The Best Home Remedies for Dental Pain

Got a toothache, jaw pain, or an agonizing canker sore? To ease the ouch, look no further than your kitchen cabinet.

By Beth W. Orenstein

Medically Reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Toothaches may be small in size — but they can cause a colossal amount of pain.

. If you have a severe or persistent toothache or other mouth malady, you should visit your dentist in case it’s a serious dental health issue that needs treatment.

However, some minor toothaches and pains can be treated right at home (or at least mitigated while you wait to see your dentist). Next time your mouth is troubling you, give these home remedies a shot.

Toothache Cures From Your Kitchen Cabinet

Grab some clove oil. Oil of clove is an age-old home remedy. It works thanks to the chemical eugenol contained in the oil, which has anesthetic and antibacterial properties. To use it for tooth pain, soak a cotton ball with a mixture made of two to three drops of clove oil and ¼ teaspoon of olive oil. Put the cotton ball in your mouth near the tooth that hurts and bite down to keep it in place. One caution: Don’t go to sleep with the cotton ball still in your mouth. The FDA no longer considers this treatment effective enough to recommend it, although some dentists still believe it has benefits.Clove oil is available at pharmacies and health food stores.

Pop in a cough drop. Cough drops or lozenges usually contain a small amount of anesthetic (menthol and sometimes benzocaine) — which means they may relieve minor tooth pain, too. Pop one or two in your mouth and suck on them (don’t chew!). Another solution? Apply a dab of Vick’s VapoRub on the outside of your cheek where your tooth hurts, then place a paper towel on your pillow and lie down on that side.

Flush it out. Sometimes, the root of your toothache is food that’s trapped between your teeth. In this case, try flossing, rinsing with mouthwash, or using interdental brushes (small brushes shaped like Christmas trees that work between the teeth). In fact, this home remedy can save you a trip to the dentist’s office — but if food is constantly getting stuck in your teeth, talk to your dentist, because there could be an issue with your gums that needs medical attention.

Try these other kitchen staples. Some other home remedies that have proven to help toothaches include applying a hot tea bag directly to the tooth. Tea contains tannic acid, which reduces swelling. Other solutions: A cucumber slice placed on the tooth or a cotton ball soaked in brandy - alcohol has numbing properties, too. Some people also report that garlic, onions, spinach, wheat grass, or a simple salt water rinse relieves tooth pain.

Home Remedies for Your Other Mouth Maladies

Canker sore? Use these OTC concoctions. Canker sores usually go away on their own — but the pain can be excruciating in the meantime. While you’re waiting for one to heal, you may find relief by applying a mixture of half hydrogen peroxide and half water to the sore with a cotton swab, then follow with a dot of Milk of Magnesia; you can repeat this up to four times a day. Another home remedy to try is a mixture of equal parts Milk of Magnesia and liquid Benadryl; gently swish the mixture around your mouth for 60 seconds and then spit it out.

Sensitive teeth? Try this toothpaste. If your tooth feels sensitive to pressure, or when it’s exposed to hot or cold temperatures, whitening toothpaste is a no-no (it can just make your teeth more sensitive). Instead, try this simple solution: Switch to a no-frills toothpaste or consider buying toothpaste made especially for sensitive teeth, Dr. Dodes says. “They have chemicals in them that desensitize the tooth,” he explains. If sensitivity persists, talk to your dentist, who can investigate the cause.

Got jaw pain? Eat this. Until you can get an appointment with your dentist to check out your jaw pain — or while you wait to see if the pain resolves on its own — switch to a diet of softer foods. “Don’t eat big, overstuffed sandwiches or hard bagels,” Dodes says. “Give yourself five or six days of eating a soft-food diet and see if it gets better. If you twisted your ankle, you wouldn’t run hurdles, would you? If it hurts, give it a break.” Just be sure to call your dentist if the jaw or tooth pain doesn’t go away.

Got swelling? Take these steps. Mouth pain is sometimes caused by swelling of soft tissues in the mouth. Swelling should be checked by a dentist because it could be a serious dental health issue, Dodes says. In the meantime, try taking an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin). “Still, if you’re in enough pain that you need a pill,” Dodes says, “you better get to a doctor because dental pain tends to get worse and worse.”

Broken tooth? Do this ASAP. If you break a tooth, get to your dentist as soon as possible — this pearly-white problem needs immediate assistance. If you find the piece of tooth that broke off, you can preserve it at home by putting it in water or milk — don’t leave it on a counter, for instance, and never scrub it with cleanser, Dodes says. Sometimes dentists can bond the tooth back on. “By putting it in milk, you’re helping to keep the cells alive so that they will re-grow when it’s reattached.”