Dental pain can be really uncomfortable – and worrying too.

The key to dental pain is to take action. You absolutely do not have to live with pain. Sometimes there are steps that you can take yourself and sometimes you just need to get some professional support.

What are the sources of dental pain?

If you’re struggling with regular, severe dental pain – or even a mild toothache – then there could be any number of causes behind it.

• A dental abscess – a build up of pus inside the teeth, gums and bones. This can be incredibly painful and isn’t something you can deal with on your own.
• A damaged filling – you may have lost a filling or you might have damaged it in some way. The result could be some pretty severe dental issues.
• A fracture to a tooth – this kind of damage could be the result of a trauma, lack of oral care or wear and tear. Either way it can be pretty painful.
• Infected gums – it may feel as if it’s your teeth that are aching but if you’ve got infected gums then this can cause a nagging and uncomfortable dental pain.
• Wear and tear – toothache could be the result of repeatedly chewing something like gum, or of grinding your teeth over a long period of time.

Symptoms and how to relieve them

Mild pain – if you have just mild dental pain then take some over the counter painkillers as temporary relief and see if the symptoms ease after a day or so. If not then you will need to go to the dentist.

Severe pain – when pain is so severe that it’s interfering with your daily life you can’t wait and should see a dentist as soon as possible.

A fever or earache – if your toothache is also causing changes elsewhere in your body then book an emergency dental appointment.

An unpleasant taste in your mouth – if you have a bad taste in your mouth, combined with dental pain then this could well be an abscess. Ibuprofen is the best type of painkiller for a dental abscess and be sure to steer clear of hot and cold drinks and food or chewing anything hard until you have seen a dentist.

Painful gums – you’ll need to see a dentist if your gums are painful or seem infected. However, in the meantime you can try gargling with salt water every hour or so to relieve any swelling.

Appointments

We have emergency appointments available every day. These are only available by phoning and speaking to reception.

Appointments are available via our on line booking system – you can write a note to let us know what is happening.