Let's say you get a terrible tootache, or a filling falls out, and it is not possible tomake it to the dentist immediately (middle of the night, bad weather, holiday etc...) What do you do? What do you do if it is a child?

This is just for informational purposes. Thanks!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 22, 2002

Answers

Clove Oil! Trust me. From someone that can't have dental work done cause of chemical poisoning. Almost died from laughing gas. Even had one infected/broken tooth pulled without any numbing one of those long ones. (never again in Jesus' name)

Best to apply with a dropper or Q-tip. if you get it on your ips, tongue etc. rinse with milk, it's the only thing I've found that will take the fire out.

-- Cindy (SE. IN) (atilrthehony@hotmail.com), January 22, 2002.

Hey, Cindy- I've heard that a lot about clove oil-where do you find it?

Can you believe that we have a dentist in town who, in an emrgency will come in and meet you in his office on a Sunday, or a holiday?

Still. I HATE going to the dentist, I'd rather use the clove oil.....

-- Kelly (KY) (Homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 22, 2002.

oil of clove and zinc oxide,, 50/50 mix,, thats what temperary fillings are make from,, they also make little kits with it in them. Oil of cloves will take th pain away better than novacain

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 22, 2002.

Chewing tobacco nums the nerves within a few minutes. Thats why the oldtimers had no teeth or pain.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 22, 2002.

You can buy clove oil at drug stores. some have special little bottles for around $3. You can also find it for around a dollar sold with other flavorings in drug and other stores.

-- Cindy (SE. IN) (atilrthehony@hotmail.com), January 22, 2002.

I second the clove oil!! It works like nothing else.

-- Terry -NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), January 22, 2002.

My mom used to use oil of cloves for toothaches on us when we were little and it does indeed work - temporarily. One still needs to go to the dentist however to get the tooth taken care of as oil of cloves is not a cure! Only a temporary remedy. If you are near a dental school, they usually have an emergency room and will see patients anytime. The University of Ky. has one although it is staffed by residents. A lot of dentists will go to their office for emergencies after hours like Kelly said. Take care of your teeth, you've only got one set!!!! Dentures are no substitute, ask anyone who has them.

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 22, 2002.

Barb brought up something-When we lived in the city we would go to a dental school for dental care-the students need practice and its very cheap! They were very careful and consciensious about their work, we were quite pleased. just a thought for city homesteaders.

-- Kelly(KY) (homearts2002@yahoo.com), January 22, 2002.

I once read that when the old timers had a bad tooth, they stuck a whole clove in the cavity. Then they either had to get a friend (?) to pull it, travel quite a distance to a dentist, or wait for the traveling dentist to make his rounds to their area.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), January 22, 2002.

Barb, I have to disagree with about the dentures, I have had dentures since I was 14 Im now 46 and it was the best thing I ever did. My parents spent a fortune on my teeth, and as soon as the filling was put in the tooth is started rotting out and was completly gone in three months. My teeth were just to soft to hold fillings.But not everyone has problems with dentures.

-- Roxanne (Roxanne143@webt.net), January 22, 2002.

My husband ahs a cousin who also had very soft teeth. He was often sick and felt horrible. After having his teeth removed he said he felt better than he ever had in his life. I think the bacteria can spread through your whole body, thus making you feel lousy!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 22, 2002.

There are exceptions to every case but most everyone I have talked to who has dentures, wishes they still had their own teeth. Yes, if you have infections in your teeth it can spread throughout your body and that is not good. I personally would prefer to take care of the infection and get the took fixed if I could. I've had about 5 teeth pulled in my life and I regret it. I'll do most anything now to keep what I have left! I have over 6 teeth capped and am pretty sure I'm going to have to have another one capped which broke off a couple of weeks ago when I bit down on a nut! My teeth are soft too I guess because I have osteoporosis. I know people who have worn dentures for years and their gums shrink making it very difficult to keep the dentures in. Not me if I can help it! I want to be buried with my own choppers!!!

-- Barb in Ky. (bjconthefarm@yahoo.com), January 22, 2002.

Grandpa would take an asprin,, and grind it into the cavity that was causing pain. The asprin would "burn" the nerve out,,so it didnt hurt any more,, not that , that treatment fixed the tooth,, but at least it never hurt again

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 22, 2002.

