Targeted relief for dental pain

Dental pain can have a huge impact on patients’ lives – affecting their work, sleep, and ability to eat the foods they love. Because of this, it’s important that the dental team can help to assist patients in their pain management, even before they visit the practice.

Toothache causes, management, and relief

When the dental pulp is exposed, irritated, or inflamed, patients experience toothache. There are a number of causes for this to happen, including dental decay, dental fracture, receding gums, or dental treatment complications – like a loose filling, for example.

There are a number of triggers which may cause the pain to worsen, and it can be helpful to make patients aware of these to help them avoid pain whilst they wait for a dental appointment. These triggers include:

Cold food or drinks
Sweet foods
Biting down whilst eating, for example
Pressure, such as from orthodontic treatment

Orajel™ Dental Gel is ideal for patients with toothache. It contains 10% benzocaine, a powerful local anaesthetic, which reduces pain associated with a broken tooth or a tooth that may require a filling. Patients are able to apply the gel directly to the painful area, giving them control over the product, allowing it to provide targeted relief. Unlike traditional pain relief methods, including painkiller drugs and hot and cold compresses, Orajel™ Dental Gel works almost instantly, reaching its full effect in under two minutes.

For patients experiencing more acute toothache, Orajel™ Extra Strength is an excellent solution. It delivers rapid pain relief as its formula features the maximum level of benzocaine available without a prescription (20%) – with individuals able to purchase it at the pharmacy. In the same way as Orajel™ Dental Gel, Orajel™ Extra Strength can be applied directly to the affected tooth, for effective and targeted relief, quickly.

Mouth ulcers and denture pain

Of course, toothache is not the only reason a patient might contact their dental practice reporting pain in their mouth. Mouth ulcers can be incredibly uncomfortable, sometimes leading people to contact their dentist and ask for advice. Usually they are minor, caused by trauma to the mouth – for example, biting the cheek or injury during brushing, and heal without medication.

Whilst they usually heal on their own, mouth ulcers can be painful. As such, it’s important to offer patients appropriate advice to help them manage their pain whilst they heal. This might include avoiding triggers:

Lowering stress, as fatigue and emotional stress are associated with mouth ulcers, ensuring patients aim to increase rest and relaxation
Chewing carefully to avoid further or worsening mouth injuries
Avoiding hot, spicy, and acidic foods to prevent mouth ulcers from becoming more painful

In terms of actively reducing pain, Orajel™ Mouth Gel is a fantastic choice. The gel contains 10% benzocaine, and provides temporary relief of pain from mouth ulcers and from wearing dentures.

By managing their pain at home whilst they heal, patients are able to maintain their quality of life, keep their teeth clean, and eat a balanced diet.

Waiting for emergency care

Dental pain is a very common issue, with an Orajel™ 2025 Survey revealing that 50.8% of dental professionals are contacted by a patient in dental pain every day. In order to meet this demand, 74.2% of respondents reported that they usually offer an emergency appointment on the same day, with a further 18.2% offering emergency appointments the next day. As such, it is sometimes necessary to offer advice for at home management of pain, particularly if patients are waiting hours or days to be seen by a clinician.

Pain relief gel is an excellent option for patients who require immediate relief from dental and mouth pain. Orajel™ contains benzocaine, which enables patients to apply the local anaesthetic to the painful area, making it incredibly easy to use, and ensuring very fast results, perfect for those awaiting emergency dental appointments.