{"id":54,"date":"2026-02-14T19:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T19:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/?p=54"},"modified":"2026-02-21T19:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T19:14:09","slug":"toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/","title":{"rendered":"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Bird's<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Although brushing and flossing twice daily remove harmful plaque and bacteria that contribute to common dental concerns, like cavities or gum disease, there\u2019s unfortunately no guarantee that you\u2019ll never have an oral emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, you might develop a sudden or severe toothache after your dentist\u2019s office closes for the day. That means you might have to wait until the next day to reach out for a same-day visit<\/a> to address it. If you\u2019re feeling too sore to get a good night\u2019s sleep, continue reading to learn about 3 tips that might help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Tip #1: Gently Rinse Your Mouth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many potential reasons for a toothache, and some are more severe than others. For instance, it can be caused by damaged enamel, gum disease, or something lodged between your teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before assuming the worst about the state of your smile, it can sometimes be helpful to gently rinse your mouth with salt water to ensure your discomfort isn\u2019t caused by a trapped object. To do so, mix about \u00bd tsp of salt into a glass of water and stir until dissolved. Then, sip the mixture, swish it around your mouth, then spit it out. Repeat until your cup is empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might even floss around your sore tooth to remove anything that might have slid beneath your gums to cause the irritation that\u2019s keeping you awake.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #2: Keep Your Head Elevated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you noticed that the throbbing sensation seems to intensify the moment you lie down to try to get some shut-eye? This can sometimes happen if your pain is caused by an infection, which triggers fluid buildup that places uncomfortable pressure on the sensitive nerves inside your tooth. Shifting from a vertical position to resting vertically allows gravity to pull blood flow toward your head, increasing the force pressing against the nerve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can prevent this by propping your head on several pillows to keep or trying to sleep in your favorite recliner instead.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #3: Take Over-the-Counter Medications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many patients also find some much-needed relief by taking the recommended dosage of over-the-counter medications, like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. These options can potentially reduce tenderness and inflammation to take the edge off your toothache long enough for you to catch some z\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, when you wake up in the morning, you can contact your provider for a same-day emergency visit so they can identify and treat the underlying cause of your dental discomfort!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Hui Zhang enjoys building lasting relationships with patients to better help them build and maintain happy, healthy smiles. She graduated from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, which is the top-ranked dental school in the country, then joined the Global Initiative Program to promote dental school in developing countries. Today, she offers a comprehensive menu of services, including same-day emergency care and Saturday availability, to meet all your unique needs under one roof. If you have a toothache and need help, you can request an appointment on the website<\/a> or by calling (940) 946-0055.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although brushing and flossing twice daily remove harmful plaque and bacteria that contribute to common dental concerns, like cavities or gum disease, there\u2019s unfortunately no guarantee that you\u2019ll never have an oral emergency. For instance, you might develop a sudden or severe toothache after your dentist\u2019s office closes for the day. That means you might […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nToothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort? | Dr. Hui Zhang<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read on to learn 3 tips that might help you get some much-needed sleep when you have a nighttime toothache!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort? | Dr. Hui Zhang\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Read on to learn 3 tips that might help you get some much-needed sleep when you have a nighttime toothache!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_329090945-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"forestleaf\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/464183b0a8fb8f91013bb80ecde28848\"},\"headline\":\"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-14T19:12:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-21T19:14:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":517,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_329090945-1024x683.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/\",\"name\":\"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort? | Dr. Hui Zhang\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_329090945-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-14T19:12:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-21T19:14:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/464183b0a8fb8f91013bb80ecde28848\"},\"description\":\"Read on to learn 3 tips that might help you get some much-needed sleep when you have a nighttime toothache!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_329090945-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/AdobeStock_329090945-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1708},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"ForestLeaf Dental Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.forestleafdental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/464183b0a8fb8f91013bb80ecde28848\",\"name\":\"forestleaf\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort? | Dr. Hui Zhang","description":"Read on to learn 3 tips that might help you get some much-needed sleep when you have a nighttime toothache!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort? | Dr. Hui Zhang","twitter_description":"Read on to learn 3 tips that might help you get some much-needed sleep when you have a nighttime toothache!","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_329090945-scaled.jpg","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/"},"author":{"name":"forestleaf","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/464183b0a8fb8f91013bb80ecde28848"},"headline":"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort?","datePublished":"2026-02-14T19:12:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-21T19:14:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/"},"wordCount":517,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_329090945-1024x683.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/","url":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/","name":"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort? | Dr. Hui Zhang","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_329090945-1024x683.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-14T19:12:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-21T19:14:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/464183b0a8fb8f91013bb80ecde28848"},"description":"Read on to learn 3 tips that might help you get some much-needed sleep when you have a nighttime toothache!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_329090945-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_329090945-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1708},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/toothache-trouble-how-can-i-sleep-with-dental-discomfort\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Toothache Trouble: How Can I Sleep with Dental Discomfort?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/","name":"ForestLeaf Dental Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/464183b0a8fb8f91013bb80ecde28848","name":"forestleaf"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forestleafdental.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}