Beyond Prescription Pain Medication: Five Ideas for Dealing With Pain While Recovering From Dental Work
Posted on: 3 October 2016
If you are one of the many people who has been affected by an addiction to prescription pain medications, you may want to avoid pain medication, even when other people commonly use it. In particular, if you have had a root canal, a tooth extraction or other dental procedure, you may not want to take prescription pain medication. Luckily, there are lots of other options.
Here are some ideas to try. Talk with your dentist about which options may be best for your situation:
1. Over-the-counter pain medication
Although OTC medication is not as strong a prescription pain medication, it can work to subdue a variety of pain including pain related to a dental procedure. To get the most effect, combine two pain relievers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Take as directed on the bottle and consider combining with a topical treatment.
2. Pain Relieving Topical Creams
There are a range of creams you can buy at your chemist, and upon application, they numb the surrounding area. Depending on the product you select, it is likely to contain Lignocaine or benzocaine.
3. Stress Relieving Techniques
The more relaxed you are, the easier it is to stay on top of pain. In most cases, stress relief techniques also work as pain relief techniques. These may include meditation, yoga, mindfulness and a range of other relaxation techniques. Even if your dental appointment is tomorrow, you can use deep breaths to help get through the pain after the procedure, but the more you work on stress relief techniques, the more effective they will be.
In other words, if you don't find deep breathing or meditation to work instantly, keep practising. After a few months or even a year, these techniques will be far more effective when you need them.
4. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is also related to pain relief, and it may help to schedule an acupuncture session for after your dental work. For example, if you are having teeth extracted and you know that your mouth will be sore for a few days, schedule an acupuncture session in the middle of your recovery.
5. Alternative Numbing Agents
Just as you can use numbing cream, there are also a lot of alternative numbing agents. In particular, clove oil or a bag of peppermint tea can both be directly applied to the area of your mouth that is in pain, and they will both help to numb that area.
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