A healthy smile, at any age, is essential for patients to feel their best and boost their self-confidence. This year’s theme of World Oral Health Day, celebrated in March, is “A Happy Mouth is a Happy Life”, highlighting the importance of healthy habits and regular dental appointments at every stage of life, to give people confidence when they eat, speak, and smile.[i] Of course, prevention is a key aspect of this, maintaining oral hygiene and keeping a healthy diet to minimise the risk of caries or gingivitis development. However, this message should also encompass those who already have oral health issues, to get them back on the path to health and confidence.
Often, these oral health concerns are painful, restricting patients’ lives and affecting their ability to eat, sleep, and socialise – ultimately impacting their mental health. As such, it’s important that dental professionals have the ability to make appropriate recommendations to patients in pain, and ensure they are on their journey to optimal oral health and happiness as quickly as possible.
Prevention and systemic concerns
As mentioned, the primary aim for any dental professional is to help patients prevent oral health issues, with oral hygiene and minimally invasive care the first steps in this process. However, at any age, patients may develop oral health issues – with dental caries and gingivitis amongst the most common.[ii] Usually, these can be attributed to factors such as poor oral hygiene and a high-sugar/acid diet, however more recent research has now uncovered the links between systemic health and oral health, suggesting a bi-directional relationship may exist.[iii] As such, clinicians should keep this in mind when assessing patients, and monitor at-risk individuals more closely for early signs of disease. Timely intervention may not only aid a patient’s happiness with their oral health, but their general wellbeing.
Dental pain and its effect on patients’ wellbeing
Of course, dental pain – regardless of the underlying cause – is very uncomfortable. Often, this leads to patients having difficulty eating normally, socialising, or sleeping, with research suggesting that this has a big impact on patients’ wellbeing. In fact, one study found dental pain to be associated with higher levels of stress and depression, even after being adjusted for age, sex, education, wealth, and religion.[iv]
This illustrates the importance of the dental team’s role when managing patients in pain. It’s essential that patients attend the dental practice for assessment if they are experiencing toothache, as this is the only way to discover the cause and provide appropriate treatment. Often, patients will be seeking treatment to relieve them from pain as quickly as possible, which should be accommodated when it can be.
However, in some cases, urgent and emergency appointments may not be available for hours, or sometimes days. As such, it’s important that the dental team can offer patients advice for managing their pain at home, whilst they wait to be seen. This is especially important as dental pain often causes patients to panic, with dentally anxious patients often fearful of dental treatments. Unfortunately, this commonly creates an unfortunate cycle of avoidance of care, and makes it less likely that patients will accept treatment. This avoidance can lead to further issues and, therefore, more pain.[v]
Importance of managing pain and seeking dental care
With this in mind, it’s essential that patients who are experiencing dental issues receive the appropriate advice for pain management. Commonly, patients will reach for paracetamol and ibuprofen in their moment of need, however they are rarely the most effective options for dental pain.
Instead, or alongside these, recommend Orajel™ Dental Gel.[vi] The gel contains 10% benzocaine, a local anaesthetic that works to rapidly numb the painful area in 2 minutes or less.[vii] The topical gel is ideal for managing toothache, as patients can simply use their finger to place a small amount of the gel directly onto the painful area, and experience fast acting relief.vii It can be used up to four times a day to provide pain relief. Orajel™ Extra Strength[viii] is also available from pharmacies, and contains 20% benzocaine for relief of acute toothache.
To help patients maintain a healthy smile, preventative advice at every appointment is crucial. However, pain management when problems do arise is equally important, for reducing the impact of dental pain on their quality of life and mental health. With fast acting and easily accessible solutions on hand, patients are well equipped to temporarily relieve their pain at home whilst they wait for their dental appointments – having a positive impact on their experiences.
For essential information, and to see the full range of Orajel products, please visit https://www.orajelhcp.co.uk/
Author: Sumera Bashir Medical Affairs & Scientific Engagement Lead
[i] World Oral Health Day. Accessed Jan 26. https://www.worldoralhealthday.org/
[ii] World Health Organization. Oral health. Accessed Jan 26. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health
[iii] Natarajan, P., Madanian, S. & Marshall, S. Investigating the link between oral health conditions and systemic diseases: A cross-sectional analysis. Sci Rep 15, 10476 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92523-6
[iv] Hariyani, Ninuk et al. “The Association between Dental Pain and Psychological Symptoms: Evidence from a Population-Based Study in Indonesia.” European journal of dentistry vol. 18,2 (2024): 563-570. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1774320
[v] Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research(US); 2021 Dec. Section 5, Pain, Mental Illness, Substance Use, and Oral Health. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK578300/
[vi] Orajel Dental Gel. Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/1230/smpc
[vii] 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.
[viii] Orajel Extra Strength. Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/1231/smpc
