Saturday, August 25, 2012

Tea Tree Oil for Tooth Pain

Yep, you read that correctly!  I've made another tea tree oil discovery.

Hooray for this medicine cabinet in a bottle!!!

In this case, there is one simple, very important ground rule:

DO NOT drink the tea tree oil!!!

That's right.  Don't drink it.  If you have problems with accidentally swallowing your mouthwash, this natural remedy is not for you.

That being said...  let's talk about just how awesome tea tree oil is if you're suffering from tooth pain.

Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties.  

Generally speaking, the reason a person has tooth pain is because bacteria has invaded a cavity or sore in the general area.  Remove the bacteria and you remove the pain.

A while back, I made a very unfortunate trip to the dentist.  This was a new dentist that I knew nothing about.  I swiftly learned, however, that she was very good at both taking care of the problems I had, and creating new ones.   This, of course, didn't instill a great deal of confidence in me.

I've been plagued with toothaches ever since that visit.

Thankfully, I've gotten them under control now, due to the use of tea tree oil.

It's important to note, however, that tea tree oil isn't necessarily the safest product to use in your mouth.  At all.  It works, but if ingested, it can cause some very severe side effects... like dizziness, rash, confusion, and really nasty stomach problems.  So again, I repeat:

DO NOT drink the tea tree oil!

The process is very simple.  In the case of tea tree oil, a little goes a very long way.  Add a couple of drops to your favorite mouth-rinsing cup, and fill with water.

- Swish the mixture around in your mouth, being very careful not to swallow, then spit.  Repeat this until there's nothing left in the cup.

- Rinse the cup, then fill it with a bit of water again.  Swish and spit a few times.  You don't need to fill the cup - just use enough water to help you get rid of that nasty tea tree oil taste.

Because, yeah...

It's really gross.  The good news about that, though, is that it'll help remind you not to drink it.

I found that by using tea tree oil, my tooth pain was gone within minutes, the bacteria quite effectively killed. It tastes horrendous, but it works... even for overwhelming I'm-about-to-cry-from-the-agony tooth pain.

Grossness factor aside, I've never had any side effects when using tea tree oil in this manner.

If, however, you're one of those people that constantly swallows their mouthwash, you may not want to try this.  While I don't think you'd be in any serious trouble after swallowing a mixture of a couple of drops of tea tree oil in somewhere around 6 ounces of water, I'd rather you not test that theory.

I should also mention that the medical community specifically mentions that tea tree oil shouldn't be used on pre-pubescent boys at all, in any manner - even topically.

I didn't see an explanation of why, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

Of course, on the flip-side, I think it's probably safe to assume that nobody reading this would try to use a remedy that isn't safe to drink on a child, when that remedy goes straight into their mouth.  That would just be... well... stupid.

That being said, tea tree oil does work, quickly and effectively, as long as you carefully ensure that you:

Do not drink the tea tree oil!

I know, I know... a bit of overkill on the warning there, right?

56 comments:

  1. Hi rebecca, yeah it's a bit funny to see that big red warning sign saying, "do not drink the tea tree oil". But that's really a nice information you shared out here. Thanks Rebacca.

    Las Vegas Cosmetic Dentistry

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  2. Thanks, Warren. I'm glad you liked it!

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  3. Thanks for the wonderful tips. IM definitely going to do that.

    phoenix dui lawyer

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  4. hi! do you use it daily? if so, twice a day?

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  5. What you're basically doing, Stephanie, is clearing out the infection that causes the pain. When I use it I tend to swish it around every hour or so until the pain is entirely gone (rather than just soothed), so I'll tend to do it for a full evening. After that, the infection is gone, so the pain is gone, as well. It's only used when needed, rather than daily, and only for a short period of time.

    I hope this answer helps! Good luck with your tooth pain!

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  6. I just tried it right now. It works! I have a horrible toothache, and won't be able to see my dentist in 4 days. The pain went away in a few minutes, the smell and taste does not bother me at all. I love using natural products. Thank you so much for your advice, I will pass it along to anyone that has a toothache.

