If you are undergoing treatment for an abscessed tooth, you may wonder if there is anything else you can do at home to help kill the infection faster and relieve your pain symptoms. If so, use the following three-step home remedy using ingredients that you can easily find in supermarkets and pharmacies.

Step 1:  Treat The Area With A Salt And Peppermint Oil Paste

The first step in treating your abscess is to apply a paste made with table salt and peppermint oil. The salt kills bacteria and draws out the existing infection. The peppermint oil relieves the pain by soaking into the tissue and numbing the nerve endings.

In the palm of your hand or a shallow dish, mix together a teaspoon of salt with five drops of peppermint oil using a clean cotton swab. The paste should stick together easily without being too runny or gritty. If it is too runny, add a pinch of salt. If it is too gritty, add one more drop of peppermint oil.

Once you have the consistency right, use another cotton swab to gently apply the paste directly onto the abscess. Then, place a two-by-two piece of gauze over the area. Let the paste remain for 10 minutes.

After the time has passed, remove the gauze. If it does not pull off easily, apply a few drops of water to it to moisten the gauze and paste enough to lift it. Forcing it off of your gum may tear the tissue. Once the gauze has been removed, go on to the next step.

Step 2:  Rinse Your Mouth With Warm Salt Water

After the gauze has been removed, this step involves rinsing the paste out of your mouth. Using salt water instead of plain water continues the germ-killing ability of the salt. 

Mix an eighth of a cup of warm water with two tablespoons of salt. After letting the salt dissolve for five minutes, rinse your mouth for one minute. If you still feel any residual paste in your mouth, repeat the rinse one more time. After spitting out the rinse, go on to the next step.

Step 3:  Apply A Clove Oil And Water Tincture

Once you have rinsed out the paste from the first step, you will be applying a clove oil and water tincture to the abscess. Clove oil helps numb the pain, bringing you almost instant relief that can last for a couple of hours.

When using the clove oil, do not use it straight on your gum tissue or use more than the following recommended amount. While the oil does relieve pain, it could irritate the gum tissue if used in too high of a concentration. That is why it is diluted with water for use in this tincture.

Use a medicine dropper to put six drops of water into the palm of your hand. Then, use the dropper provided with the clove oil to add two drops. Mix the two ingredients well with a cotton swab.

After mixing the oil and water completely, discard the mixing swab and get a clean one. This will prevent any areas of concentrated oil on the swab from coming into contact with your tissue undiluted.

Dip the clean swab in the tincture and gently roll it directly onto the abscess. Avoid eating or drinking for a half an hour to give the tincture time to fully soak in.

Using the above home remedy in conjunction with your antibiotics should help relieve your symptoms and help you heal faster. However, if your symptoms start getting worse, you may want to contact your dentist at a site like http://www.cretzmeyer.com right away to discuss other treatment options, such as changing your medication or draining your infection.