10 Home Remedies For Your Child’s Toothache
Toothaches are one of the most prevalent dental conditions among younger generations, especially children. While you may consider this condition simple and easy to handle, toothaches can cause distress and inexplicable pain to your kid once neglected. To better prevent such risks, it’d be better to address the situation immediately.
Although toothaches are common in kids, you must know that those seemingly persistent aches your child has been complaining about might be a sign of a more severe health condition. If your child has been complaining about toothache, it’s best to bring them to a reliable dentist to avoid any aggravated complications.
Aside from that, it’s also better to know some homemade remedies for your children’s toothaches, especially if they’re just mild. For better understanding, you can click here and continue reading this article.
Common Causes of Toothaches
Toothaches occur due to various factors. This condition could be a consequence of decay, erosion, or bacteria penetrating the tooth’s pulp chamber. While some people believe that toothaches happen due to eating sugary foods and drinks, there are also prominent aspects that could lead to this dental condition. For instance, it could be due to tooth decay, plaque buildup, poor oral hygiene, and injury.
Identifying the root cause of toothache is crucial in finding the appropriate treatments for this condition. To have a better understanding of this matter, here are some common dental issues that could potentially cause toothaches:
- Cavities: Cavities are considered one of the most common reasons behind toothaches. In most cases, cavities occur when bacterial activity in the oral cavity becomes excessive and penetrates the pulp chamber. It could also be a result of an unhealthy diet and poor oral hygiene.
- Abscess: Intrinsically, an abscess is a condition caused by a bacterial infection. It’s characterized as the painful collection of pus, which often results in inflammation and tooth decay. While this may sound simple, an abscess could induce persistent pain and could result in other health issues. To better resolve this risk, pus-filled cavities must be drained to avoid worse dental complications.
- Sinus Infection: Aside from cavities and abscesses, another dental risk you should have an eye on is the sinus infection. While many people tend to confuse it with toothache, the latter is a dental condition, while sinus infection is one of its causes. Typically, toothaches occur when oral sinuses get infected and become inflamed. If your child happens to suffer from this, you might need to bring them to a physician to have their sinuses checked.
- Cracked Tooth: Besides bacterial infections and inflammation, another cause of toothaches includes minor dental fractures. This happens due to the habitual teeth grinding or chewing hard foods. While some people consider this as trivial compared to other aspects, note that untreated cracked teeth could lead to tooth sensitivity, tooth decay, and eventually tooth loss. To better prevent this issue, it’d be better to teach your kid proper oral care and have them checked regularly by a dentist.
- Loose Fillings: Dental fillings serve as protection to the sensitive areas of your teeth from the outside environment. However, one could suffer from toothaches due to loose fillings. When left untreated, this condition could lead to tooth sensitivity, tooth decay, and root canal infection.
Simple Home Remedies For Toothaches
When your child complains about toothache, it’s best to address this situation immediately and take extra measures to prevent risks of dental issues, such as tooth loss and bacterial blood infection. Remember you’ll have to take them to a dentist to check their teeth regularly to ensure that nothing important is left unattended.
However, if you’re dealing with mild symptoms of toothache, you may also want to consider learning about efficient alternatives to treat a toothache at home. To help you out, here’s a list of home remedies you can try for toothaches:
- Salt Water Rinse
When it comes to dealing with dental issues like toothaches, one of the most common and all-natural alternatives you can try to include rinsing the affected area with saltwater. In your kid’s case, rinsing the swollen gum with saltwater could be an effective way to reduce inflammation and kill bacteria.
Typically, saltwater is considered one of the first-line alternative remedies for toothaches and is also one of the most effective ones. Saline, in particular, is known for having anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which makes it an excellent option to manage toothache.
Saltwater can’t only relieve gum swelling; warm water could also ease discomfort and heal any oral wound. Apart from that, saltwater also serves as a natural disinfectant, which allows it to alleviate inflammation and loosen food particles stuck in between the teeth.
To better help your child manage their toothache, you may encourage them to rinse their mouth with warm water mixed with salt. For better results, they do this at least five to eight times a day.
- Vanilla Extract
Aside from saltwater, another home remedy you can try for toothaches is vanilla extract. While some people might know this, the vanilla extract could work efficiently in numbing the swollen part and healing it from the inside.
Vanilla extract isn’t just used as an ingredient for many foods and dishes. One of its interesting uses includes being a cure for toothaches. Particularly, pure vanilla extract is believed to contain 35% of alcohol, which makes it an effective option to alleviate tooth pain. Aside from that, the vanilla extract also has pain-relieving properties that add to its being an effective healer.
For better use, you may help your child dab a small amount of vanilla extract into the affected area and do this at least three to four times a day.
- Diluted Hydrogen Peroxide
When used carefully, hydrogen peroxide could be an effective option for toothache. But for your kid, you need to watch them closely as it could also be a harmful substance once the concentration is too strong. In most cases, a hydrogen peroxide rinse is a safe alternative for tooth pain, but it should be used accordingly to prevent damaging oral tissues.
One of the many good things about using hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash is that it could help reduce inflammation in affected areas and relieve pain. Aside from that, it could also kill bacteria, heal bleeding gums, and reduce plaque buildup.
