What is that pain?
Pain is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong. Yet why is it that for many people, toothache doesn’t seem to be considered as serious as other health issues? If you break your leg you wouldn’t put off visiting A and E? Perhaps you take a few painkillers (for the toothache, not the leg) and hope the issue will go away? In a previous article we uncovered some historical facts on dental treatment and, while some seemed barbaric, we couldn’t help but laugh at the following:
- In Medieval Germany, the only cure for a toothache was to kiss a donkey
This got us thinking: Although it’s clear that a smooch with an animal won’t cure your pain, what other options do you have? Before the early part of this century many still believed that the cause of toothache was a worm, burrowing into the root and wriggling around, it would continue to cause discomfort until it was removed. Hippocrates even suggested that a paste made from three mice and the head of a hare would subdue any pain in the gum or tooth. Tasty!
But what of now? We surveyed a group of social media users and the results are quite shocking,
We posed the question, what do you do when you have toothache? Here are some of the replies we received
Jodie: Cry and whinge!
Emma: Feel sorry for myself
Michelle: Feel grumpy and hope it goes away
Trudy: hot wheat bag and painkillers
Jessica: I used to grind my teeth and massage my cheek! Take tablets and cry.
Rich: Massage the gum between finger and thumb, on the side the toothache is on.
Ceri: chew on a clove
In fact out of the many people who responded, less than a 5th said they would book in with their dentist. And even those suggested home remedies first. While we can laugh at the clearly futile attempts of pain relief used by our ancestors, it seems that even in modern times we still cling to some strange ideas on dental treatment. If tears were a cure, we are sure that we would have considerable less patients through our door. While we strongly advocate the need for preventative treatment, we also wish to encourage you to seek support if you’re suffering with tooth and gum pain. While painkillers will ease your discomfort they will not get to the root cause of the problem. It’s better to seek help before a problem escalates.
We have an emergency service for our registered patients. If you have a dental emergency outside our opening hours don’t feel you need to suffer in silence, instead, please feel free to call us right away and a recorded message will let you know how you can get the treatment you need as quickly as possible. We understand that for some, visiting the dentist can be daunting, which is why we have a pledge to all nervous patience. Even if you dread a visit to the dentist our friendly, expertly-trained staff will strive to dispel any fears and worries once and for all – and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your care received will have reduced the risk of more serious work being needed later. We have the unique expertise to help you!