9 American Ways to Treat Your Toothache at Home (And One to Avoid)

Tea

Luckily, tea isn’t only extremely beneficial to treat common colds and ease congestion. The astringent tannins found in black tea can reduce swelling in the affected area and may even numb pain temporarily. For this treatment, simply place a warm, wet tea bag against the affected tooth.

Peppermint may have a similar beneficial effect. Put one teaspoon of dried peppermint leaves in one cup of boiling water and steep for 20 minutes. Once the tea cools, swish it around in your mouth then spit or swallow (if you like the flavor).

 

Hydrogen peroxide

A 3% hydrogen peroxide solution may help to kill harmful bacteria in your mouth that can worsen your toothache. The method is particularly beneficial if you’re also experiencing fever or a foul taste in the mouth; the worst news about these symptoms is that they usually signal an infection.

Until you get to your dentist, though, you can use a mouthful of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution for rinsing. After you spit the solution out, rinse multiple times with plain water.

 

Ice

Ice is perhaps one of the first remedies we think about if we suffer an injury. Luckily, it can also work equally great by numbing the affected area in your mouth.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Place a small ice cube in a plastic bag;
2. Wrap a thin cloth around the bag;
3. Apply it directly to the affected tooth for 15 minutes (that’s how long it usually takes to numb the nerves)

If you can’t stand the coldness directly on your tooth, you can also apply the same pack on your cheek in the area where you feel the toothache.

Here’s an old folktale that’s worth a try too: if you massage your hand with an ice cube, you may help to relieve a toothache. When the nerves in your fingers send ‘very cold’ signals to your brain, they might override the pain signals sent from your tooth. All it takes is to massage an ice cube wrapped in a thin cloth in the area between your thumb and forefinger.

 

Myrrh

Okay, I’ll admit that myrrh is probably not on everybody’s list of home ingredients. However, myrrh has been used since Ancient Egypt for its important property of killing bacteria and microbes.

In fact, a study on people diagnosed with Behcet’s disease (an inflammatory disorder that causes oral pain) found that 50% of the participants reduced their pain completely while 19% even had their mouth sores healed.

Simmer one teaspoon of powdered myrrh in two cups of water for 30 minutes. Once it is cooled, rinse with one teaspoon of the tincture in a half-cup water up to six times a day.

«123»