Toothache

Knobwood

Zanthoxylum chalybeum

Used in Uganda for oral and dental care. Pulp juice was the most active of 16 Ugandan oral-care plants against bacteria linked to gum disease and tooth decay in the lab.

Toothache plant

Acmella oleracea

Its best-known folk use is to relieve toothache by chewing or applying the crushed flowers. In a 72-person randomised trial, a jambu-extract bioadhesive film applied before tooth bleaching gave the lowest sensitivity scores, below a potassium nitrate/fluoride product and placebo.

African baobab

Adansonia digitata

Leaves are used for toothache and gingivitis in Burkina Faso.

African locust bean

Parkia biglobosa

Leaves and bark are used for toothache.

Allspice

Pimenta dioica

Recorded in Indian practice for toothache. Eugenol, abundant in allspice, is used by dentists as an anaesthetic and is analgesic in neuralgia.

Aromatic ginger

Kaempferia galanga

Listed among its traditional uses in India and China, with headache, chest and abdominal pain.

Asian mint

Mentha canadensis

Woodlands Cree applied ground leaves to the gums for toothache; the Flathead used the leaves for decayed teeth.

Asiatic toad

Bufo gargarizans

A traditional Chinese use of the venom, applied in small amounts; no modern trials found.

Avaram

Senna auriculata

Powdered bark is applied to the gums for toothache.

Big sagebrush

Artemisia tridentata

Shoshoni applied a poultice of mashed leaves to the cheek.

Box myrtle

Morella esculenta

The bark is used for toothache by the Khasi of Meghalaya and in Almora, Uttarakhand; Ayurvedic Khadiradi Gutika (dental, oral and throat infections) and Arimedadi Taila (tooth decay) contain it.

California poppy

Eschscholzia californica

California Indian use: the Mendocino placed the root in a tooth cavity for toothache, and leaves were also used for toothache.

Cape myrtle

Myrsine africana

Used for toothache; in Ethiopia the ripe fruits are eaten and the plant is also recorded as a toothbrush.

Caper

Capparis spinosa

Listed among folk uses of C. spinosa and its Himalayan subspecies.

Christ's thorn jujube

Ziziphus spina-christi

Root powder or bark is rubbed on the teeth and gums for toothache and gum problems by Arabs and Bedouins.

Clove

Syzygium aromaticum

EMA traditional-use indication: temporary relief of toothache due to a dental cavity, as a provisional measure until dental care. WHO lists no uses supported by clinical data. In one small blinded study, clove gel numbed the gum before a needle stick about as well as benzocaine gel, and both beat placebo.

Coca

Erythroxylum coca

Leaves used in Andean medicine as a local anaesthetic for toothache and mouth pain.

Colombian coca

Erythroxylum novogranatense

Andean cultures credit coca with easing toothache, oral infections and sores and improving gum health; untested.

Common orange lichen

Xanthoria parietina

Andalusian water decoctions for toothache; also used as a general painkiller.

Dahurian angelica

Angelica dahurica

Listed in Traditional Chinese Medicine and the 2020 Chinese Pharmacopoeia for toothache.

Dwarf red ironwood

Lophira lanceolata

The seed oil is applied for toothache, dry skin, dermatitis and muscle fatigue in Cameroon.

East African greenheart

Warburgia ugandensis

Recorded in East African traditional medicine for toothache, alongside stomach-ache, constipation, fever and muscle pain.

Frankincense

Boswellia sacra

Used in Oman for dental infections and mouth problems.

Ginger bush

Tetradenia riparia

Compresses and infusions are used for toothache, dental abscesses and mouth ulcers in Rwanda and South Africa.

Henbane

Hyoscyamus niger

Anglo-Saxon healers used it against the 'worm' believed to cause toothache; Iranian physicians applied it topically for toothache.

Hopbush

Dodonaea viscosa

A review of Australian tropical medicinal plants records the leaves being chewed to relieve toothache and the root juice used as a mouthwash; Native Hawaiians also used ʻaʻaliʻi for toothache. In North Waziristan, Pakistan, a leaf decoction is used for bad breath and dental caries. No clinical studies were found.

Horopito

Pseudowintera colorata

Listed among Māori uses of the leaves, with fever and skin infections; no clinical testing found.

Indian mallow

Abutilon indicum

A leaf decoction is used for toothache and tender gums. Untested.

Italian cypress

Cupressus sempervirens

The dried leaves are reported as a traditional remedy for stomach pain, toothache, laryngitis, inflammation and diabetes, and as a contraceptive. None of these uses has been tested clinically.

Mapacho

Nicotiana rustica

Cherokee practice: tobacco smoke blown on an aching tooth; the chewed plant was used for headache.

Mobola plum

Parinari curatellifolia

In Zimbabwe a root decoction is used to wash the teeth for toothache, and the bark is used for dental hygiene. Bark extracts inhibited oral bacteria in vitro. There are no clinical data.

