A toothache is commonly caused by various conditions such as tooth decay, dental abscess, cracked tooth, wisdom tooth impaction, gum disease, sinus infection and failed dental work. It is important to schedule an appointment with your dental specialist/ dentist immediately, if your toothache has the following characteristics:
Lasts longer than one to two days
Severely painful
Accompanied by a fever or earache
Pain on opening mouth
During the appointment, your dental specialist/ dentist will help you to alleviate the pain and treat the root cause of the pain in a timely manner to prevent it from worsening. A physical examination and dental x-ray will be carried out to determine the cause.
While waiting for your dental appointment, here are a few tips that you can use to help you feel better:
1) Take medication like ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to stop the toothache temporarily.
2) Sleep in an elevated position if lying flat worsens your toothache.
3) Avoid hard, acidic, cold food as these may aggravate your toothache.
4) Place an ice pack wrapped with cloth on the site of the toothache to dull the toothache.
It is important to avoid toothache remedies that are not clinically proven. These may do more harm than good and make oral conditions worse in the end.
DrTan Kian Meng is a Dental Specialist in Prosthodontics with Specialist Dental Group®. He is also a Clinical Lecturer at the National University of Singapore and Diplomate with the American Board of Prosthodontics. He was formerly a Consultant at Singapore’s Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Fellow of Maxillofacial Prosthetics and Oncologic Dentistry Fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr Tan has special interest in prosthetic and implant restorative dentistry.
www.specialistdentalgroup.com | 6734 9393
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