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What are Home Remedies for a Toothache?

By Garry Crystal
Updated: Mar 03, 2024

A toothache is a very painful occurrence. From experience, you may be able to feel when it is beginning to set in and know that that mean another trip to the dentist. There are, however, some home remedies that may assist in eliminating the pain, if not completely, then enough to make it bearable until you can no longer avoid the dentist.

Toothache home remedies are usually passed down from generation to generation. They cover herbal and medicinal remedies to the just plain weird. One of the most common remedies for a toothache is clove oil. Clove oil can be bought in liquid form, or actual cloves may be used. You can either chew the clove over the infected tooth or rub clove oil into the gum.

Another home remedy is asafoetida, a plant used to make spices. Crush the asafoetida in lemon juice, then heat it up in a pan. Use a cotton wool bud to soak up the liquid and rub it over the infected area. Some say that the pain will immediately disappear with this method.

Onion slices rubbed onto the area where the toothache appears is also said to be a tried and tested home remedy. Chewing the onion slice for at least three minutes will kill all the germs that are present in the mouth. Another cure for toothache is garlic. Mixing the garlic clove with rock salt and applying it to the tooth should ease the pain. The best time to chew the garlic clove is in the morning just as you awaken, although the way your breath will smell for the rest of the day may not be worth the pain relief.

Another spice that may help with the toothache is pepper. Mix some black pepper with a little salt in a teaspoon. It is best to mix this liquid with a little clove oil as well. This mixture also alleviates sensitive teeth problems and helps prevent other cavities if taken daily.

Wheat grass is also said to eliminate toothache. When chewed, wheat grass draws out impurities and toxins in the gums. Making a paste from bay berry bark also helps alleviate toothache. It is also very good at strengthening the teeth and the gum area.

A strange but old remedy for toothache is to put some perfume on a cotton bud and dab it on the tooth and gum area. The reason behind this is more than likely the numbing affect of the alcohol in the perfume.

As always, prevention is the best cure. The best way to prevent a toothache is brushing and flossing twice a day. This not only keeps teeth healthy and strong, but also cuts down on trips to the dreaded dentist.

The Health Board is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Discussion Comments
By anon330881 — On Apr 19, 2013

Really helpful toothache remedies, thank you.

By anon159612 — On Mar 12, 2011

Just tried the onion remedy for a toothache that had me curled up on the floor. Did what four strong painkillers couldn't do. Although it felt worse for 1/2 hour it is now almost dormant. Thanks so much for the advice!

By FrameMaker — On Dec 18, 2010

I have a toothache right now, and I tried your recommendation to rub clove oil on the affected tooth. This toothache treatment works better than oragel. Thanks so much wiseGEEK. I don't know how else I would have been able to bare the pain without this site.

By Babalaas — On Dec 16, 2010

@ Istria- I have another home remedy that works great. I make a very strong astringent out of comfrey root, leaves, and thyme leaves. The thyme acts as an anti-bacterial, and the comfrey soothes inflammation, mends bone and tooth, and temporarily seals cavities with a gelatinous layer of comfrey root.

I do not drink the astringent; rather I scoop out chunks of comfrey root, and bits of the tealeaves. I place these in pieces of cheesecloth and knot them off into tiny compress pillows much like the ones you make with the cloves. I chew on these and let them soak in the astringent when I am not using them. One word of caution however is the comfrey tea will stain fabrics. This is a great remedy and helps heal the toothache (rather than mask the pain) until you can get to a dentist. I have not found a better over the counter remedy to treat a toothache than this.

By istria — On Dec 14, 2010

I hate toothache pain, but I have found a home remedy that is very effective. The clove method mentioned in the article works great. I usually take a few cloves and wrap them in gauze, tying my makeshift pouch off with dental floss. I then drop the pouch in boiling water with clove oil for a few minutes to soften the cloves. Once softened, I chew on these little pouches of clove for about a half hour, and the toothache goes away. It lasts for at least a few hours, and it works great on cracked and sensitive teeth as well. It doesn't taste half bad either.

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