Toothache: medicine, home relief and when to see a dentist

A toothache is pain in or around a tooth. It often gets worse when you bite, or with hot, cold or sweet food. Common causes are:

• tooth decay: a cavity (butas na ngipin). germs in plaque turn sugar into acid that eats into the tooth
• a dental abscess: pus from an infected tooth or gum (see When a toothache becomes an infection)
• a cracked or chipped tooth, or a loose or broken filling (pasta)
• a wisdom tooth, the last bagang at the back, that is only partly through the gum and gets infected
• gum disease, with red, swollen or bleeding gums (pamamaga ng gilagid): see our swollen gums guide
• grinding your teeth, or sensitive teeth

Pain can also come from a sinus infection or an earache. Rarely, pain in the jaw or teeth is part of a heart attack, usually with chest pain, sweating or shortness of breath: an emergency. Only a dentist or doctor can find the cause.

These steps make the wait for a dentist easier. They don't treat the cause.

• Take a pain reliever you can buy without a prescription, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. Follow the label or ask the pharmacist which suits you. Taking more than the label says won't work better and can be dangerous.
• Rinse with warm salt water. Dissolve a little salt in a glass of warm water, swish it around your mouth and spit it out. Don't swallow it. Children should not try this.
• A pain-relieving mouth gel from the botika may help. Follow its label, and ask a doctor before using one on a child.
• Eat soft food, such as lugaw, soup or soft-boiled eggs, and chew on the other side.
• Brush gently with a soft toothbrush, and don't floss around the sore tooth for now.
• Skip sweet, very hot or very cold food and drinks, and don't smoke: it can make some tooth problems worse.

Pain that lasts more than 2 days, or that pain relievers don't ease, needs a dentist. Not sure how urgent yours is? Describe it to Joy, our AI symptoms guide.

• Paracetamol and ibuprofen are the usual first choices for toothache pain.
• Paracetamol: many cold medicines also contain it, so don't take two products with paracetamol at once. Ask a doctor first if you have liver disease or drink alcohol every day.
• Ibuprofen can harm the stomach. Ask the pharmacist before using it if you have ever had a stomach ulcer or bleeding, if you have kidney, liver or heart disease or asthma, or if you take blood thinners. Don't combine it with aspirin or another anti-inflammatory painkiller.
• Mefenamic acid (one brand is Dolfenal) is in the same family of painkillers as ibuprofen (NSAIDs). Some mefenamic acid products need a prescription in the Philippines. Ask a doctor, dentist or pharmacist before using it, and never take it together with ibuprofen.
• Don't put aspirin, or any crushed tablet, on the tooth or gum. It irritates the gum and can cause mouth sores. Aspirin should not be given to anyone under 16.
• Antibiotics such as amoxicillin need a prescription. Take them only if a dentist or doctor prescribes them. They can't fill a cavity or drain pus, so the tooth still needs treatment.

Pregnant or breastfeeding, or is the toothache in a child? Ask a doctor or dentist before taking or giving any medicine.

A dental abscess is a pocket of pus caused by an infection in or around a tooth. It does not heal by itself and needs a dentist urgently. Signs can include:

• severe, throbbing pain that doesn't let up, and pain when you chew or bite
• a swollen gum over the tooth that may look like a pimple
• a bitter taste or bad breath
• a swollen cheek or jaw, swollen glands in the neck, or a fever
• a tooth that hurts with hot or cold, or trouble opening your mouth

The pain can suddenly ease when the pressure is released, but the infection keeps spreading: to the jaw bone, the face and neck, or the blood. An infection in the floor of the mouth (Ludwig angina) swells quickly and can block the airway. So go to the emergency room at once if swelling reaches the eye or spreads down the neck, or if breathing, swallowing or speaking gets hard. Don't drive yourself: have someone bring you, or call 911.

The dentist drains the pus. The tooth may then need a root canal (cleaning out the inside of the tooth) or removal (bunot). Antibiotics are sometimes added.

