Toothache Pain Relief



Toothache pain relief is the one thing on your mind when you have a toothache!

But which tooth ache remedy is best? Like so many things in life, IT DEPENDS. There is no "cure-all", sure-fire way to get rid of a toothache, apart from taking the tooth out! While getting the tooth pulled is sometimes the only option, most of the time it's not necessary. So what are the other options?

A woman with short blond hair holding her left hand to the left side of her face, in painToothache pain relief

The BEST tooth ache remedy depends 100% on you figuring out the CAUSE of your toothache. Once you have an idea of WHY your tooth hurts, then the correct tooth ache remedy should become obvious.

But you also want fast toothache pain relief! You don't want to waste time going through a laundry-list of possible problems! So I've tried to keep it short and sweet in this guide to toothache pain relief. Just click on each colored link at the start of each paragraph to read MORE about a particular problem.

Toothache Pain Relief

Let's start with the smallest problems first, and work down to the more serious ones;

  • Chipped tooth - A chipped tooth does not normally cause any pain. It's just a small surface layer of enamel that's missing, and this shouldn't cause any problems other than some sensitivity to cold air. If you ARE having problems, then there's something else going on! Read on! Just click on the colored link to go to that specific page.

Tooth fracture - A fractured tooth means a tooth where a significant part of the tooth is missing. The most frequent causes are either a knock or a blow - say, diving into a swimming pool and hitting the bottom - or else a tooth with a big filling breaks off, losing one side.

This leaves a big hole in the tooth, which will normally be quite sensitive to anything getting in there, like hot or cold drinks, cold air, or food getting packed in.

Tooth Pain After Filling. - A tooth pain after filling a tooth is quite common but usually only lasts a short time. But there are exceptions! Check out the link above to find out more.

Tooth Pain After Crown - getting pain in a tooth after you have has a crown fitted is NOT unusual; If you are having this problem, read my page about the possible causes of pain after a crown.

Tooth Sensitive To Heat - When you get a tooth sensitive to heat, you need to know that the outlook isn't so good. BUT not always. Find out when a tooth that is sensitive to heat might end up being OK - and when not!

Tooth nerve pain - This is a pain caused directly by the nerve inside the tooth and nothing else. The most common cause is tooth decay - in other words, a cavity in the tooth.

You can read more about the Symptoms of Tooth Decay here. Find out about the little clues that point to a cavity.

Sometimes it can be caused by a vertical crack running from top to bottom of the tooth, right along the root. Another possibility is tooth nerve pain caused by trauma to the tooth, either acute, which means a sharp knock or blow to the tooth; or chronic, which means several years of grinding your teeth or clenching your teeth while sleeping. 

Tooth erosion - This is the one some toothpaste companies like to scare you with; have you seen the advert where they shine a light behind a tooth and show that the light shines through? Then they tell you it's acid erosion? That's actually a load of nonsense, and I'm amazed that they can get that advert past Advertising Standards! Anyway, there IS such a thing as tooth erosion, but it may not be what you think.

A woman with black hair holding her hand against the side of her facepain relief

Sinus infection and toothache - A sinus infection can feel like a toothache at times, even though the teeth are actually perfectly OK. The reason is that the roots of the upper back teeth are very close to your sinus cavities.

Sometimes the sinus almost wraps around the teeth roots. If you get a sinus infection, it can make the teeth tender to bite on, and you get a pain in your face just above the teeth.

Dental abscess. This is where a tooth has an infection next to it, coming from either the tooth itself, if you have a dead tooth, or from the gum right next to the tooth.

Symptoms of Wisdom Teeth. The symptoms of wisdom teeth can be very obvious, and at other times not so obvious! Check out my recent new page on the symptoms of wisdom teeth.

Pain after tooth extraction. Obviously, when you have a tooth out, it's going to be a bit sore when the anesthetic wears off. But how much pain is normal? How can you tell if the gum has become infected? Or if you have a dry socket? Find out at pain after tooth extraction.

Toothache home remedies. As I'm a dentist, you'd expect me to advise you to get along to a dentist if you are having any problems with your teeth, especially if you're on the hunt for toothache pain relief. And you'd be right!

BUT I also understand that it's not always possible to get to a dentist quickly, if you're having pain in the middle of the night, on a weekend, on a business trip, overseas in a foreign country - the list goes on.

In these situations it can take a day or more to find a good dentist, and in the meantime you need some effective toothache pain relief. Take a look at my guide to toothache home remedies.

If you are in a lot of pain, there is a very specific regime using over-the-counter products that provides a high level of pain control: take 600 mg of ibuprofen (3 standard Advil tablets) WITH 1000 mg acetaminophen (2 Extra-Strength Tylenol), and repeat every 6 hours as needed.

Don't exceed 3 grams of acetaminophen (6 Tylenol tabs) a day, and don't take it in combination with alcohol. Do not use this if you have a peptic ulcer, or liver/kidney disease. This should help your pain for now.


Remember to check out my top recommended electric toothbrush, which has the best performance and a great price at Amazon - the Cybersonic 3 brush.

cybersonic 3 toothbrush

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