Tooth aches and infections....

[working-mom]

I have a friend that has a tooth infection of some sort. She couldn't get into the dentist and asked if I knew of anything that would help alieviate the pain till she could get into the dentist. I didn't know of anything other than the clove oil and I didn't have any. Does anyone out there have some other herbal remedies??? The pain is what was really bothering her but maybe I need to collect more info on herbal remedies.
Any info that you all could provide me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Inkywon]

Have her try flossing around the tooth hurting and follow swishing with hydrogen peroxide around the area.
It may a bit of food caught and infection has set in. I am not a dentist. But personally relieved my pain this way. Inky

 

[summerthyme]

OK, this is NOT a recommendation but.....

You can buy capsules of antibiotics for fish from various vet catalogs. Jeffers Vet is one, Lambriar Vet supply is another. (google for either on the web)

Penicillin comes in 250 mg capsules. It's more than tripled in price in the past 3 years, now around $30 for 100 caps... which is still cheaper than the exact same stuff from the pharmacy.

And if you take 4 capsules a day (Assuming you are NOT allergic to penicillin in any form, which is why this isn't a recommendation!!), you'll knock down the infection from an abscessed tooth in short order.

Unfortunately, most people who do this then decide they've "cured" the problem.. and that's unlikely. (Not impossible, though... I did cure one permanently that flared up under a tooth that had been recently filled. It's been 12 years and it never has bothered since. Saved myself a root canal that time)

As far as OTC pain relief, clove oil is one of the best. Any pharmacy (and probably most grocery stores) will have clove oil, or at least one of the "teething gels" which also numb mouth pain.

In the meantime, taking the Rx strength dose of Motrin (advil, ibuprofen) of 800 mg every 6 hours is probably the most effective thing you can do, short of getting a script for codiene or something similar.

Summerthyme

Oh, and just read what Inky wrote. That can be very true- a couple of times I thought I had a bad infection, and it was just food trapped between the teeth and pushing them apart. A set of dental picks and mirrors is an excellent prep item.

 

[NC Susan]

You can stop the pain with ice........on your hand!!!
The results are almost immediate, and no drug intervention. Works on babies and old folks. I know at least a dozen folks that tried this sucessfully and tho nobody would initially beleive something this simple all were amazed at how fast and well this works.

The acrupressure points for your teeth are in your hand, where you thumb connects to the hand. If you would put an ice cube on that pressure point you will numb your jaw for a few hours. Long enough to get you to a dentist or thru a long weekend. Each time the jaw, tooth starts to hurt, apply ice to kill the pain.

Remember all your nerves from your body twist in your neck and feed the opposite sides of your brain, so if your right tooth hurts ice your left hand. If your left tooth hurts, ice your right hand.

Thread drift...........my 18 year old started suffering migranes. she went thru about 3 months of prescription for pain and sleeping pills before the doctor thought about recommending Cat and brain scans as diagnostic tools. I was starting to worry, cuz thats what mothers do, when Just in time for a six month dental visit, when our regular dentist diagnosed wisdom teeth were cutting and promised the migranes would quit soon as the teeth were out. And the dentist was right.

No more meds, migranes or complaints. And she hasnt been to a doctor since or had a headache in four years. But she hasnt missed a dental checkup either.

 

[summerthyme]

OTOH, we had a friend who "doctored" (country term for running back and forth to medical professionals) for various ailments, mostly bad headaches, for over a year. Even including having 2 teeth pulled which one doctor figured must be the cause. When she finally couldn't dress herself one morning, she was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, including a large brain tumor. She died 23 days later. She was 49...

A CT scan might have been a good idea for her. Of course, since she was a heavy smoker, it seems that at least ONE of the moronic docs she saw (the main culprit was a local woman who I wouldn't take my dog to. According to herself, she's perfect) would have thought a chest X-ray would be a good idea. (One of her symptoms was a constant cough)

Arrgghhhh!!

Summerthyme

 

[working-mom]

Thanks all!! She had the tooth pulled and is fine now with antibiotics and pain killers. I looked at the tooth myself and I knew when I saw it that it was rotton and needed to come out. There was only 2 pieces of white tooth left and the rest was greyish brown and black. YUCK.... She really needs to get her teeth checked more often and definatly before she gets pregnant.
I will have to remember that trick with the ice and the hand it sounds too cool.
Thanks again for all your help!!!

 

[rhughe13]

I'm probably too late, but I used a cap full of 151 Rum resting in my mouth while laying down. After about 3-5 minutes I swallowed and reapeated. It definately numbed the area. I did this too many times and it peeled a thin layer of skin off my gums and the inside of my cheek. That didn't cause any problems, but it lets you know how toxic alcohol can be to the skin.

At least the pain disappeared.