Natural, herbal and homeopathic abscess home remedies (p. 1)

... and as it happens, my favourite toothache remedy, a simple salt water treatment, also seems to work well on painful tooth or rather gum abscesses (infected pus-filled teeth/gums) by allowing the pus to gradually drain off while killing germs.

As visitor Laurie confirmed, "I had an abscess about a month ago and out of a desperate belief that there must be a natural way to heal it I started to google stuff and found your site and did what you suggested with the sea salt and it went away in a day, it has been gone now for over a month.

I have also switched to a toothpaste powder I got at my local co-op that does not have any of those ingredients you mentioned that suppress the natural healing ability of teeth."

As can be read in an internet forum, "no dentist knew anything better so far than pulling the tooth, antibiotics or resection..."

The following is the first page of a list of suggestions based on my own and/or others' experience with successfully treating and eliminating dental abscesses and/or the pain associated with them.

As you read the many different ideas that have worked for various people (even with extremely painful tooth abscesses), I would suggest you follow your intuition and/or whatever you happen to have available in your pantry, including combining several of these remedies as you feel inspired^[1].

Please note: the companion page Tooth root infection remedies lists further approaches which have been successfully used against tooth and gum abscesses & jaw infections.

Water & salt

Put some salt (best to use unrefined sea salt) in a container. If available and to allow the salt to quickly dissolve, pour on a small amount of boiling water. Add cold water to bring the solution to body temperature. Rinse your mouth slowly and thoroughly, hold the brine for a while.

Do this as needed both when pain comes up and as a regular "germ-killing" treatment. If pain etc. persists, try making it a stronger salt solution to increase the "pulling" and osmotic power of the rinse.^[2]

Keep the infected part clean (salt, baking soda, tea tree oil, hydrogen peroxide solution, colloidal silver etc.)

Rinse frequently with disinfectants such as salt, baking soda, tea tree oil, hydrogen peroxide etc. (if available, you may use a water pik and if your device allows, add hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, vinegar, iodine^[3], salt etc. Make sure to flush the water pik afterwards using clean water).

When using hydrogen peroxide, make sure to properly dilute it with water and in addition to rinsing your mouth with it, for better penetration you may want to soak a piece of cotton with a hydrogen peroxide solution and tuck or hold it against the abscess. If pain increases, follow for instance with a turmeric poultice. More on using tea tree oil

If pain level allows, include

Oil pulling (oil swishing)

which can bring on dramatic healing of a dental abscess or of the pain from an abscessed tooth, sometimes within a day, sometimes taking weeks, since this simple routine seems to draw toxins from the mouth and, in fact, the entire body (background at Oil pulling for [dental] health).

If you use an anti-viral and anti-bacterial oil such as virgin coconut oil (compare Another tooth-friendly oil? Virgin coconut oil), you may additionally speed up the healing of the abscess. In fact, the Well Being Journal Vol.17 # 6 carries an article on oil pulling which mentions a case where the dentist had removed teeth due to abscess only to see a new abscess appear. The problem finally disappeared when the patient began swishing his mouth with coconut oil several times a day.²

Ramp up your immune system

As with probably all infections, it may be important to strengthen your immune defense. There are many things that can help, starting with eating/drinking healthily, stepping up your natural (or synthetic, for that matter) vitamin C and iodine intake (I recommend seaweed for the latter), destressing (compare The effect of thoughts and emotions on toothache and Emotions and Cavities, taking immune-strengthening herbs such as Echinacea, garlic, grapefruit seed extract and many others, using colloidal silver, and doing EFT.

Even visualisation can be powerfully effective in killing unwanted "intruders".^[4]

Cleanse and detoxify your body

by juice fasting and/or other detoxification methods you feel drawn to.^[5]

Garlic & garlic powder

Garlic of course is one of "nature’s most potent antibiotics".^[6]

For help with dental abscesses, you can for instance slice a clove of garlic lengthwise and place on the swollen area, leave on/chew on and repeat with fresh garlic until pain and abscess (swelling) subside (which can happen in minutes or take several days; the garlic will burn [and I've seen a report about blisters forming in a person's mouth]).

