Home Remedies for Toothache: What to Avoid and What Really Helps

Home Remedies for Toothache: What to Avoid and What Really Helps

Toothaches throw people into creativeness. Burning at 2 a.m., the bill to the dentist dreads, and all of a sudden, the most dubious remedies sound reasonable. Somewhere online, a person lost chews garlic, and "draws out pain" is declared before neighborly suggestions of aspirin on the tooth. In your half-asleep, desperate state, it sounds right now. 

Here's why not.

The Why of Toothaches

The usually occurring pain is when irritation to the pulp takes place-the soft material encased in your tooth. There are cavities, cracks, or infections which create inflammation, but the pulp is surrounded by hard wall structures hence there is fast pressure. Surface burning, numbing, rinsing to relieve usually does not touch the real cause.

Home Remedies for Toothache: What to Avoid and What Really Helps

When to avoid such Home Experiments

Some symptoms aren't worth waiting out. Swelling in your face, fever, pain keeping you awake at night, difficulty swallowing, or even sudden numbness in your lip? Certainly not "oh just give it a day," those are "call that dentist now" moments.

Things People Attempt (Which Don't Assist Much)

1) Aspirin to the gum – Unfortunately will do nothing to the nerve, but will burn gum tissue.

2) Straight hydrogen peroxide rinse – Nasty enough for your mouth, but it won't reach the source.

3) Swishing whiskey or vodka – Dry tissues, numbness for the hour, then back at square one.

4) Raw clove oil spoonfuls – Too much burns the gums; small doses diluted sometimes work but are rarely long-lasting.

5) Garlic paste or onion slices – Strong flavors, very little relief.

6) Baking soda with lemon juice – Erosion of enamel.

7) Ice cubes on the tooth – Often sharper; better cold compress on the cheek.

8) Hot packs – Can worsen swelling in infected areas.

9) Oil pulling – Nothing more than a temporary solution.

10) Packing salt crystals – Abrasive, not healing.

11) D.I.Y. "fillings", made using wax or glue – Also risky; now there's dental cement available at the pharmacy, which is much safer.

12) Leftover antibiotics – Usually, these do little for toothaches and, in fact, may do more harm than good.

Why These Ideas Keep Flying Around

A toothache would naturally come and go sporadically, before the next episode. Then try out a home remedy right before that period of respite, and the person would likely credit the method and not coincidence. Throw in a bit of placebo effect, a bit of a personal anecdote, and the myth spreads.

What You Could Actually Do that Counts 

1) Rinse gently with warm salt water. It cleans without causing additional irritation. 

2) Take over-the-counter medicine for pain-remedy-use exactly as it is indicated on the label. 

3) Cold compress application to the cheek for 10-15 minutes at a time. 

4) Keep any kind of food away from the sick tooth; also, exclude hot and cold extremes. 

5) In the event that a crown or filling has fallen off, use temporary dental cement obtained from a pharmacy until you see your dentist. 

Final verdict

Mostly, "miracle" cures for toothache do not cure any. They may, at best, mislead you with feel-good sensations for a few minutes; at worst, they do damage to your teeth or gums. Keep things simple, avoid anything harsh or caustic, and have teeth healed by a dentist. 

Toothaches do not heal on their own, but waiting to go to the real thing for a long time can be made easier and much less risky by not following bad advice.