The ornament you wear is not much brighter than your smile. This proverb means your smile is costlier and brighter than the costliest metal ornaments you wear. This means the smile from your inner heart is more valuable than the ornament you wear. To have a bright smile, your part in preserving the teeth is more important. Several lifestyle changes have contributed to tooth issues these days. Many people are not able to protect their teeth and mouth from health issues due to work pressure. They search for simple remedies for tooth problems amidst their work imbalance. Here, let’s have a look at the 10 Home Remedies for a Tooth Abscess.
10 Home Remedies for a Tooth Abscess
There are many home remedies to treat a tooth abscess. Here are the 10 Home Remedies for a Tooth Abscess.
1. Rinse your mouth with saltwater
Rinsing your mouth with saltwater reduces your pain and manages your tooth abscess symptoms. This is a simple method to treat your abscessed tooth, which could promote wound healing and healthy gums. The saltwater rinsing helps remove bad breath and keep your mouth clean.
How do I use this remedy?
- Take 1/2 teaspoon of normal table salt.
- Mix that salt with 1/2 cup of warm tap water.
- Check if the salt is dissolved in the warm water.
- Now, rinse your mouth with this warm salt water.
- Make sure that you swish it throughout your mouth for a minimum of two minutes. So that it reaches all parts of your mouth.
- Now, spit the water out.
- Make sure that you rinse approximately for 120 seconds before you spit the water out.
- Repeat this saltwater rinse up to three times per day.
2. Rinsing with Baking soda
Baking soda is one of the best and most affordable options to treat tooth abcesses. This baking soda rinse helps fight bacteria and plaque. Thus, it helps treat various mouth and dental problems. Baking soda is used for this rinsing because it has antibacterial properties.
How do I use this remedy?
- Combine 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with 1/2 cup of water. Also, add a pinch of salt to that baking soda-water mixture.
- Now, pour the mixture into your mouth and swish for up to five minutes.
- Then, spit it out.
- You could repeat this procedure until you finish the whole mixture.
- You could try this baking soda rinse method up to two times per day.
3. Oregano Oil Application
Oregano oil helps reduce the swelling and pain of an abscessed tooth. This is because of its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. But make sure that you use any essential oil, like oregano oil, with a carrier oil to stop further irritation.
How do I use this remedy?
- Take a few drops of oregano essential oil.
- Mix those drops of oregano essential oil with 1 ounce of carrier oil.
- Apply a small amount of this oil mixture to a cotton ball or swab.
- Just keep the cotton ball on the affected area of your mouth for up to three minutes, or 120 seconds.
- Now, take off the cotton ball or swab. Leave the mixture in your mouth for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Finally, rinse to get a better result.
- You could repeat this oregano oil application up to three times a day.
- Some types of carrier oils that you can use with your homemade oregano oil are avocado oil, almond oil, grape seed oil, olive oil, and argon oil.
4. Cold or Ice compress
Cold compress is the simplest method because all you need for this method is ice and a dry towel. This method of cold compression will help lower the pain and swelling.
How to use this remedy?
- Take some ice cubes and place them on a dry towel.
- Hold this compress on your skin near the infected area of the tooth.
- You could apply this compress after every 15-minute interval.
- This cold compress method could be used many times in a day, which may help you to mitigate the pain.
5. Fenugreek tea Application
Fenugreek has amazing health benefits, including promoting insulin production, reducing blood sugar levels, reducing inflammation, and fighting infections. Its antioxidant and antibacterial properties make it a good home remedy for healing wounds and reducing inflammation. Fenugreek is an herb that has profound uses in Asian and Mediterranean foods.
How to use this remedy?
- Combine a teaspoon of fenugreek with one cup of water in a saucepan.
- Nicely, stir the 1 teaspoon of ground fenugreek in the boiling water.
- Allow this fenugreek mixture to cool before you use it with a cotton ball for application.
- Apply a small amount to the affected area with the help of a cotton ball.
- You could repeat this treatment up to three times daily.
6. Clove Essential Oil
Clove oil, which is available in both diluted and concentrated forms, might possess antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Clove oil has been used as a natural toothache remedy since ancient times. Make sure that you use an essential oil in diluted form.
