{"id":1059,"date":"2019-12-18T20:23:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T20:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/what-to-do-when-a-toothache-strikes\/"},"modified":"2019-12-18T20:23:10","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T20:23:10","slug":"what-to-do-when-a-toothache-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/what-to-do-when-a-toothache-strikes\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do When a Toothache Strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/01\/toothache_543.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"543\" height=\"543\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/01\/toothache_543.jpg 543w, https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/01\/toothache_543-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/01\/toothache_543-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/01\/toothache_543-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>TOOTHACHES CAN HAPPEN<\/b> for a number of reasons. It\u2019s important to know what to do about them, because they don\u2019t always happen when the dentist\u2019s office is open. Do you have a plan for how to deal with an after-hours toothache?<\/p>\n<h3>Major Causes of Toothaches<\/h3>\n<p>Tooth decay is the main culprit behind a painful tooth, but there are others too, from gum disease to pulp inflammation to dental abscess to an actual injury to the tooth. Teeth that are impacted in the jaw can also be painful. In addition to all these, tooth sensitivity can be uncomfortable, and <strong>sometimes the problem traces back to simple congestion or a sinus infection<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a1t56abWNJQ?rel=0\" width=\"543\" height=\"305\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Managing Dental Pain Until the Appointment<\/h3>\n<p>If at all possible, come to us right away with your dental pain, but as we mentioned before, toothaches don\u2019t always respect office hours. Here are a few things you can do to keep the pain level manageable until you can see us:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Apply a cold compress<\/strong> near the sore area<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use over-the-counter anti-inflammatory<\/strong> pills or topical medication<\/li>\n<li>Reduce inflammation by rinsing and spitting with <strong>warm saltwater\u00a0<\/strong>(do not swallow)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Ways to Prevent Future Toothaches<\/h3>\n<p>No one who has already had a toothache wants to have another one. They can\u2019t always be prevented, as in cases where sinus infections or an injury were the cause, but <strong>aches and pains that result from poor dental health are ones patients can often prevent<\/strong> with the right habits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The most important of those habits are brushing and flossing.<\/strong> Brush for twice a day for two full minutes using a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste and floss daily. Also cut down on sugary foods and drinks that feed harmful oral bacteria, and make sure to schedule a professional dental cleaning and dental exam twice a year.<\/p>\n<p>Why are these regular appointments so important? It\u2019s very difficult to completely avoid tartar buildup without professional cleanings, and <strong>tooth decay doesn\u2019t always have symptoms at first<\/strong>. If a dentist doesn\u2019t catch it early on, it is unlikely to go away on its own and much more likely to get worse and become a painful (and expensive) problem.<\/p>\n<h3>We\u2019re Here for You and Your Teeth!<\/h3>\n<p>As much as we don\u2019t enjoy feeling pain, it\u2019s the body\u2019s natural alarm system to signal when something is wrong, and we need to pay attention. If you have a toothache, no matter what you think the cause is, schedule an appointment so that we can get to the bottom of it and recommend next steps.<\/p>\n<h4>It\u2019s never too soon to see us about a dental problem!<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image by Flickr user <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/crazyeddie\/316398450\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Edward Webb<\/a><\/span> used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #d9d9d9;\">The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><b>TOOTHACHES CAN HAPPEN<\/b> for a number of reasons. It\u2019s important to know what to do about them, because they&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176,273,280,274,275],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-dental-posts","category-endo","category-general-dental","category-pediatric","category-176","category-273","category-280","category-274","category-275","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}