The only home remedy that works for a toothache under a crown is OTC painkillers which can relieve pain systemically. All of the other toothache home remedies won’t work because the crown materials are impervious to topical analgesic effects.
Topical home remedies don’t work
Most toothache home remedies exert their effects via a topical application in the mouth but it is ineffective for a toothache under a crown. Dental crowns are made of ceramic or metal and both materials are impervious to almost all at home remedies.
Examples of topical at home remedies:
- Essential oils – clove, oregano, basil,
- Willow bark
- Toothache plant
- Salt water rinse
- Cold compress
What we’re trying to say is that the crown does not permit fluids or any other substances to penetrate through it. That means your home remedy will be unable to affect your natural tooth which is underneath of the crown.
Ultimately, if you’ve a crown toothache, topical remedies will not relieve your tooth pain. If you’re in disbelief, we’ll prove it to you with two examples below.
Video demonstration
At afterva, we believe that seeing is believing so we’ll demonstrate to you the imperviousness of tooth caps. In the video below, we’ll apply various common home remedies to a crown.
Video key points:
- Q-tip stayed dry underneath the crown for all topical home remedies.
- It’s definitive proof that nothing can penetrate through the crown.
You gotta admit, that was a fun experiment wasn’t it?
Common sense
If you’ve ever had a crown or temporary crown fall out, you’ll know that your tooth becomes extremely sensitive when it does. All sorts of stimuli touching the touch will cause discomfort.
Examples of discomfort with crown off:
- Sensitivity when drinking even room temperature water.
- It hurts when you breath in air with your mouth.
- Painful when you chew on it.
However, once you glue it back on the sensitivity will immediately dissipate. What that tells you is that the crown material including the temporary one, protects and shields the tooth from external stimuli.
If external stimuli is able to penetrate through the crown, you’d be sensitive all day long. However that is not the case because the crown materials are impervious!
Note: This situation happens the most frequently with temporary crowns since they’re often glued in with temporary glue. It is less likely for the permanent tooth caps to come off since they’re cemented with permanent glue.
Only systemic painkillers work
Despite topical home remedies being ineffective, you’re not out of option since there are still OTC systemic pain relievers that you can use. Taking systemic painkillers will bypass the impervious exterior of crowns. Their analgesic effects get delivered via the bloodstream instead of exerting their effects topically.
Examples of systemic painkillers:
- Ibuprofen (advil, motrin)
- Acetaminophen (tylenol)
- Aspirin
- BC powder
Irreversible pulpitis
Taking pain medication is a clever way that you can use to circumvent a crown’s impenetrable nature. Unfortunately, this is the only available option left out of all of the home remedies out there that work this way. Most of them work topically and not systemically.
When to see a dentist
If your tooth underneath of a crown hurts, you need to see a dentist regardless of the severity of the symptoms. Severe pain or even a mild toothache under a crown warrants a dentist visit.
The reason is because home remedies can only temporarily alleviate the toothache at best. They do nothing to treat the source of what is causing you pain. Only your dentist is able to permanently get rid of the pain.
You should already know from above about how impervious a crown is. The only way to treat it is by taking the crown off and treat whatever is ailing the tooth. You won’t be able to remove the tooth cap but your dentist can.
Potential causes & treatment
There is plethora of etiology that can induce pain upon a crown tooth. We’ll list a few and what treatment is needed to get rid of the pain, just to give you an idea of what to expect.
| Dental Condition | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Open crown margins | New crown |
| Decay under crown | New crown |
| Irreversible pulpitis (tooth nerve pain) | Root canal |
| Fractured tooth | Extraction |
| Infection or abscess | Abscess drainage with antibiotics |
From a quick glance, you can tell that most of these solutions require the assistance of a dentist. None of them are possible to do at home.
Other pain relief tips
Aside from taking pain medication, there are a couple of things you can do to not make the pain worse.
- Avoid chewing on it. If it hurts to eat on the affected side, you should try to chew more on the opposite side. You don’t want to intentionally aggravate it.
- Avoid all foods that irritate it. If certain foods trigger discomfort it would be best to minimize or even avoid eating them. Some common culprits would be very cold foods, sweets, acidic, sour, or spicy.
- Sleep with head elevated. Sometimes the tooth pain can be worse at night and it can help if you sleep with an extra pillow under your head.
Aside from the above, the only other thing you can and should do is to just keep the area as clean as possible. That means brushing and flossing it. Plaque can be an irritant.
Takeaway
Home remedy options are quite limited for a toothache under a crown due to the impervious nature of the crown material. The tooth cap is incredibly protective and prevents all external stimuli from penetrating through it to provide pain relief.
Unfortunately, the only option you have left for this condition is to take systemic pain relievers. Taking medication will allow the analgesic effect to bypass the crown by delivering the relief through the bloodstream instead.