How Do You Get Rid of Tooth Pain ASAP?
Unbearable tooth pain or throbbing toothache is often the first sign that something is wrong with your oral health.
When to seek urgent dental treatment
If you have tooth pain that lasts more than 2 days and is not relieved by over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or paracetamol, then you’ll want to book an emergency appointment.
If tooth pain persists, regardless of its severity, you should always consult the dentist. The pain is likely caused by decay or an infection that will only worsen if you ignore it. Tooth pain like this won’t go away alone.
Never delay treatment for tooth pain if your symptoms are accompanied with:
- A high temperature, fever or chills
- Pain when you bite down
- Red, puffy or swollen gums
- A swollen neck, cheek or jaw
- Persistent bad taste in your mouth
Book an emergency appointment at our clinic in London.
Common causes of unbearable tooth pain
- Advanced dental decay or cavities
- Worn-down or damaged dental fillings or crowns
- Dental abscesses or a cracked, broken tooth
- Gum disease can cause heightened tooth sensitivity and throbbing gum or tooth pain
- Injury to the tooth or a tooth infection
- Tooth sensitivity from gum recession or enamel erosion
- Bruxism or teeth-grinding
- Impacted wisdom teeth
Teeth can suddenly become very painful due to dental decay, cavities, infection, fractures, and abscesses. Sudden tooth pain, a black tooth, or sensitivity to hot, cold, or touch can often indicate a pulp infection, which will require a root canal to save the tooth from extraction.
Common dental treatments for tooth pain
When consulting a dentist, they can determine the cause of your discomfort and recommend an appropriate course of treatment. Typical treatments for tooth pain are often as follows:
- Dental fillings from £155 (white)
- Dental crowns from £995
- Root canals from £425
- Tooth extraction from £195
Methods to stop excruciating tooth pain
Tooth pain makes it very hard to concentrate, rest, and even sleep—and it can feel even worse at night when you lie your head down. The main reason a toothache is more painful at night is your sleeping position.
When you lie down, blood rushes to your head, increasing pressure on sensitive areas, which is why the throbbing sensation is less prevalent during the day. So, propping your head up can help.
You can try several other methods to relieve toothaches at night; for example, rinsing your mouth with salt water can help quickly ease toothaches.
Other methods you can try to relieve tooth pain:
- Apply a cold compress every 10 or 20 minutes for 10 minutes at a time to reduce inflammation (especially effective for wisdom tooth pain).
- Use clove oil for its antiseptic properties and to numb the affected area. Soak a cotton swab in clove oil and apply it directly to the affected area.
- Avoid certain foods and drinks, such as citrus fruits and sweets, which can worsen tooth pain. You might also find it advisable to refrain from eating solid foods until your appointment.
- If the reason for your tooth pain is an infection, it’s best to refrain from smoking or using any tobacco product during this time, as they cause inflammation and irritation of the gums.
- Wear a night guard while sleeping to relieve pain caused by teeth grinding.
Which Pain Relief Works Best for Toothache?
Most dental pain has inflammation behind it, which is the key to understanding why some over-the-counter options work better than others for teeth specifically.
Anti-inflammatory pain relief, such as ibuprofen, tackles the swelling causing the pressure as well as the pain signal itself. That is why it tends to work better on toothache than on a headache.
Paracetamol works on the pain signal rather than the inflammation. It is the option people reach for when they cannot take anti-inflammatories.
Follow the dosage on the packet, and take the packet’s word over anything you read online. If you are unsure which suits you, a pharmacist will tell you in two minutes and it costs nothing.
When to check with a pharmacist first
Anti-inflammatory pain relief is not right for everyone. Speak to a pharmacist before taking it if you have asthma, a history of stomach ulcers or indigestion, kidney problems, high blood pressure, or if you are pregnant or taking blood thinners.
That is not a reason to suffer. It means the other option, or a different approach, is likely better for you.
Why you cannot buy anything stronger
People often assume there is a stronger tablet they are being denied. Stronger pain relief for dental pain is prescription only, and a dentist will only prescribe it alongside treating the cause, not instead of it.
The same applies to antibiotics. They can settle an infection, but they do not fix a decayed or cracked tooth, and the pain returns once the course finishes if the tooth has not been treated.
What Not to Do
These come up repeatedly, and two of them cause real damage.
Never hold a painkiller tablet against the gum. It does not work, and it causes a chemical burn on the soft tissue. We see the resulting white patch and ulceration regularly. Swallow tablets as intended.
Do not apply heat to a swollen face. Heat encourages infection to spread. Cold is what you want, held against the cheek rather than in the mouth.
Do not keep poking or pressing the tooth to test whether it still hurts. It does, and the pressure irritates the nerve further.
Do not ignore it because the pain stopped. This is the one that costs people teeth. When a nerve dies, the pain often disappears completely for a while. The infection carries on regardless, and the treatment needed afterwards is usually bigger than it would have been.
Do not use clove oil neat and repeatedly. It numbs briefly, and used undiluted it irritates the gum. It is a stopgap for a few hours, not a plan.
Getting Through the Night
Toothache genuinely is worse at night, and it is not your imagination.
