Two of the worst orthodontal nightmares you can ever have are getting braces and cavities. The worst thing about them is that they are painful. While getting braces is a choice, cavities are not. You can get cavities at any point in time in life. And the pain can make you cry.
When you are experiencing tooth pain from a cavity—a hole caused by tooth decay—it can be extremely uncomfortable. Regardless of whether the pain is mild, sharp, or throbbing, it can make it difficult to eat, sleep, and focus and interfere with your daily life.
This article discusses tips to relieve cavity pain. It offers simple strategies that can help in easing pain from a hole in your tooth prior to visiting your dentist.
Symptoms of cavity:
Symptoms of a mild-to-moderate cavity include:
- Tooth sensitivity, which could have a burning or stinging feeling
- Toothaches that occasionally disappear with painkillers
- Sensitivity in one side of the mouth, particularly when chewing on tough foods.
- Tooth discolouration, such as patches of yellow, white, or brown
- Symptoms that may appear when a cavity gets particularly big or results in a tooth abscess include:
- Severe pain that could just impact one tooth
- A throbbing, persistent ache
- Swelling in the face or gums
- Nausea
- A feverish ache in the gums, ears, or jaw
Tips to get immediate relief
Using numbing gels:
A few over-the-counter (OTC) numbing gels can provide momentary relief from dental pain.
Salt water rinse:
Salt water is known to be a good natural cleaner for your mouth. Warm salt water rinses can help reduce discomfort briefly and help destroy bacteria. Simply dissolve some salt in warm water and use it as a mouthwash to lessen swelling and get rid of bad germs.
Try clove oil:
Cloves contain a strong anaesthetic known as eugenol which works as an antiseptic to cavities and reduces tooth pain. That is why cloves are often added to oral products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, and dental numbing gels.
Using over-the-counter painkillers:
Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are two examples of pain medicines that can assist in reducing discomfort.
Cold or heat therapy:
Applying a cold compress to the affected area can help to narrow the blood vessels and lessen swelling and irritation. This lessens the degree of pain as well. Tie a towel over an ice pack and apply it to the affected area for 20 minutes. Do this several times every couple of hours.
Peppermint bags:
Using peppermint tea bags can help ease sore gums and numb pain. Apply a used tea bag to the affected region after letting it cool slightly but without becoming too hot. Before applying the tea bag to your tooth, you might wish to briefly place it in the freezer to chill it. This is a treatment you should only apply if your teeth is not sensitive to cold.
Using garlic:
For thousands of years, people have utilised garlic as medicine. Crush a clove of garlic to make a paste, then apply the paste to the toothache-affected area. You could sprinkle in a little salt. Alternatively, you might eat a fresh garlic clove slowly.
Dental care:
Part of the plaque can be removed by brushing or flossing. While this won’t fix the cavity, it might slow down the rate at which germs eat away at the tooth, which could stop the pain from getting worse.
Closing thoughts
Cavity pain is very curable even if it can be quite severe. Within a few hours, a dentist may typically relieve the pain by treating the underlying cause or by administering medication to ease the discomfort while further treatment is planned.
Before visiting a dentist, a person might also use home cures to relieve the discomfort. Having said that, it is important to remember that the above remedies are meant to complement—not replace—traditional dental care practices.
Remember, there’s no substitute for professional care. Putting off dental treatment can be detrimental to general health. The cavity may get deeper and cause more discomfort the longer you put off visiting the dentist. You might therefore require a tooth extraction or root canal in place of a straightforward filling. It is therefore recommended that you visit your dentist and avoid putting off dental treatment.
