Oh! – It always comes at the wrong time and it’s worse at night when you’re desperately trying to fall asleep.

Yes, I am talking about the dreaded toothache. It can be the most excruciating pain and it can last so long that it can really drag you down and make you feel positively sick.

So you’ll want to know how to stop a toothache fast…

Well, my first reaction when a toothache strikes is to try the following simple tricks that can often stop a toothache without even opening your mouth. They are very useful when you are in company or when there are no other forms of pain relief available.

Both of these tips are based on the alternative therapy known as “acupressure,” which itself is loosely based on the art of acupuncture and uses finger pressure instead of needles to stimulate nerve endings at certain points of selected pressure.

o There is a pressure point on the webbed part between the thumb and forefinger, which is easily accessible and can be worked discreetly while in company or sitting in a public place such as a restaurant or on public transport.

To relieve toothache you can work on the hand that corresponds to the side where you feel the pain. For example, if the toothache is on the left side of the mouth, then I would work on the left hand.

So in our example, hold your left hand palm down, spread your thumb and forefinger slightly apart, and with your other hand, thumb up, start adding pressure with your “right” thumb at the apex of the “V” between the thumb and forefinger of the ‘left’ hand. (i.e. the webbed area between the thumb and forefinger).

If you create small circles with your right thumb and gradually add pressure, you will feel a more sensitive area and that is the area where you can gradually add more pressure, massaging in small circles, holding the pressure for short bursts of 10 seconds and releasing the pressure for a couple of seconds between each 10 second spell. – Continue this pressure treatment for at least five minutes or until the toothache is relieved.

This particular treatment can be even more effective if you can use an ice cube to massage the area in the ‘V’ of the thumb and forefinger.

o The second tip on how to stop a toothache without even opening your mouth is again based on what is called ‘acupressure’.

This time, the treatment is more obvious and it’s not something you’d want to do in public, but it can be extremely effective in relieving your toothache.

To relieve acute toothache, work on the pressure point in the area just below the nose, approximately halfway between the nose and the upper lip, in the groove known as the ‘filter nose’.

I find it best to use the tip of the index finger or the knuckle of the index finger to press quite hard on the point just below the nose. This may seem a bit painful at first, but you will soon get used to this pressure and as you continue with this treatment, the toothache will go away.

The best way to get quick pain relief is to press the tip of your index finger or knuckle on the center point of the “filter nose” with as much pressure as you can. – Hold this pressure for 10 seconds and release it for 2-3 seconds. – Continue in bursts of 10 seconds for 5 minutes or until pain is relieved.

o There is another effective method to relieve toothache without opening your mouth and that is to apply a cold compress or ice pack to the side of your face where you feel the pain. Simply apply the ice pack and hold until the pain is relieved.

These are just a couple of little tips that I have used in an emergency situation, where there is no other home treatment available and I feel like I desperately need to get rid of the toothache as quickly as possible.

There are many extremely effective home remedies for toothache and it is worth arming yourself with a few of them so that you are prepared for pain relief should you experience a toothache.