Home Remedies For Toothache
Toothache Cause
A toothache, also known medically as odontalgia, is a condition when the area around the teeth experiences pain. Besides acute pain a toothache can also show accompanying symptoms like swelling and bleeding of gums, inflammation, irritation, and bad breath. There can be several causes behind the toothache, but in most cases the reason is found to be a cavity or tooth decay. Other causes of toothache may include: infection of the gum or pulp, emergence of a new tooth, injury, and other gum diseases. In some less frequent cases, toothaches can also be a symptom of underlying heart disease. If you cannot ascertain what exactly is causing toothache, it is better to consult a dentist and get it treated accordingly. Delaying treatment of the toothache can only aggravate the condition and lead to further complications.
Toothache Cure At Home
There are quite a few home remedies that are practiced to relieve and remedy toothache. However, it is always better to keep your teeth in better health and prevent the chances of a toothache than to treat it after you get one. Proper oral care – by brushing and flossing your teeth regularly – is therefore extremely necessary to avoid tooth cavities, gum infection, or tooth decay.
Once you start suffering from a toothache, which is usually excruciating and unbearable, relieving the pain becomes the primary concern. To alleviate the pain you can first try the alternate heat and cold treatment on the area of pain. As a heat treatment, you can gargle with warm saline water, or you can also use a warm moist washcloth as a compress on the affected area. Follow the heat treatment with a cold treatment, in which you press an ice bag on the area afflicted with pain. However, do not use cold treatment for more than 10 minutes at a stretch; follow the heat and cold treatment alternatively.
Let us now look at a few commonly used home remedies for toothache. One of the most commonly used home remedies for toothache is the use of cloves. You can use clove oil, which is generally available in stores, or you can crush cloves and apply them on the teeth. Crushed garlic and onion are also supposed to be helpful in alleviating the pain. Another commonly used remedy for toothache is grapefruit seed extract, which is known to have antibacterial and antifungal properties and is effective against any infection. To relieve the toothache, a pinch of oregano on the area of pain may also be helpful.