Toothache: symptoms and Treatments

Toothache: symptoms and Treatments

A toothache is a pain in or around a tooth. Minor toothaches can come from a temporary gum irritation that you can treat at home. It can be caused by anything from a popcorn hull stuck in your gum to a broken tooth or a bacterial infection.

symptoms of toothache

• Tooth pain that may be sharp, throbbing, or constant. In some people, pain results only when pressure is applied to the tooth (biting down on something).
• Swelling around the tooth.
• Fever or headache.
• Foul-tasting drainage from the infected tooth.
• A bad odor from the mouth.

Treatments of  toothache at home

For temporary relief of a toothache, you can do the following:

• Rinse with warm saltwater. Saltwater can loosen debris between your teeth, act as a disinfectant and reduce inflammation. Stir a ½ teaspoon of salt into a glass of warm water and rinse your mouth thoroughly.
• Rinse with hydrogen peroxide. A hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) helps to reduce inflammation and pain. Dilute the hydrogen peroxide with equal parts water and rinse thoroughly. Don’t swallow it.
• Cold compress. For swelling and pain hold a cold compress of ice wrapped in a towel to the painful area for 20-minute periods. Repeat every few hours.
• Pain medications. Over-the-counter pain medications can reduce pain and inflammation. NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin®, Advil®) and naproxen (Aleve®) can be used, or take acetaminophen (Tylenol®) if you can’t take NSAIDs. 

Source: my.clevelandclinic.org