Many people look for the most effective medicine for a tooth with a hole (mabisang gamot sa sakit ng ngipin na may butas). The honest answer: no medicine or home remedy can close a hole in a tooth. Pain relievers quiet the pain for a while, but the decay keeps growing. A dentist can help:

• Early decay is a white spot before a hole forms. Fluoride and fewer sweets can help the enamel repair itself.
• A hole is cleaned and closed with a filling (pasta).
• Decay that reaches the nerve may need a root canal, then a filling or a crown (cap).
• A tooth that can't be saved is removed (bunot).

The sooner you go, the more likely the tooth can be saved.

Wisdom teeth are the last molars (bagang) at the back. When there isn't enough room, one may come only partly through the gum. Germs trapped under the gum flap can cause an infection, with pain, swelling and a bad taste.

Rinse with warm salt water, brush the area gently and use a pain reliever as above. See a dentist if it doesn't settle in a day or two, or sooner if your face swells or you have a fever.

• Salt water rinse: safe for adults and soothing.
• Bayabas (guava) leaf rinse: a traditional remedy. We found no good studies showing that it eases toothache. Rinsing with cooled bayabas water and spitting it out is generally harmless for adults, but it can't close a cavity or cure an abscess.
• Garlic, alcohol, gasoline or crushed tablets on the tooth can burn the gum and the inside of the mouth. Don't use them.
• "The pain stopped, so it's fine." An abscess can stop hurting while the infection grows.
• "You can't pull a swollen tooth." Only the dentist can decide. Sometimes they treat the infection first; sometimes they remove the tooth the same day.
• "Baby teeth will fall out anyway." Decay in baby teeth still causes pain and infection. Take a child with a toothache to a dentist or doctor.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, tell the dentist, and ask your doctor or dentist before taking any medicine.

A knocked-out adult tooth can sometimes be put back if you act fast. Go to a dentist right away: the longer you wait, the smaller the chance.

1. Hold the tooth by the white chewing part (the crown), never by the root. Don't wipe the root or clean the tooth with alcohol.
2. If you can, put it back in its place and bite gently on clean gauze.
3. If not, keep it wet: cover it with a little milk or saliva in a clean container, or hold it between your lower lip and gum, taking care not to swallow it. Don't let it dry out.
4. Press gauze on the gum to stop the bleeding, and hold something cold against your cheek.

Baby teeth are not put back, but a child with a mouth injury should still be checked. A small chip that doesn't hurt can wait for a regular visit.

Dentists are few: in 2020 the Philippines had about 2.6 for every 10,000 people (WHO).

• Rural health unit (RHU) or city health center. Ask whether it has a dentist and on which days. In 2021, public primary care generally offered emergency dental care and pain relief, but usually not fillings (WHO). Find a health center near you.
• PhilHealth dental benefit. All Filipinos can use PhilHealth's preventive oral health benefit, part of the Konsulta package, now PhilHealth YAKAP. As of December 2025 (the newest PhilHealth notice on it we found), it covers a mouth exam, cleaning and fluoride varnish, plus sealants for up to 2 teeth a year when needed. PhilHealth's guide to the benefit also includes emergency tooth extraction for severe toothache.
• How to get it. Register with a YAKAP clinic first. It refers you to its own dentist or a partner dental clinic accredited by PhilHealth. At a public dental clinic you pay nothing extra. A private clinic may charge extra, up to PhilHealth's limits: ₱1,500 a visit for the exam and cleaning, ₱600 for a sealant and ₱600 for an emergency extraction.
• Other treatment, such as most fillings, root canals, crowns and dentures, is not part of this benefit: ask the price before treatment starts.
• Emergencies. Face swelling with trouble breathing or swallowing needs a hospital emergency room. For help with the bill at a public hospital, our Malasakit Center guide explains what to ask for.

Questions? Book a call with a nurse, or learn how the Philippine health system works.

• Brush twice a day for about two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste. Spit after brushing, but don't rinse, so the fluoride stays on your teeth.
• Floss or use an interdental brush once a day to clear plaque from between the teeth.
• Cut down on sugar. Keep sweets, soft drinks and juice to mealtimes. Don't put a baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice.
• Don't smoke, and don't chew tobacco or nganga (betel quid with areca nut). Tobacco harms the gums, and tobacco and areca nut are among the leading causes of mouth cancer.
• See a dentist regularly, even when nothing hurts.
• If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar under control: diabetes and gum disease make each other worse. See our diabetes symptoms guide.