What to do if your tooth hurts
Medicines
Folk remedies
Causes
If children have toothache
Toothache can occur unexpectedly and take you by surprise in the most inopportune place. Let's look at how to relieve pain before going to the dentist in this article.
What not to do if you have a toothache
The goal of first aid for dental pain is to alleviate suffering and create tolerable conditions for the patient before going to the dentist. And it is advisable to do this without serious health complications for the sake of five-minute relief. Therefore, it is worth knowing first of all what not to do.
Do not apply heat. If you suffer from acute toothache, it is not recommended to heat either the tooth itself or the cheek. Severe toothache indicates the presence of an inflammatory or infectious process. By applying warm compresses or using other heating methods, you stimulate blood flow to the pathological area. Instead of one diseased tooth, you can get a complication affecting the entire dentition.
If a tooth hurts, it is much more effective to replace warm compresses with briefly applied ice;
Use medications carefully. You cannot blindly believe everything that is written on the Internet. Severe toothache can be effectively relieved or alleviated only in a dental office. All other methods give only an insignificant short-term effect; you should not expect a miraculous cure from them. Do not inject painkillers into the gums yourself, and do not use medications not intended for this purpose to relieve toothache. For example, an aspirin tablet applied to a disturbing tooth can cause severe burns to the mucous membrane, but will not bring relief;
Bed rest is not for you. If you are taken by surprise by an acute toothache, it is better to resist it on your feet or while sitting. The half-sitting position is the very compromise that will allow you to more comfortably endure an unpleasant and exhausting situation and will not cause even more harm to the aching tooth. The fact is that when a person is in a horizontal position, the blood flow to the diseased tooth increases. Increased pressure is created around the already irritated nerve endings and severe toothache becomes simply unbearable. If an acute toothache catches you at night, place the pillows higher, lean back on them and try to take a nap in this position;
Hot rinses and folk remedies. Most ways to relieve tooth pain are based on traditional methods of treatment and pain relief. And the vast majority of recipes advise using hot rinses. You can't do this! But if you use these same herbal decoctions warm, the effect can be very positive, in extreme cases, harmless.
What to do if your tooth hurts
First aid for a toothache begins with identifying the causes of the discomfort and eliminating irritating factors. Toothache can be caused by various irritants:
- Hot or cold food and drinks;
- Cold air;
- Sweet, sour, salty foods and drinks;
- Pressure drop;
- Head position;
- By pressure or other influence;
- Food getting into the carious cavity;
- Other mechanical effects on the tooth.
As soon as it becomes clear why the tooth hurts at a particular moment, it is necessary to stop the irritating influence. After this, consult a doctor for help. If the appointment is postponed for a long time, then it is worth taking painkillers.
Lifestyle after surgery: general recommendations
- avoid physical activity, do not lift weights - you must stop doing sports in the next month after implantation,
- avoid hypothermia and overheating - it is recommended to avoid visiting baths, saunas, swimming pools, swimming in the sea/lake also for 1 month,
- stop smoking (if possible) and drinking alcoholic beverages,
- in the first 3-5 days you should avoid air travel,
- If an implantation of the upper jaw has been performed, including a sinus lift procedure (displacement of the maxillary sinus), you must cough, sneeze and blow your nose very carefully - without opening your mouth or puffing out your cheeks (after bone augmentation, any pressure changes and overloads are prohibited).
Medicines for toothache
There are many painkillers in pharmacies that are quite effective in helping when a tooth hurts. However, when choosing medications without a prescription and doctor’s recommendations, it is worth remembering that each medicine has a number of contraindications and side effects, so you need to carefully read the instructions, and, if possible, check with pharmacists and pharmacists for information.
The following medications are used to relieve toothache:
Analgin; | Indomethacin; | Piroxicam; |
Denebol; | Ketanov; | Solpadeine; |
Diclofenac; | Ketoprofen; | Tempalgin. |
Ibuprofen; | Naproxen; |
For local anesthesia and gum disease, Kalgel, Dentinox, Cholisal, Kamistad and Mundizal are suitable. You can also use herbal rinses. They have a calming and antiseptic effect.
