A toothache gel numbs the gum around a tooth for a while. It does not reach the nerve inside the tooth, it does not treat the cause, and in the Reddit threads we read it is the thing people have already tried before they post. We compared seven over-the-counter products by their Drug Facts labels, the published trials, and what owners say, and each card states what the product can and cannot do. Six of the seven carry the same drug, 20% benzocaine, so choose by where the tooth is: a gel for a gum you can reach, Anbesol Liquid on a swab for a back tooth, the DenTek kit or the Kank-A pen if you would rather not use a finger, and, if you are avoiding benzocaine, the Red Cross clove kit, inside an open cavity only. If the pain comes with a fever and a swollen face, or trouble breathing or swallowing, stop reading and go to the ER. If money is what stands between you and a dentist, our guide to emergency dental care with no insurance lists the clinics and programs to call.
Evidence Receipt
How we researched this page: we read the Drug Facts label for every product on the National Library of Medicine’s DailyMed, the FDA’s 2018 letter to benzocaine makers, the ADA’s 2024 guideline on dental pain, and the clinical trials of benzocaine gel and clove oil. We read 188 Reddit threads in full, most from r/askdentists, r/AskReddit, r/dentures and r/braces, and set aside three essential-oil marketing accounts. We checked each Amazon listing’s rating total and who sells it. We did not test these products. What that reading found:
- Benzocaine gel does relieve a toothache for a while. In a double-blind trial of 576 people with a toothache from an open cavity, 87% of the group using 20% benzocaine gel got relief by the trial’s measure, against 70% of the group using the gel with no drug in it (Hersh et al.). That placebo number is high, the trial had the maker’s involvement, and the ADA rates the evidence “low certainty” (Carrasco-Labra et al.).
- Painkillers come first. The ADA’s 2024 guideline suggests ibuprofen, alone or with acetaminophen, for a toothache you cannot get treated yet, and adds 10% or 20% benzocaine gel as a short-term extra (Carrasco-Labra et al.). It also finds “probably a negligible benefit” of 20% over 10% benzocaine.
- How long it lasts depends on what the gel can reach. In a 30-patient pilot that gave half of them 20% benzocaine gel and half a placebo, relief in the gel group began after a median of 8 minutes and lasted a median of more than 115 minutes (Hersh et al.). Owners on Reddit report five to fifteen minutes. The larger trials put the gel into an open cavity and on the gum around it; an abscess under the tooth is not something a surface product treats.
- The blood-disorder warning is real; sprays dominate the case reports, gels are not exempt. Of 132 benzocaine methemoglobinemia cases reported to the FDA from late 1997 to early 2002, 123 involved a spray and one a gel (Moore et al.); in the FDA’s own 2009 to 2017 review of 119 cases, 75 were sprays and 20 were oral gels, and four people died. The FDA asked every maker in 2018 to add the warning and the “under 2: do not use” line (FDA letter).
- Clove gel did no worse than benzocaine at numbing gum in one small trial; no readable toothache trial exists. Homemade clove gel and 20% benzocaine gel showed no significant difference against needle sticks in 73 volunteers (Alqareer et al.); a 2025 review calls eugenol “promising” and asks for larger trials (Reddy et al.).
- In the 188 Reddit threads we read, no flaired dentist recommended a gel as the answer to a toothache (one allowed it after a root canal). Their answer was ibuprofen plus acetaminophen, treatment of the tooth, and the ER when the face swells; the gel was the thing the poster had already tried.
What to Do Tonight
- Take a painkiller you can take. The ADA’s guideline suggests an NSAID such as ibuprofen, alone or with acetaminophen, as first-line relief for a toothache before treatment (Carrasco-Labra et al.). Follow the package directions and the daily ceiling on the box; over-the-counter ibuprofen tablets are 200 mg, so the guideline’s 400 mg is two. NSAIDs carry stomach, heart and kidney risks for some people (ADA); if you have been told to avoid them, the guideline suggests acetaminophen on its own. Dentists answering on r/askdentists say the same: “Tylenol and ibuprofen at the same time will give you the best pain relief,” one flaired dentist wrote.
