“Have you ever suffered from toothache, doctor?” asked one of our patients who visited our family dental clinic in Mumbai. Toothache has been described as one of the worst pains experienced by most of our patients. Not only does eating become difficult, but working through the day and even sleeping comfortably at night becomes a major problem. There are various reasons for toothache depending on the underlying causative factors.
In little children, teething and eruption pains are very common. These pains are temporary and can be relieved by simple painkillers. Since they are not associated with any cavity or infection or pathology, they do not require any dental intervention. Sometimes a milk tooth that is close to its shedding time may start moving and may also cause pain. Such a tooth may fall of on its own or may require extraction by a dentist.
Toothache is most commonly seen to occur in teeth that have got deep cavities. A cavity usually starts due to long term contact of acids released from foods (especially sweet, sticky and acidic foods and beverages) onto the tooth surface. This acid slowly dissolves the outermost and hardest layer of the tooth which is known as enamel. In this stage there is almost no pain and no to very little sensitivity to hot or cold; the most common issue is food getting stuck in the cavity. If the cavity continues to spread, it enters into the dentin layer. At this stage there is some pain and sensitivity and severe food lodgement. Pain starts when the cavity gets deeper and reaches close to the pulp or nerve of the tooth. This pain can be severe and may also cause irreversible damage to the tooth and needs a root canal therapy. If still ignored, the nerve gets infected and the tooth becomes non vital. The infection in the tooth can now spread to the bone through the tips of the root and cause severe pain, infection and swelling. Such a severe infection is called space infection and may also cause a huge swelling that can disfigure your face and cause breathing and swallowing difficulty if not treated in time. Treatment for this may require surgery and removal of the bad tooth.
Sometimes, toothache can also be due to gum disease. Long term plaque and calculus build-up on the gum and tooth junction can cause periodontitis and make the teeth mobile. Such mobile teeth, coupled with infection in the gums and bone can lead to pain as well.
Whenever you have a sudden toothache, it is best to rush to a dental clinic near you and have the dentist take a look at it. In the meantime, you can get some pain relief using one or more of these remedies:
1. Lukewarm salt water rinses – to help reduce the inflammation and cleanse the area
2. Cold compresses – helps reduce pain intensity
3. Mouthwash rinses – helps reduce the bacterial load and cleanse the area
4. Clove – clove oil has anti-inflammatory action and can be applied on the tooth with a cotton swab
5. Garlic – apply some garlic paste onto the tooth that hurts for anti – bacterial action
6. Peppermint – peppermint oil or tea bag can be used to help reduce pain
7. Over the counter pain medicines
Please note that the above remedies offer temporary relief from tooth ache; they do not treat the cause of the tooth ache. It is always wise to go visit the nearest dentist that provides advanced dental care in Mumbai and let him/her come to a diagnosis and offer you the right treatment plan.
If you have had that annoying tooth pain that you’ve been ignoring, please call The Maxfac Clinic on +91 8879745345 and get in touch with our doctors immediately. We are a family dental clinic in Mumbai delivering advanced dental care.