How to Alleviate Tooth Pain at Home?

[lacrosse_lady72]

Yes, I know I need to go to the dentist! (before anyone suggests it ) I have an appointment next Wednesday. I have a slight (and I emphasize slight) pain on my lower right tooth area and my cheek is slightly swollen as well. If it gets worse, I'll head in right away but for now it's not too bad.

My question is, is there anyway to alleviate some of the pain so I can stop being annoyed by it? I'm not a big fan of anbesol... is there anything else I can do?

ETA: To be more specific, the pain is where my wisdom tooth is. They told me last time those teeth could come out, but it wasn't necessary. And my cheek isn't too swollen. It's not noticeable from the outside and it doesn't hurt. I only realized it was swollen because I looked inside and compared it to my other cheek, when doing so, it's obvious it's swollen.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

See your PCP. You may need antibiotics now.

 

[simba20]

Yes, I know I need to go to the dentist! (before anyone suggests it ) I have an appointment next Wednesday. I have a slight (and I emphasize slight) pain on my lower right tooth area and my cheek is slightly swollen as well. If it gets worse, I'll head in right away but for now it's not too bad.

My question is, is there anyway to alleviate some of the pain so I can stop being annoyed by it? I'm not a big fan of anbesol... is there anything else I can do?

I have tried the following:
-- Brush teeth with warm water and rinse with Listerine
-- Swish with warm salt water
-- Extra Strength Tylenol
-- Tylenol 3 (leftover from an older Rx)

Last week a sinus infection, literally, hit a nerve in my tooth. My cheek was swollen from Tuesday-Friday, with it still being tender over the weekend. I did go to the dentist (I knew not to play around with that serious of pain), however they could not do the root canal I need until my sinus infection clears up. I got an Rx for for antibiotics, and after two days of takign the abx, I finally felt relief.

In all seriousness, thought, I'd keep calling everyday to see if somethign opens up. I have a mouthful of problems, which I am working on fixing, but have things pop up from time to time that throws my dentist's plan off track. I learned in Dec when in pain, call and keep calling.

 

[C.Ann]

Oil of cloves - available at pharmacies..

Orajel

Or perhaps your dentist will call something into the pharmacy until you can get into the office? Be sure to tell them that you have swelling as they will probably call in a script for an antibiotic as well..

Feel better sooner.. Toothaches are horrible..

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Thanks all. I'll definitely give some of these a try and see what happens. If nothing changes tomorrow morning, I'll take some further action on it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Ibuprofen

 

[Liberty Belle]

Try using Sensodyne toothpaste, too. There's something in it that helps numb the nerve.

 

[dejr_8]

Dr Jack Daniels?

 

[TaraPA]

Lots & lots of Ibuprofen! Serisouly, as much as you're comfortable taking. Our dentist will call in an rx for mild pain meds if he can't see us right away.

I swear by good old ice packs (on your cheek) as well.

 

[JaneBanks]

Use an ice pack. My dentist said that most people t hink you should use something warm but the best way to go is with ice.

Also, when I had SERIOUS tooth pain but I couldn't get to the dentist till the next day, I would slowly sip on some beer and that would help numb the pain. I'm not a fan of beer but it really did help me.

 

[emma'smom]

DH has horrible wisdom tooth pain while on vacation. He controlled it as much as possible alternating between Tylenol and Ibuprofen every two hours. It helped---but it is probably not smart to sustain this regiment for very long (he only did it for about 24 hours until we could get home). Turned out that the gum around his wisdom tooth was infected and it was this infection that was causing the pain. The tooth still needs to come out...but the dentist prescribed an antibiotic and the pain lessened and then went away. This gave him time to schedule an oral surgery appointment (which are a lot harder to get in this small town).

 

[Hannathy]

Dr Jack Daniels?

Actually I was going to say the same thing but put some on the tooth. I have a cavity that needs filled but I'm waiting on my DH's dental to start (just started back to work) but when it acts up I"ll put some alcohol of choice on a spoon and pour over the tooth and hold it in my cheek a bit before swallowing. Really does help the pain and also probably helping against infection.

I have horrible luckwith teeth and just know anything I go in with always ends up costing thousands so that is why I'm trying to hold out on this one.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

The pain has gone down considerably. It's only if I press down on that area is when it hurts. I'm still going to keep my appointment because I'm certain by now, my bottom wisdom teeth do need to come out. If if it's not necessary, I still want them to remove them. This isn't the first time there's been some kind of soreness. I just hope that I can get this over with before fall term starts, if not, I'll probably have to take midterms on drugs .

Thanks again everyone.

 

[bumbershoot]

Seconding the clove oil recommendation. Old, trusted, true remedy for tooth pain.

 

[DisnyMama]

Ice packs on the outside of your cheek but even better than ice is a bag of PEAS! It will not be so too cold such as ice can be but the perfect "cold" temp for an ice pack and more malable. Just make sure to put them back in the freezer every 30 minutes or so. I've also tried frozen corn which works well too but frozen peas are the best ice pack around.

Iv'e had some really nasty toothaches and the frozen peas work wonders.