Replied by Alexandra (Cheshire, England) on 01/24/2012

I got rid of a tooth abscess last year doing this, along with large doses of vitamin C, eating food with lots of garlic, oil pulling (olive, sunflower, coconut), turmeric in food and drinks, occasional rinses with a solution of Xylitol, and avoiding food containing flour.

I wouldn't swish with vinegar either as it could thin your tooth enamel. Hope you find something that helps. Do post your results with whatever you decide to try.

Replied by Khakimo (Atlanta, USA) on 01/25/2012

It is an unbelievably potent anti-biotic, anti-inflammatory, and lots of other stuff. It is very important that it be FRESH, RAW garlic. Do not buy the garlic that is raw, but already chopped and comes in a jar. The reason is that when you crush the garlic clove it releases 2 elements that combine to produce a third. The third element is called I think allicin-but don't quote me on that. :) It must be consumed within an hour of crushing or it loses it's potency. I have also heard that you should wait 10 minutes after crushing before consuming to let it reach its full potency. I've had someone tell me that they didn't like garlic and found some that was kind of sweet, but it didn't work for them. I believe this is because when garlic starts to go stale its true it does not burn as much. But my experience seems to be showing that the more it burns, the more potent it is. So don't try to find some that doesn't burn.

Here's what happened to me - it was a Friday night. Had a toothache and my face was starting to swell up. Knew the dentist would be closed until Monday & so came to Earth Clinic to see if I could find something that I may have in the pantry to help me since the pain was great & I knew I would not be able to sleep. I stumbled onto the garlic info THANK YOU! Now I did note that most were saying to take a half clove of garlic & place it between effected tooth and the gum for something like 30 to 45 minutes - then chew up and swallow. The reason for placing it there is it also takes the pain out! But a lot of people were also saying they got bad burns on their gums doing this - some even had blisters. So being the chicken that I am :), I cut only a little quarter of an inch slice of the clove and put it between the tooth and the gum. Within 10 minutes I felt the pain draining away, so I just chewed it up and swallowed. In less than an hour I was completely pain free. I sliced some extra garlic (I didn't know then about it starting to lose potency after an hour) and whenever I woke up for a second I would chew one up and go back to sleep. Next day infection completely gone, swelling gone. Had I gone to a dentist he would have given me anti-biotics that would have taken days to bring swelling and infection down & would have given me pain pills that wouldn't have worked but would have made my stomach upset.

If you have pain you could try putting the garlic on it for a bit, but it is not necessary for it to work. I usually cut a clove into 2 or 4 pieces depending on size, wait 10 minutes and then just give them enough chews to be able to swallow. Yes it burns, but 2 or 3 gulps of water and the burning is gone. It works so fast you will start to feel better very soon.

I you don't like taking it that way you can do like I do for my dog - chop it up and put it in a spoon of peanut butter or something. It has fixed him up many times - I would like to use it for my cat, but not sure yet if it is ok for cats. Taking it regularly will prevent much, including flu. A country boy told me that you should take 2 or 3 cloves a day and you'll never get sick.

Hope you try it - it is shocking in its speed and effectiveness.

Replied by Lanos (So Calif, Usa) on 01/27/2012