Severe tooth ache, eases with cold water in mouth, difficulty in sleeping. Remedy to alleviate the pain?
Patient: i have a very bad tooth ache of which only soothes and pain goes away while i swish cold water in my mouth. I have bad teeth and the tooth that i bothering my does have a hole on the top very near the gum line. I have tried everything and water seems to be the only way to sooth the pain... however i need to sleep and i cant swish water while i sleep and i am a mouth breather so when i open my mouth to breath the air it starts hurting again. anything i can do so get me to sleep without the pain? Male 41 years old overwieght smoker and take heart meds to slow rate down (propafenone, metoprolol , bayer) Doctor: Hello and thank you for your question. Your tooth has a large cavity which has infected the nerve, the nerve is inflamed and swollen.  The cold relieves the pain because it causes the pressure to decrease for a minute.  The damage to the nerve is irreversible and the tooth if restorable needs to have the decay removed, a root canal performed and a crown or large restoration placed in the tooth.  Or if the tooth is non-restorable, the tooth needs to be pulled before you get a large infect in your jaw.    Best regards  Dr. Ward