While you should be prepared for other forms of a medical emergency, making sure you are protected for dental complications is often ignored – and that’s a huge mistake. Everyone who has ever experienced a serious toothache would testify to the fact that they can be terrible. If you have toothache, and you can’t get to the dentist right away, you are likely to be looking for a way to alleviate the pain. Here are ten home remedies that can help you deal with an emergency toothache.
#1. Oil Pulling
Generally oil pulling is used as mouthwash. You put about a spoonful of oil in your mouth, suck it around for a while – up to 20 minutes – and then spit it out. Coconut, sesame, and sunflower oils are widely used.
While this solution may sound like a new age method it has actually been around for thousands of years. This was used for several different dental conditions in Ayurveda, an Indian tradition of medicine. Current evidence-based medicine today also indicates pulling oil may be beneficial for dental health. It works because the fatty coatings in your mouth bind to the fats in the oils on the bad single-celled organisms – and when you spit the oil out, the bacteria go with it.
#2. Clove
To toothaches clove is perfect. As well as helping to keep infection under control and helping to minimize inflammation, this spice has the ability to act as a numbing agent that helps with touch pain.
You can use clove essential oil added directly to the sore tooth, ground clove made into a thick paste with your preferred cooking oil used the same way, or you can chew whole cloves near the pain spot. This solution can be applied many times during the day. Keeping a cotton swab soaked in clove oil handy to avoid pain when needed is very convenient.
#3. Oregano
Oregano is a widely used herb for antibacterial purposes, and its essential oil is an excellent way to rapidly alleviate pain caused by toothache.
Place a few drops of the oil on a cotton swab and rub on the infected area around it. It will initially cause a bit of a burning sensation but then it will help relax the area and the oil’s antiseptic and antibiotic properties will help to minimize infection symptoms.
Related: 9 Natural Remedies for Faster Wound Healing
#4. Nutmeg
As with the clove, the antiseptic qualities of nutmeg and the numbing capabilities make it effective as a home remedy for toothache.
This can be used in almost the same way as clove; both spice, ground spice, or essential oil are powerful remedies.
#5. Colloidal Silver
A suspension of silver particles in water, colloidal silver is a material sometimes used for its antibiotic properties. This can usually be found in a pharmacy or in a natural food shop.
Mix a tablespoon of colloidal silver into a glass of warm salt water and gargle with it for a few minutes each time a few times a day to help relieve pain and inflammation from toothache. You can also apply it topically, dropping some onto a ball of cotton, placing it on the affected area, leaving it for a few hours and then changing to a new ball of cotton. Only make sure you don’t take in more than the normal dose you prescribe.
#6. Garlic
Garlic is a very common home remedy for all kinds of infections and it’s thought to be particularly useful for toothaches.
There are a few methods to treat a toothache using garlic.
You can break whole cloves of garlic and add them plain or mixed with salt, or you can thinly slice a clove and add one directly to the affected tooth.
Other methods of using it include chewing a garlic clove or two, or adding a paste of garlic powder, salt, and water to the affected area. Diluted garlic essential oil may also be applied with a cotton swab. Using garlic remedies for several times a day.
#7. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is also used to disinfect wounds and help get rid of emerging infections that don’t require medical attention yet. Also, it can be used for treating toothache.
Simply drink a 3% hydrogen peroxide mixture, either diluted 2 to 1 with water or alone, for a few minutes in your mouth.
You can also only let the hydrogen peroxide stay on the affected area, too. Then spit it out, and rinse with plain water to eliminate hydrogen peroxide traces. Be sure you swallow as little as you can.
#8. Vanilla Extract
This remedy is simple and pretty tasty. A cotton swab is applied with vanilla extract and then the swab is placed on the area affected.
It helps numb the area, decrease swelling and prevent infection. The taste and smell of vanilla provide the added benefit of helping to soothe you.
#9. Salt Water
Salt water can help keep infection under control at the site of a toothache and reduce inflammation. Just put in a glass of warm water and stir a tablespoon of table salt, sea salt, or whatever else you have on hand. Then gargle with the paste, wave it around with an emphasis on the sore region in your mouth. Perform the several times a day.
Related: 16 Free Alternative Pain Meds
#10. Ice or Heat
You can find that ice or heat will help, depending on what’s causing your toothache. Ice can help to minimize inflammation, and heat can help to soothe sore muscles or joints and relax. To alleviate tooth pain, use an ice pack or heat pad, wrapped and applied to the area, 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off for an hour.
