How Can I Relieve a Toothache at Home?
Nothing disrupts your life more than an unexpected toothache and dental emergency. While you can manage your symptoms at home, it’s important that you schedule an appointment with Robinson Dental as soon as possible. We’re proud to offer three convenient locations with emergency dentists in Cascade, Wayland, and Coopersville, MI.
Until you receive urgent dental care, here’s what you can do at home to find some temporary relief.
Use an Ice Pack
Using an ice pack will help numb away the pain, constrict the blood vessels in your face, and reduce inflammation. If you don’t have an ice pack, a bag of ice cubes or a bag of frozen vegetables will work as well. Just make sure that you wrap whatever you’re using in a kitchen towel so it doesn’t make direct contact with your skin. Prolonged contact with extreme cold can lead to frostbite if you’re not careful.
We recommend using an ice pack for 10 minutes at least three times a day to find temporary relief from dental pain. This will help tide you over until you’re able to see one of our emergency dentists.
Take Over-the-Counter Pain Relievers
Read the instructions carefully before taking over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen. If you’re unsure what pain relievers to take, please feel free to call one of our offices. We’d be more than happy to provide some clarity to the situation so you can find the temporary pain relief you need from a toothache.
Please be wary of any folk remedies that may cause more harm than good. For example, it’s a myth that placing aspirin against your tooth or gums will help relieve dental pain. In reality, placing aspirin on your gums can cause a chemical burn. This is because aspirin contains acetylsalicylic acid.
Sleep While Sitting Up
It’s hard to fall asleep when you’re experiencing a toothache. However, you may be able to find a little relief by propping yourself up before going to sleep. You can accomplish this by propping yourself up in bed with a couple extra pillows or by sleeping in a reclining chair. Doing this will help reduce the pressure in your mouth caused by the increased blood flow from lying down.
Rinse with Warm Salt Water
Mix one teaspoon of salt with about 8 ounces of warm water. Then, swish the mixture in your mouth and spit it into the sink. After rinsing with salt water, try flossing around the painful tooth to see if you can dislodge any food particles that may be stuck and causing discomfort.
Salt water helps because it’s antibacterial. This means that it can help reduce inflammation. It may also help ease pain caused by irritated, swollen gums. Rinsing with warm salt water, combined with other at-home tactics, can help ease the pain associated with a toothache until you’re able to see one of our dentists for emergency dental care.
Schedule Emergency Dental Care
Our emergency dentists in Cascade, Wayland, and Coopersville, MI, are accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment for , please call Robinson Dental at 1-888-WE-C-U-NOW. For non-emergencies, you may also fill out our online contact form and someone from our team will reach out to you soon.