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When your teeth are healthy, you don't think about them much. You bite into foods without really noticing all the work your chompers are doing, you brush them twice a day (and if you're listening to your dentist, you're flossing too). But when you have a toothache, yeouch—numbing that pain becomes your top priority.
Toothaches happen when the nerve root becomes irritated. Tooth decay, dental infection, injury, and gum disease (which can cause gums to recede and expose tooth roots) are the most common causes.
In other cases, the type of pain gives clues as to the cause. “If you have fleeting sensitivity to cold and/or intermittent pain when chewing, it’s likely due to a fracture in a tooth,” says Gigi Meinecke, DMD, FAGD, a spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry. “If it hurts at certain times when you chew, it may be a crack.” Less commonly, sinus infections can put painful pressure on roots.
The good news is, you don’t have to deal with the pain forever. Here’s how you can find toothache relief fast—and how to prevent it from happening again.
The best toothache remedies
Go for NSAIDs
Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (ibuprofen, naproxen sodium) decrease inflammation and pain due to infection, injury, or sinusitis. “If you need them for more than two days, that indicates a more serious problem,” says Bradford Johnson, DDS, head of endodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.
Try a numbing agent
Dabbing teeth or gums with an OTC topical anesthetic such as benzocaine relieves pain by desensitizing nerve fibers (although it does not treat the underlying problem). In one 2013 study, applying 20 percent benzocaine on and around the aching tooth reduced the pain 87 percent of the time.
Visit your dentist
When they’re caught early, pain-causing cavities can be restored with fillings. More advanced infections that have reached the pulp require a root canal: The dentist removes the infected pulp, then fills and seals the space. Cracked or broken teeth are usually treated with a crown, a root canal, or—if needed—an extraction. (If you feel a lingering pain for longer than 30 seconds after eating hot or cold foods, that’s your cue to see your dentist ASAP, according to the American Association of Endodontists.)
