Causes of Toothache and Home Remedies for Relief

When you get a toothache, it can be one of the most excruciating pains that you experience. It can affect your jaws as well as your teeth. It is one of the most common reasons that people visit dentists. The pain can range from mild to extreme and can be set off by food, drink or cold and warm temperatures.

Symptoms of Toothaches

Toothaches have symptoms that include the following:

• Throbbing, sharp or constant pain
• Headaches and fever
• Swelling around the area of the tooth that hurts
• Drainage that tastes foul from the infected tooth
• In some people, a toothache occurs when there is pressure applied on the tooth

If you suffer from toothaches, it is important to visit a dentist immediately. The following signs should prompt you to get your teeth checked as soon as possible:

• If the pain continues for more than two days
• The pain is severe and intolerable
• If you get fever or pain when you open your mouth
• If you suffer from ear aches while opening your mouth

It is vital to visit a dentist as soon as you experience any one of the symptoms mentioned above. Identifying and treating dental infection is important to make sure that it does not spread to the skull, other parts of the face or to the bloodstream.

Causes of Toothaches

Tooth decay is the most common cause of toothaches. Apart from this, they can also be caused due to the following reasons:

• Abscess in the tooth
• Fracture of the tooth
• Filling that has been damaged
• Infection of the gums
• Repeated movement of the teeth, like when chewing gum is chewed or grinding teeth

Treatments Available for Toothaches

A toothache is treated by a dentist based on the cause. Here are the treatments that are used to provide relief from toothaches:

• If a cavity is the cause of pain, a filling will be used on the cavity. Extraction of the tooth may also be necessary.
• If the tooth’s nerve is infected, a dentist may recommend a root canal.
• Phototherapy that is performed with the use of a cold laser can be used as well, to decrease the inflammation and pain that accompanies the toothache.

Home Remedies for Toothaches

If you cannot visit a dentist any time soon for any reason, there is some good news for you. You can relieve the toothache, you are suffering from by using simple home remedies. The effects of these remedies may not last too long, but you can at least get some relief, even if it is for just a short while. Here are some of the remedies that you can try out at home:

• Make sure that you do not chew food in the area that has the tooth that hurts.
• Keep away from beverages and foods that are too hot or too cold.
• Soak a small ball of cotton with clove oil and place in the area of the toothache and bite down on it.
• Use warm water to rinse your mouth when you brush your teeth and after meals.

The best way to prevent toothaches is to make sure that you practice proper dental hygiene and visit your dentist on a regular basis. When small dental problems are fixed quickly, the excruciating pain that comes with a toothache is kept at bay.