Toothache after consuming alcohol

introduction

It is not uncommon for teeth to react, especially when consuming alcoholic beverages, sensitive or even with development of pain.

It will be a pulling pain felt that can last a few seconds.Especially with alcoholic beverages that contain a lot of sugar, such as cocktails, the teeth can be sensitive and even painful.

causes

In the oral cavity there is usually a pH value of around 7, which is mainly formed by the saliva. The main component of alcohol, ethanol, has a pH value of around 5 and is therefore more acidic than the optimal value. The teeth are attacked by the acidic properties of ethanol and the enamel, the top layer of the tooth, roughened and weakened as a result.
Ethanol has a vasodilating effect in alcoholic beverages and can therefore also irritate the nerve tracts in the tooth.

But often the ethanol is not the only main reason for the pain, but other components of the mixed drinks cause problems. Since there is usually a lot of sugar in alcoholic beverages, which the bacteria in the oral cavity feed on and which excrete acids after digestion, the teeth are now subjected to double stress. The tooth is burdened by the actual acidic properties of alcohol and after the digestive process of the bacteria is again burdened with acids. These in turn attack the tooth enamel and cause the well-known pulling toothache, especially with particularly sweet alcoholic drinks.

If the upper enamel layer is thinner due to these stresses, the tooth has almost lost its natural protective layer and is very sensitive to acids, sugar and also to pressure loads such as when chewing food. If the tooth is already carious and has a hole, drinking alcohol can lead to excruciating pain.

Read more on the topic: The consequences of alcohol

What can you do about toothache after drinking alcohol?

Brushing your teeth is half the battle. First and foremost, it is important to regularly remove food particles from your teeth, i.e. to brush them. The substance that keeps the tooth healthy is called fluoride. It is contained in toothpaste to a certain extent and primarily helps to protect the outermost layer of the tooth from acid attacks and to restore the optimal pH value in the mouth. It is important to brush your teeth after drinking alcohol so that you can recover from acid exposure at night.

Read more on the topic: dental care

As a further measure, you can seal your teeth with a more concentrated fluoride gel once a week. The gel, which is available over the counter at the pharmacy, is applied to the teeth with a toothbrush and left to work without rinsing it out. After application, you don't have to eat or drink for half an hour to an hour for the best effect. With this measure you can protect the teeth sustainably so that alcohol consumption remains a pleasure even afterwards and the teeth remain robust against all acid attacks. The dentist has fluoride products that are much more concentrated and can protect the tooth even better.

Duraphat and and Bifluoid can relieve the tooth of pain if the defect is not too large. But if the tooth already has a hole and the pain persists much longer, fluoridating drugs usually no longer help. Only pain medication can temporarily provide relief, but they cannot heal the tooth. As a temporary solution, you can definitely use pain relievers for toothache.

However, the pain will never go away completely and then over weeks and months it can get more and more and also worse and can only be treated by a tooth filling at the dentist. The dentist then uses the plastic with which he fills the existing hole in the tooth to restore the outer protective layer of the tooth in order to make it insensitive to pain.

Read more about this under: Toothache - what to do?

Duration of toothache after consuming alcohol

The pain after consuming alcoholic beverages is perceived very differently by each person. In most cases, the pain only appears shortly after drinking the cocktail or wine and then subsides until it disappears completely. However, the pain may come back with every further sip of the drink.
If the tooth is stressed over a long period of time or if the toothbrush is not used after the night at the disco, the tooth can be overly sensitive the morning after and pain even when touching a toothbrush. The tooth can also hurt when chewing meals.

If there is no improvement after two to three days, although the tooth has been thoroughly cleaned and provided with a fluoride gel, a dentist must be visited as soon as possible in order, in the worst case, to remove the existing hole - the caries - and to fill it with plastic.

Concomitant symptoms

The only one a toothache after drinking alcohol can also be supported by other side effects. The tooth can become very sensitive and react with pain in both heat and cold. Simply breathing in cold air can cause problems for the tooth. Every ice cream and tea becomes an ordeal. The affected tooth can too Toothache when chewing cause.

It should not be forgotten that the general effects of alcohol make it much worse to sleep than when you are on an empty stomach and that tension in the masticatory muscles can often cause discomfort. This tension can too crunch and pressing, which rubs off the enamel and thereby further weakens the tooth.
These can also be side effects that can be unbearable a headache and toothache can result.