You could also make a "garlic drink" by mixing fresh garlic with water and use the drink to rinse your teeth and mouth (incidentally, breathing in the fumes is likely to assist with any colds or similar illnesses).

Apán healing mushroom

Based upon anecdotal reports, herbal healing supplements based upon the Apán medicinal mushroom have shown powerful healing effects on the entire body including in the dental realm - with small cavities, tooth abscesses and toothache vanishing. As a reader of this website you are offered the opportunity to try them out at a 50% discount by using the coupon code HEALINGTEETHNATURALLY. Attention: 4 Weeks Only Offer restricted to the month of November 2022. Money-Back Guarantee. Go ahead and check this out now.

Wet teabag

Already mentioned under herbal toothache remedies, wet teabags are also helpful with dental abscesses. Simply soak the tea bag in water, wring it out, place on the swollen area, then hold it or suck on it or go to sleep with the teabag tucked in place.

The tea bag helps to bring the infection to a head and absorbs some of the toxins/pus (it may be the tannin [an astringent] content in black and green tea which promotes the drainage of the toxins since these bitter polyphenolic compounds bind to proteins and other organic compounds).

After pus is released, rinse with salt water, hydrogen peroxide solution, tea tree oil or other natural disinfectants.

One teabag abscess testimonial reads: "I had a bad toothache on a Friday. By Saturday my face had swollen terribly. Sunday morning, I woke up at 5:30 am with the entire right side of my face swollen. (I looked as if I had been in a fight) so I went to the E.R. (it being a Sunday in a small town, no denstist office was open).

I was given a shot of antibiotics there and was sent home with a large amount to take every six hours along with pain medication. I was still in severe pain the following Monday and I was desperate for relief.

I read about the black teabag method and wow did it work. I put the tea bag on the affected area and within an hour it finally popped. After all the medication, cold compress and being in awful pain, it was the simple tea bag that helped the quickest. Thank you so very much".

And another reads: "I found your site through sheer desperation and am so glad I did ...! I currently work in [...] in a very local setting (this is no holiday in a private Villa I assure you!) and found myself with a terrible tooth abcess that was extending into my jaw. After trying some local remedies (clove, turmeric and local herb concoctions - nothing was dealing with the issue) then I tried the black teabag!

And within an hour or so the abcess finally ruptured and the relief - both physical and emotional was immense! I am now flushing regularly with salt solution to draw the remaining contents away and am taking a regular 'Jamu' traditional medicine of turmeric, garlic, lime to ward off further infection... But am truly amazed and thankful for the humble teabag! And finding your site!"

Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

can swiftly take away abcess pain and reduce the inflammation. Mix a teaspoon with some water to achieve the consistency of mud. After cleaning your mouth (see above under "Keep the the infected part clean"), apply directly to the tooth abscess or put some of the mix on a cotton ball or a piece of cloth before placing it on the infected spot (be careful not to accidentally stain something, turmeric readily gives off its yellow colour).

Additionally, you can take turmeric internally, for instance mixed with stevia or xylitol in a warm drink.

Another method consists in swishing with turmeric (add for instance half a teaspoon turmeric and one teaspoon of salt to a glass of warm water, or oil pull with oil mixed with turmeric, and/or brush your gums and teeth with these mixes.

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla or recutita)

A very simple suggested remedy for an abscessed tooth consists in wetting a chamomile tea bag with warm water and tucking it in the area of concern. You may find that the chamomile relieves the pain and swelling within ten minutes. (Also compare the "Three tooth abcess" testimonials.)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Infused/heated a little in olive oil -- use q-tip to apply to painful tooth (it doesn't have to be warm to work - just use a little heat to infuse it into the oil and it can be used cold). This helped a site visitor with very bad abscess pain.

Borage oil / olive oil / cabbage leaf packs

See the descriptions given under Dental cavitation infections: therapeutic self-health approaches?.

Oil of cloves against pain from dental abscess

See Toothache remedies: herbal and plant-based.

