Toothaches can be caused by many issues, including infection, an abnormal bite, teeth grinding, and gum disease. While the more serious causes of tooth pain should be treated by a dentist, you can combat the pain with a wide variety of natural toothache remedies.
If you have tooth pain but want to avoid taking painkillers, you may wonder how to get rid of a toothache naturally. Here are 19 natural home remedies for a toothache that can alleviate pain, lower inflammation, reduce swelling, and fight off bacteria:
Ice
Ice is one of the best ways to numb the pain from a toothache. Place one or two ice cubes in a plastic bag and wrap a cloth around the bag. Apply the compress to the tooth for 15 to 20 minutes to numb the area. You can also try massaging your hand with an ice cube to relieve the pain.
Sometimes, the "cold" signals that your nerves send to your brain can override the pain signals your tooth sends. Wrap one ice cube in a cloth and massage it between your thumb and forefinger.
Acupressure
Acupressure releases endorphins, which can relieve pain. Try pressing your thumb to the back of your other hand where the base of the index finger and thumb meet. Keep applying pressure for up to 10 minutes. You can also try pressing the area behind your ankle bone.
Hold this with firm pressure for one minute. The last acupressure technique you can try is grasping the top of your second toe with your thumb and forefinger. Apply pressure to the toe for one or two minutes. These techniques should temporarily relieve pain from a toothache. You can repeat them a few times a day. However, anyone who is pregnant should not try acupressure.
Chewing Gum
If your toothache is caused by a broken tooth or loose filling, sugar-free chewing gum is a great home treatment. Although it won't be a permanent solution, it can provide temporary protection and relief from pain.
Place softened chewing gum over the exposed area to prevent anything from irritating it. Replace the gum as often as is necessary to keep the hurt tooth protected.
Salt Water
Salt water is one of the best ways to clean a sore in the mouth. It clears away harmful bacteria and removes loose debris or crumbs in the mouth. This prevents the area from becoming infected, which would make a toothache much worse.
To clean your mouth with this home treatment, add some salt to warm water. Swish the mixture around in your mouth for 30 seconds, and spit it out. You can repeat this a few times a day to keep your mouth clean.
Clove Oil
Clove oil is one of the most popular home remedies for tooth pain. It has antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anesthetic properties, which helps it alleviate pain and fight infections. Eugenol, the primary chemical compound in cloves, is a natural anesthetic, and some dental products contain cloves or clove oil as an ingredient.
Clove oil can fight cavities, sore gums, mouth ulcers, and many other dental issues that cause tooth pain. However, using too much clove oil can worsen the pain. Avoid putting the oil directly on your tongue or on any sensitive gum tissue. Instead, place two or three drops of the oil on a cotton ball.
Place the cotton ball against the hurt tooth until the pain lessens. It should only take a few minutes for the pain to recede, and you can repeat this several times a day for maximum relief.
Garlic
Garlic has a wide range of qualities that make it a powerful antibiotic. It's antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiseptic. People have used garlic as a natural remedy for thousands of years. It contains allicin, a healing compound that causes an antibiotic effect when the garlic is crushed. To use garlic as toothache relief, finely chop up one clove.
Smash it and let it sit for about 10 minutes. This will give the allicin plenty of time to activate. After 10 minutes, apply some of the garlic on the affected tooth. Applying too much could cause a burning sensation, so start with just a small amount. Leave the garlic on your tooth for a few minutes, and rinse your mouth with salt water.
The salt water will kill bacteria and stop any burning sensation from the garlic. You can also benefit from garlic's healing effects by adding it to your meals as often as possible. If you can't incorporate much garlic into your meals, you can also eat a clove of garlic on its own. To avoid the strong taste, you can mix it into plain yogurt. Chewing on a sprig of parsley can reduce or eliminate the garlic odor from your breath after you eat it.
