You may like your family dentist, but they may not offer emergency dental services. If you get a toothache and need to see a dentist right away, you may need to find a dentist who takes walk-in patients and who treats emergencies the same day. When you're in pain, you don't want to wait longer than you have to for relief. Here are some tips for dealing with a toothache.
Get An Appointment When The Pain Begins
Sometimes, a severe toothache strikes unexpectedly, but many times, the pain builds up gradually and you just put up with it. This is risky since you could have an infection in your mouth that needs treated, and it also puts you at risk of developing severe pain on a weekend or the middle of the night when it's difficult to get help. Call your dentist at the first sign of a cavity or toothache, so you can have it fixed before the pain gets severe and turns into an emergency.
Rinse Food Out Of The Tooth
If your tooth is cracked or you have a cavity, the pain might be caused by food caught in your tooth. Try rinsing the area with warm water to flush out food debris. Rinsing out the food may also help control bacteria and reduce the risk of an infection. Start with a small amount of water to make sure you can tolerate it without making the pain worse.
Try Numbing Gel
Be careful about using home remedies on a toothache because you could irritate your gums and make your condition worse. You can buy products at a drugstore for treating a toothache temporarily. You might apply numbing gel while waiting on your appointment with the emergency dentist. Just don't rely on numbing medication to treat your toothache so you can postpone going to a dentist.
Use Warm Or Cold Packs
Applying an ice pack or warm washcloth to the outside of your jaw might help with pain depending on the cause. An ice pack might help with pain that's caused by an injury to your mouth while a warm pack might feel better if the pain is from a cavity or infection. Ice reduces swelling, so it is a good treatment for inflammation as long as the ice doesn't aggravate your pain.
See An Emergency Dentist For Antibiotics
If you show signs of an infection that could include fever, swelling of your gums or jaw, pus leaking from your gums, or severe pain, go to an emergency dental service right away. You may be given antibiotics to reduce the infection, and dental work might be postponed until the infection has cleared. A dental infection can spread, so getting treatment for it is important for your overall health.
Get A Filling Or Crown
After you take antibiotics for a few days and the infection clears, your pain may be relieved a great deal. However, that doesn't mean your problems are over. The only way to cure a toothache for good is to have the cavity filled or put a crown on the tooth if the cavity is a big one. Sometimes, it's even necessary to have a root canal when the tooth is abscessed. By having the necessary dental work, you can put an end to your toothache and protect the health of your tooth.
Share21 May 2019
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