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Tooth decay, infections, loose or broken fillings, and many other issues can cause toothaches, considerably affecting your quality of life. Painful teeth are more than discomfort: they can lead to migraines, prevent you from sleeping or even eating properly, and leave you with no other alternative than seeking urgent dental care in Miami.
While home treatment options can help reduce discomfort, toothaches are often indicators of a more serious, underlying issue. In this article, we’ll explore common causes for toothaches, explore home remedies, and give you some signs that it’s a dental emergency.
What Causes Toothaches and Why Are They So Painful?
Toothaches are a sign of pain in or around the tooth, as the name suggests. In addition to pain, toothaches can also cause inflammation, bleeding gums, bad breath, fever, jaw pain, and a foul taste in the mouth.
Our bodies are intelligent, and they have several methods for indicating that there may be an issue. In this case, toothache is often a sign of an underlying problem related to your teeth or gums. Many toothaches can result from issues such as:
There are many home remedies and treatments to treat toothache before visiting a dentist, from applying a cold compress to gargling with salt water. Let’s go over some of them in detail.
Often, tooth infections cause inflammation, which can strain your teeth’s nerves and cause discomfort. To reduce this swelling, you can use a cold compress or ice pack to help ease dental pain.
This will also be effective if your pain stems from injury or swollen gums.
Applying a cold treatment reduces blood flow to the injured area by narrowing blood vessels. For a few minutes, press it up against the outer cheek of the tooth that hurts.
Saltwater has several benefits, like helping clean injuries, reducing swelling, boosting healing, and even relieving a sore throat. Furthermore, washing the mouth with warm saltwater aids in dislodging debris from cavities or spaces between teeth.
One teaspoon of salt should be dissolved in a glass of warm water, then the mixture should be swished around in the mouth for approximately thirty seconds before being spilled out.
Cloves is a spice that contains eugenol, a chemical compound that acts as a natural anesthetic. Additionally, they possess antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities that can aid in the fight against gum and tooth infections.
To relieve dental pain, apply a cotton ball soaked in clove oil to the tooth's affected area. Gently chewing a whole clove can also help, as it releases its oil.
Along with menthol, a well-known antibacterial, peppermint also contains numbing qualities that can help with toothaches. To a cup of boiling water, add one teaspoon of dried peppermint leaves, and steep for twenty minutes. After it cools down, move it around the mouth.
Holding a wet, slightly warm peppermint teabag against the tooth for a few minutes until the pain subsides is an additional option.
Due to its antiseptic and antifungal qualities, thyme is a useful treatment for chest infections like bronchitis and whooping cough. To make mouthwash, mix one drop of essential thyme oil with a glass of water.
Another way is to dab a cotton ball with a few drops of water and essential thyme oil, and press it against the painful tooth.
Aloe vera gel, frequently used to treat burns and small cuts, can also help cleanse and soothe gums. Studies have shown that aloe vera has natural antibacterial properties and can kill bacteria that cause tooth decay.
Relief from the painful area of the mouth can be achieved by applying the gel there.
Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are two over-the-counter medications that can momentarily relieve toothache.
Avoid giving aspirin to children under 16 years old, though.
Garlic possesses antimicrobial qualities. It can relieve pain and destroy the bad bacteria that cause dental plaque.
Crush a clove of garlic to make a paste, then apply the paste to the toothache-affected area. You could also add a bit of salt. One other option is to chew a fresh garlic clove slowly.
Applying a tiny bit of an over-the-counter pain reliever containing benzocaine directly to the inflamed gums and teeth can provide momentary relief, but it’s important to do so with precaution.
Benzocaine has been linked to Methemoglobinemia, a rare and serious condition that can be fatal. It reduces the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry.
Therefore, before using any product containing benzocaine, consult your dentist, physician, or other healthcare provider. Also, never use more benzocaine than is recommended and keep it our of reach of children.
How long toothache lasts often depends on the underlying cause, but, as a rule of thumb, reach out to a dentist urgently if it lasts for more than 1 or 2 days.
Without treatment, dental pain might lead to more serious problems, such as gum disease or dental abscess. An abscess results from a bacterial infection in the innermost part of the tooth, which is a dental pulp.
It is critical to diagnose and treat dental infections correctly to stop them from spreading to other areas of the face, skull, and potentially the bloodstream. Due to the teeth’s proximity to important organs like your brain, this can be highly dangerous.
It’s easy to forget, but humans used to pass away frequently due to simple tooth infections. So, if all of the home remedies have failed and the pain hasn’t subsided, it’s important to seek urgent treatment. Other key signs to look out for are:
Depending on the cause of the toothache, we will suggest different treatment options. We will ask you questions about the pain, including when it started, how severe it is, where it is located, what makes it worse, and what makes it better, as the first step in diagnosing the problem.
Your mouth, teeth, gums, jaws, tongue, throat, sinuses, ears, nose, and neck will all be examined, and we will take some X-rays.
Once we can pinpoint where the problem lies, possible treatments include:
Dental pain is often an indicator of an underlying, serious issue. Prompt action is the only way to prevent it from escalating. And, if you aim to avoid toothaches overall, practicing good dental hygiene, avoiding sugary foods and drinks, and visiting Coral Gables Dentistry regularly is crucial.
If you’re due for a check-up or wish to seek professional health care for your toothache, reach out!
We value your time, so we always run on schedule, respecting your commitments, with no double bookings and minimal wait times. Experience dentistry like never before in our award-winning clinic.
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