- Add a numbing gel on the gum beside the tooth, and into the cavity if there is one. That is how the trials used it. Dry the spot, use the amount the label gives (Anbesol says a pea), and leave it for a few minutes before eating or rinsing. Do not put aspirin on the gum; Mayo Clinic warns it can burn the tissue (Mayo Clinic), and an r/povertyfinance commenter who says she was a dental hygienist put it more bluntly: “this will cause a chemical burn, I’ve seen it many times. Use a topical analgesic like Orajel.” Store-brand 20% benzocaine gels sell for a few dollars; read the box, because store labels can lag (the Equate gel label on DailyMed is dated 2020 and still lacks the blood-disorder warning the brands added).
- Rinse with warm salt water. The NHS suggests half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, spat out, and says children should not do it in case they swallow it (NHS). The NHS also says “a pharmacist can advise you”: a 24-hour pharmacy can answer tonight the questions this page sends to a clinician, including pregnancy, other medicines and which shelf product to buy.
- Call a dentist as soon as one opens, even if the gel is working. A toothache “should be evaluated by a dentist right away to determine the cause of the problem and prevent the tooth from dying,” the ADA’s consumer site says (MouthHealthy).
- Go to the ER now if you have a fever and swelling in your face and cannot reach a dentist, or if you have trouble breathing or swallowing (Mayo Clinic); the NHS sends swelling around the eye or neck to the emergency department as well (NHS).
Anbesol Maximum Strength Gel: Editor’s Pick
Anbesol Maximum Strength Gel Oral Pain Reliever, 0.33 oz
Best for: Most people: a 20% benzocaine gel whose label names toothache, with an ADA Seal
- Benzocaine 20%
- Label uses: toothache, sore gums, canker sores, braces, dentures
- ADA Seal of Acceptance (mouth-sore discomfort)
- 0.33 oz tube, sold by Amazon
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Why We Recommend It
Every benzocaine product on this page carries the same 20%, the most the FDA’s monograph allows over the counter, so the pick comes down to the label, the form and what owners say. Anbesol’s Drug Facts label names toothache first among its uses, which Orajel’s 3X label does not, and it is the one toothache gel here on the ADA’s Seal of Acceptance list, granted for “discomfort of mouth sores” (ADA). The Seal says nothing about toothache; it says the product is safe and does what its mouth-sore claim says when used as directed.
A couple of readers who had used both preferred it. “Anbesol helps but honestly I’m tired of putting this stuff into my body,” one r/askdentists poster wrote after saying Orajel did not. One r/AskReddit commenter gave a technique with the verdict: “Put some on gauze put it where it hurts works way better that orajel,” and, a reply later, “Get the gauze damp.” It costs about $7 to $8 for a 0.33 oz tube, sold by Amazon, and holds 4.6 stars across 18,480 ratings on a listing with no other sizes sharing the count. Neither reader says gel rather than liquid; the preference is for the brand.
Key Features
- Benzocaine 20%
- Pea-sized amount, up to four times a day, no more than seven days
- Ages 2 and up; under 12 with adult supervision; under 2 do not use
- ADA Seal of Acceptance, for mouth-sore discomfort
Who It’s Best For
Anyone who can reach the sore gum with a fingertip and wants the plain 20% benzocaine gel. If you also have braces sores or a canker sore, the label covers those too; our canker sore guide covers that use in more depth.
Potential Downsides
It wears off. “i tried anbesol as well and it helps for maybe 10 minutes before going back to throbbing pain,” an r/Invisalign poster wrote, and one r/braces poster who spread “an obscene amount” over the whole mouth got numb lips and a throat, and no less pain. Use a pea on the gum beside the tooth, not everywhere. The label is silent on pregnancy and breastfeeding; Cleveland Clinic lists both among the things to tell a clinician before using benzocaine (Cleveland Clinic).
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Orajel 4X Toothache & Gum Cream: Best-Known Name
Orajel 4X Toothache & Gum Cream, 0.33 oz
Best for: People who want the brand they know, with an antiseptic in the tube
- Benzocaine 20%, menthol, zinc chloride, benzalkonium chloride
- Cream, 0.33 oz, sold by Amazon
- Up to four times a day, no more than seven days
- Pack now sold: ages 3 and up; older pack: 2 and up
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Why We Recommend It
Orajel is the name readers reach for, and the 4X is the most-rated Orajel toothache product we read: 4.7 stars across 12,966 ratings, shared with multipacks of the same tube. The “4X” means four active ingredients, not four times the numbing: benzocaine 20%, menthol, zinc chloride and benzalkonium chloride, an antiseptic that the label pairs with a “first aid to help prevent infection” line (DailyMed). The benzocaine is the same 20% as Anbesol and the 3X. It is a cream rather than a gel, a texture preference more than a drug difference. It lists at about $10 for 0.33 oz and was discounted on the day we read it, sold by Amazon.
