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Here are some recommended home remedies that will make the toothache better until you can get to the dentist.

1. 1/2 a teaspoon of Nyquil or similar product. Swish around your mouth until better.
2. Cut a piece of fresh onion and put it by the affected tooth.
3. Gargle with alcohol based mouthwash.
4. Put a piece of raw garlic by the affected tooth.
5. Gargle with hard liquor like whiskey or vodka.
6. Swab tooth with clove oil (be careful, it can burn your skin in some cases).
7. Rub the palm of your hand with some ice … some report this really works.
8. Rinse mouth with salt water, brush teeth and rinse with alcohol based mouthwash (get you through a few hours).
9. Swab tooth with vanilla extract.
10. Crushed aspirin dissolved in warm water, gargle.

I’m sure there are a million more (feel free to post yours below in the comments if you have one or success from any of these).

If you are suffering through pain and feel you cannot afford the dentist, go see one anyway – you may be surprised and the dentist will cut you some slack or let you pay by next payday. Toothaches will not get better by themselves. Feel free to use our list of well reviewed dentists in your area if you a looking for “good people”.

Good luck!

Dentistry has undergone many technological advances over the past few years to remedy many of the discomforts and annoyances inherent in the activity. Dentists these days have huge options of equipment, tools and drugs to better improve the dental patient experience.

Long gone are the days of foot powered drilling.

Here, as an example, are some tools now available to today’s dentist to remedy certain less popular experiences in the dental chair…

Negative Effect: Metal Mouth – Fix: Invisible Braces

The powerful image of a mouthful of metal may not be the most aesthetic image, so new technologies such as Invisalign® offer a remedy to this image and comfort issue.

Negative Effect: Dentures – Fix: Oral Implants

A way to replace a missing tooth from gum disease or from accidents is with “fake” teeth. Dental implants look and feel like normal teeth, but cost more than dentures. Implants look very natural and are stable like real teeth as they are “fused” to your bone with screws. Implants often require multiple office visits.

Negative Effect: Gagging – Fix: Isolite®

Like a “flashlight for your mouth,” the IsoLite® mouth irrigation & lighting system was one of the most popular hits of the CDA (California Dental Association) Show of 2009. A clear plastic apparatus replaces the traditional array of hoses & nozzles within the patient’s mouth, forcing their tongue to the side in a comfortable manner yet in a way which allows the dentist to see the inside of a patients mouth more clearly and easily.

Negative Effect: Off Colored Teeth – Fix: Zoom! Teeth Whitening®

A popular teeth whitening system available only from dentists, Zoom!® was featured on the popular ABC show “Extreme Makeover” and its popularity has surged in recent years. Other popular teeth whitening systems include Pola®, Beyond®, Sapphire®, LaserSmile® and Rembrandt®; however, it should be noted that no whitening system can take gray teeth to an ultra-white. There is also some controversy in the dental community as to whether the added light (used as an addition to Zoom!) actually improves the efficiency of any teeth whitening system.

Negative Effect: Numbness – Fix: Oraverse®

Oraverse® is a new product that will reduce that numbness feeling after your procedure. The average time spent waiting for numb gums and cheek to go away is reduced by half. Handy if you are getting dental work during lunch break.

These are just a few of the new tools available to the modern dentist. When evaluating your dentist, make sure to check on the technology in the practice. This may be a deciding factor that reduces the discomfort and increases the pleasure of a trip to the dentist chair.