I’ve been meaning to share this tooth pain remedy for some time. Some months ago, I had horrible tooth pain in my left upper back molar. The pain felt like a raw nerve was exposed to the air and I suppose it was. When I used a torchlight to look at the tooth, I could see a big hole on the side of it.
I couldn’t think to do anything else except get it fixed right at that moment. The pain was so bad that I needed it done immediately. So I called a dentist near my home to book an appointment for the same day, and I was told the earliest free slot they had was more than a week away. There was NO WAY I could tolerate that kind of pain that long and still do all I need to do.
I knew of an old toothache remedy that called for crushed cloves, but the idea of sticking pieces of the spice into the hole when it felt like my nerves were screaming made me rethink that.
Desperate, I reached for castor oil.
I had NO hope that castor oil could help at all, but I was willing to try anything and the idea of applying oil to the hole didn’t make me cringe as bad as the cloves idea.
I used a small piece of folded up gauze and soaked it well in castor oil. I then carefully and gingerly placed this over the hole, tucking it between my tooth and inner cheek so it stayed there quite securely.
Lo and behold…
I still don’t believe it, and I’m shaking my head as I type this — my excruciating pain was gone within 5 minutes of using castor oil on it!
Over the next 2-3 weeks, I kept up the routine of putting a castor oil-soaked piece of gauze up against that hole on my tooth. I did this as much as I could during the day (which wasn’t very long because I had to talk on the phone for work and eat/drink etc) and throughout the night as I slept.
Unbelievably, after a few weeks, the pain was completely gone and has not come back since. The hole is still there, mind you, but there’s no pain at all.
I’m very, very thankful for castor oil for relieving my horrid tooth ache (and let’s not forget the myriad of ways it’s already helped me). If you’ve ever felt the kind of debilitating tooth pain I did, you’d understand how grateful you’d be to have the pain relieved.
p.s: My sister had some very bad gum pain last weekend and I told her about how castor oil on a piece of gauze had helped my horrid toothache before. But her pain was very different from mine — she said it felt like a tooth was trying to push it way out of her gums, which was swelling and inflamed. It sounded nasty and I wanted to help her, but because her tooth pain was due to something different, I was worried it might not work at all and warned her so (I didn’t want to get her hopes up for nothing). But she’d been taking painkillers the last couple of days with no end in sight to the pain, and said the dentist was too expensive, so she tried my suggestion.
It was lucky she did because it worked! Her pain eased a lot within 5-10 minutes, and after just a few days of using it while she slept, her tooth pain has completely gone and not returned.
If you’re having tremendous tooth pain and can’t make it to the dentist in time, I do urge you to give this strange little remedy a try.
[UPDATE: I’ve since filled in the hole on the side of my molar myself with some temporary filling that my sister bought online. Amazing what they sell nowadays! The hole still didn’t hurt at all, but I was glad to fill it in as sometimes small bits of food would get lodged in there. ]
Thanks for this! Did the castor oil thing and my tooth is so much better today! I can actually bite down on it for the first time in days. I took gauze and soaked it in CO, applied it to the top of affected tooth and leave it in for a while, don’t recommend sleeping with it though, could be a choking hazzard. Thank you so much!!!! Many have talked about getting their gums split, and so many drastic measures, this one was painless, you could feel the CO working as there was a numb pain when it was on, and the effect is not immediate, but the more I do it the more my tooth feels normal.
Yeahhh!!!!
Bob Mike, I’m very happy it worked for your tooth too. I was starting to think it’s just me and my sister who’s ever tried this 😀
And yes I concur, the remedy is painless. I have no idea how castor oil can relieve tooth pain, but I’m so glad it does.
Thanks for taking the time to post!
Sam
Known for a long time in Ayurveda. In villages, if your eye aches, you apply CO on eyelids and it relieves pain.
Thanks for sharing, Prakhar!
Thank you very much it’s working for me was going to go to the ER now I can finally get some sleep. Thank you so much!
You’re most welcome ???? I’m glad you’re feeling better!
Sam
I had a throbbing toothache too, & was desperate for relief, so I soaked a q-tip with castor oil and dripped it on and around my sore tooth! I can’t believe it, but the pain is going away! I will keep putting it on my tooth and hope it heals it! I need to go to the dentist too, but it takes so long to get in! Thanks for helping!????????
Oh that’s so great, Jul!