Key Features
- Benzocaine 20%, menthol 0.26%, zinc chloride 0.15%, plus benzalkonium chloride
- Cream, 0.33 oz
- Avoid toothpaste, soft drinks and fruit juice for at least an hour after applying (label)
Who It’s Best For
People who already trust Orajel, or who want the antiseptic along with the numbing. For the numbing alone, the 3X below is the same benzocaine in a bigger tube.
Potential Downsides
Church & Dwight’s new label for this cream, effective August 2026, raises the age floor to “children under 3 years of age: do not use” and cuts the antiseptic to 0.02%; the pack photographed on Amazon prints “adults and children ages 3 and older”, while the listing’s text and Orajel’s own site still carry the older label, with under 2 and 0.13%. Follow the line on the tube you receive, and treat under 3 as the rule. We also read the newest 50 written reviews: they average 4.2 stars against the 4.7 lifetime figure, with several late-October reviews saying it did not help or did not numb. That drop is within the range we see on other busy listings, so we kept the card, but it is worth knowing. On Reddit the verdict is modest: “orajel 4x worked for about five minutes,” one r/DentalHygiene poster wrote of post-whitening sensitivity; on r/PainManagement, “Orajel helps me but unfortunately it doesn’t always last as long as I’d like.” One r/poor poster found “Orajel the newer one gives me a headache even if I use it sparingly.” If price is the problem, the same r/povertyfinance commenter noted in 2022 that “Walmart has their brand (Equate) version of Orajel for $3 at my store”; store brands carry the same 20% benzocaine, and the box, not the brand, tells you the rest.
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Orajel 3X Toothache & Gum Gel: Best Value
Orajel 3X Toothache & Gum Gel, 0.42 oz
Best for: Anyone who wants Orajel's 20% benzocaine without paying for the antiseptic
- Benzocaine 20%, menthol 0.26%, zinc chloride 0.15%
- Gel, 0.42 oz, sold by Amazon
- Up to four times a day, no more than seven days
- Label: under 2 do not use, 2 to 12 ask a doctor; new pack graphic says 12 and up
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Why We Recommend It
The 3X has the 4X’s three numbing and astringent actives without the benzalkonium chloride: benzocaine 20%, menthol 0.26% and zinc chloride 0.15%, per its Drug Facts label (the inactive ingredients differ too). The Amazon tube is 0.42 oz for about $7, sold by Amazon, against 0.33 oz listing at about $10 for the 4X: roughly $17 an ounce against $30. If what you want is the numbing, this is the cheaper way to get Orajel’s, which is the whole case for the badge. It holds 4.7 stars across 6,519 ratings, shared only with the two-pack.
Key Features
- Benzocaine 20%, menthol 0.26%, zinc chloride 0.15%
- Gel, 0.42 oz
- Same age, frequency and seven-day lines as the 4X’s older label
Who It’s Best For
Price-led buyers who want Orajel, and anyone stocking a drawer before a weekend.
Potential Downsides
Its label’s use line reads “minor irritation or injury of the mouth and gums”; toothache appears only in the product name. The label on DailyMed allows ages 2 and up with a doctor’s say-so under 12, but the new “Extra Strength” pack’s Amazon graphic reads “Adults and Kids ages 12 and older”, so for a child under 12 ask a dentist first whichever box arrives. No reader in the threads we read named the 3X; owners talk about “Orajel” as one product, so the Orajel reports above are brand-level and may or may not describe this tube. The label is silent on pregnancy.
