The fastest way to relieve a toothache at home is to take ibuprofen and acetaminophen together, rinse with warm salt water, and apply a cold compress to your cheek. These three steps can significantly reduce pain and swelling while you arrange to see a dentist, which should be your next move for any toothache that lasts more than a day or two.
Combine Two Pain Relievers for Stronger Relief
Taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen together works better for dental pain than either one alone. Ibuprofen reduces inflammation at the source of the pain, while acetaminophen blocks pain signals through a different pathway. Using both covers more ground than picking just one.
A combination tablet containing 125 mg ibuprofen and 250 mg acetaminophen is available over the counter. The standard dose for adults and children 12 and older is two tablets every eight hours, with a maximum of six tablets per day. If you’re buying them separately, follow the dosing instructions on each package and stagger them so you’re not taking both at the exact same time.
American Dental Association guidelines specifically recommend over-the-counter acetaminophen and ibuprofen as the go-to pain management for most dental pain, noting that antibiotics are not needed for the vast majority of toothaches. Antibiotics don’t relieve pain, and taking them unnecessarily contributes to resistance. The actual fix for a toothache is dental treatment, not a course of antibiotics.
Rinse With Warm Salt Water
Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of warm water and swish it gently around the painful area for 30 seconds before spitting it out. If your mouth is especially sore, start with half a teaspoon for the first day or two.
Salt water works through osmosis. It draws fluid out of swollen, inflamed gum tissue, which reduces pressure and pain. It also pulls water out of bacteria in your mouth, killing many of them in the process. A salt water rinse won’t cure whatever is causing the toothache, but it can keep the area cleaner and less inflamed while you wait for treatment. You can repeat it several times a day.
Apply a Cold Compress
Place an ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables against the outside of your cheek, over the painful area. Keep a thin cloth between the ice and your skin. Hold it there for 10 to 20 minutes at a time, then remove it and let your skin return to normal temperature before reapplying. Cold narrows the blood vessels in the area, which slows blood flow to the inflamed tissue, reduces swelling, and dulls pain signals.
Try Clove Oil for Temporary Numbing
Clove oil is the most well-established herbal remedy for toothache pain, and it’s not just folklore. The active compound in clove oil acts as a local anesthetic at low concentrations, reversibly blocking nerve signals in the area where it’s applied. It also inhibits the production of inflammatory chemicals through the same pathways that ibuprofen targets, giving it a mild anti-inflammatory effect on top of the numbing.
To use it, put a small amount of clove oil on a cotton ball or cotton swab and hold it against the painful tooth and surrounding gum. The taste is strong and the sensation can be intense for a few seconds before the numbing kicks in. Clove oil is available at most pharmacies and health food stores. It’s a temporary measure, not a treatment, but it can bridge the gap when you’re waiting for pain relievers to kick in or need relief between doses.
Be Careful With Numbing Gels
Over-the-counter gels containing benzocaine are sold for oral pain relief, and many people reach for them during a toothache. They work by numbing the surface tissue. However, the FDA has issued warnings about benzocaine products because they can cause a rare but serious condition called methemoglobinemia, in which red blood cells lose much of their ability to carry oxygen. This risk is highest in children, and benzocaine products should not be used for teething pain at all. For adults, these gels offer only brief, superficial relief. The combination of ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and clove oil generally works better.
How to Sleep With a Toothache
Toothaches famously get worse at night, and there’s a straightforward reason. When you lie flat, gravity sends more blood to your head and neck, increasing pressure inside inflamed dental tissues. That pressure amplifies the throbbing.
Elevating your head about 30 to 45 degrees above horizontal counteracts this. Stack two or three pillows, or sleep in a reclining chair if you have one. This position reduces the volume of blood flowing to the affected tooth, often making the pain noticeably more manageable. Take your pain relievers about 30 minutes before you plan to fall asleep so they’re at full effect when you lie down.
What’s Actually Causing the Pain
A toothache happens when the nerve inside a tooth or the tissue surrounding it becomes irritated or infected. The most common causes are cavities that have reached the inner nerve chamber, cracked teeth, gum infections, and abscesses (pockets of infection at the root tip). In all of these cases, the underlying problem won’t resolve on its own. Home remedies manage the pain, but only a dentist can address what’s driving it.
Some toothaches feel sharp and triggered by hot, cold, or sweet foods. That pattern often points to a cavity or a crack. A constant, deep, throbbing ache that worsens when you lie down or bite down usually indicates the nerve inside the tooth is inflamed or dying. A dull, widespread ache in the upper teeth on both sides can sometimes be sinus pressure rather than a dental problem, especially during allergy season or a cold.
Signs You Need Emergency Care
Most toothaches warrant a dental appointment within a few days, not a trip to the emergency room. But certain symptoms signal a spreading infection that needs immediate attention:
- Fever combined with facial swelling. This suggests the infection is moving beyond the tooth into surrounding tissues. If you can’t reach your dentist, go to an emergency room.
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing. A dental infection that spreads into the throat or floor of the mouth can compromise your airway. This is a true emergency.
- Rapidly worsening swelling. If swelling in your face, jaw, or neck is visibly progressing over hours rather than staying stable, the infection may be entering deeper tissue spaces.
A toothache that stays relatively stable in intensity, without fever or significant swelling, is not an emergency. But it still needs professional treatment. The pain relievers and home remedies above can keep you comfortable in the meantime, sometimes for several days if needed. Just don’t mistake pain relief for resolution. The problem is still there, and it will come back.