For whom is hydrogen peroxide rinsing contraindicated?
Hydrogen peroxide is a rather aggressive chemical compound. In this regard, its use has a number of contraindications:
- individual intolerance,
- childhood,
- increased tooth sensitivity caused by thinning enamel (we recommend reading: how quickly can you cure tooth sensitivity?),
- taking a number of medications and antibiotics.
Peroxide solution should be used with extreme caution to rinse the mouth during pregnancy and lactation. In these cases, use is possible only with strict adherence to precautions and complete exclusion of the drug from entering the body.
Folk remedies for toothache relief
The most popular folk remedies are also based on rinsing the mouth with a decoction of various herbs, as well as applying various non-heating compresses to the sore tooth.
The most effective rinses are:
Sage; |
Oregano; |
Oak bark; |
Chamomile decoction; |
Calendula; |
A solution of soda, salt and iodine. |
Pain in the teeth is well relieved by compresses or acupressure on the sore tooth. To do this, use tampons or cotton pads soaked in a medicinal solution or containing a medicinal substance. This may serve as:
- Propolis;
- Essential oils;
- Alcohol or strong alcohol;
- Garlic or onion-garlic mixture with salt.
Do not forget about the simplest and surest way to temporarily numb the tooth that is bothering you. Just take an ice cube out of the freezer and apply it briefly to the sore area. The cold freezes and stops all processes, so the pain will subside for a while. Do not apply cold for a long time, as it can chill the nerve endings.
Acute toothache
It appears very unexpectedly and is rapidly gaining strength. Pain in the teeth can be so severe that a person may lose consciousness for a while.
Severe toothache can occur when eating, while talking, while drinking a cup of coffee, when clenching your jaw, turning or tilting your head, climbing stairs, and even just while breathing. During each of these actions, the sensitive tooth will encounter irritants and react with severe pain:
- For hot food or water;
- To cold air;
- To change pressure and increase blood circulation.
In this case, toothache can be short-term, occur only in the presence of irritating factors and subside after their removal, incessant, or it can appear and disappear.
In any case, toothache is a reason to immediately consult a doctor. Without delay and expectation of serious complications.
Muffled pain in teeth
This is a toothache that a person is used to putting up with and has adapted to live with. It is not as severe as an acute toothache, but it is unpleasant and poisons life. It can be permanent or periodic, occur with a certain pattern, in response to known stimuli, or on its own.
The cause of muted pain is various diseases of the oral cavity. Even the first sensations of pain are a reason to consult a doctor. Most serious illnesses begin with a completely tolerable pain reaction. But if you don’t visit the dentist in time, you can get pulpitis instead of regular caries, and instead of bleeding gums, you can lose a tooth. To prevent this from happening, you don’t have to endure it when your tooth hurts; you need to immediately make an appointment with a doctor.
Possible causes of toothache
Caries at different stages can cause pain in the teeth. As a result of poor oral hygiene, tartar forms on the teeth, and as a result, caries develops. Gradually, the tooth enamel will be destroyed, and the internal sensitive tissues of the tooth will begin to be affected. In the first stages of caries development, the tooth may react painfully to hot and cold. When the nerve is already inflamed, toothache may occur as a result of food or water coming into contact with it. Self-medication will not help here: the cause of pain can only be eliminated in a doctor’s office;
abscess or gumboil. Purulent deposits form directly in the gums. In this case, the pain in the teeth is quite sharp and throbbing. There is severe swelling in the oral cavity; in particularly severe cases, the entire cheek may become swollen;
Pulpitis is a logical continuation of advanced caries, which causes severe pain in the teeth. When a tooth hurts due to pulpitis, unexpected severe attacks can be experienced at any time of the day or night, with irradiation into the ear or temple;
Mechanical damage . Tooth trauma, chipped enamel, damage to the crown of the tooth - all this will inevitably lead to pain. If the enamel is damaged, but the nerve remains intact, then pain may not occur immediately, but if you do not consult a doctor in a timely manner, an inflammatory process of the pulp may begin;
Various gum diseases - periodontitis, periodontitis, exposure of the necks of teeth. All these diseases often begin with bleeding gums and have very serious consequences, including tooth loss. Therefore, they definitely require treatment at the dentist’s office.