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  7. You're welcome, Astrid! I'm so glad the information was useful to you. Be sure to pass along the part about not swallowing the tea tree oil, too, though! ;-)

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  8. Good bless you Rebecca for this i had horible toothache

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    1. I use a tsp. of organic coconut oil. I do oil pulling.
      It will get rid of the toxins as well as whiten your teeth. oil pull for 15-20 minutes. Don't swallow it.
      I have been doing this everyday and no more infections!!!. Make sure it is organic.
      Tea Tree Oil is excellent in it's own right.
      Just thought i would had my 2 cents.

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  9. I'm so glad I was able to help with that!

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  10. Miracle remedy! Tooth pain gone almost immediately last night, slept all night and still pain free this morning! Thank you thank you thank you!

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  11. You're so very welcome, Crystal! I'm glad I could help.

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  12. One of my back molars has a horrible cavity and I simply couldnt afford to see a dentist. It was getting so painful that I couldnt sleep at night. The pain would even wake me up it was so bad. So I sat up at 4am online holding my jaw and mouse clicking with the other hand to find some sort of relief with household items. Tried chewing on a raw onion but the pain only went away for a few minutes. Tried garlic, mouth rinse, salt water you name it. All of them only gave very temporary relief. Then I recalled buying tea tree oil a while back and though id search online to see if anyone had used it for toothaches.. I stumbled across your post Rebecca and figured what the hell I cant sleep anyway its worth a shot. Well, 10 minutes, about 6 drops and 6 oz. of warm water later I was nearly pain free and slept through the night! Thank You for posting this :) I plan in starting Oil Pulling and see if that helps heal the cavity.

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  13. It's a horrible feeling when you don't have the money to see a dentist - I've been there, too. Try to set aside some money so that you can get it taken care of before it turns into a need for a root canal! I've never tried oil pulling, so I have no advice there. I *have* heard, though, that oil pulling tends to make people feel very sick in the beginning - something about the toxins being pulled to the surface. If you *do* try oil pulling, let me know about how your experience goes. I'm too much of a chicken to try... ;-)

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  14. A hair dresser on a bus noticed I (a dude) was using tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner and informed me that males shouldn't use it habitually because it causes an overproduction of estrogen.

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  15. I was searching for home remedies for my tooth pain. Was taking pills all day at work. Came home in such pain near tears. I remembered my Tea Tree oil I bought and googled. I found this site. I just tried it and This is the best I've felt all day. Thanks so much for putting this info out there. I gotta save up some money for the dentist, but this is good to know in the meantime. Thanks So much!!! Pamela

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  16. It worked immediately! I had a hunch.the tea tree oil would work , I just didn't know how to go about it . What a relief ! Hopefully I can sleep through the night ! Thank you !

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  17. Can this remedy be used for wisdom tooth pain????????????

    And if yes how to apply I have Australian tea tree Oil

    Thanx in Advance Rebecca

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  18. Thank you!!!! You'll notice that I mentioned tea tree oil shouldn't be used on pre-pubescent boys at all, and that I didn't see any reasoning as to why. Thanks to your comment, I was able to find the reasoning behind it: A 2007 study found that a combination of tea tree oil and lavender in topical applications may contribute to reversible prepubertal male gynecomastia, due to estrogen-like qualities in both of these oils. As an adult, I don't believe you have anything to worry about, but use your own best judgement.

    Here's some information on the study, via NIH. I haven't read the full study, yet. http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/niehs-31.htm

    And thank you, again. I've been away from Green Boots for quite some time, so I apologize for the length of time between your comment and my reply.

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  19. Pamela - you're so very welcome! That was my exact reasoning for using it, as well: Terrible tooth pain, no money to see a dentist. Good luck in finding one!

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  20. Hi, Linda! Here's to hoping you made it through the night without having to wake up and take it all over again! I think I was able to sleep all night when swishing it right before bedtime, but it's been so long since I needed it that I can't be sure. I'm glad you were able to get some relief!