Peppermint
Like clove oil, peppermint can numb the painful tooth and relieve pain. Peppermint is an ingredient in many pain relief gels, creams, and sprays because it's a natural analgesic. The menthol in mint blocks pain by disrupting the pain signals that your nerves send to your brain. Peppermint tea is especially effective for treating toothaches.
You can place a peppermint tea bag in your freezer or refrigerator. Once it's cold, apply the bag to the aching tooth for 15 or 20 minutes. It should temporarily numb the area, and you can repeat this process when the pain returns. If your tooth is sensitive to the cold, you can use a room-temperature tea bag instead of a cold one.
You can also try rinsing your mouth with peppermint tea. Combine one teaspoon of dried peppermint leaves with one cup of boiling water. Let the leaves steep for 20 minutes, and give the tea some time to cool. Swish the peppermint tea around in your mouth, especially around the hurt tooth. Peppermint oil is also an effective treatment.
You can apply the oil directly to your hurt tooth with a cotton swab. It can reduce pain and clean out the bacteria surrounding the tooth. However, be careful not to ingest the concentrated peppermint oil.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide can kill bacteria in your mouth, so it's one of the best home treatments for mouth, gum, and tooth issues. Make a solution of equal parts 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and water, and swish the solution around in your mouth to relieve pain and clean the affected area.
It should only take about 30 seconds for the hydrogen peroxide to take effect, and you can repeat this twice a day. Make sure you avoid swallowing the solution, though.
Turmeric
Turmeric has a wide variety of health benefits, and it's one of the best home remedies for a toothache. It has antibacterial, antiseptic, and analgesic properties, so it clears away bacteria while numbing the hurt tooth and relieving pain. It can treat tooth infections, gum infections, and abscesses.
Combine one teaspoon of turmeric with a few drops of water. The mixture should be a thick paste. Using a cotton ball, apply the turmeric paste directly onto the affected tooth. You can also combine turmeric with honey, which has powerful antibacterial properties. This will make the mixture taste better, and it can increase the pain-relieving effects.
Thyme
Thyme has excellent antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties. It can relieve pain and prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Chewing on thyme leaves is the best way to receive its benefits. Chew on the opposite side of your mouth, and try to avoid getting any of the leaves into your hurt tooth.
As you chew, the juices will be released from the leaves, which will reduce pain and speed up your tooth's healing process. If you don't want to chew on the leaves, you can make a thyme tea and swirl it around in your mouth. You can also use thyme essential oil.
Dilute a few drops of the oil with olive oil and gargle the mixture for about 30 seconds. Another option is to apply thyme essential oil directly onto the hurt tooth. The oil is very concentrated though, so you should only use one drop or less.
Myrrh
Myrrh has antiseptic and astringent properties, so it can reduce inflammation and lower your risk of an infection. You can rinse your mouth with a tincture of myrrh, which you can find at a health food store. If you can't find the tincture, you can dissolve one teaspoon of powdered myrrh in two or three cups of water.
Rinse your mouth several times a day with this solution. However, myrrh can be toxic if you use it for a prolonged period of time, so you should limit your use of this treatment. People with kidney disease should avoid myrrh.
Ginger and Cayenne
Ginger has been used as a natural remedy for many illnesses for thousands of years, and cayenne has a wide variety of health benefits. Both spices are excellent painkillers. Cayenne's main chemical component, capsaicin, can prevent pain signals from reaching the brain.
You can use ginger and cayenne as a treatment for a toothache by mixing equal parts of the spices and adding just enough water to form a paste. Use a cotton ball or cotton swab to apply the paste onto your affected tooth, making sure to avoid your gums and tongue.
The paste might cause a burning sensation, but it shouldn't take long for it to alleviate the pain from your tooth. You can leave the paste on until your toothache pain fades or for as long as you can tolerate the burning feeling.
Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass contains natural antibiotics that can fight infections, and it has antibacterial properties that prevent tooth decay and relieve pain. You can chew wheatgrass directly with your hurt tooth, or you can rinse your mouth with wheatgrass juice.
