How can I help ease the pain of incoming wisdom teeth?
Rinse with warm salt water. Hot or cold water will only aggravate an already sensitive tooth, but swishing some warm salt water will relieve a lot of the pain, says William P. Maher, D.D.S., assistant professor of endodontics at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry. Just mix two to three teaspoons of salt in a glass of water. The salt draws out some of the fluids causing the swelling and has a general soothing effect. The saltwater rinse also cleans the areas around the infected tooth. Even unsalted lukewarm water (about body temperature) can flush out an irritating piece of rotting food and provide some relief. Take an analgesic. “Anything you would take for a headache you can take for a toothache,” says Dr. Burrell. That old standby, aspirin, works wonders to tame toothache pain and inflammation. If you have adverse reactions to aspirin, try ibuprofen (Advil or Nuprin). lbuprofen has even more anti-inflammatory power, and it’s gentler to the stomach than aspirin. If yo
