Crazy Things People Believe About Toothaches

HAVE A TOOTHACHE? Wear these fish bones around your neck, repeat a chant, and drop a few pears into the river!

Sounds ridiculous, right? But those are toothache remedies you’d hear during the Middle Ages! You can imagine how frustrating it must have been for our ancestors with tooth pain—they were willing to try anything for relief! Modern dentistry has swept away many bizarre superstitions—however, some people still believe dangerous myths about toothaches and how to cure them.

Different “Cures” From Different Cultures

There are a lot of unusual methods for relieving toothaches we’ve gathered from various cultures (both ancient and modern) around the world. One common belief was that dental pain was caused by a “tooth worm” that had burrowed its way inside a tooth. To coax the worm out, people would inhale smoke, smear their teeth with honey, and swish with all kinds of disgusting rinses. Others include:

– Putting both stockings on one foot.

– Driving a horseshoe nail into your house’s front door lintel.

– Spitting out bread by an anthill, and as the ants carry it away the pain will leave.

– Complaining to a pear tree about your toothache.

– Vowing to never comb your hair on a Friday or shave on a Sunday.

Though these may seem absurd, let’s not be too quick to judge—there are still plenty of false beliefs about toothaches today!

Modern Toothache Myths

There are several causes of dental pain including cavities, gum disease, infection, and chipping. These three tips will help debunk some common myths that could stop you from getting the treatment you need:

1.  Do not put aspirin on your tooth. Aspirin does nothing to relieve pain when applied topically, and could result in a nasty acid burn on your cheek and gums.
2.  A toothache DOES NOT mean you will lose the tooth. There are treatments that can save even badly infected teeth.
3.  If pain is off-and-on, you still need a checkup. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. It shouldn’t be ignored.

Trust Our Practice For Solutions

Nobody should have to live with dental pain. Our practice is focused on the latest treatments to not only relieve toothaches, but to create healthy and resilient smiles, so you can get back to living your life. Don’t let one more day of dental discomfort go by without contacting us.

We cherish our relationship with you as our valued patients and friends!

Image by Flickr user Edward Webb used underCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.