easy remedies for tooth pain - going flavorless and technique

If you have tooth pain every time you brush or floss and there is not any immediate dental work you need, it's bad brushing technique and the wrong toothpaste and floss that's the problem. Probably.

I have had a lot of dental work done over the years. Crowns, root canals (yes, plural), fillings, and so on. But even with all that work done and not needing any more for the time being, I would still sometimes feel pain during brushing and flossing. This was annoying, so I had to figure out what to do about it.

The first thing I discovered is that I was brushing the wrong way. The proper way is called the Bass Brushing Technique or just Bass Method, named after Dr. Bass. I use a version of it called the Modified Bass Brushing Technique. There are plenty of videos online that show you how it's done, and are easily found from a quick search.

Brushing the right way helped a lot, but then I discovered a few more things that helped out even more.

Toothbrushes get dull quickly, so what I do is purposely buy multi-packs of toothbrushes and change over to a new one every first of the month. The only type of bristle firmness I will buy is soft and soft only. There is absolutely no need to buy a toothbrush with firm bristles. Consider it the same as if you were polishing a wooden table. You wouldn't polish a wooden table with steel wool, would you? Of course not. Similarly, brushing teeth with a firm bristle isn't doing you any favors. Soft is always the correct choice, provided the toothbrush isn't old.

My dopey toothbrushes and floss (I'll talk about floss in a moment):

While true my toothbrushes look stupid because of that multicolored crap, I don't care because they're always available and cheap, and I can use a new one every month.

Is it overkill to use a new toothbrush every month? Maybe. I could probably get at least 3 months out of a brush, but it's easier for me to remember, "On the first of the month, switch brush", so that's what I do.

Before I talk about toothpaste, I'll cover floss next.

Flossing used to make my teeth hurt. I wasn't getting bad pain, but rather an annoying type. I best describe the pain as dulling/chilling whenever I flossed.

It was the flavoring that was the problem. When I went 100% unflavored, the pain from flossing disappeared quickly.

At first, I used Oral B Glide Original. Do not be surprised if you cannot find this where you buy floss, because for whatever reason, it is tough to come by. You might have to order it online, and yes, it's worth it.

I purposely used this because it is the gentlest floss there is. Why? It's a wider tape type instead of the typical thinner stuff. Very smooth and easy to use. The best part is "Original" means "unflavored". No minty crap. Good. If that Oral B Glide floss does not say Original, it has mint. Look specifically for Original.

After some time using Glide Original, I said okay, let's go back to the thinner waxed. The Glide works great, but traditional waxed floss has more texture and cleans between the teeth better.

Reach Unflavored is definitely the best regular waxed floss IF YOU CAN FIND IT. Yes, it has the same availability issue the Glide Original does. But at least there is also generic unflavored waxed floss. Kroger has their version as you can see in the photo above. It doesn't say unflavored on the container, but it is unflavored. "Blue" = "Unflavored" and "Green" = "Mint". I avoid the green and use the blue. Is it as good as Reach? No, but at least it's available and gets the job done.

Now let's talk about toothpaste.

I don't use toothpaste. I use baking soda. But before you run out and get some, hang on, hang on... it's not for everybody.

Unflavored toothpaste exists at varying price points. Try one of those first.

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and since sodium is in the name, yes, it has a slightly salty flavor to it. Some hate that taste, but I don't because I'm used to it. Technically, this means it's not flavorless, but at the same time it's not artificially flavored.

I do not brush with baking soda every day since it is an abrasive, and if used too much it can damage enamel. I only use it twice a week at most. The rest of the time I brush with just water.

How does one use baking soda as a toothpaste? You put a spoonful of it in one hand, use your other hand to hold your toothbrush, wet the brush, dip bristles in baking soda, and start brushing. Brush (with proper technique) until you feel you're done and that's it. Rinse mouth with water afterward.

Do I use mouthwash? No, because what's available in the store is all artificially flavored. But I should note that unflavored mouthwash also exists.

If I have some food particles really stuck in my teeth that I need cleared out even after flossing, I will swish with hydrogen peroxide.

And before you go and do that, some info:

On some bottles of hydrogen peroxide, it may note that it can be used for "oral debridement". That's a polite way of saying it can dislodge food particles from your teeth.

Hydrogen peroxide obviously doesn't have any flavor, but three things will happen after swishing it and spitting it out.

First is "electric tongue" where your tongue feels tingly and probably not in a way you will like at all. This is temporary, and takes a minute before your tongue starts feeling normal again.

Second, some of your tongue and some of your gums will turn stark white. You will be freaked out when you see this. Again, it's temporary and the normal color will come back in a minute or so.

Third, a not-so good taste left behind. It's not absolutely awful, but not pleasant either.

It's generally a good idea that after you swish and spit out hydrogen peroxide, wait a minute and then rinse again with water.

I should also note that if you've never swished hydrogen peroxide before after brushing and flossing and want to give it a go, you may feel tenderness for the first few times. This is normal. If it's a tenderness you don't like, use an unflavored mouthwash instead or just rinse with water.

Improving technique and going flavorless worked for me

I had dulling/chilling pains when brushing and flossing, but improving technique and ditching all the flavored crap got rid of all the pain. Yes, 100%.

No, this will not magically fix existing dental issues. But what it will do is make your annual cleaning at the dentist a lot shorter. I'm in and out of the dentist's chair in usually 5 minutes whenever I go for a cleaning.

When you go unflavored and brush and floss correctly, you'll be able to tell a lot better if you're actually cleaning your teeth or not since there isn't any flavor distraction. "Minty" does not mean "clean" and never did.

It's too bad Crest doesn't have an unflavored version of their toothpaste. They should. Call it Crest Unflavored and give it a distinctive minimalist solid color (no gradients) navy blue box with white Crest logo to really make it stick out. Same for the tube itself, except in reverse. White tube with navy blue Crest logo and all other text in the same color. That minimalism would be a nice attention-getter.

I'm absolutely certain if Crest Unflavored existed, people would buy it to get away from the minty crap. Until it does exist, there are other options as I noted above.

Published 2024 Sep 17