The clove therapy

Spices not only make your food taste good but they are also excellent medicines for various ailments. In this post I would be explaining how cloves can relieve you from tooth ache.

Cloves are the the flower buds of a tree native of the Maluku islands in Indonesia and are known for their distinct aroma and sharp taste. Apart from its culinary use, it is also an important part of Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. The essential oil extracted from the clove flower bud is used as a painkiller to relieve dental pain and its anti-inflammatory properties help control the painful inflammation of your gums. It also has antimicrobial properties which help in controlling tooth decay. You do not need a mouth wash to fight bad breath anymore, just put a clove in your mouth and you would feel the freshness all day long. 

So lets see how we can use clove at home for dental care. I suffered quite a lot from toothache when I was a kid and this was the best treatment offered to me by my grandmother-

1. Take 10 clove buds, put them in a grinder with a 3-4 drops of water and make a thick paste. 

2. Wash your mouth with arm saline (glass of water with 3-4 tbsp).

3. Apply a very thin layer of the clove paste around the painful gums and teeth. Keep it for 10-15 mins. If it causes a burning sensation you can decrease the amount of paste, but the burning sensation is normal. If you can bear it, its best for you.

4. Wash the paste away after 15 minutes with lukewarm water (no salt). 

5. Put a clove in your mouth all day long if possible. 

This treatment will definitely help you fight the pain as well as restrict tooth decay. Nowadays many toothpastes have clove oil in their formulas and also clove oil is available commercially for medicinal use. 

Eugenol, the active ingredient in cloves which is also responsible for its aroma, numbs your nerves around roots of your teeth and gums. Its better to make a paste of cloves at home as commercially available clove oil is very concentrated and if not applied in the correct amount may cause burns. Also, you are never sure if the commercially available powders and oils are free of adulteration. 

Using cloves for dental problems is a preventive measure and a temporary treatment. You should always visit the doctor for further treatments.