Learn2 Remedy A Toothache

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 9, 1998 / 4:20 PM EST / Learn2.com

Teeth torment, be gone!
English poet Robert Burns once stayed up all night with a toothache, and wrote a famous poem graphically describing his experience. He lived in a time without modern painkillers.

If you've ever suffered a toothache, you know it can invade and disrupt every waking moment, perhaps every living moment, since you never sleep well with a severe toothache.

Lucky for you, this 2torial will help you ease the pain until you can see your dentist. (This assumes you're an adult. This isn't a 2torial about dealing with teething toddlers. That's another story...)

Most toothaches are caused by either a cavity (tooth decay) or an infection under the tooth or next to the tooth in the gums. In either case, you should be extra careful if your symptoms include: fever; red, swollen, or bleeding gums; unusually bad breath despite thorough brushing and flossing; constant toothaches, or toothaches during or just after eating. If you have any of these symptoms, you should make an appointment with a dentist immediately.

Emergency care: In the rare case that a toothache is accompanied by pain in the lower jaw, neck, chest (in collarbone region) or upper arm, then seek emergency care immediately. Heart attacks and angina reduce oxygen supplies to the mouth, and this can manifest as a toothache. These may not be what you're suffering from, but it's better to err on the side of safety and be examined by a healthcare professional.

Before you begin:

More and more dentists are turning to homeopathic therapies for two major reasons: the remedies' success in accelerating the healing process, and their lack of synthetic chemical compounds (and concurrent harmful side effects.) You need to be careful, though, when dealing with homeopathic remedies. Since you can purchase these remedies without a prescription, you might have the temptation to diagnose and treat yourself without proper training. Although you're in no danger of poisoning yourself with homeopathic remedies, they won't work if you've misinterpreted your symptoms. The key to effective homeopathic treatment is very specific diagnosis, and that's where professional homeopathic practitioners (or at least careful home study) come into the picture.

But here's the bottom line: all the remedies presented here aren't meant to replace proper dental care. A cavity is still a cavity, and will need to be filled at some point. These remedies offer relief in the meantime, and may prevent the condition from worsening. Even if one of the remedies works very well for you, it's still a good idea to consult a dentist about a toothache. Ignored pains can sometimes resurface as more painful ailments that are more expensive to treat.

What you'll need:

A few cotton balls (preferably sterile)
A bottle of oil of cloves (available at pharmacies)
A pain relieveof your choice: aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen
A pint (about .5 liter) of fresh, clean water
A 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (about 10-15mg) of salt