Tooth pain happens to nearly everyone sooner or later. If you’re like me, it happens most frequently when you are trying to sleep or away on vacation or some other random time that makes seeing a dentist right away an impossibility. With that in mind, here are a few helpful tips that might help lessen your misery until you can get to an appointment with your sadistic driller dentist.
Anbesol, Orajel, Etc: This one may seem like a no-brainer, but sometimes when you’re in pain, even the most obvious things might be missed. Doesn’t work for everyone, but if you can get to a drugstore, it won’t hurt to try it.
Whiskey, Etc: Don’t drink it, as that will probably just increase your blood pressure and make it worse. Instead, soak a cotton ball in the whiskey or other liquor and press it against the offending tooth and gum for several minutes.
Aspirin: Don’t take it like a pill. Instead, place a tablet over the gum of the painful tooth and allow it to dissolve for a few minutes. Then pain should fade as the aspirin is absorbed.
Ibuprofen (or other NSAID, such as naproxen sodium):Do take it like a pill. It can be more effective than you might think.
B-Vitamin Complex: This may sound like homeopathic hooey, but itworks. The B-Vitamins help sooth nerves and this should have at least some noticeable effect within an hour of taking the pill.
Hair Dryer: Use the low setting to warm your face for a minute or two in the area where the affected tooth is.
Heating Pad: Same principle as the hair dryer, but quieter. Also takes longer to work. Don’t leave it on your face for too long, (no more than a couple of minutes once it warms up) as the heat can cause any infection to spread more rapidly.
Listerine or Viadent: Get the mouthwash into your mouth, avoiding the affected tooth until the wash warms up, and then swish for several minutes. (This may work with other mouthwashes, too, though I’ve never tried it. If Scope is what you have on hand, by all means, try it.)
Icy Hot, Blue Ice, Etc: Massage a bit of the ointment onto the outside of your face all around the affected area. This is especially helpful when the tooth is a wisdom tooth or other molar.
Stand Up: If you’re in bed when the toothache hits, chances are it is the increase in blood pressure from lying down that has triggered the pain. That throbbing you feel is your blood pumping and putting pressure on your nerve with each heartbeat. Get up and walk around – nothing strenuous, just slow walking. If you do this while employing one or two of the tips above, it should increase the effectiveness of the pain relievers, etc, as well as giving them time to “kick-in” before you lie back down and get your BP up again.