Toothache Home Remedies and Pain Relief
So, do you have a toothache? Are you looking for a home remedy? More importantly, you probably need some pain relief?
Well, I just got over a tooth abscess that lasted four days. In my case this wasn't the first abscess for the same tooth. This was about the third time. So, having some experience with a toothache and the pain, I know some home remedies that worked for me.
Before I start, I would like to tell you that just like I read, a tooth abscess will come back and it will be worse each time. This is the last time for me. If I have to get a part time job to pay for the dental work I will.
The first two times this tooth got an abscess the pain and dealing with it lasted until the next day at the most. I did some research the first time and went with the salt and baking soda remedy. It's real simple. Mix equal parts of salt and baking soda. That is baking soda I said. I saw some other people saying they tried it with baking powder. No. That is not the same thing as baking soda. When you mix the two together, place the mixture on something flat - a plate, saucer, table, whatever. Now take a cotton ball, cheesecloth, or gauze and make it wet. Then dip it in the mixture and place over the area of the abscess between the cheek and the gum.
The first two times I did this the pus reared it head and was leaking within a few hours. You will know when the pus has ruptured. I has a horrible taste and smells bad. You need to spit this out immediately. Do not swallow it. It is a toxin or poison and needs to be spit out.
Once the pus ruptures, try using the muscles in your mouth and jaw to push out some more of the pus. Don't try to hard, just slight pressure. You could also put some light force against the area with your hand by the jaw area. Again, don't over do it.
From experience, I use a flashlight to look into my mouth and see if the pus is about done draining visually. Once I feel that it is, it's time for rinsing the mouth out. I put some table salt into a glass, add some warm water and swish it around my mouth for about 3 minutes. Again, spit it out. It's no time to be drinking refreshing salt water.
You can now repeat the process. One thing that you should have noticed is instant relief. You should have no pain or nearly no pain and the pressure is gone. Some swelling may still be evident. If you are lucky, that may be gone in a few hours.
Alright! Now you are good to go. Not so fast. Even though you feel much better and think the ordeal is over it really isn't. The above method is for TEMPORARY RELIEF. You see, that bacteria that causes the abscess most likely is still present. You may not feel it or see it but there is a good chance it is still somewhere in that tooth. The only way to be sure your body is clear of the agonizing bacteria will be through the use of antibiotics. Even with the use of antibiotics, you will still need to see a dentist for care. There is a reason you got an abscess in the first place - cracked tooth, cavity, a bad root canal.
A dentist will usually give you two options from an abscess. You can have the tooth extracted or you can have a root canal. If you already had a fancy root canal then the next option will be extraction. I never had a root canal and never will. I heard enough people talk about having them and they always seemed to have trouble and had to go back. That's just my opinion. Maybe a root canal is for you.
Anyway, back to some home remedies for toothaches. This last time I found a new way of extracting the pus. Why. when the salt and baking powder worked great the two times before? Well, I will tell you. This time the abscess was very stubborn. It took a full day for the abscess to come to a head. Then, when it finally burst. It only drained partially. To me it felt like maybe only a third came out. So, by reapplying the salt and baking soda method, my cheek and gum were starting to get quite raw and feeling like sand paper. I had to find another method.
Tea Bags? Yes. A tea bag will draw pus out too. You just need a standard tea bag. You could use black tea. I only had green tea and it worked just fine. Now if you try to take the bad and put it between the affected area and your cheek you will notice it isn't comfortable. Here is what to do.
Take the bad and cut it in the middle. Be sure not to let the tea spill out all over the place.Most bags have a seam in the middle. Looking at it, the bad looks like it has two sides. Now hold the bag at one lower corner and pour out some tea. Try to pour it so the tea comes out evenly from each sac. Now level it off and look at the amount of tea left. We wont to get it down to about 3/16 to a 1/4 inch evenly. When you get to that level, stop and fold over the top of the bag to one side. The area that is exposed - shows tea through the bag - put that on the affected area with the tea showing side against the abscess. Leave it there for about an hour and then check it out. You should have drawn out some put. The bag will most likely look real gross and have a good amount of pus on it.
Remember I said before that without a doubt you need antibiotics? Well, its still true. Here is the thing. If you have insurance, a good doctor, or time for the emergency room, you will be just fine. At the first hint of an abscess you should go get checked out by an emergency doctor or hopefully your family doctor. They should easily give you antibiotics and if you are lucky a good pain killer like Vicodin or Percocet. If you are lucky enough to be in this situation. Then good for you and I wish you a speedy recovery. If these are not your circumstances and you need antibiotics but don't have insurance or the money to see a doctor try this.
Just do a search for amoxicillin+for+fish . Yes! You can just click on that link. See, here in the United States, you need a prescription to buy antibiotics. However, you need anything to buy antibiotics for fish, cats, dogs, horses, or any pet. You will have to know what antibiotics you can take. If you are allergic to penicillin, then you can't use amoxicillin. Anyway. this is a perfectly legal way to obtain antibiotics. Did you know that this is a well known secret in the military. What is mean is sometimes young people in the military have "too good of a night" and find out later they caught more than a hangover that night. So, to avoid having an STD on their military medical history, they go to the pet store.
A recommended dosage for amoxicillin is 750 mg daily for 10 day. I get the 250 mg capsules and take them 3 times a day for 10 days. Again, you need to take the dosage for 10 days to be sure you eradicated the bacteria.
Pain relief I used Aleve and Motrin. They worked OK for me. Not the best. I did try the whole cloves. You just crush the cloves and put them against the affected area. I took a tea bad, emptied it, and then put the crushed cloves in it. It did ok for me too. I didn't knock out the pain totally, but it did know out the throbbing, jackhammer type of pain that I had. Cayenne pepper is another known home remedy for pain, but I didn't have any so I don't know how well it works.
You could try Ambesol, but that just numbed the gum for me. It didn't do anything for the actual abscess pain. I had a feeling it wouldn't. It does work for smaller toothaches like those caused by a cavity where you can get the Ambesol to the nerve that is exposed from the tooth.
Some other things that come to mind about a tooth abscess for me: Hot liquids were hell. I love coffee but learned to do without for four days. I also ate a good amount of garlic. Garlic is a good natural antibiotic. I ate three cloves a day. Ice bags did help for the swelling on the face. I used them sparingly and put them on my face for about 15 minutes at a time.
Eating was also difficult. An abscess causes the tooth to rise slightly and gives an improper bite. I tried to stay will foods that were soft and easy to chew. Its also hard to just use one side of the mouth to chew. After eating, I would rinse out my mouth with warm salt water. I didn't need any more food particles going into the area that caused the abscess in the first place.
Oh! I almost forgot. You can take garlic and put it against the abscessed area. This helps kill the bacteria. I must warn you though, it will burn a good 10 minutes.
Well, that is about it. If you can get to a dentist at the first sign of an abscess, by all means do it. As much as these home remedies can help for temporary relief of an abscess, nothing can take the place of good quality dental care by a great dentist. An abscess if not something to mess around with. It can lead to all types of problems including but not limited to death and septic shock.
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