With proper care, a hydrogen peroxide rinse could be an effective solution to lessen tooth pain and relieve swelling. As a rule of thumb, you must dilute 3% of hydrogen peroxide first in water and use it as a mouthwash. You must also check your kid if they spit it out, and after that, you may help them rinse their mouth with plain water.
- Clove Oil
While some people would usually opt for painkillers and aspirin when it comes to managing toothaches, those could pose negative impacts on your kid’s gums. Particularly, some painkillers could cause burns, inflammation, gum problems, ulceration, and tooth loss. Besides that, too much dependence on medication could also permanently affect the gums, which could lead to severe gum problems.
To better save your child from such risks, it’d be better to use clove oil. Considered as a topical treatment for toothaches, clove oil contains antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal properties that make them ideal for tooth pain.
Clove oil also has eugenol, which acts as a natural anesthetic for pain. For starters, you can soak a cotton ball with clove oil and dab it to the affected area for temporary relief. You may also consider making them chew a whole clove for at least 30 minutes to relieve discomfort.
- Garlic Paste
Aside from clove oil, another ideal alternative treatment for toothaches includes garlic paste. While most people would want to avoid having garlic or onion breath, there’s no denying the number of benefits one can gain from these natural remedies.
Garlic, in particular, has long been used to treat tooth pain due to its antibacterial properties. Widely acknowledged for its ability to relieve swelling and eliminate harmful bacteria, garlic also proves to be beneficial in alleviating pain and reduce plaque buildup.
Whether you believe it or not, garlic is one of the most common natural antibiotics that could curb bacterial activity and cure symptoms of toothaches. If you’re wondering about how to make this paste, you can crush the garlic clove and apply it to the affected area. In some cases, people also add a bit of salt or straight up chew a clove of fresh garlic.
- Peppermint Tea Bags
Talking about the most ideal kid-friendly alternative for toothaches, using peppermint tea bags doesn’t fall short in alleviating tooth pain and providing temporary relief for your child. Widely considered as the tastiest pain reliever for kids, your child would also love this particular treatment option.
Intrinsically, the peppermint plant is known for providing plenty of health benefits to people. Particularly, it could be used to dull toothache and numb sensitive gums. It could also help alleviate common signs of cold, nausea, and headaches.
For better use, you can steep peppermint teabag and wait until it’s warm enough. After that, you can put or press it to the affected area. Furthermore, you may also mix peppermint with a few drops of clove oil on a cotton ball and rub it on the swollen area for temporary relief. Not only that, but you may also put fresh peppermint in your kid’s mouth, near the irritated area.
- Cold Compress
Applying a cold compress to the swollen gum could also be of great help in managing toothaches. With many available options you can choose from, you mustn’t forget about cold compression. Specifically, cold compress proves to be a helpful alternative in numbing pain and reducing swollen gums.
It could also help control bleeding and dull, persistent tooth pain. To achieve temporary relief, you may want to consider making a cold compress in the form of ice packs and apply it to your child’s cheek, near the affected area.
You may also use ice packs as an alternative for at least 20 minutes and repeat the process every few hours for better results. One great thing about cold compresses is that they could help alleviate the pain by constricting the blood vessels and lessening inflammation.
- Thyme Mouthwash
Besides the hydrogen peroxide rinse, another ideal alternative you can consider for your kid’s toothache is thyme mouthwash. Among other helpful herbs, thyme is one of the most common remedies for tooth pain and swollen gums. Considered as an ideal alternative for painkillers, thyme could offer pain-relieving benefits to people.
Interestingly, thyme contains antibacterial and anti-oxidizing properties that could help alleviate toothache in children. For starters, you may encourage your child to gargle with thyme mouthwash or create one at home.
You can create a DIY thyme mouthwash by putting a few sprigs of thyme in a cup of boiling water. After that, set it aside to cool then let your kid use it as a mouthwash. You may also repeat the process several times a day for better results.
- Wheatgrass Mouthwash
Apart from the thyme mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide rinse, you might also want to consider making your child use wheatgrass as a mouthwash. While not many people know this, wheatgrass proves to be an effective alternative for toothaches in children. Wheatgrass can’t only be used as a dietary supplement or an ingredient for dishes; it could also be used as a home remedy for tooth pain.
Whether you believe it or not, wheatgrass has healing properties and can work to heal the affected area from the inside. It could also help reduce inflammation and kill bacteria. Due to having a high level of chlorophyll, a wheatgrass mouthwash could effectively fight off harmful microbes and prevent infection.
- Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe vera is well known for its various health benefits. Among its uses, aloe vera proves to be an efficient treatment option for toothaches since it has natural antibacterial properties. It could also assist in killing bacteria that cause tooth decay. Additionally, aloe vera could also help treat tooth pain. For best results, apply aloe vera gel to the irritated area and massage it gently.
Key Takeaway
Managing toothaches in children could be a tricky task, especially for people with no prior knowledge of it. If this is also your concern, worry not as there are various alternatives you can consider to deal with this condition, even at home. If your child is dealing with tooth pain, you might want to consider following the tips in this post for temporary relief.
More importantly, it’s still best to take your child to a dentist to have their teeth checked to ensure they have the proper medical attention to prevent any complications.
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