You may or may not know what causes it, but pain, intense, excruciating and severe, takes you to the point where nothing else matters. And yet there is no easy way of eliminating pain

TOOTHACHE

• Rinse your mouth with salt water.

• Apply clove oil to the affected area.
• Press the hegu (meaning meeting of the valleys) point. To locate the hegu point, position the thumb so that it forms a right angle with the index finger. Now feel along the bone that extends back from the knuckle of the index finger. Along the index finger bone is the hegu point. It lies a little down and under the index finger bone. To make sure you are touching the hegu point, see if you get a funny bone type of feeling when you apply pressure there. As you press harder, you should feel the pressure radiating along the nerves in your hand. This sensation signals that you are on the hegu point. Rub the affected area in slow circles for at least 30 seconds and then switch hands. You should notice an almost immediate improvement. If the pain returns, repeat the procedure.

• Brush regularly and cap cavities.

• Put ice on the aching tooth, or the nearest cheek, for 15 minutes, at least three to four times a day.