Wheatgrass will absorb the toxins in your gums, stop the growth of bacteria, and keep the infection from spreading until you can see your dentist or doctor.
Guava Leaves
Guava leaves can alleviate pain from tooth problems, swollen gums, and mouth ulcers. The leaves have powerful anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and analgesic properties. You can treat a toothache with guava leaves in paste form for the best results. This will also help with your oral hygiene, as guava leaves can reduce inflammation and freshen your breath.
To treat a toothache with guava leaves, chew one or two leaves until you feel the juice working on the hurt tooth. Instead of chewing the leaves, you can also place four or five leaves into boiling water. Once the solution cools to a warm temperature, add a sprinkle of sea salt. Then, you can use it as a mouthwash by swishing it around in your mouth and spitting it out. You can repeat this several times a day.
Onions
Onions have antimicrobial and antiseptic properties, so they can kill bacteria in your mouth that cause pain. You can place a small piece of raw onion directly over the affected area for at least five minutes. If you can keep the onion in the area for longer, it will maximize the benefits.
Make sure the piece of onion is freshly cut, so your tooth receives some onion juice. You should experience some pain relief immediately after using this treatment. Some people say it's even more effective than over-the-counter painkillers.
Cucumber
Cucumber has hemostatic properties, so it can slow or stop bleeding in the mouth and lessen the blood flow in the area. It also has great soothing effects, which makes it one of the best home remedies for tooth pain. As it reduces blood flow to the hurt area, it will alleviate pain and inflammation. If you have a cucumber in your refrigerator, bring it to room temperature before you use it.
Your teeth might be more sensitive to cold when you have a toothache, so using warm or room temperature treatments is usually better. Apply one fresh slice of the cucumber to the affected area. After a few minutes, the pain should subside.
You can repeat this as often as you need to for several days. If you don't want to hold a cucumber slice to the tooth, you can mash up a piece of cucumber and add some sea salt. Place this substance on the hurt tooth and pack it into the surrounding area. After several minutes, rinse the cucumber out of your mouth with water.
Bourbon
Although there is little scientific evidence to support the idea that bourbon helps a toothache, people have been using it to relieve tooth pain for centuries. Drinking alcohol won't numb tooth pain, but applying it topically may help numb the area.
Rather than taking a shot of bourbon, soak a cotton ball in the alcohol. Squeeze out any excess liquid before placing the cotton ball directly on your hurt tooth. Let it sit on your tooth for 10 or 15 minutes. You can also swab the cotton ball around your gums near the hurt tooth.
Bourbon slows the pain response in the central nervous system. However, it doesn't fight bacteria or infection, so it may be best to combine this toothache relief treatment with another remedy that has antibacterial or antiseptic properties.
Colloidal Silver
Colloidal silver is a popular natural remedy for many health issues. For a toothache, you can use a combination of colloidal silver, oregano essential oil, and salt water. This treatment is especially helpful for toothaches caused by abscesses or infections.
Place two or three drops of the oregano oil under your tongue. Hold the oil in your mouth for several minutes before you spit it out. Then, swish around some colloidal silver in your mouth. After you spit out the colloidal silver, rinse your mouth with warm salt water.
Alternate between rinsing your mouth with colloidal silver and salt water several times, and complete the process by rubbing some oregano essential oil onto your gums.
Vinegar and Black Pepper
This treatment doesn't fight infections or heal a hurt tooth, but it can be a great way to distract yourself from tooth pain. Soak a piece of brown paper from a paper bag in vinegar.
Then, sprinkle one side of the bag with black pepper. Hold the paper to your cheek, and you should feel a warm sensation. This can soothe the area and distract you from the tooth pain.
In Summary
If your toothache becomes severe or persistent, you should visit your dentist to have it checked out. However, if you're wondering how to get rid of a toothache at home, these toothache remedies can provide pain relief and lower your chance of an infection.
You probably already have many of these natural treatments in your home, so you can give them a try instead of immediately resorting to painkillers or other medications.
