If you suffer from ongoing dental pain, whether due to past dental trauma, orthodontics, or some other ailment, medical marijuana may be a viable treatment option. While the marijuana won't heal your oral health condition, it can be really helpful for easing the pain. If you live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, your dentist can give you a prescription for it. Here are three tips to help you use your prescription marijuana to the fullest.

1. Choose edibles.

When you are dealing with oral health conditions, smoking marijuana can present a few risks. The smoke can dry out your mouth, which may actually make certain dental conditions worse since dryness allows bacteria to proliferate in the absence of saliva. The heat from the smoke may also bother you if your teeth are sensitive. Therefore, edibles are a better way of consuming medical marijuana prescribed for dental pain. Choose a low-sugar edible, such as a sugar-free lozenge, to avoid exposing your teeth to excess sugar.

The other benefit of edibles is that they last longer. When you smoke or vaporize marijuana, it only lasts a couple of hours. The pain relieving effects of a single edible can last all day.

2. Choose a high-CBD strain.

There are two primary active compounds in marijuana. THC is the component that makes you feel high. CBD is a component that does not make you feel high, but that has all sorts of therapeutic benefits. In many cases, the two work best when combined. But some strains contain more CBD than others. High CBD strains to try include Charlotte's Web, Cannatonic, and Remedy. 

CBD works, in part, by reducing inflammation. Since inflammation is at the heart of a lot of dental pain, taking a CBD-rich strain will often be more effective than taking a strain that contains far more THC than CBD.

3. Take your cannabis on-schedule.

When your dentist prescribes you medical cannabis, they should tell you how often they expect you to use it. Since the goal of this treatment is often to keep inflammation down, you'll often be told to take doses regularly — for example, every 6 hours. However, there may be times when your dentist tells you just to take the medication as needed, but no more often than two times per day. If your dentist does not give you explicit dosing instructions or a schedule, ask for one, so you can be sure you're getting the medication's full effects. Contact a dentist like WCMI Ortho to get the right prescription for your needs.