tooth pain. Sometimes trial and error is needed to find the right remedy to tide you over until you can see a dentist.
Choosing a Remedy
Because a toothache maybe the sign of a problem with teeth, jaws or an underlying illness, it is ideal to have the pain evaluated by a dentist or health care practitioner. If you have to wait to be seen, using a home remedy may help until your appointment. Relief may be found in your kitchen cupboard, pantry or medicine cabinet. If something doesn't work, there are many different remedies to try.
Help for Tooth Pain from the Kitchen
You may find relief in your kitchen cupboard. Some people find drinking black tea or putting teabags directly on the tooth and gum area helpful. Ice cubes applied to a sore tooth or holding cold water in the mouth can bring relief, but be careful because cold can also aggravate pain. If that is the case, try warm water, or warm water mixed with baking soda.
Put a clove of garlic or small piece of onion directly on to the aching tooth and hold for as long as possible.
Chewing crackers helps some types of tooth pain.
Apply vanilla extract or clove oil to a toothache for quick relief. Soak a cotton ball in the extract or oil and then allow it to sit on the painful tooth.
A tablespoon of baking soda mixed with whiskey and swished around in the mouth is sometimes used to help with a toothache. This is unpleasant, but effective.
Take a drink of milk, holding it in your mouth for as long as possible, allowing the milk to sit on the teeth that hurt. Then swallow or spit.
Rinse frequently with warm salt water. This can be very healing as well as helpful for pain.
From the Medicine Cabinet
Rinse your mouth with hydrogen peroxide: mix a glass of half water and half peroxide and hold some in your mouth for 30 seconds, then rinse with regular water and repeat. Applying full-strength hydrogen peroxide directly onto a painful tooth with a cotton swab can help, too.
Put a dab of sensitivity toothpaste like Sensodyne directly on the tooth and allow it to sit for a few minutes.
Oil of oregano, a popular herbal medicine, is sometimes used to treat mouth pain.
Use ibuprofen, acetaminophen or aspirin as directed. Some patients rotate taking a different over the counter pain medication every few hours, but according to atlantadentist.com, this should only be used temporarily.
Other Tips
In some cases, changing your brushing techniques or switching to a toothpaste for sensitive teeth may offer relief from tooth pain.
If your toothache has been caused by infection, be sure to replace your toothbrush after treatment to avoid reinfection.
Tags: your mouth, baking soda, directly tooth, hydrogen peroxide, kitchen cupboard