Aspirin and heart disease

There is only one correct way to solve the problem of toothache that has appeared - to consult a dentist. If you start treatment in a timely manner, you can forget about tooth pain forever, and there will be much fewer negative consequences. But it is not always possible to cure a bad tooth on the same day, and the pain can become unbearable. In such cases, you have to take painkillers.

The most common remedies for toothache are Aspirin and Drotaverine (No-shpa). These are quite effective medications, so they are in any first aid kit. However, modern analgesics with selective action undoubtedly win in the fight against toothache.

Why can your teeth hurt?

This figure shows the stages of tooth destruction: caries – deep caries – pulpitis – periodontitis.

When the nerve endings in the pulp chamber are irritated, toothache appears. However, with different dental diseases, pain has different mechanisms of formation:

1. The pain that occurs with dental caries is short-term. It has a relatively low intensity and in most cases does not require the use of analgesics.
2. Toothache, provoked by inflamed pulp and swelling of connective tissue, is permanent. Such pain does not go away on its own, and can be weakened by anti-inflammatory drugs: ibuprofen, aspirin, ketorolac. The pain in the tooth is finally relieved after appropriate treatment.
3. Periodontitis of the tooth causes pain similar to that arising from pulpitis, but of less intensity. Painkillers will completely eliminate such pain. But a visit to the doctor should not be put off for long, since without dental treatment, there is a risk of adverse consequences and the disease becoming chronic.

Does acetylsalicylic acid help with toothache?

This organic compound is the oldest non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. This substance is a chemical modification of salicylic acid, isolated in free form back in the mid-nineteenth century from willow bark, which has been used for centuries in folk medicine as an antipyretic. At the end of the 19th century, the German chemist Felix Hofmann obtained acetylsalicylic acid by chemical treatment of salicylic acid, which was patented under the commercial name “Aspirin”.

Like other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as metamizole, diclofenac, ketorolac, ibuprofen, etc., aspirin interferes with the formation of prostaglandins in inflamed tissues. Certain types of these chemicals are responsible for the pain, swelling, and fever of inflammation. As a result of suppressing the formation of these compounds, the symptoms of the inflammatory process are alleviated.

Aspirin for toothache

Aspirin is used quite widely - in particular, as a means to bring down the temperature during febrile conditions, and also as a drug for the treatment of rheumatoid and cardiovascular pathologies.

Toothache can be either inflammatory or non-inflammatory in nature. Thus, in the case of deep carious tooth destruction, the cause of pain is not the inflammatory process, but a change in fluid pressure in the dental tissue that occurs under the influence of irritating factors of a chemical or thermal nature. This kind of pain is relatively mild, passes quickly enough and does not require the use of anti-inflammatory drugs to eliminate. If the pain caused by caries is too long and causes noticeable discomfort, then you can use dental drops or herbal rinses to relieve them.

Typically, the cause of lingering pain during caries, which continues after the removal of the irritant, is a psychological factor. A person focuses his attention on the feeling of pain, as a result of which he exaggerates and prolongs his pain sensation. Therefore, in such a situation, sedatives, such as, for example, tincture of valerian or motherwort, can help.

When caries turns into pulpitis, pain has a different origin. The cause of pain in this situation is the pressure exerted by the swollen pulp tissue on the nerve endings. In this case, tissue swelling occurs in a limited space, and therefore the nerves are constantly under pressure, as a result of which the patient experiences prolonged intense pain. The action of analgesics temporarily reduces the swelling of the pulp, and the pain thereby weakens, or is not even felt at all for some time.

The cause of pain during periodontal inflammation is the same as in the case of pulpitis. However, with periodontitis, the inflamed tissue is not in a limited space, so the pain in this case is not as acute as with pulpitis. Analgesics in this situation are more effective than when the pulp is inflamed.

No analgesic can stop the inflammatory process in a tooth completely. The maximum possible effect from the use of anti-inflammatory drugs in this situation is temporary relief of the symptoms of inflammation. Therefore, toothache always means the need to immediately visit a dentist.

Does it make sense to take aspirin for toothache?

The strength of the analgesic effect of an analgesic is determined by how effectively it suppresses the formation of precisely those prostaglandins that are responsible for the appearance of edema during inflammation. In addition to these prostaglandins, there are two more groups of these substances:

• useful prostaglandins, which ensure regeneration of the gastric mucosa and to a certain extent regulate the tone of blood vessels, as well as smooth muscles of the bronchi;
• prostaglandins responsible for hyperthermia during the inflammatory process.

In general, analgesics can be divided into two groups:

1. Non-selective analgesics that inhibit the formation of all three groups of prostaglandins. Such drugs, as a rule, poorly relieve pain and have a relatively high potential for side effects.
2. Selective analgesics that do not affect the formation of beneficial prostaglandins and are therefore less prone to side effects. The action of such drugs is more focused, and therefore they have a greater analgesic effect than non-selective anti-inflammatory drugs.

Medicines containing acetylsalicylic acid are classified as non-selective analgesics. While a good antipyretic, aspirin has a weak analgesic effect. For toothache, this medicine has almost no desired effect. Taking into account that taking acetylsalicylic acid can lead to very undesirable consequences, such as damage to the gastrointestinal tract and bronchospasm, it is safe to say that it is not advisable to use this remedy in case of toothache. At the same time, the use of some combined analgesics containing acetylsalicylic acid as an additional component can give a positive result.

The use of aspirin for toothache makes sense only when the inflammatory process is accompanied by hyperthermia. In addition, acetylsalicylic acid should be used when it is necessary to prevent the formation of blood clots, since this substance has the property of thinning the blood.

