Understanding Dental Pain & Applying Quick Remedies

As we all know, toothaches are the result of several different factors.  The pain that stems from a toothache is always apparent, normally in the form of throbbing.  The pain will normally intensify as time goes by, when you eat, lay down, or drink hot/cold liquids.  Toothaches are very painful, and it may seem that no matter what you do - it seems to hurt more.

In the dental world, toothaches can include such things as cavities, infections or abscess in the teeth or gums, debris that has been trapped between the teeth and gums, and trauma to the face, teeth, or the jaw.  Sometimes, toothaches can result from medical conditions and have nothing to do with dental.  In most cases, if the problem goes without being checked, it can lead to serious trouble and maybe even become a life threatening situation.

Normally, when you have a toothache, you’ll experience tremendous pain.  The pain will stem from the affected tooth or the jaw, and you’ll know it almost immediately.  It will start out to be a throbbing pain, then continue to get worse and worse until you get it treated.  If you wait too long and allow the infection to spread throughout the tooth, you’ll end up having to get it pulled or cut out.

Anytime you start to experience a toothache, you shouldn’t hesitate to make an appointment with your dentist to have it checked.  Sometimes, getting an appointment when your tooth starts hurting is easier said than done.  Even though you may be able to use certain products to stop the pain, the pain will always come back until you get the problem fixed.  A toothache will always come back, until you get the tooth taken care of.

If you visit your dentist in time and he catches the problem early, he may be able to save your tooth.  Normally, this will result in a filling, crown, or root canal, although you won’t have to have the tooth removed.  Dentists always look to save teeth, as they don’t like to remove a tooth unless they absolutely have to.  If the tooth has become abscessed, the dentist will put you on antibiotics such as penicillin until the infection has subsided enough to remove the tooth.

Throughout our lives, most of us will experience the pain and agony of a toothache at some point.  A toothache can be the worst pain you have ever felt in your life, especially if you are feeling the pain of an abscess.  Here are some quick remedies until you can get to the dentist. (Results vary for each individual)

1)  Try to get antibiotics like Amoxicillen to kill the infection.  You can buy it from your local pet store if you are unable to get a prescription right away.

2)  You can use Aspirin, or pain relievers like Tylenol, Aleve, etc... but eventually the nerves will become immune to the popular pain relievers.  (These are effective for temporary use)

3)  Gently clean the tooth with baking soda, or remove food particles with dental floss,  then rinse with lukewarm water and salt.

4)  Try soaking a cotton ball in Peroxide and applying to tooth/gum area.  This will sooth and help the infected area.

5)  Try dipping a Peppermint flavor tea bag in boiling hot water.   Squeeze some of the water from the tea bag and place on painful area.  Finish in a cup of tea and occasionally swish around in mouth.

6)  Apply Ambesol or Orajel with a cotton ball to area.

7)  Apply pure vanilla extract with a q-tip to infected or painful area.

8)  Another simple remedy is to place an ice bag on the outside of the cheek nearest the aching tooth. You can make an ice bag by placing a few pieces of ice in a sealed baggie and wrapping the baggie with a handkerchief or a wash cloth.

Here is a great FORUM with many ideas that may help if you are still experiencing tooth pain....

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Dental Extractions

Dental extractions are among the easiest and best ways to get relief from a toothache.  As the name implies, an extraction involves removing the tooth.  If your pulp has died or the tooth has become severely infected, extraction may be your only route.  Depending on the tooth, the dentist can do either a simple extraction or a more complicated extraction.

Simple extractions
These types of extractions, the simple extractions, are the most common in the world of dentistry.  During a simple extraction, the dentist will remove the tooth by loosening the gums around the socket.  He will grasp the tooth with forceps and move it from side to side until he can get it to break free from the socket and remove it.

The teeth are held to the bone by a thin piece of soft tissue.  This soft tissue is known as the periodontal ligament.  The dentist uses this tissue to remove the tooth.  As you may know, the key to removing a tooth by pulling is to rock the tooth from side to side, which enlarges the socket in the bone and breaks the ligament that helps to hold the tooth in place.

Simple extractions, also known as pulling, don’t take long to complete.  The dentist will numb you before he starts, so you won’t feel anything.  Depending on the tooth, pulling it will normally take just a few minutes after you have been numbed with local anesthesia.  Once completed, the dentist will place gauze in your mouth to bite on and you will be free to go.

Complex extractions
As we all know, not all teeth can be pulled.  Sometimes, the tooth will be so decayed or broken off that the dentist will have nothing to grasp above the gum line.  In cases such as this, the dentist will need to perform a more complicated extraction, which involves getting the tooth out below the gum line, as he won’t be able to use the standard method of pulling and rocking.

These types of extractions involve the dentist making an incision in the gums around the tooth, and raising the flap he cut to expose the bone.  Once he has exposed the bone, there may be enough of the tooth exposed for the dentist to grab and remove it using the pulling method.  In most cases however, the tooth will be embedded in the bone, meaning that the dentist will be unable to pull the tooth out.

With teeth that are imbedded in the bone, the dentist will need to use a drill and chip away at the bone to get to the tooth.  This is known as cutting the tooth out, and happens to be very common with impacted teeth or teeth that are severely decayed.  Once the dentist has cut his way to the tooth and removed it, he will sew back the flap of skin that he cut to get to the tooth.  The flap of skin and the socket will heal over time - providing you take care of it.

Dental extractions are very common, and happen on a daily basis for dentists.  Oral surgeons are the best for extractions, as extractions are all they do.  All types of extractions, even the most complex, will take time to heal.  As long as you take care of your extraction site, you’ll avoid common pitfalls such as dry sockets and other mishaps.  Although they can be painful once the procedure is over - you’ll eventually start to feel a lot better once you have had the tooth or teeth removed.

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