Lying flat increases blood flow to your head, which raises pressure inside an already inflamed tooth. There is also nothing else competing for your attention at 2am, so the pain occupies all of it.
What actually helps:
- Prop yourself up. Two or three pillows, or sleep in a chair if it is bad. Keeping your head above your heart makes a noticeable difference to the throbbing.
- Time your pain relief for bedtime rather than waiting for the pain to wake you. Getting ahead of it works better than chasing it.
- Cold against the cheek for fifteen or twenty minutes before you settle, not directly on the tooth.
- Rinse with warm salt water before bed, which helps if there is any gum involvement.
- Avoid anything very hot or very cold in the evening, and skip alcohol, which people often try and which makes throbbing worse.
- Sleep on the opposite side to the painful tooth.
If you have been awake two nights running, stop trying to manage it and get an emergency appointment. Sleep deprivation makes pain considerably harder to tolerate, and by that point something is clearly wrong.
What the Type of Pain Tells You
The character of the pain is a reasonable clue to what is happening, and it helps you judge how urgently to act. It is not a diagnosis, but it is better than guessing.
Sharp pain with cold, gone in seconds. Usually sensitivity, exposed dentine or a small area of decay. Uncomfortable rather than urgent.
Sharp pain when biting down. Often a crack in the tooth or a failing filling. Worth an appointment soon, since cracks spread.
Deep throbbing that lingers, worse lying down, wakes you. This pattern suggests the nerve inside the tooth is inflamed or infected. It usually needs a root canal or an extraction, and it does not settle on its own.
Constant pain with swelling, a bad taste, or fever. An abscess. Same-day treatment.
Dull ache across several teeth, sore gums, bleeding when brushing. More likely gum related than a single tooth.
Pain that came on after recent dental work. Often settles within a couple of weeks, but tell the practice that did the work rather than waiting it out.
How Long Can You Leave It?
Go to A&E, not the dentist, if you have swelling closing your eye or spreading down your neck, difficulty swallowing or breathing, or a fever with facial swelling. Dental infections in those areas are genuinely dangerous and need hospital care.
Same day if there is facial swelling, a fever, pain that painkillers are not touching, or a tooth that has been knocked loose.
Within a day or two for constant throbbing, pain that wakes you, or a bad taste coming from around a tooth.
Within a week or two for pain triggered by cold or biting that settles quickly afterwards.
The honest general rule: dental pain rarely resolves by itself, because the causes are decay, cracks and infection, none of which repair. What changes while you wait is how much of the tooth is still savable.
What Happens at the Appointment
People delay partly because they do not know what they are walking into.
An emergency appointment for toothache is usually short. We will look, tap and test the tooth, often take a small X-ray, and identify what is causing it. Then you get told the options and the cost before anything is done.
If treatment can start the same visit, it usually does. Sometimes that means opening the tooth to release pressure from an abscess, which brings immediate relief. Sometimes it means a temporary dressing until a longer appointment.
Our current fees for the common outcomes are listed above. A root canal saves a tooth whose nerve has died. An extraction removes it where saving is not realistic. If a tooth does come out, our guide to replacing a missing tooth covers what comes next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I stop toothache immediately?
Over-the-counter pain relief, cold held against the cheek, keeping your head raised, and a warm salt water rinse will take the edge off within an hour or so. None of them treat the cause, so use them to get comfortable enough to reach an appointment rather than as a solution.
Why is my toothache worse at night?
Lying flat sends more blood to your head, increasing pressure inside an inflamed tooth. Propping yourself up on extra pillows and timing pain relief for bedtime both help.
Will toothache go away on its own?
The pain sometimes does. The cause almost never does. Decay, cracks and infection do not heal, and pain disappearing often means the nerve has died rather than that the problem resolved.
How long can I leave toothache before seeing a dentist?
A few days at most for pain that comes and goes with cold. Same day if there is swelling, fever, or pain that keeps you awake. Straight to A&E if swelling reaches your eye or throat.
Do I need antibiotics for toothache?
Only if there is an infection, and only alongside treating the tooth. Antibiotics settle the infection temporarily but do not repair the cause, so the pain returns after the course unless the tooth is treated.
Why does my tooth hurt when I bite down?
Commonly a cracked tooth or a filling that has failed. Worth seeing someone reasonably promptly, because cracks tend to spread and a tooth that could have had a crown may end up needing removal.
Can toothache cause a headache or earache?
Yes. Dental nerves share pathways with the jaw, ear and temple, so pain refers. Upper back teeth in particular often present as sinus or ear pain.
Is it safe to sleep with toothache?
Yes, provided there is no facial swelling, difficulty swallowing or fever. Those need urgent attention rather than a night’s sleep. Otherwise prop yourself up and get seen the next day.
Get Seen Today in Elephant & Castle
We keep emergency slots free every day, because toothache does not wait for a convenient appointment.
Call 020 7928 4474 or book online. We are in Elephant and Castle, minutes from Waterloo, Borough, London Bridge and Southwark. Our emergency dentist page covers what we can treat the same day.
This page is general information, not a diagnosis or a prescription. Always follow the dosage instructions on any medicine packet and ask a pharmacist or your dentist if you are unsure what is suitable for you. Last reviewed August 2026.
