... she had a swollen face and large swollen tongue on the side where the tooth hurt, and severe chills in day 3! What happened to her and how do I help her reduce the tongue & face swelling? Also, she said the dentist is not going to do anything until she's no longer swollen. Can Orajel take away all of the swelling with repeated use?
Orajel - My sister is diabetic and had tooth pain off & on day 1. More tooth pain on day 2, then...
Question posted by NeedsReliefNow on 4 June 2019
Last updated on 4 June 2019
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Answers
bestpup
4 June 2019
Hello
Most likely if your sister has been having pain & swelling from a tooth, and it's now day 3 she's probably suffering from an abscessed (infected) tooth.
The best way to get the swelling down would be a combination of an antibiotic and apply ice to her face.
If she was seen by a dentist and the dentist didn't fix the tooth right away it was because she needed an antibiotic first to get the swelling down then the dentist would correct the abscessed tooth.
In the meantime, it's safe to apply orajel to the tooth in hopes of alleviating the pain.
Feel better
bestpup
NeedsReliefNow
4 June 2019
Thanks for your very insightful and helpful response!
icybluesnow
4 June 2019
I agree with the comment above! Orajel might help with some temporary relief but it will not do much for any pain that is below the surface and I doubt it will make any difference in the swelling. The key will be to clear up the cause which sounds like a serious infection! Ice may also help a little with the swelling. Another tip is that if the swelling on the outside of her cheek is very bad and it feels like the skin is being pulled tight, it may feel good to apply a warm compress to her cheek for 10-15 mins and then apply a gentle moisturizer to her face to keep the skin soft and elastic to accommodate the swelling. But I wouldn't use too much heat as it could just make the infection worse or harder to treat. (Just guessing on that last part!)
Taking Tylenol for pain could help but taking Ibuprofen is probably even better because it does work as an anti-inflammatory. I recently dealt with severe tooth pain from my wisdom tooth and the dentist said Ibuprofen is best, unfortunately I'm allergic to it but Tylenol definitely made a difference too. Taking it regularly is important so that the pain doesn't get out of control.
One last thing that the dentist also suggested was soaking a cotton ball in clove oil and biting down on it in the effected area. He said he honestly didn't know if it would help or not but 'in the olden days' it was something that they always recommended for oral issues so he said it was worth a shot if I was desperate! I ended up giving it a try because I was truly at my breaking point and it made my lips burn where it accidentally touched and numbed my gums around the sore tooth, almost exactly the way Orajel did and otherwise didn't do much except smell very strong and taste odd! I didn't continue to use it but it may help your sister?!
Good luck! Hopefully she heals quickly!
Related topics
orajel, pain, toothache, swelling, diabetic, tongue, tooth
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