When you encounter a toothache or tooth pain associated with a cavity or tooth abscess, you will need to see your dentist as soon as possible to repair the tooth and remove the infection. Leaving infection in your tooth can lead to additional tooth pain and cause the infection to spread throughout your body. But until your dentist can see you to treat your oral pain, here are some steps you can take at home to alleviate the pain until you can seek the professional care to repair the damage.

Keep Your Mouth Clean

When your tooth has an abscess or infection, there will be quite a bit of bacteria and often a bad taste in your mouth. Keep your mouth clean by brushing your teeth, as usual, keeping the brush from any painful areas on your teeth and gums to help lessen the sensitivity. Be sure to brush the surface of your tongue to help clean your mouth.

Next, you can use a saltwater solution to rinse out your mouth and around your teeth. Combine several teaspoons of salt in a glass of warm water, stirring the mixture until the salt dissolves. Swish this inside your mouth for a minute. The warm water will be soothing and reduce the swelling inside your mouth's infected site.

You can also try oil pulling to trap and remove bacteria and toxins in your mouth as an added way to clean around the infection. Take a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil in your mouth, and when it melts, you can swish it around in your mouth for several minutes. Experts recommend swishing the oil for up to twenty minutes, depending on how much cleaning your mouth needs. After the allotted amount of time, spit the oil into the trash. Make sure never to spit it into the sink because the oil can solidify inside your pipes and cause build-up to clog them.

Treat the Pain

Once your mouth has been rinsed clean, you can use some treatments to reduce and stop the tooth pain. First, place a couple of drops of clove oil onto your finger or a cotton-tipped swab and rub it onto the infection. Clove oil has natural anesthetic properties that dull and greatly reduce pain. Repeat this treatment to the painful area in your mouth as it is needed or every few hours.

You can also apply several drops of clove oil to a cotton ball and place the cotton ball directly onto the cavity and area of pain. This treatment is helpful if you are going to bed for the night, as it will allow the clove oil to remain on the site and reduce the pain through the night. For more information, contact your local family dentist services.