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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

My intense love for candy, cakes, and everything in between started as a child. I simply couldn't go one day without something sweet to eat. But my love for all things sweet took a toll on my teeth. My dentist diagnosed me with seven cavities, each one a different size and depth. After sitting through four long dental appointments, I decided to make a change. I now monitor my diet and only eat things that benefit my oral health. I'm here to help you take better care of your teeth. My blog offers tips on how to improve your diet, maintain good oral hygiene, and many other topics. Hopefully, you can learn to overcome your bad habits just as I did. Good luck with your future dental health.

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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

How To Relieve A Toothache At Home Before Heading To The Dentist

by Eric Bailey

If you are experiencing a toothache, there could be many root causes. Toothaches are often caused by untreated cavities or gum disease. Sometimes the ache is a symptom of another condition, such as a sinus infection.

The most serious cause of a toothache is a dental abscess, which can look like a pimple on your gums. You should call your dentist right away if this is the cause, as the abscess's bacteria can cause your airway to swell and spread through your bloodstream to other parts of your body. Your dentist may need you to come in for an emergency visit.

If your toothache isn't an emergency, then you should still make a dentist appointment. While you wait for that appointment, there are ways to relieve the pain at home.

Ice the Area

Fill a plastic bag with ice and then wrap a towel around it. The towel is important so that you don't get an ice burn on your cheeks. Put the ice on your cheek near the tooth that hurts. Icing the painful area is a fantastic way to reduce pain since it decreases blood circulation and numbs the area. Some toothaches cause swelling, so icing around the tooth can relieve pain by reducing the swelling.

Use Natural Analgesics From Your Pantry

Clove oil contains an ingredient called eugenol, which can naturally relieve pain. Add a few drops of clove oil on a cotton ball. Add some olive oil drops to the cotton ball as well to help mask the strong taste of the clove oil. Put the cotton ball near the aching tooth and gently rest your teeth on it.

Another way to relieve tooth pain is with a salt water rinse. Just dissolve some salt in some boiling water. Once the water has adequately cooled, swish it around your mouth and spit it out. Salt water rinses are also important if the ache is caused by an abscess since they can cleanse your mouth and help to naturally drain pus-filled abscesses.

Lastly, you can use a peppermint tea bag or a black tea bag for the pain. These teas have natural-pain-reliving ingredients and tannins (natural antioxidants). You can wet the tea bag and place it on the tooth that hurts or make a batch of warm tea to sip.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

If you aren't allergic to them and you have your dentist's go-ahead, take an NSAID. NSAIDs like Ibuprofen are fantastic at reducing tooth pain since they reduce inflammation.

If you are in severe pain and these remedies aren't helping, you need to contact a dentist like those at Scott W. Murphy Dentistry for further direction.

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