How to use this remedy?
- Simply add an ounce of carrier oil to 3–5 drops of essential oil to dilute the clove essential oil.
- If you don’t have carrier oil, you could use water to make a clove oil mixture.
- After you combine all the ingredients, you could apply the oil mixture to your abscess or infected area using a cotton swab.
- Otherwise, you could prepare a clove oil mouthwash by adding a few drops of the oil to a small glass containing water.
- This clove oil might be used a maximum of three times per day.
7. Thyme essential oil application
Thyme oil is an essential oil that contains antioxidant properties. It might fight bacteria and lower the swelling. Make sure that you dilute the essential oil with a carrier oil before using it.
How do I use this remedy?
- Make a thyme oil mouthwash by mixing a few drops of diluted thyme oil with a few glasses of water.
- Otherwise, you could add a few drops of the essential oil to an ounce of carrier oil.
- Then, you could apply diluted thyme oil to the affected area using a cotton ball or swab.
- You could use this thyme essential oil application three times daily.
8. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide can reduce swelling, fight your infection, and reduce plaque buildup. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a mouthwash due to its antimicrobial effect. It could help reduce bleeding gums.
How do I use this remedy?
- Combine one part 3% hydrogen peroxide with two parts water to make a hydrogen peroxide mouthwash.
- Pour the solution into the mouth and swish it in your mouth. Then spit the solution; do not swallow any of the solution. Warning: Do not swallow hydrogen peroxide solution, as it might result in mild gastritis.
- You could use this hydrogen peroxide solution for mouthwash multiple times per day.
9. Home use of oil pulling
Oil pulling helps remove toxins from the teeth and gums. It is an ancient means of oral hygiene that is used to treat mouth ailments. Though there’s not enough evidence to prove the use of oil pulling, it helps with oral health. Oil pulling might treat bleeding gums, bad breath, and lowering the bacteria. You could use home-made oils like raw coconut oil, sesame oil, and olive oil for oil pulling.
How do I use this remedy?
- Take 1 tablespoon of your chosen oil—sesame, olive, or raw coconut oil—for this method.
- Pour that spoon of oil in your mouth and swish that oil around through your teeth for 20 minutes.
- To treat the abscessed tooth symptoms, make sure that your oil swishing reaches all parts of your mouth.
- Now, spit that oil out in your garbage can instead of sinking it to avoid clogging the pipes.
- Oil pulling is mostly recommended in the morning on an empty stomach.
10. Garlic Paste
Garlic might have wound-healing properties; this might help it be used as a natural remedy. It has been used since ancient times for its beneficial therapeutic uses.
How do I use this remedy?
- Take a fresh clove of garlic.
- Make a paste from it by crushing it nicely.
- Rub that garlic paste on the infected area.
- You could just apply this garlic paste to the dental abscess many times daily.
What is a tooth abscess?
A tooth abscess is an infection in the mouth that is mostly caused by bacteria. It is a pocket of pus that can occur in various areas near the tooth. The infection might be due to an untreated cavity, an injury, or old dental work. Pain, bad breath, and fever are the major symptoms of a tooth abscess. In most cases, the abscess must be drained, but a root canal or antibiotics might be required. In some cases, the tooth needs to be pulled out during a tooth abscess.
Tooth Abcess Symptoms
The symptoms of a tooth abscess are given below:
- Pain during hot and cold temperatures
- Constant toothache, which is spreading to one’s jawbone, neck, or ear
- Discomfort from the pressure of biting or chewing
- Fever
- Inflammation in the cheek, face, or neck results in difficulty breathing or swallowing.
- Foul smell in your mouth
- Swollen lymph nodes in your jaw or neck
- Bad tasting
- Salty fluid in your mouth
- Bad Smell
Foods that are good for your teeth and gums
Milk, Cheese, and Yoghurt
Milk contains rich calcium and other important elements. Milk also lowers the acid levels in the mouth, which helps fight tooth decay.
Cheese is low in sugar and high in calcium. Casein, a protein in cheese, helps fortify tooth enamel. Phosphate in cheese helps balance pH levels in the mouth and preserve tooth enamel.
