Back when you were young, you likely remember your parents warning you about the risks to our teeth of eating too many chocolates and other sweets, and were told to be sure to brush your teeth every night before bed. All this was in order to ensure your teeth remained healthy and free of tooth decay and cavities! Now the buck has been passed onto you, and it is your job to make sure your child’s teeth remain healthy and cavity free for as long as possible!
Dental care isn’t necessarily cheap, and if you find your child has developed a toothache, signs of decay, or a cavity, you couldn’t be blamed for looking for an alternative treatment you can do from the comfort of your home Fortunately for you and your child, there are many natural remedies to common tooth ailments that you can make use of at home!
For more information on some of these great, effective, natural home remedies, continue reading:
Baking Soda
Baking soda is an extremely affordable product that offers countless uses from cooking, to cleaning, to even treating issues with your mouth and teeth! Baking soda offers us antimicrobial properties and alkali properties that act to help neutralize the acids that may be found in your child’s mouth, preventing them from causing tooth decay and cavities. To make use of baking soda as an effective, natural, home tooth remedy simply wet a toothbrush and dip it in baking soda. Either brush or have your child, brush their teeth as they normally wood. Be mindful of how long your child brushes though as too much brushing with baking soda can actually damage their tooth enamel! Baking soda as a toothpaste alternative should only be used for a couple of days at a time in order to avoid any adverse issues.
Baking is a great natural remedy to store-bought toothpaste and offers many beneficial effects to your oral health. It’s an extremely inexpensive way to keep your child’s teeth clean and healthy. It aids in reducing the bacteria that occurs in your mouth and can neutralize the acids that result in damage to your child’s teeth.
Cloves
Cloves are another amazing, natural remedy that can treat a whole host of dental problems, including cavities! Due to their analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, cloves are an effective means of preventing the spread of cavities and reducing the pain that often results from them! To take advantage of cloves beneficial effects to you and your child’s oral health, clove oil can be used. If your child has a toothache, you can mix a quarter teaspoon of neutral oil such as sesame seed oil with a few drops of clove oil and then apply this mixture to a cotton ball. Simply dab the cotton ball on the affected area in order to get the desired effect!
Turmeric
Turmeric has been getting a lot of attention of the last few years, and is considered to be amongst the most medicinally beneficial spices in existence! It offers us a multitude of amazing benefits and uses. Due to the active ingredient in turmeric, called curcumin, it has many analgesic, antibacterial, and antiseptic properties. If you or your child has a toothache, the curcumin in turmeric is great at stopping the pain, and it can also help to prevent abscesses and infections in the mouth!
In order for you to use turmeric to soothe you or your child’s tooth pain, a paste may be made for easier application. To make a paste, simply add about a teaspoon of powdered turmeric to a small amount of water. Mix well, and then dab a cotton ball in the resultant paste. If your child isn’t fond of the taste of the paste, honey may added to make it more palatable. Apply this paste as needed in order to relieve your child’s sore tooth.
Cucumber
Cucumber, as you may know, has an amazing soothing effect. It’s hemostatic properties, which result in blood remaining in blood vessels longer, is what makes it so effective a treatment for those with puffy eyes. In order to take advantage of cucumber’s hemostatic properties as a natural means of treating your child’s tooth pain, try slicing up a small piece and placing it on the affected area. A paste may also be made by combining sea salt and cucumber, in order to be more easily applied to the problem tooth. If your child’s teeth are especially sensitive, consider taking the cucumber out of your fridge a while before using it in order to bring it up to room temperature.
Thyme
Thyme has many great applications in the kitchen when used as a herb in cooking. Not so commonly known though, is that thyme also offers us antimicrobial properties! The compound found in thyme which gives it it’s antiseptic and antifungal properties is called thymol. Due to the thymol found in thyme, it can be used with great effect in the treatment of oral infections and tooth pain when used in its essential oil form.
As an essential oil, thyme may be easily applied to your child’s gums and teeth in order to relive a toothache or help treat an infection. The leaves of thyme may also be chewed or brewed into a tea in order to gain its beneficial effects on your child’s oral health.
Conclusion
If your child is complaining about an aching tooth or you suspect an oral infection may have occurred, consider one of these natural home remedies in order to provide relief. If any of these issues present themselves but don’t go away after a day or two with an at-home treatment, consider giving your local dental office a call. More about the author: Dentist Maroochydore Country Dentists are here to help, and would be pleased to answer any question you have about you or your child’s oral health!
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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