Cherokee Remedies for Toothache

Native Americans used herbs, barks, flowers and many other things to treat their illnesses and sustain their villages. The Cherokee elders have passed down these remedies for centuries. With the upsurge in natural remedy interest, these cures for common ailments such as toothaches have started to become more popular than ever.

Virginia Snakeroot

• This plant has become very rare, but used to grow wild in the Eastern United States. The roots were once harvested as a very powerful medicine among the Cherokee and other Native Americans.

  To treat a toothache, the root was boiled in water to make a tea and then drunk, or the root was chewed into a pulp and a small amount was held on the afflicted tooth. Snakeroot was also used for snakebites and other maladies.

  Snakeroot is very potent and can paralyze the respiratory system, causing breathing difficulties. Do not use snakeroot unless you are very familiar with its use. Consult a physician before attempting its use or mixing it with medications you already take.

Persimmons

• The Cherokee used the persimmon for many diseases and ailments, depending on how it was concocted. To relieve a toothache, the persimmon was made into an infusion. This process is similar to boiling tea. The persimmon bark is placed in water and boiled for a short time.

  Once the concoction has cooled, it is either held onto the tooth, or swished around in the mouth. This method is also used to relieve thrush in a baby's mouth, or poured over other skin conditions, such as burns or hives.

Big Leafed Magnolia

• The Cherokee used the big-leafed magnolia for a number of ailments. To thwart a toothache, a tea was made by infusing the bark in boiling water. This tea was either drunk or held in the mouth and swished like a mouthwash.

  If the toothache was terribly painful, a decoction was made using the Magnolia bark. This is done just like making the infusion except the bark is boiled for a longer period of time to make the liquid stronger. The liquid is then strained and the bark discarded. The strong warm liquid is then held in the mouth over the aching tooth.

Hercules Club, Prickly Ash, Prickly Elder, Devils Walking Stick

• If you can get close to this thorn-covered tree, you will also have a great toothache remedy used by the Cherokee and many folks in the Smoky Mountains. You will need to strip a piece of the inner bark and roll it into a tiny ball. Place it over the tooth that aches and hold it there until the pain subsides.

  These cures may not sound great, but considering the alternative was tooth removal, drinking bark tea was tried first. According to the Smoky Mountain News, a tooth extraction was done with a nail and a hammer. Referred to as tooth jumping, the nail was wedged in at the gum and then jumped out by hitting the nail with the hammer.