Joint Pain

Are there any pain relief remedies for a small gum infection while I wait for my dentist appointment?

I suspect I'm suffering from pericoronitis (small, painful gum infection caused by being stubborn and not having my wisdom teeth pulled sooner). I have a dentist appointment but its a ways off and the pain is moderate. Symptoms include: Sharp pain behind and around my bottom left wisdom tooth, pain opening jaw, pain swallowing, aching lower left jaw, and bad breath. I'm getting some relief with 800mg of Motrin 3 times a day with meals but its starting to wear off quicker and I'm afraid to take any more. I've pushed on the tooth and it doesn't hurt, so I'm pretty sure its my gums. I think.

Public Comments

1. This tastes nasty, but put a plain aspirin, or plain Tylenol in your mouth and let it melt against the sore part of your gum. If you are lucky and the pain is on the cheek side, your cheek will hold the aspirin just fine. If you have to hold it in place with your tongue, that is just not a delicious experience.
2. Treatment It's important to treat pericoronitis, not only because it's painful, but because treatment can prevent a more serious infection from spreading to the neck and cheeks. First, your dentist need to make sure that pericoronitis is what's causing your discomfort. To do that, your dentist will perform a thorough examination. The exam may include probing the gum around the affected tooth and taking x-rays. If your dentist find pericoronitis, he or she will treat it by thoroughly removing plaque and bacteria from the affected tooth and rinsing around and under the gum flap. To prevent pericoronitis from reoccurring, your dentist may, depending on the circumstances, surgically remove or reshape the gum around the tooth or extract the tooth. Your dentist will also advise you about taking care of the area at home. Homecare may include rinsing your mouth with warm salt water (about 1 Tbs. salt per glass of warm water) or an antimicrobial mouthwash. Your dentist may also suggest that you use an oral irrigator to soothe the area and help keep the area bacteria-free. In some cases, your dentist may also prescribe antibiotics. Pericoronitis is painful and can lead to more serious problems, but be assured that it can be treated and your pain-free smile restored.
3. It sounds like you are doing the right thing for the problem so far. As long as you are otherwise healthy, you can take 800mg ibuprofen every 6 hours for a week or so. If this stops working, don't take more. Take 400mg ibuprofen and 1000mg Tylenol (2 extra strength tabs). Rinse the area with warm water and salt (1 teaspoon salt in 8-12 ounces warm water) once every hour to get some relief and to kill some bacteria in the area. Unfortunately, even when you see your dentist, he may not be able to take it out for you that day. Very often, you may need to wait to have the actual extractions done or be sent to an oral surgeon to have the tooth extracted. Also, if you have other wisdom teeth, you may want to go to sleep to have all of them removed at once so that this doesn't happen again. I hope this helps. Lastly, do NOT dissolve anything taken by mouth against your soft tissues of your mouth. Aspirin as acetylsalicylic ACID and will BURN YOU if you let it dissolve in your mouth, creating a whole host of other problems. I hope you feel better soon.