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The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women: Toothaches

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Toothaches

Toothache

Subdue That Throb

Among the Top 10 Pains Most Women Want to Avoid, a toothache has to rank right up there with Don Rickles.

Your tooth may ache for any number of reasons. Tooth decay--caused by acids from an accumulation of bacteria-laden plaque on your teeth and beneath your gums--is number one, says Carole Palmer, R.D., Ed.D., professor and co-head of the Division of Nutrition and Preventive Dentistry in the Department of General Dentistry at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston.

Women seem to have eating habits custom-made for the plaque attack. "Women tend to be snackers and nibblers," says Dr. Palmer. Each time a sugar or refined carbohydrate settles on your teeth (and that includes sweets, juice, milk, sweetened colas, breath mints and fruits), it provides a tasty meal for the bacteria that live in the plaque in your mouth. For the next 20 minutes or more, acid forms. If your teeth and gums are susceptible, you could be on your way to a cavity, gum disease or an abscess, all of which can cause a toothache.

NURSING YOUR ACHING TOOTHE

Women doctors unanimously agree: If you have a toothache, don't ignore the pain, hoping that it will get better. Pick up the phone, call your dentist and ask for an immediate appointment. The hints offered here are meant to get you through the night until you're safely in the dentist's chair and are not intended as a substitute for medical attention.

Floss. Sometimes a tiny piece of food, like a popcorn hull, can get trapped under your gum line, causing pain and an eventual abscess, says Heidi K. Hausauer, D.D.S., instructor of operative dentistry at the University of the Pacific Dental School in San Francisco and spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry.

Give it a chilly reception. An ice pack applied to the outside of your cheek might numb the region enough to give you some relief, says Caren Barnes, R.D.H., professor of clinical dentistry at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in Birmingham. "But sometimes people with toothaches are so temperature-sensitive, it's better just to leave the tooth alone."

When To See A Doctor

No doubt about it: "Any time you have a toothache, you have to go to the dentist," says Caren Barnes, R.D.H., professor of clinical dentistry at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in Birmingham.

Even if your pain subsides, don't cancel your appointment. The pulp of your tooth may have gone dead, while bacteria continue to multiply, with serious ramifications.

Heat, too, may make a toothache worse, especially if it's a throbbing, pulsating pain caused by inflammation, says Carol Bibb, D.D.S., Ph.D., adjunct associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dentistry.

Walk away tooth pain. After her husband underwent root canal treatment, Dr. Bibb noticed him pacing around waiting for pain medication to take effect. In effect, she says, her husband was self-medicating without knowing it. "Exercise, or do whatever distracts you," says Dr. Bibb.

Twenty-five minutes or so of brisk walking, cycling or some other aerobic (heart-pumping) activity will trigger your brain to release natural feel-good substances called endorphins and supply a dose of pain relief, says practicing psychologist Marian R. Stuart, Ph.D., clinical professor of family medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.

(For practical tips on how to avoid toothache and gingivitis in the first place, see page 242.)

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