Having to deal with a toothache during the day is bad enough, but tooth pain at night can be ten times more frustrating since it can keep you up during the times your body needs to recuperate. There are several ways you can find toothache relief, and when that pain comes at you in the night, what you need and want is most likely a quick solution. If you’re trying to find out how to get rid of a toothache at night then here are a few ways you can tone down the pain:
- Keep your head in an upright position. Keeping your head at a level higher than the rest of your body will keep blood from accumulating in your head which could easily cause the pain of a toothache to intensify.
- Try using mouthwash. The use of mouthwash that contains alcohol will serve to disinfect your mouth as well as numb the pain.
- Take pain medication such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). These will help to eliminate lesser pains but if the pain is stronger then it most likely won’t get rid of the pain completely.
- Try not to eat cold, hard, or acidic food right before going to bed. If you do, it might irritate your teeth and cause pain in any cavities that might already be formed.
- Apply a cold ice pack to the part of your face where the pain is. Do this before going to sleep and it should numb the pain enough so that you can catch some shut-eye.
What If It Gets Worse At Night
It’s not uncommon for toothache pain to intensify in the evening or while you’re sleeping. Knowing the reasons why this happens can greatly help to prevent it in the future and also alleviate the stress of not knowing why the pain is increasing. Once we know the source of the problem we can do something to correct it. Here are a few common reasons why tooth pain may increase at night:
- Built up pressure from blood rushing to your head could easily be one of the causes. More blood flows through our heads when lying down than
- standing up simply because of the position of our bodies. This may cause pressure on a cracked or damaged tooth or even on a swollen gum, increasing the pain and discomfort.
- Sinuses are also a cause for increased tooth pain at night. Mucus can get trapped in the sinuses when lying down resulting in severe pain. This is not as common as the problem with pressure, but if you already have long-standing problems with your sinuses then you may have found the root of your problem.
- Snacking in the night can be harmful to sensitive teeth. Any sugary or acidic food works double time against your teeth in the night. Sugar erodes the enamel on our teeth leaving them defenseless. So that late night soda or chocolate bar might not be the best idea.
- On the same note, brushing your teeth right after eating such foods is not advisable. When the enamel on your teeth gets thinned down enough it could cause them damage.
- One more reason why it seems that the pain has increased when you’re trying to sleep could be the lack of things to keep you distracted. During the day we move about, work, talk with people, watch movies, drive vehicles, and engage in activities that may serve to keep our minds off the pain, whereas at night we’re trying to shut off our brains and go to sleep. With nothing else to catch our attention, pain can tend to steal the show, making it feel as if the pain we’d been having all day has intensified. This does not in any way decrease the seriousness of the pain. It’s still real, and very unpleasant!
This could, of course, occur during the day as well if you’re not as active or don’t have as many things distracting you. But the chances of this cause are much higher at night time.
Main Reasons For Toothache Pain
- Old tooth decay is the most common reason for toothache pain. There would have to be enough decay in the tooth for it to reach the dentin, the inner layer of the tooth. Damage to the dentin causes the tooth to become very sensitive and develop cavities.
- If the pain is more of a dull ache that means decay has not reached the centre of the tooth. But when the pain is sharp then you should get it taken care of as soon as possible, as this could lead to even bigger problems if not looked after quickly.
- Gum disease is another reason you might be feeling pain. If you feel a dull pain, and your gums are red and bleeding, you may have contracted a disease of the gums and should get it treated the first chance you get.
- Tooth fractures could be the cause of discomfort. There are many way in which you could break a tooth, from biting something hard to external impact. If a broken tooth is causing you pain, that is because the fracture has reached the centre of the tooth and is hitting nerve endings which would definitely cause excruciating pain. It may happen as soon as the tooth is damaged, but can also occur much later as the damage gets worse. Definitely a reason to visit your dentist and fix it before the situation gets worse.
- Eating or drinking something very cold or hot can also cause pain. This is usually because of the sensitivity of your teeth. This is most likely because the enamel on your teeth has been worn down and the layer of tooth where the nerves are is exposed. It can also happen shortly after having your teeth whitened. Try using toothpaste for sensitive teeth to help protect the nerves and keep them safe from very high or low temperatures.
- When dental fillings are damaged that leaves sensitive places in your teeth bare and exposed to harm, such as bacteria, extreme temperatures, and little bits of food. This can cause different kinds of pain, ranging from dull to sharp. A damaged filling should be fixed immediately.
- Grinding your teeth, also known as bruxism, often causes tooth pain. Teeth grinding is a sign of stress, but it’s also a habit some people have when they sleep. The best way to safeguard yourself against grinding your teeth while you sleep is to wear a mouth guard. Having a custom mouth guard made for you by your dentist is advisable.
- Brushing your teeth too hard and violent flossing can result in inflamed, irritated, and bleeding gums.
- If this is done repeatedly it makes the gums recede, causing the teeth to become unstable which can cause pain to intensify.
First Aid At Home. Make The Pain Go Away Temporarily Before Visiting A Dentist
So we’ve established that for most of these problems the best solution is a visit to your dentist. But what if you can’t go right away? Well here are a few simple remedies that you can use in your own home to try and get the pain under control for a while you’re waiting on that dentist appointment.
- Rub clove oil directly on the spot that’s causing you discomfort. You can use a cotton ball to soak up the oil and dab the gums around your tooth with it.
- Take a piece of ice and rub it on your hand in the space between your forefinger and thumb for about 7 minutes. If the pain is on your right side, rub the ice on your right hand. Likewise, if the pain is on your left side, rub it on your left hand.
- Try rinsing your mouth out with salty water. Mix half a teaspoon of table salt with 8 ounces of warm water. Make sure not to swallow it, just swish it around in your mouth for a minute or so.
- Gently floss around the tooth that’s causing pain to try and get any pieces of food out that might be lodged in there.
- Chewing garlic will release allicin in your mouth, which is a liquid with an oily texture that fights disease.
- Applying peppermint essential oil may also help. The menthol in peppermint contains powerful anti-bacterial elements.
- Cayenne pepper contains a lot of capsaicin, which could help soothe the pain. Yes, it is spicy, but it could help you to get rid of that toothache. It will also help reduce swelling in your gums.
- You might have seen people using a cucumber to calm puffy eyes. The hemostatic properties in cucumbers help keep blood from straying outside blood vessels. To use them on your teeth, take a slice of cucumber and hold it to the area in pain. Make sure the cucumber isn’t cold, as extreme temperatures will only make things worse.
- Onions carry antimicrobial properties and can serve as an antiseptic, killing the bacteria in your mouth and reducing the pain. Use a raw onion.
- Try making a paste out of turmeric. Take a small amount of water and add a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Put some of this paste on a cotton ball and place it on your tooth that’s causing problems. You may also try adding raw honey so it doesn’t taste so bad.
- Turmeric contains curcumin which is an active ingredient with loads of analgesic, antibacterial and antiseptic properties. This will prevent infections and help stop your tooth from developing abscesses.
- Thyme is an age-old remedy. Put some essential thyme oil right on your troublesome tooth and gums. Drink thyme tea or try chewing on some fresh thyme leaves. The leaves are small and may get stuck in your teeth, so make sure that you chew them on the opposite side of your mouth from the tooth that’s giving you problems.
- Get some raw ginger root and try chewing it. Applying raw ginger to your food is also strongly recommended.
- Try using an oil rich in vitamin K2. Emu oil is very rich in vitamin K2, so keeping some of that on hand will be helpful.
