Toothache Remedy: Can Ginger Help a Toothache?

I hope you never need this toothache remedy, but just in case you do, here it goes. If you look up toothache herbal remedies, most herb books say to chew on cloves for toothache. When I was on my knees from tooth pain, cloves just did not quite cut it. But I found another effective herbal remedy that is good for a toothache: ginger.

That Time I Needed to Get Rid of a Toothache Fast

I have several teeth that are compromised. I grew up eating Lucky Charms, Pop-Tarts and Frosted Flakes for breakfast. By the time I was 10 years old, I had a mouth full of cavities. Mercury filled every molar in my mouth.

In my twenties I learned about eating healthy and ditched the cereals and all kinds of other processed foods that I had eaten throughout my childhood.

But you don’t get new teeth; the damage had been done. To this day I have trouble with my teeth and have to really take care of them.

Recently, one of my back molars failed. I woke up in the morning and could hardly get out of bed, my toothache was so bad! Later, when looking at the X-ray of the tooth, you could see that there was hardly any tooth left; it was mostly one giant filling! My poor tooth, it had been drilled out of my head before I was even a teenager.

Needing a toothache remedy, I crawled downstairs and stuffed some cloves in my mouth; I waited awhile and was still in pain. Unfortunately, that herbal remedy just didn’t cut it.

My husband said he would go to the store and get me some over-the-counter pain medication because I couldn’t get in to see the dentist until the following day.

I rarely take any kind of medications, so when I agreed that he should go pick me up something from the pharmacy, that gives you an idea of just how desperate I was.

Benefits of Ginger for Toothache

While he was gone, ginger popped into my mind as an herbal toothache remedy. I started thinking about the strong anti-inflammatory action of ginger and decided to just put a quarter-sized piece of fresh ginger in my mouth. I bit into the fresh ginger root and stuffed it into the area of the throbbing tooth.

Within two minutes, my pain was gone. Not just less, but GONE!

The cloves had reduced my toothache, but not gotten rid of it. The ginger took it away completely. Awesome.

I never took the pain pills Michael brought home, but just replaced the fresh ginger root every couple of hours and it kept me pain free for the next 24 hours until I could get into the dentist. Thank you, ginger!

Ginger is good for teeth and gums because it is anti-inflammatory as well as antibacterial. Fresh ginger contains a proteolytic enzyme that reduces inflammation and helps to repair damaged tissue.

How to Use Ginger as a Toothache Remedy

Although fresh ginger may be the best herbal remedy, sometimes you just have to use what you have on hand. Here are a few ways you could use ginger for a toothache:

• Fresh ginger: Bite down on a quarter-sized slice of fresh ginger root and let the juices coat the toothache area.

• Dried ginger: Mix dried, ground ginger with a little warm water to make a ginger paste and use it to coat the area.

• Fresh ginger tea: Make a cup of ginger tea (honey and lemon optional) and swish the cooled tea around the tooth before swallowing.

• Ginger tea bag: Moisten a ginger tea bag with some warm water and stuff it into the toothache area. Or make a cup of tea and swish as above.

You may need to replace the ginger with a new batch every couple hours or so. If the toothache does not improve, see your dentist.