Simple Hobby Homesteading

All righty, I am supposed to be working on several different blog posts right now… Uses for Diamesteacous Earth, Gardening… When Can I FINALLY Get Dirty?, Unschooling a High Schooler, What’s For Dinner?, and the list goes on for quite a ways.

However… I have a toothache. Not just any toothache… I have a pounding, jackhammer in my jaw, head and neck hurting kind of toothache. About a month ago I cracked a tooth or a filling (not sure which) and lost a big chunk of something (tooth, filling, who knows… just a gaping spot that needed fixing… hand me the spackle!). Went to dentist, he fixed me up with a huge silver looking filling (no gold 🙁 ) and sent me on my way.

Well, Wednesday night (3 days ago) I started getting this bad toothache. I looked and sure enough there’s a crack on the big silver filling part. Called my dentist first thing Thursday morning and the soonest I could get in is next Wednesday. I’m really not a complainer but this sucker hurts!

I called back about 3 hours later that day and asked to be put on the cancellation waiting list… I promised I could be there in 5 minutes (virtually impossible as we live 15 minutes away from dentist but I was willing to promise anything at that point) if someone canceled. I was given a pain med presciption for Hydrocodon with Acetaminophen (Tylenol) after I kept calling the dentist office every hour to check if anyone had canceled (I totally was not offended when every time the receptionist said “Don’t worry Jhenna, we will call you. You do not need to call us, we will call you.”) I scaled back to every 2 hours just in case. I promise I am not usually this neurotic but did I mention my tooth really hurt?

I lamented to my husband via text and he suggested I look around to see if I could get in somewhere else. I did, I couldn’t. All dentists were conspiring against me most assuredly. Had the receptionist called everyone and told them I was crazy? Possibly, but the tooth WAS making me crazy.

So then the research started. What can be done at home for a toothache? Amazingly enough, doomsday preppers offered the best insight and advice! The following is a list that Kevin and I came up with and the success rate of each (or why I didn’t try them).

Ummmm do I have to say “I am not a doctor and this is not to be considere medical advice?” OK, I am not a doctor and this is not considered medical advice. I just tried some stuff and wrote down what happened (or didn’t happen). Feel free to try these at home but don’t blame me if your kids laugh at you, you develop a drinking problem, you become obsessed with essential oils, or your tooth explodes.

1. Orajel or Ambesol: A benzocaine topical ointment meant to numb the area. I was told by my dentist and most “preppers” agreed, DON’T USE THIS. It can cause abscesses to rupture which can easily lead to infection.

2. Over the counter pain relief meds: Ibuprofen can work for some but should not be taken in conjunction with Tylenol. Tylenol works well but can be rough on your organs. Aspirin is another good option (can be rough on tummy) and can be used in conjunction with the Tylenol. I have been taking the prescription Tylenol with Hydrocodon every 4 hours and the aspirin every 3 hours to offset when the Tylenol starts to wear off. Seriously, this tooth hurts that bad.

3. Warm salt water: Yes! This is one that has helped a lot but only gives temporary relief (about 20 minutes). Warm water with as much salt as you can stand. Swish it around in your mouth, especially the affected area, as often as needed. I am doing this about every 2 hours and after I eat or drink anything.

4. Whiskey: OK, seriously, whiskey? Yup! Kevin brought home a bottle of whiskey and sure enough it works (though only very short term for me). The first time I tried it was yesterday. Kevin had just gotten home with Bayer aspirin, whiskey, and clove oil. Took some Bayer aspirin right away and decided to try whiskey next because my tooth really hurt.

I asked, “Will this hurt?” Kevin replied, “Nah, it’s just whiskey.” I poured a little in a glass, hesitated for a second and then filled up my mouth and immediately swished it over to the upper right side of my mouth… OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, yup that hurt. Like a bolt of electricity shot through my upper right jaw and needless to say I screamed and spit it out.

My oldest son came in, curious as to what was going on. No worries, dad is just trying to kill mom with whiskey, carry on son. Apparently this was entertaining because he stayed to watch and our youngest son even found his way in for the show.

I decided to try again as maybe it was just the pressure of shooting the liquid directly at my tooth that made it hurt like that. Or maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment… either way my tooth still hurt.

I poured another glass, filled my mouth, and slowly tilted my head to the right and let the whiskey ease it’s way over my tooth area. It burned (like burned my whole mouth, how do people drink this stuff?) but I just kept my head tilted and let the whiskey sit on and in my tooth area. I was then able to swish, swish, swish gently without pain. The toothache even went away while I was swishing and it was surrounded by it’s warm whiskey blanket.