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  21. Hello, Anonymous reader! Wisdom teeth are kinda tricky, I discovered... The problem with wisdom teeth is that oftentimes the pain originates deep within the gums, at the tip of the root. The numbing effect doesn't seem to reach the root tips very effectively, and the anti-bacterial properties can't efficiently get to that area, either. Basically, it does help a *bit*... but not nearly as well as with other, around-the-surface pain. Well, that's what I gather from my own experience, anyway. Perhaps someone else will comment and say other wise. Fingers crossed!

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  22. Hi Rebecca.

    THANK YOU! I've tried everything: Clove oil (it works, but only for a little while), chewing on garlic, vanilla extract, chamomile tea bags, salt water, listening to 80s Power Ballads, etc., you name it, but nothing worked.

    I was up all night, surfing the Web near tears, then saw your blog. Oh whatta' relief! I slept the rest of the dawn hours pain-free, thanks to you :) This truly works.

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  23. I'm so glad it worked for you, NEXTLOVER. It sounds like you were going through something similar to what I dealt with. Agony! It's only temporary relief, of course, so get to a dentist *fast*. Although, I'm guessing that's pretty obvious. ;-)

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  24. I used some that I mixed with my toothpaste...helped wonderfully....

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  25. Awesome....my bro in law came over and he was practically crying in pain, I saw this post and got him to try it and *BOOM...just like that...we don't hear him groaning and crying anymore!! Thank you so much!! The smell of teatree oil is way better then his wimpering and crying... ;-)

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  26. Oh my god, TOOTHPASTE! That never occurred to me. Brilliant!

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  27. Ahahaha! Yeah Born, the smell of tea tree oil is definitely strong. I'm glad he's feeling better, though!

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  28. Ahahaha! Yeah Born, the smell of tea tree oil is definitely strong. I'm glad he's feeling better, though!

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  29. I have been suffering for two days with a toothache. I tried the tea tree oil. It really does work. I can finally get a good night's rest. Thanks for the information.

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  30. I've never had the guts to try oil pulling, but I *have* heard people swear by it. Someday I'll have to try! And yeah... you definitely wouldn't want to swallow that. Thanks for the input!

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  31. i have an absess can tea tree help

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  32. I cracked my tooth and wow the pain all the way to the eye socket and all the way across my cheek. Took a Tylenol 3 no help at all chewed some bread ... helped for a short bit .. but still when I put my head down to sleep pitch (to say the least), anyway, picked up my phone and searched up hone remedies toothache... came across your post , thought do I have to lose, I'm desperate ... few drops of the tree oil and 6 oz of water ... grossssss!!!!! ... OMG gross .... but wow 😀 my pain is completely gone, after suffering for nost of the day and night, it's gone. thank you so much for this posgoodnight all

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  33. Omg what a relief!! I discovered amazing tea tree oil only a year or so ago and i thought to myself "with so many other astonishing uses I wonder if tea tree oil can be used for toothaches" and let me set the scene of me at this point... I am up at 3am googling home remedies for toothaches, dentist scare me to death so only by absolute necessity do I go there (yes once a year I suck it up and go, but I hate it!) and trying several of the home remedies with no success,i think I've made it hurt more than before by touching it with the potato slice, and was nearly to the point of passing my pain tolerance level (to put some perspective on the horrible level intolerable agony; I'm a mother of 3 all natural birthed children!) and considering driving myself 45 mins to the closest ER in hopes I could get back in time for my husband to not have to call off work, when I read your blog post!! Hallelujah!!!!! It's been about 5 mins since I used the tea tree oil and I am so happy the pain is gone!!! I normally don't write a review or comment unless I really have a tremendous opinion one way or the other and feel it's a public service to let others know lol. This is amazing!! I had to leave this comment to express my deepest gratitude!!! Otherwise I may have had to woken up my husband to tell him, or had to outside and shout about the amazing results!! Thank you for your post!!!

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  34. Renata, I would highly suggest that you do *not* use tea tree oil in this case. This type of pain is very different from the pain I was describing above, and I'd be unwilling to use tea tree oil on myself to ease the pain of an abscess.

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  35. Oh, my gosh, @Bogota! I'm so glad you were able to relieve your tooth pain!!! Hooray!!! :-D

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  36. how mush of tea tree oil do i put on a toothaches

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  37. I tried this and it has been 5 minutes and the pain hasn't gone away. I sure hope it goes away soon.