Mountain pepper

Tasmannia lanceolata

A Tasmanian Palawa woman quoted by SBS describes Indigenous people applying whole or crushed peppercorns as a paste to toothache and sore gums. Not clinically tested.

Narrow-leaved coneflower

Echinacea angustifolia

Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Dakota, Lakota, Omaha and Pawnee sources record chewing or applying the root for toothache; it numbs the mouth and makes saliva flow.

Njansang

Ricinodendron heudelotii

Traditional healers in Cameroon apply a paste of njansang seeds directly to an aching tooth. No clinical testing.

North American beaver

Castor canadensis

Pliny wrote that castoreum mixed with oil and put in the ear on the same side eased toothache.

Northern white cedar

Thuja occidentalis

Algonquin steam of crushed branches for toothache; Malecite used the gum to fill cavities.

Pala indigo

Wrightia tinctoria

Crushed fresh leaves are packed into the cavity of a decayed tooth to relieve toothache. No clinical data.

Pale purple coneflower

Echinacea pallida

Cheyenne, Crow and Sioux people chewed the root for toothache.

Pellitory

Anacyclus pyrethrum

In North African traditional medicine the root is recommended for toothache, to promote salivation and for angina and tongue paralysis. A 2026 laboratory study explored it with myrrh for a children's dental topical anaesthetic gel; pellitorine was modelled to bind nerve sodium channels, but no clinical testing has been done.

Porcupine flower

Barleria prionitis

The aerial parts have long been used for toothache. No trials for toothache itself were found.

Prickly ash

Zanthoxylum americanum

The most widely recorded use. Alabama, Comanche and Iroquois people put the inner bark or root bark into or around an aching tooth, or chewed or smoked it. King's American Dispensatory (1898) says it was once popular as a masticatory for toothache. No clinical studies.

Purple coneflower

Echinacea purpurea

Native Americans used echinacea for tooth pain, respiratory infections and snakebite.

Scots pine

Pinus sylvestris

Resin was put directly onto decayed teeth in two Transylvanian villages, and children once chewed it as a tooth cleaner.

Sensitive plant (Touch-me-not)

Mimosa pudica

In West Bengal a root decoction is gargled for gum trouble and toothache.

Shampoo ginger

Zingiber zerumbet

Cooked rhizome is recorded for toothache in India and Hawaii; untested.

Sheng ma

Actaea cimicifuga

Used for toothache from 'stomach fire', for example in Qingwei Powder; untested on its own.

Siam weed

Chromolaena odorata

Toothache is listed among its traditional uses, and a 2024 paper notes its use for dento-alveolitis (dry socket). Untested in people.

Sichuan pepper

Zanthoxylum bungeanum

Used as a principal or assistant herb in classical formulae for toothache; patent toothpastes containing it have been filed in China. Its essential oil has local analgesic activity in laboratory studies.

Spanish cherry

Mimusops elengi

Chewing the root bark is said to strengthen teeth, unripe fruit and seed are used to fix loose teeth, and the plant is used in Indian medicine for dental disease; fresh flowers are used for dental diseases in Myanmar.

Sweet flag

Acorus calamus

Blackfoot healers applied a poultice of crushed rootstock and hot water for toothache, sore throat and chest pain.

Syrian oregano

Origanum syriacum

Ibn Sina wrote that chewing the leaves relieves gum pain and toothache, and toothache remains a folk use.

Syrian rue

Peganum harmala

Traditional medicine burns the seeds and inhales the smoke to relieve toothache, headache and arthritic pain.

Threeleaf goldthread

Coptis trifolia

Menominee, Ojibwa and Potawatomi people used the root as a mouthwash or chew to soothe teething babies' gums; the Algonquin of Québec drank a root infusion for toothache.

Ti plant

Cordyline fruticosa

Ti leaves were the second most cited remedy for teething in Society Islands children, boiled or rubbed in water for bathing and sometimes rubbed on the teeth; leaves are also reported for toothache in Tonga.

Tobacco

Nicotiana tabacum

Montauk, Rappahannock and Shinnecock people placed tobacco in an aching tooth; Cherokee blew the smoke on it.

Toothbrush tree

Salvadora persica

Miswak decoctions are applied to the oral mucosa for mouth pain in folk use; extracts were analgesic in animal tests.

Voacanga

Voacanga africana

Seed extracts are used for dental caries in Cameroon.

Wild ginger

Asarum sieboldii

Used as folk medicine in Korea, China and Japan for toothache and as a local anaesthetic and remedy for gingivitis; combinations with Ligusticum chuanxiong are reported to relieve toothache and headache.

Yellow-berried nightshade

Solanum virginianum

Dried fruit is chewed and seeds or decoctions are used for toothache.