Experiencing aches and pains in or around your tooth? Congratulations! You have a toothache. But what does the pain mean is actually wrong with you? Well, it could be one of many things. A toothache (also known as ondontalgia) can be the result of cavities (dental carries), infection (abscess), tooth decay, gum or jaw disease, a cracked tooth, rupturing wisdom teeth or other some other more serious illness.

Don’t get too worked up quite yet. There is also such a thing as a toothache in normal teeth called atypical ondontalgia. This is more of a dull, aching pain that is not restricted to one tooth. In fact, it often floats to other teeth for as long as a few months to over a year. No one is quite sure of the cause of atypical ondontalgia, though some may liken it to a somatoform disorder.

To find out the true source of the pain in your teeth, it’s best to make an appointment with your dentist.

Home Remedies for a Toothache

Crush a clove of garlic in a garlic press and apply the pulp to the affected tooth. Garlic releases allicin when crushed and has a powerful antibiotic effect. Pure garlic can cause skin irritation in some people, so use caution with this remedy.

Squeeze a lime into a glass of water and drink daily to cure toothache. Lime water also helps to prevent future cavities and decay from forming due to its high vitamin C content. Vitamin C naturally kills bacteria.

Peppermint is a natural anti-inflammatory and may help aid in lessening the overall pain of a toothache. Add a few drops of peppermint extract to hot water and drink. If you have fresh peppermint around, boil a couple leaves in a cup or water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool a little and drink.

Clove oil is a good, natural remedy for the horrible pain of a toothache. Cloves are a natural antiseptic, pain killer and anti-bacterial agent. Soak a cotton ball in clove oil and apply to the tooth for up to one hour. Use this method throughout the day for extra relief.

A bit of vanilla extract applied to a cotton ball can numb the pain of a toothache, somewhat like Novocaine.

–Magdalena

Do you have any home remedies for a toothache? Comment and share them with us!

Share this post!