Toothache can be incredibly disruptive for any patient, and particularly so for those who are busy parents – trying to balance caring for their children, daily chores, working, and keeping up with the pressures of family life. It’s important that parents understand the importance of seeking care quickly should they experience dental pain, to ensure it is dealt with at the earliest possible stage, and to prevent any issues progressing further. After all, should the cause of the pain develop into a serious problem, the patient will inevitably require a more extensive and time-consuming treatment type down the line.
As such, it’s important that dental professionals are equipped with the appropriate recommendations for busy parents, both to manage their physical and mental wellbeing, and ensure they can be free of pain as quickly as possible.
Don’t ignore the problem
Sometimes, parents may feel that they can power through the pain of a toothache – but it is absolutely essential to advise against this. Toothache could be a sign of various problems ranging from caries and tooth fracture, to a dental or gingival infection. As such, ignoring the warning sign that something is wrong could result in worse decay or a more serious infection, requiring more invasive treatment to resolve it and often incurring higher costs. In extreme cases, ignoring the problem may lead to severe decay or periodontitis, which may in turn lead to tooth loss or the need for extraction.[i]
Contact the dental practice immediately
Ideally, clinicians should recommend that patients in pain contact the dental practice immediately, to ensure they receive timely care. Whether this is mentioned during routine appointments, or is made clear on the practice website, a dental exam is the best way to eliminate pain long-term by treating the cause. Even if a patient’s pain subsides, it’s crucial that they still seek dental care, as their pain may return with increased severity.
When a patient contacts the practice, it may be helpful to offer advice about what to avoid to prevent their pain from worsening. For example, avoiding potential triggers of pain and sensitivity can help to reduce discomfort whilst they wait to receive care. This might mean limiting hot and cold foods and drinks, sticking to soft foods, and avoiding chewing on the painful area of the mouth. Similarly, it may be helpful to recommend the use of a soft toothbrush, to avoid making the pain and sensitivity worse, whilst still keeping the area clean.[ii]
Utilise at-home pain relief in the short-term
It should be a clinician’s top priority to free patients of pain as quickly as possible, due to childcare arrangements and a busy family life, for some patients, this may mean they are unable to attend the practice for an assessment immediately. Whilst this is not ideal, it is important to offer helpful advice to enable them to effectively manage their dental pain at home whilst they wait for their appointment.
Such advice might include rinsing the mouth with salt water as this is thought to reduce bacteria and inflammation and aid healing. Patients may also take oral painkillers – such as ibuprofen or paracetamol – to help manage the pain, although these can take time to take effect, and will not provide immediate relief from pain. As such, alongside these, a pain-relieving gel should be recommended.ii These can be purchased from supermarkets and pharmacies, and offer an accessible and fast-acting pain relief solution.
Orajel™ Dental Gel is a fantastic option for the rapid relief of toothache, taking action in under 2 minutes.[iii] It contains 10% benzocaine – a powerful local anaesthetic – which can be applied directly to the affected area for fast results, and can be found in supermarkets for easy access. For more acute dental pain, recommend Orajel™ Extra Strength. It contains 20% benzocaine, the highest strength available without a prescription, and can be purchased from pharmacies, quickly acting to numb the painful area.
Even though many parents may be hesitant to visit the dentist for dental pain due to family commitments, it is essential for their health and wellbeing that they do so. By putting their health first, and being free from pain as quickly as possible, they’ll be better equipped to care for their family. For those who are not able to attend the practice immediately, in the case that childcare is not able to be arranged quickly enough, it is important to help patients manage their pain from home.
For essential information, and to see the full range of Orajel products, please visit https://www.orajelhcp.co.uk/
Author: Jenny Sinclair Brown – Orajel Marketing Manager
[i] Oral Health Foundation. National Toothache Day: the hidden dangers of ignoring tooth pain. Accessed Sept 25: https://www.dentalhealth.org/news/national-toothache-day-the-hidden-dangers-of-ignoring-tooth-pain
[ii] NHS. Toothache. Accessed Sept 25: https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/toothache/
[iii] Hersh, EV, et al. An evaluation of 10 percent and 20 percent benzocaine gels in patients with acute toothache. J Am Dent Assoc. 2013;144(5):517–526