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  38. Wish i had known about tea tree oil a few months ago when i was in agonizing pain, but now i keep it on hand just in case me or a family member needs that toothache relief. Thanks so much Rebecca

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  39. Hello I have a really bad toothache . What does the bottle of tea tree oil look like

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  40. Rebecca god bless you!
    It worked almost immediately but a little painn is coming back now, is it gonna take a little more time to fully kick in?

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  41. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  42. Hi, Annaleigh! Unfortunately, the pain does come back. Tea tree oil is only a temporary pain reliever. The best choice for permanent pain relief is a dentist, who can resolve the underlying issue that allowed the bacteria to find a home in your tooth in the first place.

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  43. Helllo Rebecca,
    i have been having pain in my tooth and i went online and read clove oil is good but i didnt have any so i found tea tree oil in my cupboard and decided to try it..wow i was amazed in few minutes my pain was gone..than i decided to do some more research and found ure blog!!!but not much online information about tea tree oil being used for toothache .im happy i experimented and it was successful..and i didnt swallow any ..lol since i read online not to use it orally..also i noitce clove oil and tea tree oil have very similar benefits and uses .thanks for ure blog!!!!
    p.s. I started the oil pulling for my teeth too .lets see how that ends up being.wish me luck �☺️

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  44. I have been up awake for the past nights for this endless pain my decayed, (exposed bleeding nerve) wisdom tooth and I've just tried gargling diluted tea tree oil. It hasn't relieve any pain yet but I'm just hoping it will soon cos I'm seriously thinking I'm going crazy from this throbbing ache. I read somewhere that sucking the tooth will bring relieve, I tried but only for a short while (minutes). And sucking the tooth brings jolts of intense pain before the relieve. OMG I feel like the life is slipping away from me. The pain is killing me slowly but surely. No money to see a dentist in my damn expensive country. God help me pls.. :'(

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  45. Good luck, Amina! Let us know how oil pulling works for you. I'm still too scared to try!

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  46. Oh, mama, I'm so sorry. That has to be terrible for you! Unfortunately, tea tree oil won't really do anything for an exposed nerve. That's a whole different category of pain. I wonder what *would* counter nerve pain? I'll have to look into that. Fingers crossed!

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  47. hi its very nice and good article keep it up how are you i am said about all people's when you are in badly tooth pain then not near to hospital and no medicine at home then try home remedies tips
    Best Home Remedies tips for Resolve Tooth Pain

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  48. I was skeptical of this, but after a night of no sleep (up every 10 minutes to take a mouthful of COLD water and hold it on the painful teeth, intentionally overdosing on OTC pain meds to try to get at least slight relief - 660 mg Aleve, a few hours later 1600 mg Advil, and 1300 mg aspirin about two hours after that...none of it even slightly relieved the pain - finally only falling asleep when I took an ice pack to bed with me) I was ready to try just about anything. Got some tea tree oil, mixed in a cup of water. Swished it in my mouth for about 3 minutes, dipped my toothbrush in the mixture, brushed, then swished for another 3 minutes or so. At first, the pain was gone. Then came back about 10 minutes after I was done. I kinda rolled my eyes since I "knew it wouldn't work". Set about doing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. In about 20 minutes it occurred to me that I was no longer in any pain. Going to swish and brush with the mixture one more time before bed just in case.

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  49. A fix that wouldbe helpful for some body mightn't package each other whatsoever, and this explains the reason I am outlining a couple of the nursing house remedies that may affect the victims entire. Utilizing peppermint is also a more system for your own teeth. This action is normally understood and is traditionally found in a variety of domiciles to see to the oral infections.Pepper and sodium - excellent ol' pepper is most consistently contained in home-remedies as a result of the numerous advantages and curative attributes. To reduce the ache, only set a pinch of pepper for half an teaspoon of honey. Set the mix in the tooth.Here are Toothache Home Remedies where you can got plenty of home remedies to get rid of toothache.

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  50. Can you uae both the clove oil and tea tree oils?

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