Can anyone recommend a wallet friendly OTC local anaesthetic for toothache?

Gunner567

I was in the process of having some work done on my teeth, with the current situation with Covid-19, my dentist cancelled all appointments. They can't help me as I'm not in enough pain for it to be an emergency and even then, they can only do a phone consultation to tell me the best ways to manage the pain. I'm taking ibuprofen and paracetamol regularly but I'm finding myself hitting the dose limit on them before then end of the day (I alternate every 2 hours) meaning that there are some periods where I am in pain.

Can anyone recommend one that actually works? I've already bought some Bonjela at a cost of £5 which did !!!!!! all (and when you've just been laid off, £5 is a lot for something that doesn't work!) The bigger the tube the better (I know your only supposed to use it for a few days to tide you over till you can get to the dentist, but I don't think they anticipated a pandemic closing the dentists!)

peachyprice

Orajel  comes in different strengths and contains different active ingredients to Bonjela.
Ask the pharmacist for stronger pain relief, there are other combinations and soluble tablets that can be better for toothache  . 

Sorry to be vague, but we're not allowed to give medical advice. 

brook2jack2

Hopefully you find this advice helpful 

Nargleblast

For future occasions, try oil of cloves. It tastes vicious but really dulls the pain.

Spoonie_Turtle

Nargleblast said:

For future occasions, try oil of cloves. It tastes vicious but really dulls the pain.

I seem to recall one of our resident dentists said NOT to do that as it can damage the gums.

brook2jack2

Exactly right , clove oil is extremely irritant . I have had to take teeth out where it has burnt through the gum and into the bone underneath. Never use clove oil or tooth tincture it can make things much, much worse. 

Spoonie_Turtle

brook2jack2 said:

Exactly right , clove oil is extremely irritant . I have had to take teeth out where it has burnt through the gum and into the bone underneath. Never use clove oil or tooth tincture it can make things much, much worse. 

May I ask, is something like clove tea or crunching a clove okay instead of the essential oil? I don't know how effective it would be pain-wise, though. What about peppermint oil? I have resorted to using the tiniest dab of that before (nowhere near a whole drop) but at that time I also didn't know the clove oil wasn't safe before I saw you mention it on here.

brook2jack2

Not clove tea , I would imagine crunching in a clove enough would be painful and it's a vile taste. Also if you have sensitivity to Eugenol, oil of Peru , sticking plasters  then you will also get an allergic reaction to clove oil. 

Really the best thing is to buy a temporary filling kit and fill up the hole. If there's no hole to see then you can't get past the enamel with any oil etc anyway. 

Tolteca87

Dab Sensodyne - the original version if you can find it - on the affected gnasher. It helped when I broke my jaw and a tooth and had to wait for the jaw to heal before the tooth could get the full treatment.

brook2jack2

sensodyne or another sensitive toothpaste is a good idea , dab it on and don't rinse out.