What to Do at Home If Your Child Has a Toothache

There’s nothing worse than seeing your child in pain, and unfortunately, toothache is common. There are many reasons why a child can develop a toothache. It can be due to a cavity, food trapped between teeth, or where a tooth is erupting and has started to push through the gums.

If your child does have a toothache, please get in touch with our dental clinic immediately for help and advice. We also hate to see anyone in pain and will make every effort to see your child quickly, but in the meantime, there are several things you can do before visiting our dentist.

The first thing is to try to identify the pain by asking your child to describe where it hurts and check for signs of swelling or redness around the gum or tooth discolouration. Next, try gently flossing around the tooth as sometimes toothache is due to trapped food. Make a soothing warm salt water rinse for your child by dissolving a teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water. Get them to rinse their mouth for 30 seconds before spitting the saltwater out. This helps to kill bacteria and encourage healing. Use age-appropriate pain medication to reduce discomfort, but you should never place aspirin or any painkiller on your child’s gums as it could burn.