Ingestion
A peroxide solution is used for oral administration. To prepare it, mix 1 drop of the product with 50 ml of warm water. During the course of treatment, the dosage is increased by adding one drop every day, bringing their number to 10.
The solution should be taken 30 minutes before meals, or 2 hours after. The course of treatment involves taking the drug 3 times a day for 10 days. After this time, take a break for 3 days, and then repeat it all over again.
When treated with hydrogen peroxide, side effects may occur, such as skin reactions, indigestion, nausea. If the listed symptoms do not go away after a few days, further treatment should be abandoned.
Important! Under no circumstances should hydrogen peroxide be taken undiluted, nor should the dosage be exceeded.
Tooth pain in children
An adult can still endure toothache. But when a child has a toothache, it is no less painful for a parent, since it can be very difficult to help in such a situation. Pain in the teeth, or more precisely in the gums, begins in the first year of life, when the baby begins to teethe. In this case, there is no need to urgently run to the dentist for help. A scheduled visit to a specialist as part of a scheduled medical examination is sufficient.
Special teething toys with a cooling effect, toothpastes and silicone brushes for babies, as well as local painkillers will help relieve your baby’s toothache during this period. The most popular and safest for the health of children are Kalgel and Cholisal.
If the problem is not teething, and the baby is worried about something else, for example, problems with the gums or oral mucosa, this is a reason to urgently consult a doctor. Even at such an early age, a dentist can diagnose candida or gingivitis. Proper oral hygiene and timely local treatment will help quickly solve the problem.
Your baby may experience toothache when baby teeth emerge. The very first serious disease is bottle caries. An incorrect diet and prolonged use of a bottle can lead to complete loss of the front baby teeth, so regular visits to the dentist are mandatory from an early age.
After bottle caries, the most common caries of baby teeth can develop. It is very difficult to treat such teeth, since fillings do not adhere well to small teeth. It is much easier and more effective to prevent the development of the disease. Today, pediatric dentistry offers many ways to preserve baby teeth.
When are peroxide rinses effective?
The antiseptic and bactericidal properties of hydrogen peroxide help fight pathogens that contribute to the development of various oral diseases. These are diseases of the teeth and gums, lesions of the mucous membrane and soft tissues. Bacteria lead to infection of the oral cavity and cause inflammation when they enter the cavities of a decaying tooth.
Rinsing with an antiseptic solution destroys pathogenic microorganisms, which disinfects the oral cavity, eliminates unpleasant odor and helps eliminate plaque on the teeth and tongue. The effect of peroxide can be enhanced by combining it with other medicinal products: tinctures, herbal decoctions and extracts of medicinal plants (see also: is it possible to rinse your mouth with hydrogen peroxide and how to do it correctly?). For dental problems, chamomile, sage, oak bark, calendula, as well as propolis and soda with salt are widely used (we recommend reading: how is rinsing the mouth with soda done?).
Gum diseases
When treating damage to the gums, as well as the formation of wounds and ulcers on the mucous membrane and soft tissues, it should be taken into account that the concentration of the solution required to destroy pathogenic microflora damages some of the resulting cells. This interferes with wound healing, so frequent rinsing can lead to scarring and significantly increase tissue recovery time.
Hydrogen peroxide is suitable for use for the following gum diseases:
- stomatitis,
- periodontitis,
- gingivitis,
- periodontal disease.