Toothache Pain Relief Home Remedies


There is nothing worse than going to the dentist. Or maybe there is! Anyone who has ever had a toothache can attest to the immense pain. These folks would gladly visit a dentist if it meant getting rid of their pain. Suffering from a toothache can be very disturbing, particularly if going to the dentist isn’t an option. This may be because a person is out of town on travel or because the dental office is closed. Either way, finding relief from the pain may be possible through the use of toothache pain relief home remedies.

Do toothache pain relief home remedies work?

This depends on the type of toothache. Many people find temporary relief from the use of toothache pain relief home remedies. But unfortunately, many will not work. It depends on the cause of the pain. The only way to know if the remedy will work is to try it out. When it comes to remedies, it is important to know that they aren’t cures to dental problems. Instead, they are simply Band-Aids for the pain, only lessening it until a dental visit is possible.

Toothache pain relief home remedies that work

Finding the very best pain relief using home remedies means knowing what works and what doesn’t. A few remedies will work to decrease pain, while others will do nothing but make the problem worse. There are many different choices. Here are a couple remedies that work well for many toothaches.

  • Use over-the-counter pain medicines. There are many different over-the-counter medications that will work to decrease the pain. A few recommendations include Tylenol, Advil and/or Aspirin. It is possible that one type of medicine will not work, while another will. Some pain relievers will prevent toothaches by working peripherally (via the blood stream) to block important substances that cause pain. Others work more centrally by blocking chemicals that travel along the nerve fibers on their way to the brain. This may be confusing, but it only is to explain that trial and error with over-the-counter medication will yield the best results.
  • Use clove oil to desensitize the pain. Clove oil contains eugenol, which is a mild anesthetic. It is actually used by dentists to desensitize the pulp. When a person has a deep cavity, dentists sometimes drill down deep to get all of the decay out. This may mean getting very close to the pulp, which is what needs to be protected because of the vessels and nerves inside it. The eugenol works to decrease pulpal response. This can work for toothaches too. Simply rub the oil on a cotton ball and place it in the area of pain.

Searching the internet or asking a friend may yield a dozen more options for toothache pain relief home remedies, but they don’t necessarily provide any real relief. To find lasting relief, the only real choice is to go to the dentist. But what if you don’t have the money to go to the dentist? Why should you go if you can handle the pain? These are excellent questions, but the answers may surprise you.

What if you can only afford toothache pain relief home remedies?

It is commonly said that going to the dentist is very expensive. This is true a lot of the time, unfortunately. Dentists must go to school for many years, take on a lot of student loan debt and invest a lot of money to start a dental office. Add to that, the cost of dental materials, paying employees and keeping up with state and federal laws is also not cheap. All of this adds up to a premium charged to patients. This doesn’t mean the patient is getting taken advantage of. Instead, it means the patient is getting the very best care available to them. Gone are the days when barbers offered toot extractions and haircuts! It is truly a science with repeatable treatment results. But offering great care doesn’t mean the patient can always afford it.

So what is a patient to do if they can’t afford the dental care they need? Should they stick with toothache pain relief home remedies? In the short term, that is an option. But long term, the only real solution is to visit the dentist. One option to get around a large dental bill is to ask about payment plans. Many dentists will allow patients to get on these plans and pay a portion of their bill over 6 months, a year or longer, depending on the amount. Other dentists will accept credit cards. These options relieve the cash burden that a large bill would put on them. These solutions allow for the patient to get out of pain, while also not breaking their bank account in the process.

What if toothache pain relief home remedies make the pain go away for good?

The short answer is the toothache pain relief home remedies probably didn’t make the pain go away for good. Instead, the pain probably subsided because the infection killed the nerves that were causing the pain. For those that have dental pain that is severe and lingers, but then goes away, it is possible they have what is called “necrotic pulpitis.” This is characterized by relief of pain, but not relief of infection. The infection isn’t felt, but it is still working itself through the tooth. This will eventually lead to the bacteria going out the end of the tooth and causing the jaw bone to become infected as well. This can lead to the infection spreading further. When this happens, the infection can get into the blood stream and cause life threatening problems.

Choosing not to visit the dentist because the pain has subsided is not a good choice. A simply x-ray and a couple tests are needed to rule out infection. For those that had tissue soreness and used the toothache pain relief home remedies to get relief, it may not be necessary to visit a dentist. The choice between going to the dentist or not after a toothache is a personal one and should be made using a little common sense.