Prescription-free analgesics

Mild toothache can be relieved in most cases by taking light painkillers. Analgesics such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin can be purchased without a doctor’s prescription. In addition, various combination preparations are available without prescription in pharmacies.

These painkillers are usually compositions of different active ingredients. In the treatment of acute toothache, however, it is not advisable to take these over-the-counter combination preparations. It is more difficult to maintain exact dosages of the active ingredients best suited for the treatment of toothache when using combination preparations.

Paracetamol

Taking paracetamol is an effective first measure in the presence of toothache. Nevertheless, the patients concerned should be aware that the actual cause of the toothache cannot be eliminated even by the use of paracetamol or alternative painkillers. For this reason, prompt consultation with a dentist should not be disregarded.

Patients for whom it is not possible to take paracetamol can take alternative painkillers for acute pain relief. For the temporary treatment of toothache, ibuprofen-containing analgesics are suitable in addition to the common paracetamol. However, aspirin should not be taken if toothache is present.

This fact can be explained by the fact that aspirin, unlike paracetamol, has an influence on blood clotting. Through an irreversible inhibition of the blood platelet function, blood clotting is inhibited when aspirin is taken. This is a serious problem at the latest when visiting the dentist.

Depending on the cause of the toothache, heavy bleeding may occur during treatment. In case of doubt, the view of the treatment area can be restricted by these bleedings to such an extent that an adequate therapy becomes almost impossible. In addition to the common active ingredients paracetamol and ibuprofen, a number of alternative painkillers can be used to alleviate acute toothache.

Depending upon cause of the toothache already simple household remedies such as caraway oil, tea tree oil or cinnamon oil can contribute to the Linderung. These rather alternative painkillers have so far proved to be useful especially for teething children. Toothache of the adult can be lindern in this way in most cases only conditionally.

In the treatment of adult toothache, alternative painkillers based on juniper and coltsfoot should be particularly helpful. An infusion of juniper leaves, coltsfoot leaves and juniper berries is said to help against throbbing toothache. Furthermore, such infusions are said to have antibacterial properties.The use of paracetamol for mild, throbbing toothache should be easy to handle in this way.

Other alternative painkillers for toothache consist of a mixture of different herbs. Ready-made herbal mixtures are composed of peppermint, sage, St. John’s wort and valerian and can be purchased in pharmacies and health food stores. In addition, some patients swear by the use of cloves to treat mild toothache. By biting on a clove as an alternative painkiller, the pain should be relieved even without the use of potent analgesics such as paracetamol. In this context, however, it should be noted that toothache caused by nerve damage is actually increased in this way.