Yoghurt containing calcium and probiotics helps protect against cavities, gum disease, and bad breath.
Apples and pears
Eating fibrous fruits like apples could help clean your teeth and increase salivation. Chewing fresh apples without sugar helps stimulate your gums, lowers cavity-causing bacteria, and increases saliva flow. Raw pears help neutralise acids in your mouth that cause decay.
Water
In addition to the several health benefits of drinking water, it also helps keep your teeth healthy. Drinking water with fluoride functions as an “easiest cavity fighter,” which would help prevent cavities. Water just washes away the food particles and maintains your salivary levels. Fluoridated water helps improve your oral health.
Fruits and vegetables
Some veggies, like carrots and celery, help freshen breath and remove tooth plaque. Fruits and vegetables containing antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C protect gums from cell damage and bacterial infection.
Carrots, Celery, and Other Crunchy Veggies
Carrots fight against the cavity, apart from giving many dental benefits. Eating fresh carrots cleans your teeth and also helps to swish away bacteria and food particles.
The fibrous texture of celery helps it function as a natural teeth cleaner.
Crunchy veggies have a large water content, so they act as natural teeth cleaners by stimulating saliva flow and helping to wash away food particles and bacteria. These crunchy veggies are usually packed with some of the most important minerals and vitamins needed for your mouth health.
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce contain calcium, folic acid, vitamins, and minerals, which help your teeth and gums.
Whole Grains
Whole grains contain complex carbohydrates rather than simpler carbohydrates. The simple carbohydrates might result in the formation of cavities, while the complex carbohydrates resist the growth of bacteria. Other nutrients in whole grains help protect the teeth and gums.
Meats and Fatty Fish
Chewing meat generates saliva, which helps decrease acidity in your mouth and also wash away the food particles that result in decay. Mutton and chicken are healthier to eat, but not all meats are good. Fatty fish and tofu containing phosphorus help protect the tooth enamel.
Nuts
Nuts contain calcium and phosphorus. Almonds help fight bacteria that result in tooth decay. Peanuts help with tooth and gum health. Cashews help stimulate saliva.
Broccoli
Broccoli is a natural tooth cleaner. In general, they contain Vitamin C and K, which help improve bone health and proper blood clotting.
Kiwis
Kiwis contain Vitamin C, which helps improve resistance against infections in the whole body, including tooth decay.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, which helps to maintain the soft tissue of the gums. and mucous membranes. Vitamin A helps maintain the protein keratin, which encourages the formation of tooth enamel.
Cranberries and raisins
Cranberries contain polyphenols, which are effective at disrupting the process of plaque formation. Fresh cranberries provide antioxidants, which help with oral strength, while dried cranberries might not benefit the teeth.
A phytochemical called oleanolic acid is present in the raisins. This oleanolic acid inhibits the growth of Streptococcus mutans (bacteria causing cavities) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (bacteria causing periodontal disease). Phytochemicals in raisins might help oral health by fighting against bacteria causing cavities and gum disease.
Shiitake Mushrooms
The anti-microbial properties of mushrooms fight tooth decay. A polysaccharide called lentinan in mushrooms prevents the growth of bacteria in the mouth.
Tea and coffee
Teas and coffee contain polyphenols, so they offer several health benefits. Strawberries and Some Berries
You could add fresh fruits and veggies like apples, pineapples, pears, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, and cucumbers to your diet. These veggies and fruits contain vitamin C, which is needed for the collagen in the dentin of teeth to maintain its strength. Strawberries help whiten your teeth naturally.
Conclusion
Tooth abcess is an infection caused mostly by bacteria in the mouth. There are many home remedies to treat a tooth abscess.The above-given 10 remedies help treat tooth abcesses, but you must consult your dental doctor for severe tooth abcesses. Drinking fluoridated water is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do to help prevent cavities. Eating certain foods and avoiding some foods might help prevent tooth abcesses.
FAQs:
1) How do garlic and onions help treat tooth abcesses?
Like onions, garlic might not be good for fresh breath. But the allicin content in garlic, which has antimicrobial properties, helps fight tooth decay and periodontal disease.