I spit out the whiskey and my mouth burned for a short time but the toothache stayed away for all of 5 minutes! Woohoo! On to the next thing…

5. Clove oil: I had never heard of this but apparently doomsday preppers love this one! Clove essential oil is an amazing topical pain reliever. Kevin had found “Red Cross Toothache” at CVS which contained pure clove oil with sunflower oil (a carrier oil is a must to prevent skin burning). It even came with itty bitty cotton balls and cute little tweezers to grab the cotton balls, stick them in the oil, and then place on the tooth (not the gums, directly on the tooth).

I was dubious, but prepared to try anything especially with two sons expecting me to try the whole arsenal of tooth care products found by dad. Yeah, mom is an awesome guinea pig. Besides, those itty bitty cotton balls are adorable!

So I got a cotton ball, dipped it in the clove oil, placed it up against my tooth with one finger and held it there for the required 1 minute (Kevin was keeping track with the boys encouraging me the entire time… tooth care is a family affair at The Shepherd Hobby Farm!) I had brushed the cotton ball against my lips and cheek by accident on the way to my upper right tooth and noticed a tingling burning sensation in every area the clove oil had touched. As the seconds ticked by the burning increased.

I tried to ask Kevin if the burning was normal (hindsight… why in the world would he know?) but I had my massive farmworking hands shoved in my mouth holding the itty bitty cottonball up against my tooth so it was a little difficult to get my question undestood. The boys were laughing because apaprently this was all very funny. My oldest son offered up, “I think she says it’s burning” as I emphatically shook my head yes. Kevin’s reply, “Ok, only about 20 seconds left.”

Minute done, cotton ball came out and surprisingly there was no tooth pain. In fact, my whole rights side of my mouth is numb. Nice, I’ll take it! So the clove oil is effective for about 30 to 45 minutes which is awesome and I have repeated it several times since then.

6. Ice packs: If there is an abscess (or not I guess) and there’s swelling an ice pack held up to the outside of the affcted area relieves some pain. Yes, this worked for me but became uncomfortable after a while and it’s annoying to walk around with an ice pack taped to the side of your head (I will not confirm nor deny that I did that).

7. Vanilla Extract: Saturate a cotton ball with vanilla and hold in place. Can also use a cotton swab dipped in extract. I tried this with imitation vanilla extract and it did nothing. Not going all the way to store for pure vanilla extract. Anyone try this and have it work? Just curious.

8. Almond Extract: Same method of treatment as with Vanilla (above). I did have pure almond extract and it did nothing to help.

9. Peppermint Extract: Same as with Vanilla (above). Didn’t have it, not going to store to get it.

10. Lemon Extract: Same as with Vanilla (above). Didn’t have it, not going to store to get it.

11. Tea tree oil: Saturate a cotton ball with oil and hold in place. Can also use a cotton swab dipped in oil. Tried this (yeah for lotion and soap making supplies!!) and the tea tree oil tasted so nasty I did not hold it on long enough for it to be effective. Nasty tasting stuff!

12. Apple Cider Vinegar: Soak a cotton ball with apple cider vinegar (ACV) and hold it in place. Can also try regular household vinegar. I tried both of these. It stung like crazy and actually made it hurt worse 🙁 Bad vinegar, very bad.

13: Baking Soda: Take a cotton swab and moisten it with a bit of water, dip it in baking soda (coat the swab really well with baking soda) then apply. You can also make a mouth rinse by mixing a heaping spoonful of baking soda in a small glass of lukewarm to warm water, dissolve the soda then swish the mixture in your mouth. Tried it, offered no relief.

14. Warm or hot compress against outside of affected area. I was told by my dentist to never ever use anything warm or hot on the cheek because it will help to breed the infection (if there is one) and make it worse.

15. Potato: Cut a fresh piece of potato (raw, skin off) and hold in place. Can also pound a piece of raw potato, mix in a bit of salt and use the mash. Seriously? This one was a little weird and not nearly as fun as whiskey but probably a lot less likely to hurt so I gave it a shot. It did nothing to help 🙁

 

Ok, so there you have it? Any other toothache cures that you all hae? I’d love to hear them because it’s Saturday and I still don’t head to the dentist until Wednesday (unless someone cancels… please someone cancel!!) and I only have 4 of my prescription pills left (which work THE BEST!!) to last me until Monday. Sorry for kinda sounding like an addict right there… it’s the tooth talking! UGH! Ain’t nobody got time for this.