Everyone knows all too well that headaches and toothaches are the worst kinds of pain. Often it’s just a dull ache in the mouth that you tend to ignore, but then the pain hits you with full force. Toothaches usually strike on the weekend, when your regular dentist isn’t seeing patients and going to another dentist who offers emergency care isn’t an option. Until Monday, painkillers have to do the trick, which isn’t always successful. The fact is, though, that the weekend becomes painful rather than enjoyable.
Home remedies for toothaches can help
Clove oil, or rubbing a clove on the tooth and gums, provides temporary relief from toothache. Water mixed with vinegar and salt also helps alleviate the pain. However, none of the remedies listed above is a permanent solution. A visit to the dentist to have the tooth treated is the permanent solution. However, it isn’t necessarily the tooth that’s causing the problem; the jaw can also be the source of pain in the mouth.
The jaw can become infected with bacteria or viruses, leading to inflammation and pain that is often mistaken for a toothache. Other causes may include teeth grinding or misaligned teeth, as well as muscle tension in the neck and back that can affect the jaw. There is plenty of information available about the causes of jaw pain and what can be done to treat it. Find out more here about whether the cost of treatment is covered by public health insurance and whether private dental insurance will cover it.
Jaw and toothaches are not just a temporary nuisance
While other types of pain, such as headaches, can be relieved with painkillers, this is not the case with jaw pain or toothaches. This pain must be treated—there’s no getting around it—and you’ll have to overcome your fear of the dentist or orthodontist if you want to be pain-free again.
While a tooth is the culprit in cases of toothache, this is not the case with jaw pain. A fistula, for example, can cause jaw pain just as much as a cyst or sinus disorders. To determine the causes of pain in the jaw area, an appointment with an orthodontist is necessary if the dentist recommends it. Many dentists perform the necessary preliminary examinations for the orthodontist in their own offices, so a visit to the dentist often provides clarity about the cause of the pain. It doesn’t matter how you treat tooth and jaw pain—what matters is that the pain stops, and that is often only possible through treatment by a dentist and an orthodontist.
