It’s Sunday afternoon and suddenly your tooth starts throbbing with pain. The dentist’s office is closed for the weekend the discomfort is intense. You know that this is a job for your dentist, but what if it’s the weekend or after-hours? What can you do?

There are several ways to ease your dental pain until you can see your dental professional ranging from old home remedies to over-the-counter medicines.

The first way to ease dental pain is to rub essential clove oil on the gums and around the area of the toothache. Clove oil is an old home remedy that acts as a natural, topical painkiller. The antiseptic properties of natural clove oil help to disinfect and soothe aching teeth. Apply the clove oil to a cotton ball and insert between the teeth and gums or use a cotton swab to dab the affected area directly. Clove oil is harmless and will numb the area for about thirty minutes at a time. When the pain returns, simply reapply more clove oil. You can find clove oil at most drug stores in the first aid section.

Another way to temporarily stop dental pain is to apply baby teething gel to the affected area. This is the same product that is used to rub on the gums of babies when they’re cutting new teeth. Because baby teething gel is made for babies and children, it comes in pleasant flavors and the dosage of painkilling ingredients is mild. Baby teething gel can be found in the baby aisle of any grocery or drug store.

If your tooth pain is caused by a cracked tooth or a cavity, applying banana to it can instantly relieve the pain. Gently pack a small piece of banana into the aching tooth for instant relief. Because banana is mild and non-acidic, the banana helps to temporarily fill the crack or small hole where the nerve is exposed.

Whatever remedy you use, try not to focus on the pain. Put your attention on something else. Watch a funny movie or do some sort of pleasant, non-stressful activity that you enjoy. Getting your attention off of the ache will do wonders to ease the pain.

Now that you’ve temporarily handled the pain, call your dentist and make an appointment immediately. Chances are, you’ll reach an answering service or you’ll be referred to an emergency number to reach your dentist after-hours.

It is recommended that you have an emergency dental kit on standby just in case you have a sudden toothache and can’t get to your dentist for a few hours or even the next day. Make up your own dental emergency dental kit complete with cotton balls, cotton swabs, clove oil and baby teething gel and store it someplace handy. The next time you’ve got a toothache and have to wait to see the dentist, you’ll be glad you did.