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Anbesol Maximum Strength Liquid: Best Liquid for a Back Tooth
Anbesol Maximum Strength Liquid Oral Pain Reliever, 0.41 fl oz
Best for: A molar or an open cavity you cannot reach with a gel
- Benzocaine 20%
- Wipe on with cotton, a swab or a fingertip (label)
- 0.41 fl oz bottle, sold by Amazon
- Same ADA Seal record as the gel
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Why We Recommend It
A gel on a fingertip is awkward on a second molar. A liquid soaks into cotton that you can hold on the spot, and that is how readers in the money-tight and chronic-pain subreddits use it. “Anbesol liquid for immediate relief,” one r/poor poster wrote, despite being “highly resistant to Caine series numbing agents”: “soak a qtip in it, then wedge the qtip next to the tooth along the gum line. Let it sit for a bit. Good god the relief.” On r/ChronicPain the preference was stated outright, “Anbesol liquid (my preference) or Orajel gel/liquid,” and on r/PainManagement: “the liquid more easily coats the region and I think it takes effect quicker.” Anbesol’s liquid carries the same 20% benzocaine, uses, warnings and ADA Seal record as the gel on its Drug Facts label; the application line is the difference: “wipe liquid on with cotton, or cotton swab, or fingertip.” It costs about $7 to $8 for 0.41 fl oz, sold by Amazon, and holds 4.7 stars across 3,833 ratings on its own listing.
Key Features
- Benzocaine 20%
- Liquid, 0.41 fl oz; apply with cotton, a swab or a fingertip
- Ages 2 and up; under 12 supervised; under 2 do not use; seven-day cap
Who It’s Best For
Back teeth, open cavities, and anyone who prefers to apply with a swab instead of a finger.
Potential Downsides
Liquids drip, and the tongue goes numb if the liquid runs onto it. Expect minutes rather than hours. One r/ChronicPain commenter suggested using it more often than the directions allow; do not, the label’s four-a-day line is the one to follow.
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DenTek Instant Oral Pain Relief Kit: Best Applicator Kit
DenTek Instant Oral Pain Relief Kit, 50 applicators
Best for: People who want a fresh swab for every application and no finger in the mouth
- Benzocaine 20% liquid, 3.5 mL vial
- 50 disposable applicators, handle and case
- Label: toothaches first; temporary remedy until a dentist can be seen
- Sold by Amazon
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Why We Recommend It
The kit is a small vial of 20% benzocaine liquid with fifty single-use applicator tips and a handle, so each dose goes on with a clean tip and nothing goes back into the bottle. Its Drug Facts label names “toothaches” first among its uses and adds a line most of the others lack: “for toothaches, use only as a temporary remedy until a dentist can be seen.” An r/dentures owner called it “a benzocaine kit that makes administering the topical a breeze.” It costs about $8 to $10, sold by Amazon.
Key Features
- Benzocaine 20% liquid, 3.5 mL
- 50 disposable applicators, handle and storage case
- Up to four times a day, no more than seven days; under 2 do not use
Who It’s Best For
Anyone who dislikes a finger in the mouth, people applying it for someone else, and travel.
Potential Downsides
Amazon shows one rating total, 4.4 stars across 19,888 ratings, for this kit and DenTek’s canker-sore patches together, because the two share a listing, so the number is not this kit’s alone, and it is the lowest average on this page. The newest 50 reviews on that shared listing average 3.2, and most of the low ones are about the patches (“Falls Off”, “buy Canker Cover instead”); the reviews that describe the kit itself average about 4.3. Read the review text, not the stars. The vial is small. The label is silent on pregnancy.
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Kank-A Soft Brush Pen: Best Pen
Kank-A Soft Brush Tooth & Gum Pain Gel pen, 0.07 oz
Best for: Precise dabs without a fingertip, at work or in bed
- Benzocaine 20%, zinc chloride 0.1%
- Twist-up brush applicator, 2 g of gel
- Label: toothaches first
- Sold by Amazon
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Why We Recommend It
A pen you twist to load a soft brush tip, then brush onto the gum: no finger, no swab, and small enough for a pocket. Blistex’s Drug Facts label lists benzocaine 20% with zinc chloride and names toothaches first. We chose it over Orajel’s Rescue Relief pen, which carries the 3X’s three actives in a twist pen, because the Kank-A listing has been on Amazon since 2007 with its own ratings (4.7 stars across 1,507) while the Orajel pen’s listing dates from July 2025. It lists at about $10 and was discounted on the day we read it, sold by Amazon.
Key Features
- Benzocaine 20%, zinc chloride 0.1%
- Brush-tip pen, 0.07 oz (2 g); rinse the tip with cold water after use
- Up to four times a day, no more than seven days; under 2 do not use
Who It’s Best For
People who want the gel exactly where the tooth is, and nowhere else.
