So, are these methods reliable?
As the saying goes, "toothache is not a disease, it hurts like hell." This sentence only holds true in the second half. Toothache is of course caused by illness. Among them, the most common is pulpitis.
Pulpitis is a "shoulder-picking disease", with dental caries in front and periodontitis in the back. All pain requires the participation of nerves, and the nerves in teeth are special.
First, they are located in a narrow cavity. Secondly, around the cavity, they are surrounded by calcified dentin and have hard enamel on the outside. Therefore, if you want to cause tooth pain, you must break the "defense line" outside the tooth nerve.
Schematic diagram of tooth structure (original source: christianpegand.com)
Dental caries is just such a means of "breaking prevention". If oral hygiene is not in place, bacteria in the oral cavity may multiply in large numbers when they encounter nutrients such as sugar, destroy enamel and form tooth decay.
Causes of dental caries [1]
With tooth decay, bacteria will invade the pulp cavity and cause pulpitis. However, the human body does not "eat dry rice" and will fight back quickly. For example, releasing tissue fluid can dilute toxins secreted by bacteria, such as increasing vascular permeability and promoting immune cell aggregation.
However, the pulp cavity is very narrow, and a large amount of oozing liquid will squeeze the tooth nerve, resulting in severe and fatal pain.
If pulpitis is not relieved, it may further evolve into periodontitis, with clinical manifestations such as pain, loose teeth, weakness in chewing, and even periodontal abscess in severe cases.
After talking about the reasons, let's look at the countermeasures.
Sichuan pepper
Related remarks (picture from the Internet)
"Pepper cures toothache" is a very common saying. Specific operations, there are direct biting pepper, but also useful pepper soaking wine, and so on.
Some scholars extracted volatile oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum and then smeared it on the oral mucosa of patients. The results show that the patient's tolerance to pain is obviously enhanced. [2] Animal experiments show that the boiled water of Zanthoxylum bungeanum has definite analgesic effect, and there is a good effect-effect relationship. The greater the dose, the better the analgesic effect. [3]
Unfortunately, pepper has more questions than the validity evidence. First of all, what ingredients are at work? Zanthoxylum bungeanum contains dozens of bioactive components. [4] Some scholars believe that alkaloids are mainly at work. [5] Some scholars attribute the analgesic effect to citronellol. [6]
If the components are not clear, the effect is hard to say. China has a vast territory and is rich in natural resources. Whether it is made up of green peppers, red peppers or red peppers from different places of origin, there are differences. [7] Some studies say that the analgesic effect of green pepper is better, [6] Some studies also say that the analgesic effect of red pepper is better. [5] Which one should I believe?
Another problem is dosage. In the clinical experiment just mentioned, 200 grams of pepper was heated for more than 4 hours, and finally about 5 ml of volatile oil was obtained. It is difficult for ordinary families to prepare such a high concentration of volatile oil.
In short, pepper may have a certain effect on toothache, but it depends on personality. ...
garlic
Related remarks (picture from the Internet)
Garlic contains allicin, which has obvious bacteriostatic effect. In theory, eating garlic can reduce oral bacteria.
However, as I said just now, pulpitis is usually secondary to dental caries, which is caused by exudate pressing the nerves. In other words, when toothache occurs, the teeth have been seriously damaged by bacteria, and then sterilized, "far water does not solve near thirst"; Garlic can't absorb excess exudate, and naturally it can't relieve pain. On the contrary, it may aggravate the stimulation to the teeth and nerves, which is not worth the loss.
Chinese hard liquor
Related remarks (picture from the Internet)
On the surface, liquor is a two-pronged plan, which can sterilize and anesthetize and relieve pain. In fact, there are problems with both routes.
Alcohol disinfection depends on ethanol. On the one hand, ethanol has a very high affinity and can enter bacteria; On the other hand, ethanol can denature protein. Bacteria are also living things, and their metabolism cannot be separated from various protein. Therefore, the bactericidal effect of alcohol is closely related to the concentration of alcohol. 75% alcohol is usually used in clinic to achieve the maximum sterilization effect. Ordinary liquor is only thirty or forty degrees, and the effect is naturally much worse.
As for the analgesic effect of alcohol, it is related to the central nervous system. By inhibiting the activity of the central nervous system and improving the human body's tolerance to pain, the effect of local use is not exact.
In short, these remedies can't stand careful scrutiny. The best solution to toothache is prevention. Eat less sugar, quit smoking and drinking, eat some rough and chewy food properly, master effective brushing methods, and check regularly to prevent dental caries and toothache.
Don't worry about toothache. You can cut and drain pus first, then perform root canal treatment, remove pulp and clean up infected tissue. Doctors will inject anesthetic before treatment, and the pain caused by bacterial infection will generally disappear soon after treatment.
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refer to
Zhang Zhiyuan. Stomatology [M]. 2008.
Xia Boyang. Extraction of volatile oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum by oral mucosal anesthesia 100 cases [J]. Journal of Pharmacy of China Hospital,1983,0 (9): 3838.
Fu Libo, Yuan Rui, Zheng Haiyan, et al. Study on analgesic effect of Zanthoxylum bungeanum [J]. Heilongjiang Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, 2017 (7): 21821.
Wang Yu, Ju Yong, Wang Mark. Research progress of bioactive components in Zanthoxylum bungeanum [J]. Chinese Herbal Medicine, 2002,33 (7): 66670.
Zhang, He Yongheng. Advances in pharmacological research on analgesic effects of Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Corydalis yanhusuo, Myrrha and Notoginseng Radix [J]. chinese medicine modern distance education of china, 2009( 1): 9698.
Wang Pumin is childlike. Experimental Study on Pharmacology of Citronellol, the Active Component of Green Pepper [J]. China Journal of Chinese Medicine Information,1999,6 (10): 3031.
Chen, Pei, et al. Comparative study on chemical constituents of volatile oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum from different habitats [J]. Chinese Journal of Cereals and Oils, 2015,30 (1): 8187.
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Author: Zhao Yanchang