Homeopathy: Hepar sulfuris (Hepar sulph)

In a German discussion forum based on the self-healing teachings of Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer^[9], a comment (translation © by Healing Teeth Naturally 2009) recommended the following:

"As you are surely aware, homeopathic remedies aren't simply prescribed for a disease [but rather tailored to the individual person]... but with things like [abscesses] I've had good experiences using the following on my husband and friends:

• Hepar sulfuris in either D 12 or C30
• Allow 3 globules of D12 to dissolve in your mouth or
• Dissolve 1-2 globules of C30 in a glass of water. Take one teaspoonful.
• Repeat only when the necessity arises, i.e. when "the engine which has started to move is coming to a standstill". Otherwise don't take any and you will see that it helps.

Hepar sulfuris is the remedy for people with a proclivity for suppurative abscesses and boils."

Please note that homeopathic remedies can be cancelled out by simultaneously ingesting certain other substances.^[7]

Homeopathy: other remedies

A number of homeopathic remedies are said to help with abscesses, such as Aconite. Holistic dentist Dr. Bill Wolfe (www.drwolfe.com) recommends for dental abscesses:

• Belladonna - Best used for early dental abscess accompanied by redness and throbbing.
• Bryonia - Use for acute inflammation or if pricking pain is relieved by firm pressure.
• Hepar Sulphuris - Use for abscess accompanied by pus formation.
• Myristica - Use when swelling is accompanied by numbness of the area.
• Pulsatilla - Use when the pain is accentuated by heat and relieved by cold water.
• Pyrogenium - Use when pus is present without drainage.
• Silicea - Use to hasten the discharge when pus is draining.

A private comment found on the internet reported that with localized infections, they've successfully used Hepar Sulphuris to "gather" the infection, following it with Silicea to expel the infection (using potencies C12 - C30).

Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

A powerful healing agent and a natural part of our body, sodium bicarbonate is always worth adding to whatever else you do, or even trying first thing. More about Baking soda

Magnets

A while ago, I came across the following intriguing reference: "My experience covering about 20 years indicates that most infections in teeth as a result of root canals or abcesses can be eliminated permanently by magnets."^[8]

Goldenseal/yellow root (Hydrastis canadensis)

Goldenseal among other properties is credited with being anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. To remove the swelling and pain from an abscessed tooth, try applying as long as tolerable (goldenseal is very bitter).

More helpful information

See the second Abscess home remedies page, dental abscess success stories and the Tooth root infection remedies page all of which report on nontoxic, non-invasive and/or natural healing approaches (mostly) based on anecdotal evidence.

... and for a complete summary of the best, easiest, and most efficient ways I know to stop and cure tooth decay

after studying the subject for twelve years, click here.

Footnotes

1 Also compare Introduction and general advice for effective toothache and dental pain relief.

2 Compare the Testimonial: tooth abscess vanishes: Salt water, oil pulling, wheatgrass pulp.

3 Caveat: You may wish to completely abstain from taking iodine orally if you carry amalgam fillings in your mouth. As shown for instance in the study "Effect of iodine on mercury concentrations in dental-unit wastewater" (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16002132), iodine can mobilize mercury from dental amalgam.

The resulting (temporarily) higher and potentially dangerous dissolved mercury concentrations in your mouth could expose you to an unnecessary (additional) risk. Compare Dental fillings: potential toxic timebombs ticking in your mouth?.

4 For a powerful example of how someone successfully used guided imagery/visualisation to kill "terminal" cancer, see Guided Imagery and Visualization plus Prayer & Meditation Have Healed Cancer. Also compare this brilliant tooth healing testimonial where a person regenerated their molar via simple visualisation!

5 For many suggestions re detoxification, see www.healingcancernaturally.com/detoxification.html.

6 Compare for instance On Garlic’s Health Benefits Against Cancer & Other Diseases: Incl. “Garlic Health Recipes”.

7 Compare "Antidotes" to homeopathic remedies: something to be aware of and avoid.

8 I currently don't have any more information on this but can add that magnets (correctly applied) certainly have astounding healing properties (from healing cancer to regenerating the cartilage in a knee joint, a "medical impossibility" reported by Dr. Bradley Nelson in his seminal book The Emotion Code).

Richard Gerber M.D.'s highly recommended book Vibrational Medicine: The #1 Handbook of Subtle-Energy Therapies discusses various research studies showing the similarity between the effect of a healer and a magnet on different subjects.

9 For background compare for instance Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer's German New Medicine®.

All remedies