Potential Downsides
Two grams is the smallest package on this page for the price of a full tube. The label says the pen is for one person only. No owner on Reddit named the pen; the Kank-A praise we found is for the brand’s liquid, which one r/poor poster likes because “It’s adhesive and forms a protective coating” and another found “sticks to my tooth like you said, so it holds off the pain a lot longer!” The pen’s gel is a different formula with zinc chloride, so treat that as brand colour, not a report on this product. One r/dentures poster could not find the brand locally: “No one in town sells Kanka,” which is the case for ordering ahead. The label is silent on pregnancy.
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Red Cross Complete Medication Kit: Best Benzocaine-Free
Red Cross Complete Medication Kit for Tooth Pain (eugenol 85%)
Best for: People avoiding benzocaine who have an open cavity to pack
- Eugenol 85% (clove oil) in sesame oil, 3.7 mL
- Cotton pellets and tweezers included
- Label: pellet in the cavity for one minute, then remove
- Ages 12 and up; under 12 ask a dentist or doctor
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Why We Recommend It
If you have been told to avoid benzocaine, or will not use it, this is an over-the-counter alternative with a Drug Facts label (DenTek and Walgreens sell eugenol liquids too). Its own warning is an allergy one: not for anyone allergic to eugenol, clove oil or sesame oil. Its label lists eugenol 85% as a “toothache relief agent” that “temporarily relieves throbbing, persistent toothache due to a cavity until a dentist can be seen,” and the directions are specific: rinse the tooth, soak a cotton pellet, squeeze out the excess, place it in the cavity for one minute without touching the surrounding tissue, then remove it. Eugenol is the active in clove oil, and in one small trial a clove gel numbed gum as well as 20% benzocaine against needle sticks (Alqareer et al.).
In the subreddits where money is tightest, this is the product people name most (the pack calls it the Severe Toothache Relief Liquid Kit; Amazon’s title says Complete Medication Kit). “red cross toothache medicine is amazing” drew 55 upvotes on r/poor. On r/povertyfinance: “I prefer the redcross toothache liquid for teeth pain,” and, a sentence later, “It is like an instant numbing.” Another: “sold by a brand called Red Cross $7 at my CVS. It completely takes all the pain away.” And one r/PainManagement poster for whom “Oragel and Anbesol do nothing for my tooth pain” uses it: “It contains Eugenol oil and boy is that stuff potent.” It costs about $9 to $10 on Amazon and holds 4.6 stars across 2,164 ratings on its own listing.
Key Features
- Eugenol 85%, sesame oil base, 3.7 mL
- Cotton pellets and tweezers in the kit
- Up to four times a day for ages 12 and up; no more than seven days
- No benzocaine; the label’s warning is an allergy line (eugenol, clove oil, sesame)
Who It’s Best For
People who cannot use benzocaine, and anyone with an open cavity who wants to pack it rather than coat the gum.
Potential Downsides
It can burn whatever it touches outside the cavity. The label warns that “contact with lips or mucous membranes can cause burning, swelling, or irritation,” and Reddit bears that out: “Careful not to get it on gums as it will burn but its the only thing that could take the edge off,” one r/povertyfinance owner wrote, and an r/askdentists poster who left clove oil on the gum too long “has now left a burn.” Owners are split on whether clove works at all, and one found it made an infected tooth worse (see the clove section below). The kit sells on Amazon through third-party sellers, not Amazon itself, so check the seller and the price before you buy. The same kit appears on our dry socket guide for a different use.
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Gel, Liquid, Cream or Pen
The drug is the same in six of the seven picks: benzocaine 20%. What changes is how it gets to the gum and how long it stays.
- Gel (Anbesol, Orajel 3X): a pea on a fingertip, pressed onto the gum beside the tooth or into the cavity. One reader’s technique: on damp gauze, held in place.
- Cream (Orajel 4X): a thicker texture, same drug.
- Liquid (Anbesol Liquid, the DenTek kit): soaks into cotton or a swab that you can hold against a back tooth. Drips, and numbs the tongue if it runs. The Red Cross liquid is different: its label puts a squeezed-out pellet inside the cavity and nowhere else.
- Pen (Kank-A): a brush tip you twist to load. Precise, clean, small amount.
