Has it been a while since you had your teeth cleaned or even had a dental exam? Do you have one or more teeth that are starting to hurt, but you can't get a dental appointment immediately? When you have a toothache, it's not always easy to find someone who is available to take care of the issue. The soonest urgent appointment may not be for several days. In the meantime, you're left trying to deal with the dental pain. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to help ease the discomfort or even make it disappear on temporarily until your appointment. Some things that you can try include:

Warm salt water:  One of the biggest reasons for dental pain is due to a filling or a crown being broken or lost somehow. If this has happened to you, small bits of food can get stuck in the hole that's been created, resulting in pain. Trying to use a standard mouthwash can just make things worse since it'll be alcohol and other irritants applied directly to exposed nerves. While waiting for your dentist appointment, you can instead try using warm salt water to gently dislodge these food particles. Mix body-temperature water with as much salt as will dissolve, and swish it around in your mouth for as long as possible. Since the human body naturally contains a lot of salt, this homemade mouthwash should be much less irritating because it more closely mimics your body's tissues and fluids than a standard alcohol-based mouthwash.

Clove oil: Once you've made sure that the cavity is clean, another thing you can try to relieve the pain is applying clove oil. Small bottles of this can often be found in the dental care aisle at your local drug store, being sold expressly for this purpose. Since clove oil can be mildly toxic in high amounts, you should apply as little as possible to get the desired effect. Make sure to read the label for instructions because clove oil is strong, and you shouldn't need to use much while waiting for your dentist appointment.

Temporary filling: Another thing that you can find in many drug stores is a small container of a wax or a wax-like material that can be molded and then used to cover the cavity. While you won't be able to eat with this as you can with a filling or a crown that was made by a real dentist, it should help to relieve some of the pain. Your tooth will no longer be directly exposed to the air and to your saliva, something that should help significantly with pain unless there is an infection present.