I know nothing about home remedies for toothaches, but ibuprophen is the over-the-counter drug of choice for dental pain. Dentists recommend it over codiene after extractions, etc...it is an anti- inflammatory as well as an analgesic and anti-fever medication...small toddlers on up can safely have it in liquid form.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 22, 2002.

I should have asked about this Friday night! I took John Michael to the dentist yesterday and they are sending us to a pediatric dentist about 1 hour away. He broke the tooth clear down to the nerve and between Friday night and Monday morning it seems to have gotton inflamed and infected. Anyway, they have him on antibiotics and motrin. He doesn't see the specialist until Feb.4!!!!! I hate to give him medication (motrin) all that time. I will have to go get some clove oil and see if that will help.I asked if there was an earlier time and they said I was lucky to get that one that quick. Tell that to a 6 year old!

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), January 22, 2002.

Ditto on the clove oil. Our son had a terrible tooth ache on Christmas Eve (no dentists available) and still was miserable on Christmas Day. I advised him to try the clove oil, and although I couldn't believe all the Walgreens stores were open on Christmas, he did find some and it got him through until the next day and a root canal took care of the problem. Cost was $13 for a small bottle, tho. Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), January 22, 2002.

Melissa, out of curiousity, why don't you feel comfortable giving your child Motrin until 2/4 for his toothache and the inflammation?

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 22, 2002.

Leslie, it was Micheale, not me!! I usually do use Motrin/ibuprofen when my children need some sort of pain reliever or fever medication. I think it lasts longer, is more effective, and works better. Tylenol medication doesn't seem to have any effect on my children or me. My pediatrician usually reccommended it instead of Tylenol, so that is generally what we use when necessary. However I prefer to not give anything until it is really necessary or the child is very uncomfortable.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), January 23, 2002.

Peel a clove of garlic & get it as close to the pain as possible & let it stay there for a day or so (you don't make many friends this way!) Also, works wonders for an abcess.

-- hmm (h.m.metheny@att.net), January 23, 2002.

I was going to say, Micheale, that many shopping malls (depending on where you live) now have dental offices with weekend (including Sunday) hours. That would also be another option, and even if they couldn't have fixed the problem completely, they could have put a temp crown or something on the tooth. Most people waiting would understand a delay because of an emergency patient, especially if it is a child.

I would also suggest that if you can (even if not covered by dental insurance--most only cover 2 cleanings per calendar year) afford it, have a third cleaning per year. This could catch a lot of problems ahead of time. Unless a filling cracks or there is a fall or something like that, chances are if you have a toothache, it could have been caught earlier.

There are also kits you can buy with temp filling (I think Cavit is one brand) either in drugstores or backpacking stores. And if you need a plug, try kneading the clove oil into some beeswax.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 23, 2002.

I don't mind giving him Motrin at all, I just hate to give it to him that long. They said every 6 hours. That is a lot of medicine! Not for the cost alone but we are a big natural first kind of family and I have never given medication for that long(not prescription anyway).So I thought if the clove oil helped I might alternate.

-- Micheale from SE Kansas (mbfrye@totelcsi.net), January 23, 2002.

I just read in a magazine that you can also mix ground cloves with a littel olive oil, and make a paste. Apply this to the tooth. It says it works as good as the oil, and most of us probably have ground cloves on hand. This was in Good Housekeeping magazine.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), January 24, 2002.

Yes, clove oil does wonders. I keep it on hand at all times.....but.....if there's a cut in the gums.....wheeew..it stings, then you're numb and relieved. The clove of garlic also works, stings a bit too at first, but certainly helps with infections..any kind of infections!

-- R from NY (realstated@aol.com), August 04, 2002.

Cashews work wonders also. I know it sounds crazy but a dental assistant advised me of it. If you get tooth or gum pain and cann't get into the dentist right away....or are a fraidy cat like me...try eating cashews or crushing them and holding them in your mouth (to get the oils out of the nuts) http://members.tripod.com/~charles_W/tooth.html

-- michelle (unclebuck@bwsys.net), September 09, 2002.