- Rinse (Orajel’s toothache rinse, not on this page): a different drug, benzyl alcohol, swished rather than placed. A handful of readers found the rinse helped them; one found it “makes it feel worse now after it wears off.” We did not compare it.
For the benzocaine products, a 2002 review of topical anesthetics notes that the roof of the mouth resists numbing more than other spots and that contact time matters, with a five-minute application the reliable one in the injection studies it reviewed (Meechan). Leave the product alone for a few minutes, and avoid eating until the numbness fades so you do not bite your cheek or tongue (Cleveland Clinic).
How Long the Numbing Lasts
Two answers that do not agree. In the one toothache trial that reported a duration, 30 people with pain from a cavity, a lost filling or a fracture were given 20% benzocaine gel or a placebo to apply themselves; in the gel group, relief began after a median of 8.3 minutes and lasted a median of more than 115 minutes (Hersh et al.). On Reddit, the numbers are smaller: “it works for 10 minutes” (a toothache), “maybe 10 minutes before going back to throbbing pain” (aligner pain), “only lasts like 5-15 minutes” (a toothache liquid), “orajel 4x worked for about five minutes” (post-whitening sensitivity).
Both are true, for different mouths. The larger trials recruited people with pain from an open cavity and had them put the gel into the cavity and on the gum around it. A flaired hygienist on r/DentalHygiene put the limit this way: “Topical anesthetizes the nerve endings in the gums, it won’t help the cause of your pain which is likely much deeper than the gums.” Which answer you get depends on whether the gel can reach what hurts. Plan on the forum numbers and be glad if you get the trial’s.
The ceiling on every benzocaine label here is the same: up to four times a day, for no more than seven days unless a dentist or doctor says otherwise. The FDA’s advice to adults is to use benzocaine “sparingly and only as needed” (FDA). The reader on r/Assistance who wrote “I was overdosing on oragel just to be able to function” was describing one of the ways a gel becomes dangerous.
Who Should Not Use Benzocaine
Benzocaine can cause methemoglobinemia, a blood condition in which the blood stops carrying oxygen properly. Lips, skin or nail beds turn pale, grey or blue; you may feel short of breath, light-headed, tired or confused, with a fast heartbeat. Symptoms can start “within minutes to one to two hours” after use, and can happen the first time or after earlier uses without trouble (FDA). If that happens, stop and get emergency care; every benzocaine label on this page now carries that warning because the FDA asked makers to add it in May 2018 (FDA letter).
Sprays account for most reports: of 132 cases reported to the FDA between late 1997 and early 2002, 123 involved a medical spray and one a gel (Moore et al.), and in the FDA’s later 2009 to 2017 count of 119 cases, 75 were sprays and 20 oral gels (FDA letter). Gel cases are real: a 6-year-old reached a near-fatal methemoglobin level after a 7.5% benzocaine teething gel was used for a toothache (Chung et al.). Follow the label, and talk to a pharmacist or clinician before using benzocaine if any of these apply:
- Children under the label age: do not use at all. The FDA says benzocaine products should not be used in children under 2 “under any circumstances,” and never for teething. Each product’s own line is in the table below; Orajel 4X’s newest label says under 3.
- Breathing problems such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema, heart disease, smoking, or older age: the FDA says these groups are at greater risk of complications if the reaction happens.
- G6PD deficiency, allergies, or a sulfonamide antibiotic: Cleveland Clinic lists these among the things to tell a clinician before using benzocaine, and every benzocaine label here rules out anyone allergic to “caine” anesthetics (Cleveland Clinic).
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding. None of the seven labels says anything either way. Cleveland Clinic lists both among the conditions to raise with a care team. Two pregnant posters asked on r/askdentists and no one answered; a pharmacist tonight, or your OB or dentist tomorrow, can.
Mayo Clinic now frames benzocaine for toothache as “previous advice” and tells readers to talk to a dentist or doctor before using any product containing it (Mayo Clinic), while the ADA’s 2024 guideline still suggests 10% or 20% benzocaine for the short term before treatment. Both are current. This page follows the ADA’s limit, short-term and before treatment, and carries Mayo’s caution because the questions it raises (your medicines, your lungs, a pregnancy) are the ones a pharmacist can answer tonight.
