Many of you may be too familiar with the wisdom tooth and the agony it brings. It has earned its bad reputation for being a painful and unbearable nuisance, especially when it’s acting up. Once the wisdom pain attacks, it can affect your overall productivity, mood, concentration, and eating habits as the pain itself are distracting and annoying.
Your wisdom teeth are the last set of teeth to grow out of your gums. They come through at the very back and furthest corners of your upper and lower mouth. Typically, there are a total of four wisdom teeth that’ll pop out when you’re between the ages of 17 to 24. They slowly begin to move through your jawbone and push through your gum lines. Since there’s no more room in your mouth for more teeth, this movement will force your wisdom teeth to move at an angle, causing pain and sometimes swollen gums.
For this reason, many people opt to have their wisdom teeth removed right after the first sign of pain and discomfort that they felt during the movement. Pain may eventually resolve on its own, but it could potentially come back in the future when triggered. Thus, according to Northstar dental care, the best way to deal with your wisdom teeth is by completely removing them.
However, there are ways you can do to help alleviate the pain while waiting for your scheduled wisdom teeth removal. Instead of bearing with the pain and discomfort, here are five ways you can manage your wisdom tooth pain before proceeding to your wisdom teeth removal.
Rinse Your Mouth with Salt Water
One of the most popular and most accessible natural home remedies to alleviate wisdom tooth pain is by using salt water, as it’s recognized to have natural disinfectant properties, which can help reduce the build-up of bacteria around your gums and the wisdom tooth. If you noticed, it’s harder to brush your teeth, especially the painful area, leading to transient bacteria and cavity build-up. With this, rinse your mouth with salt water to treat the infection and alleviate the pain.
To create salt water, take out freshly boiled water and mix it with a few tablespoons of salt. Let the water slightly cool down. Then, swirl the water around your mouth for at least three to five minutes before spitting it out and repeating the process. You can flush your mouth with salt water at least three times a day or as often as you can until the pain subsides.
Apply Ice Pack
Another easy way to alleviate wisdom tooth pain is by applying an ice pack on the inflamed spot. You don’t have to place the ice in your wisdom tooth directly. You only need to hold it steady on the painful side of your jaw for fifteen minutes. The ice will help in numbing the pain until it eventually resolves. You can apply the ice pack in 15-minute intervals repetitively until the pain disappears.
Use Numbing Gel
Before buying yourself with numbing gel from pharmacies or online stores, make sure to check if you’re allergic to benzocaine, as this ingredient is the one used to reduce the pain and discomfort caused by the wisdom tooth. These dental numbing gels are commonly applied directly to your gums’ painful and infected areas and keep them there for the rest of the day. You can reapply it once or twice until the pain dissolves.
Onions
Aside from being used as a spice for your meals, you can also use onions to alleviate wisdom tooth pain. Onions contain high antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties that can help fight off bacterial build-up and swelling in your gums. You only need to cut off at least half or less piece of the onion. Then, chew it on the side where the pain and swelling reside and keep on chewing it for as long as you can until the pain dissolves, and you can spit out the onion pieces. The idea of chewing is to use the onion juice and redirect it to your infected gums to alleviate inflammation and bacterial issues.
Tea Bags
Like the onions, tea bags are also known to have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties due to the tannins it contains. You simply have to make a cup of tea then place the cup in the fridge, still with the teabag in it. After a few minutes or an hour, when the tea is finally cold, take out the teabag and use it to apply in the infected gum where the pain is coming from. Make sure you didn’t mix the cup of tea you made with any cream, sugar, or milk to preserve the tea bag’s natural healing properties.
The Bottom Line
Your wisdom tooth needs more care due to its significant impact on your oral care. When left ignored, bacteria can quickly accumulate, worsening the pain and condition. Fortunately, these tips above will help manage the pain and temporarily resolve the issue. But the best way to deal with wisdom tooth pain is consulting your trusted dentist, and they’ll provide you with proper treatment. Don’t hesitate to seek a specialist should you experience any sort of dental pain.