When kids discover the wonders of sweet desserts and develop sweet tooth, toothache is likely to come next a few weeks or months later. And when your toddler has toothache, all hell breaks loose, especially during the first time. Worse is if the toothache happens in the wee hours of the night when a visit to the dentist is impossible.
Here are first aid remedies for kids’ toothache that you can apply as recommended by no less than the Colgate Oral Care Center:
Mouth Rinse Solution
What you can do is prepare a mouth rinse solution to reduce gum inflammation. Just a teaspoon of table salt mixed into a glass of water ought to do it. Have your kid swish it, especially in the area where the aching tooth is, and then spit the whole thing out. If it’s your kid’s first time to make a mouth rinse and he accidentally swallows some of the solution, no cause for worry. It’s just natural salt and water.
But the relief is just temporary. Make sure to take your kid to the dentist some time in the day.
Cold Compress
After the salt water mouth rinse, apply external cold compress on the part of the cheek where the aching tooth is located. Cold compress kind of numbs the gum and helps delay the pain for a while. But again, you cannot apply it all your kid’s life just to avoid visiting the dentist. You have to take him there for the right long-lasting remedy.
Natural Pain Reliever
Colgate recommends clove oil as a topical natural pain reliever. It works like an analgesic and can serve as antibacterial remedy as well. Simply soak a cotton bud or swab in the oil and apply around the affected gum of the aching tooth. You may also buy medication for tooth pain relief with clove oil as an active ingredient. If the toothache is caused by a cavity, insert a small piece of garlic into the cavity, although that’s a remedy commonly advised by old folks, not Colgate. But it works.
Don’t ignore the problem after the child has received first aid remedies for kids’ toothache because they only offer temporary relief. It may seem that everything’s okay and seeing a dentist is now unnecessary. You never know if the source of the toothache is serious or not. Toothaches are caused by a lot of things, not just simple cavities, loose tooth, or small food particles stacked up in-between teeth. Sometimes, it is caused by a severe oral infection that needs immediate dental attention.