Age lines, product by product
Each line is from the product’s own Drug Facts label on DailyMed, read in November 2026; the notes on packs come from the Amazon listing photos.
| Product | Do not use | Supervise | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anbesol gel and liquid | Under 2 | Under 12 | Label dated June 2026 |
| Orajel 4X cream | Under 3 (the pack now sold); under 2 (older pack, still on Orajel’s site) | 3 to 12 (newest); 2 to 12 ask a doctor first (older) | Two active labels; follow the tube you receive |
| Orajel 3X gel | Under 2 (label) | 2 to 12, ask a doctor first | The new pack’s Amazon graphic says ages 12 and up; under 12 ask a dentist |
| DenTek kit | Under 2 | 2 to 12 | “Use only as a temporary remedy until a dentist can be seen” |
| Kank-A pen | Under 2 | Under 12 | One person per pen |
| Red Cross kit (eugenol) | No “do not use” age line | Under 12: ask a dentist or doctor; supervise children | No benzocaine |
When the Gel Stops Working
“Prior to today, I was able to use benzocaine gel, clove oil, and anti cavity mouthwash. Now they all make it worse,” an r/askdentists poster wrote. A flaired dentist’s reply: “Pain relieved by cold is classic my tooth is dead and I need an extraction or root canal pain. See a dentist Monday.” When a gel that helped stops helping, or pain that was constant suddenly stops, the likelier explanation is the tooth, not the tube. The NHS lists toothache that “does not go away when you take painkillers” among the reasons to see a dentist (NHS), and an r/askdentists poster whose infection-myths list two flaired dentists endorsed put the second case plainly: “Often means the nerve died, but infection is still spreading. Pain disappearing without treatment = bad sign, not good.” Mayo Clinic says the same about an abscess: if it ruptures “the pain may improve a lot, making you think that the problem has gone away — but you still need to get dental treatment” (Mayo Clinic).
Go to the ER, not the pharmacy, if you have a fever with a swollen face and cannot reach a dentist, swelling around the eye or neck, or trouble breathing or swallowing; those can mean the infection has spread, and a tooth abscess “won’t go away without treatment.” Dentists answering on r/askdentists say it in three words, “Go to the ER,” to a poster four nights without sleep, and “A facial swelling constitutes a dental emergency” to another.
The rest of the time, the answer is treatment. “there is nothing you can do for pain that actually works long term besides a root canal or extraction,” a flaired dentist wrote to a poster facing a three-week wait. Our guides to root canal cost and emergency care without insurance are for that conversation. If the pain started when a filling fell out or a tooth broke, a temporary cement from our dental cement roundup covers the hole while you wait.
Clove Oil: What the Threads and the Trials Say
Clove oil draws the warmest praise in the threads we read and some of the flattest failures, sometimes in the same thread. For: “after a minute it numbs the area for about a hr”; “my tooth went from throbbing pain to none at all.” Against: “did nothing but make me drool”; “Clove Oil didnt do anything”; “it doesn’t do much of anything. Maybe I’m doing it wrong?”; and from r/povertyfinance, “Last time I had an infected tooth, clove oil made the pain twice as bad.”
The evidence is thin. In a trial of 73 volunteers, a homemade clove gel and 20% benzocaine gel both beat placebo before needle sticks with no significant difference between them, and the authors concluded clove “might possess a potential to replace benzocaine” as a topical before injections (Alqareer et al.). That was healthy gum, not a toothache. A 2025 systematic review of plant-based dental analgesics found evidence for eugenol “particularly” but asked for standard preparations and larger trials (Reddy et al.). We found no readable trial of clove on a cavity toothache.
What readers get wrong is the application. Undiluted essential oil on the gum burns: “I think I gave myself a small chemical burn on my lip with this one”; “Clove oil… Burns like hell but will ease it off.” Posters asked whether to dilute it, rinse with it or dab it, and the methods they describe (a drenched q-tip smeared on tooth and gum, a cotton ball held in place, a one-to-one mix with a carrier oil) have no label behind them. The only instruction with a label behind it is the Red Cross kit’s: a squeezed-out pellet in the cavity, one minute, nothing on the lips or gums. Whole cloves held against the tooth are the folk version, and the quote above about throbbing pain going to none was a whole clove at a cracked molar.