At the same time, precisely because of this property, aspirin should not be taken two days before a visit to the dentist, if there is a possibility that a tooth will be removed or even just cleaning and filling the root canals. When using aspirin before such manipulations, the risk of bleeding, which is difficult to stop, increases significantly.

Action of aspirin

Aspirin is a drug for the symptomatic relief of dental, headache, and muscle pain.
The composition of aspirin includes acetylsalicylic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Most often, aspirin is often prescribed to relieve tooth pain.

Attention! Acetylsalicylic acid deactivates the enzyme that affects the synthesis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. The former are responsible for the development of inflammation, the latter are involved in the process of blood clotting.

This is the mechanism of action of all non-narcotic painkillers, but these drugs vary in safety and effectiveness.

The chemical structure of prostaglandins (PGs) varies. There are 3 types of PGs:

• 1st type of PG – beneficial (natural). Type 1 does not trigger an inflammatory reaction, but restores the gastric mucosa;
• Type 2 PG – activates inflammatory processes and increases swelling, and also irritates nerve endings. Type 2 is the main target for pain medications;
• Type 3 PG increases the temperature, but the intensity of pain does not change.

Medicines containing acetylsalicylic acid, including aspirin, are not selective, that is, selective. They stop all types of agents that provoke inflammation. Such drugs relieve pain symptoms, lower body temperature, but also cause side effects. This may be increased bleeding, bronchospasms and others.

Selective anti-inflammatory modern drugs do not have serious contraindications, since they do not affect the synthesis of beneficial PGs and have an enhanced analgesic effect.

Due to its low pain-relieving ability, aspirin is often useless for relieving toothaches. An exception is the use of aspirin in combination with other drugs. It can be used in case of pathological processes due to the presence of fever or the need for the antiplatelet effect of the drug.

How dangerous is it to take aspirin for toothache?

In view of the weak ability of acetylsalicylic acid to relieve pain, it makes sense to use this drug as an anesthetic only when the pain is very mild. But in such a situation, it is not at all necessary to use anti-inflammatory drugs - traditional methods of relieving toothache - for example, rinsing with salt or herbs - can help. If the pain is weak and there is nothing else suitable in your home medicine cabinet, then you can try to dull the pain with aspirin. However, if this medicine does not help, then you should not try to achieve an effect by increasing its dose. Despite the fact that acetylsalicylic acid is very popular and is sold in pharmacies without a prescription, it is far from harmless. Taking more than the recommended dose of this medicine may cause serious consequences, such as:

• renal pathologies;
• liver dysfunction;
• brain damage;
• excessive sweating;
• allergies - up to deadly Quincke's edema.

Due to the irritating effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the mucous membrane of the digestive system and its ability to suppress the formation of beneficial prostaglandins, when using aspirin in large doses, there is a high risk of exacerbation of existing pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, including peptic ulcers. The result may even be bleeding.

A less serious, but still unpleasant consequence of taking aspirin is dyspepsia or indigestion, which manifests itself in a feeling of pain, heaviness and discomfort in the abdomen in the stomach area.

The risk of damage to the gastrointestinal tract from taking aspirin is significantly reduced if the drug is taken exclusively after meals. It is advisable to crush the tablets and drink them with plenty of water. To eliminate the effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the gastric mucosa, tablets of the drug are produced, coated, dissolving only when they enter the intestines.

Long-term use of aspirin can cause anemia.

A very serious consequence of taking aspirin, which can be fatal, is aspirin asthma. With such a reaction to the use of acetylsalicylic acid, bronchial spasm is often combined with signs of allergy and the formation of nasal polyps (the so-called aspirin triad). If the patient has ever had such a reaction to aspirin, then he needs to take other non-steroidal analgesics with great caution.

Instructions for acetylsalicylic acid: overdose

Who should not take aspirin for toothache?

The use of acetylsalicylic acid has age restrictions - it is currently not recommended to give this medicine to children under fifteen years of age.

In addition, aspirin is contraindicated in the following cases:

1. With general intolerance to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, manifesting itself, in particular, as the aspirin triad.
2. For pathologies of the digestive system of an ulcerative and erosive nature, especially during an exacerbation.
3. For bleeding of the stomach and intestines.
4. For renal and liver failure.
5. With increased bleeding syndrome.
6. For hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.
7. With a lack of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.
8. During pregnancy, especially during the first and last three months.
9. While breastfeeding.

In addition, aspirin should not be used while taking methotrexate if the weekly dose of the latter exceeds 15 milligrams.

Action of Drotaverine

Drotaverine is a drug that has an antispasmodic, myotropic, vasodilator, and hypotensive effect.

The drug Drotaverine, or No-shpa, is not an analgesic or anti-inflammatory agent. This is a remedy for eliminating spasmodic symptoms. It relieves cramps and menstrual pain quite well. Drotaverine can even relieve headaches, stomach and intestinal spasms, but it does not eliminate toothache.

Local anesthetic effect

The use of aspirin or No-shpa does not systematically relieve toothache. Is it possible to use these drugs to obtain a local anesthetic effect? How effective is this?

• drotaverine does not have a strong local analgesic effect, but mild anesthesia occurs when taking it. Also, when using it, symptoms such as numbness of the tongue and mucous membranes in the mouth appear. No-spa is convenient as a local anesthetic because it has no obvious adverse reactions;

No-spa is a local anesthetic that relieves pain and has no side effects.

• Sometimes aspirin is placed inside the tooth, but this is not recommended. Aspirin is not a local anesthetic, but can be very irritating to the oral mucosa. There may be no anesthesia, but there may be a burn to the mucous membrane.