You stop a toothache for good by treating what is causing it, and you control the pain in the meantime with a cold compress, a saltwater rinse, and an over-the-counter pain reliever. Those measures buy time. They do not repair the decay, infection, or crack producing the pain. Go straight to emergency care rather than reading [...]
The home remedies that actually help a toothache are a warm saltwater rinse, a cold compress held against the outside of your cheek, a properly diluted hydrogen peroxide rinse, diluted clove oil applied to the tooth, and an over-the-counter pain reliever taken as the label directs. Each one buys you comfort for a few hours. [...]
For a toothache, rinse with warm salt water, hold a cold compress against the outside of your cheek, take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain reliever exactly as the label directs, and call a dentist. Those steps quiet the pain. They do not fix what is causing it, and tooth pain almost never resolves on its own. [...]
Professional teeth whitening costs $300 to $1,000, and the timeline runs from a single 60 to 90 minute visit to about two weeks of daily tray wear. In-office treatment delivers the fastest change and holds for 6 months to 3 years. Dentist-supplied take-home trays cost less, work gradually, and hold for 4 to 6 months. Which [...]
Gum disease is a bacterial infection of the gum tissue and the bone holding your teeth in place, and it looks different at every stage. Healthy gums are firm, pale pink, and do not bleed. Early gum disease shows up as red, puffy gums that bleed when you brush or floss. Advanced gum disease shows [...]
A three-unit dental bridge costs $2,500 to $6,000 before insurance, and most insured patients pay about $1,200 to $3,000 out of pocket after the deductible and coinsurance are applied. Dental plans treat bridges as a major restorative service and cover 50% to 80% of the approved fee. That out-of-pocket number moves based on four things: the [...]
The best at-home teeth whitening is a dentist-supplied custom tray system, because it holds professional-strength peroxide precisely against your enamel without touching your gums. Over-the-counter peroxide strips and gels work too, more slowly and to a smaller degree. Whitening toothpastes only scrub away surface stains, and the do-it-yourself methods circulating online have no evidence behind [...]
A dental crown is a custom-made, tooth-shaped cap that fits over the entire visible portion of a damaged or weakened tooth above the gumline, restoring its strength, shape, and function. We recommend one when a tooth has lost too much of its own structure to hold a smaller repair safely. Below we answer the questions [...]
You can reverse early gum disease at home, but you cannot cure advanced gum disease without a dentist. Early-stage gum disease, called gingivitis, responds to daily removal of the bacterial film on your teeth. Once that film hardens into tartar below the gumline and the bone around your teeth starts to shrink, no rinse, oil, [...]
Helping children build healthy dental habits starts with wiping a baby's gums twice a day with a soft, clean cloth and scheduling their first dental visit by age one. As teeth come in, parents introduce a small, soft-bristled toothbrush with a rice-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste. Daily brushing and flossing, smart sugar choices, and [...]