Why Whiskey on the Tooth Is a Bad Idea
Alcohol held over the tooth comes up in a handful of the r/AskReddit threads we read. Readers report a brief numbing that wears off. One poster who tried drinking the pain away wrote the counter-argument: “the worst pain came after a few drinks and just got worse with alcohol until I knocked myself out.” That is a reader’s report, not a study, and none of the clinic pages we read discusses alcohol as a remedy at all.
Community vs. Evidence
| Topic | What Reddit says | What the evidence says |
|---|---|---|
| Does a numbing gel work on a toothache? | “Somewhat,” “semi working,” “not much”; in 16 threads it did nothing, stopped working or made things worse | In a 576-person trial, 87% of the 20% benzocaine group got relief by the trial’s measure, 70% of the placebo group; the ADA calls it low-certainty |
| How long does it last? | 5 to 15 minutes, in 13 threads | A median of more than 115 minutes in one 30-patient pilot; the gel reaches what it can touch |
| Anbesol or Orajel? | A couple of readers who used both prefer Anbesol; one holds it on damp gauze; no seeding found | Same 20% benzocaine; no modern trial compares the brands |
| Clove oil | Magic for some, nothing for others, burns if misused, in 15 threads | No significant difference from benzocaine on healthy gum in one small trial; no readable toothache trial |
| Painkillers first | Flaired professionals across 12 threads: painkillers, then treatment, the ER if the face swells | The ADA’s 2024 guideline says the same |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Orajel Nighttime (PM) different from regular Orajel?
Orajel’s PM 4X cream has the same four active ingredients at the same strengths as the daytime 4X cream, with chamomile added as an inactive ingredient and no sleep ingredient (DailyMed). Orajel’s site calls it PM; Amazon listings call it Nighttime. Buy it if you like the idea; do not expect more numbing. The Rescue Relief pen carries the 3X’s three actives in a twist pen. The Toothache Rinse is a different drug altogether, benzyl alcohol 0.27% with zinc chloride, swished for a minute up to four times a day, ages 2 and up (DailyMed); a handful of readers found it helped.
What is the strongest toothache gel I can buy?
Benzocaine 20% is the most the FDA allows without a prescription, and every benzocaine product on this page carries it. “4X” and “3X” count active ingredients, not strength. The ADA’s guideline found “probably a negligible benefit” of 20% over 10% benzocaine (Carrasco-Labra et al.).
Can I use toothache gel while pregnant?
None of the seven labels says anything about pregnancy or breastfeeding, so we cannot tell you a label says yes or no. Cleveland Clinic lists pregnancy and breastfeeding among the conditions to tell your care team about before using benzocaine. Ask your OB or your dentist; they can answer for you, and the forum could not.
How often can I put Orajel on my tooth?
Every benzocaine label here says up to four times a day, a small amount (Anbesol says a pea), for no more than seven days unless a dentist or doctor directs otherwise. More than that raises the chance of the blood-disorder reaction described above. If four doses a day is not getting you through, the tooth needs treatment, not a fifth dose.
Can I give my child toothache gel?
Not under 2, under any circumstances, per the FDA; Orajel 4X’s newest label says not under 3. Between the label age and 12, the labels say ask a doctor first or supervise. The ADA’s children’s guideline recommends ibuprofen or naproxen, with or without acetaminophen, for a child’s toothache before treatment, a conditional recommendation on very-low-certainty evidence (Carrasco-Labra et al.); its abstract does not mention gels. When a parent of a 3-year-old asked on r/askdentists, a flaired dentist answered that Orajel “wouldn’t do much if anything at all” and pointed the parent to Tylenol and Advil instead.
Can I use Orajel after a root canal or an extraction?
Asked whether Orajel could go on a tooth a week after a root canal, a flaired dentist on r/askdentists answered “Yeah sure.” Anbesol’s label lists “minor dental procedures” among its uses. After an extraction, the open socket is a wound; one r/dentures regular’s warning to a fresh-extraction poster was “Smearing benzocaine on open wounds can cause methemoglobinemia,” and the office that did the work can tell you what to use. If the pain after an extraction is severe a few days out, read our dry socket guide.
Is there a toothache gel without benzocaine?
The Red Cross kit above (eugenol 85%) is one over-the-counter option with a Drug Facts label; DenTek and Walgreens sell eugenol liquids too. Keep it inside the cavity; it can burn soft tissue.