When I had tooth pain, I would have paid anything to get my tooth fixed immediately, so castor oil saved me too! It has a special place in my life and I’m happy anytime others find out for themselves how amazing it is ????????
Sam
I would like to thank you for this home remedy. I was in so much pain and i did not want to keep taking pain pills. Casor oil is amazing !!!Thank you again you have saved a lot of people from toothaches.
Hi Christianne, you’re very welcome 😀 I’m happy you tried it!
Hi I’m inquiring about the castor oil I’m just wondering where can I get it because I need some too fast
Hi Rachel, depending on where you live, castor oil can sometimes be found in supermarkets or pharmacies, at either the healthcare aisle or the hair care/skin care aisle. In some stores, it might be sold as an expectorant or a natural laxative in small bottles, so that’s another possibility to check. One more option is to look for castor oil sold in capsules in vitamin bottles in the supplements aisle — you could break the capsule open and use it that way.
Probably faster to ask the sales staff so you don’t have to go searching or wasting your time when you’re in pain.
Look for something that contains only castor oil, with no other ingredients that might not be safe to ingest.
I wish you a speedy recovery and the best of luck!
Much love
Sam
Walmart or any drug store. On line Amazon or even ebay
I’m going to give this a try!!! Could you give me the link of the filling that your sister bought online? Thank you so much for this info!!!
Good luck Haseena. I hope it works for you.
For the tooth filling, my sister had bought a 3M brand – no link sorry, it was too long ago. I didn’t store it properly so it hardened after some time. I later tried a different one called Micron Superior (got it on ebay). I learned my lesson and kept the box in the fridge, and the filling kit still works just as well even after 2 years. Probably the brand doesn’t matter, but it’s important to store it properly as you may need to redo it at some point when you first try it. I know that once I got better at applying it, the filling lasted much longer.
Sam
I am so glad to have come across this. In the UK at the moment where all dentists are closed due to coronavirus. This remedy is a life saver after 2 days of trying everything under the sun.
Hi Robina, I know what you mean by it being a life saver. And I’m very glad you got some relief from the pain 🙂
Sam
I am about to try this castor oil because my tooth feel like s heart beat. I can’t take it no longer
I’ll make an attempt to explain why this works:
As per Ayurveda, the human body is made up of the 5 elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind & Space. When these elements are in balance, we are healthy. If these go out of balance, we have aches and illnesses. Toothache is typically caused by the pressure caused by an excess of the Wind element near the jaw or in the space below the tooth.
Substances that are dry, light, fluid, sharp increase the Wind element. Substances that are oily, thick, heavy, viscous decrease the Wind element OR direct the Wind away from the location where they are applied.
Castor Oil is thick, viscous, heavy and hence reduces the Wind near the tooth thereby reducing pain and restoring balance. It is also a very good relaxant
In contrast, Clove Oil is light, dry, sharp and hence may increase toothache although it is often recommended as a remedy for toothache.
Thanks for taking the time to share Arun 🙂 That’s pretty interesting.
Sam
Walmart or any drug store. On line Amazon or even ebay
Hi Sam,
Thank for sharing the castor oil tip. I had intense tooth pain last night and could hardly sleep. In the morning I went to the dentist and said that I have an infection, most likely from the last time when the last dentist didn’t replaced the filling and instead patched the broken bit and leaving bacteria inside the whole. The dentist gave me two options, to get a root canal which costs about $AUD2000 or to remove the tooth! I don’t like any of the options so came back home and started searching for home remedies. I bought a bottle of Castor oil last week so here I put some in piece of cotton and left it in the gum. After 1 hour is starting to hurt less already so I’ll keep putting it on when I’m not eating or drinking. Thank you
You’re very welcome, Lore! I’m so glad it’s helping you a bit. I hope your infection clears over time and that you can save your tooth.
Sam
Going to try I’m in desperate need and my dentist is booked. Is there a specific castor oil and does any castor oil help?
Hi Joseline, I’ve only ever tried cold-pressed or expeller-pressed castor oil. So I have no comparison. It’s possible other types will work just as well, but I don’t know.
Good luck!
Sam
Wow. Just want you to know that you saved me from yet another painful sleepless night. My tooth pain got so bad today I cried. I came across your page and whoah…My pain was gone after a couple of minutes when not even painkillers worked anymore. Thank you so so much for sharing this!
You’re very welcome, Ricarda 😀 I’m so glad it helped ease your pain!
Sam