whats the best pain killer for a toothache?

Question

its an infected cavity and she has to wait ages

Answer 1

I take 800mg ibuprofen every 8 hours. I also have some left over vicoden that's about 3 years old so it doesn't do much other than make me sick to my stomach. Ibuprofen won't completely take the pain away, it might take the edge off, but it's the most effective painkiller you can buy OTC in the US. It seems to work better if an infection is involved. I suppose because it's an anti-inflammatory. You can also try holding some OTC Camphophenique over the tooth. Just don't swallow it.

Really, there's nothing you can do to help a toothache except get it pulled or treated. Antibiotics will get rid of the pain if it's an abscess but the pain will come back if you don't get the source removed.

Answer 2

If you're in the UKand the patient is over 12 years, go to a chemist and ask for Orajel extra strength. It's about £5 for a small tube (it lasts ages). You squeeze a small amount onto a finger and apply it on to the tooth. It's designed for tooth ache with open cavities. It doesn't taste too bad and it does go a bit hot in the mouth. It also has a local anaesthetic in it so it works really quickly. Use that and take Paramol or Co-codamol (available over the counter as supervised sales from chemists). The gel will last for quite a while and then the normal pain killers will carry on the relief.

Answer 3

Orajel, It's made up with benzocaine, it provides more or less instant relief, it feels like you have just had the injection at the dentist without the fat mouth, it does wear off after ten minutes roughly but it must do something as the tooth ache would usually be gone by the time the orajel wore off, Its the best £5 I ever spent and the small tube lasts long enough to make it good value for money, you can get it from Boots and a few other chemists stock it. Take Ibuprofen when needs must.

Answer 4

If the tooth is infected she must get antibiotics as soon as possible to prevent more serious complications taking hold.

Pain relief wise take 1g of paracetemol every 4 hours and 400mg ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. Try to ensure there is always some analgesia in your system by taking paracetemol and then ibuprofen 2 hours later and so on. These are the best drugs OTC and stronger pain killers such as codeine are available by prescription but be prepared for more side effects such as nausea and dizziness. Drugs such as neurofen plus contain codeine but at small doses and are not worth it in my opinion.

Good luck and make sure you see a dentist ASAP

Answer 5

Hi i am Donna from England, i suffer from maxim us sinutitis, which is a nerve in the eye across the cheek down the ear and neck,it also attacks my teeth when i get a attack,the pain is like a mouth full of broken teeth, the best pain killer by far for toothache is nerofen {iboprofen)and co codamol it takes the dental pain away straight away.If you get an infection from your tooth go to the doctors for penicillian also, as painkillers wont rid the infection...........................hope your ok nowxoxoxoxooxxoxoxooxox

Answer 6

Paracetamol at 500mgs usually does the trick of killing pain in the tooth ache department. You can take up to 6 - 8 of these a day - read the label etc.

Other thing you can do is get hold of a small bottle of Clove Oil [Oil of Cloves] from your supermarket pharmacy department and rub some of that around the gum of the infected tooth. This will help numb the gum and take a lot of the pain away.

Answer 7

In addition to oil of clove, which does have a temporary numbing effect and is thus an excellent oral painkiller, try myrrh gum. You can find this essential oil in most health food shops. If not, see if Boots or some other chemist has it.

The caution about oil of clove is that it should be used very carefully because it is a powerful skin irritant when applied directly. It may be best to dilute it with a water-vinegar solution (or with milk); then shake well and gargle with it as long as you can stand it.

Myrrh gum can be applied safely topically, but beware that it is very sticky and messy, and is very difficult if not impossible to remove from any surface (fingers, clothes, countertop, sink). I recommend dropping it onto a cotton swab held over the rubbish bin, then over to the sink and mirror .

In addition, take propolis (a bee product) in several forms, for overall oral health.

Answer 8

Hi there Razawire, I know what it is like to have toothache like this......it's excruciatingly painful!!! It really does affect your day to day living. What I found to be effective was one paracetamol 500mg and one ibuprofen 400mg. I also used oil of cloves on a piece of cotton wool and bite down on it. Another very good aid is Anbesol liquid on a piece of cotton wool too...all chemists sell it. In between this, get some dried cranberries and wedge one into the cavity....cranberries have great healing and disinfecting properties and it really works! (You can buy them from Tesco)
I hope this infection clears up as quick as possible so that it can be treated by the dentist.

Answer 9

Soluble asprin always seems to work best for hubby. However a comment on a previous amswer, Do Not put neat ground up asprin directly on your tooth/gum it can cause a nasty chemical burn, drinking and swilling the soluble round evoids that but gets the pain killer into your system quickly.

But don't use if you have an ulcer or clotting problems.

We found it does not taste as nasty if you dissolve it in fizzy drink rather than water.

Answer 10

Ibuprofen, try liquid form it works faster. Try also looking for a brand of mouth wash at the drugstore called sterisol, its for infection to heal bring the swelling down. For the tooth pain directly, use a liquid form of extra strength ambesol (for tooth and gum pain). Until you go to the drugstore for her have her hold a warm cloth on her cheek, this helps as well. Hope this helps, toothaches hurt so bad ;(