The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Adrienne (ID) on 04/27/2025:
Darn! One of my molars broke off so I had to have the rest of it pulled out. The dentist said take Ibuprofen for pain relief. Well, since there was a little infection in the area where the root had been, and since it was still hurting after three days, I decided to swish some hydrogen peroxide in my mouth. I mixed it half and half with water and also put it on some cotton that I fit up into the space where the tooth had been. This morning I woke up with a swollen upper lip! I wondered if it was the Ibuprofen, and then I wondered if it was the hydrogen peroxide so I checked online and sure enough hydrogen peroxide can cause an allergic reaction that includes swelling of the lips. I expect the swelling to go down, but I sure wouldn't want to go anywhere looking like this! There goes the jam session!
I have really bad teeth in general and have used this remedy for years with straight 3% HP. Works beautifully and I highly recommend if you can't get to a dentist for proper treatment.
Not knowing much about hydrogen peroxide but wanting to get a tooth abscess under control I went to the health food store and bought 35% HP as I was dizzy and concerned. I diluted it according to directions, 1oz to 11oz of water and that would create a 3% HP solution. I swished it in my mouth and it foamed big time. Can't tell you exactly how long I swished for cause it was really strong so not for very long but instantly I felt so much better. No more dizziness. No more tooth discomfort.
I came upon this site because that was a couple years ago and I am having issues again and wanted to try the HP again so checking here for strength and dilutions again. I agree... teeth should be able to be healed. I have used calcium to recalcify a black cavity my daughter had in a new 6 yr molar. That took 4 months of double the amount of suggested calcium, but the cavity was completely gone. Most everything else in the body can be healed and restored, so why not teeth. I am avoiding a root canal cause I do not want the infection to be locked in the body and show up later somewhere else. Any other suggestions for healing teeth totally to the root, cracks included is so welcomed!
Peroxide is great, I use food grade also and dilute it appropriately, it's especially great for bacterial infections, but you have to get it to the source of infection, it even kills cancer if you can break through the viral cyst. But essential oil of clove is even better for impacted teeth, tooth pain, etc, and it penetrates much deeper than peroxide.
I put hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball and held it on my gum boil rubbed it a bit until it released the boil Today the gum boil returned. Did this once before. Gum boil returned. I was told it will keep coming back until I get root canal? Should I keep trying? Maybe I should pop it first? Also have an abcess on my gum. Don’t want to pull teeth.
I woke up with a bad sensitive back tooth this morning. I rushed to the store and got some HP. Did the 50/50 swish for about 2 minutes. My pain lessened right away. I can definitely feel the difference. I live in a place with nothing around but a general store. The walk in dentist clinic an hour away isn’t very professional so I’d rather go this route for now. Thanks 😎
For tooth pain, I first tried the garlic remedy, but the pain-free effect only lasted for a short time. I saw the Earth Clinic editors' recommendations and tried the peroxide swish. (1 capful peroxide. Swish for 5 minutes) Pain gone! I repeat this about every month or so just to make sure there is no recurrence. Simple, cheap, fast, and effective. Thanks, Earth Clinic.
I had a painful tooth that was throbbing last year. It's dangerous to let a dental infection fester, however I was not in an area where dental care was an option. I tipped a capful of peroxide in my mouth and tilted my head so it reached the infected tooth. I did NOT swish the peroxide around, just let it foam up. When the liquid was gone and only foam, I spit the peroxide out, rinsed my mouth out and proceeded to do it again with another capful. I did this 3 times. On the third time there was less bubbling up so I knew the peroxide treated the bacteria. Remarkably no pain the next day or thereafter but my tongue was sore from the peroxide.
I have a partially erupted wisdom tooth, so a few days ago I developed pericoronitis from it. The pain sucked and kept me up at night. Tried several different remedies, garlic, saltwater, even some chlorhexadine and silver sulfadiazine I had on hand, but nothing seemed to work well. Yesterday I bought 3% hydrogen peroxide and used it undiluted, using a needle and syringe to spray the HP between my gum flap and tooth (not poking myself, just using it like a small water pick) I’d let it foam out, repeat a few times, then finish it with a dose of chlorhexadin to seal my gums. Went to bed and woke up with practically no pain, and not hardly any pain throughout the day. I’ve always been a huge fan of HP. Once when I was younger I developed a localized MRSA skin infection, lanced it and bandaged some HP soaked gauze over it and it was healed overnight as well. I’m only rating it 4 stars atm because I’m still not 100% healed yet, and I’m not sure if it was strictly the HP that fixed my pain or not, but it sure seemed like it. :)
I have a tooth that hurts maybe once a day, generally at night mostly, and sometimes during the day. I keep strong salt water nearby or plain water to swish my mouth out, the pain subsides within a few minutes. I may go several days without pain and if it does flair up I just put straight Himalayan pink salt there, swish it around the base of the tooth and the pain subsides within a minute or so. Use just a small amount. I also use garlic in the morning. Every time the pain starts, swish. I put peroxide or half vinegar and half alcohol mixed in my ear. The peroxide works best for me.
I had a painful toothache from one of my top molars, the tooth had broken in half actually, and I was in a lot of pain. But that was almost 11 months ago :) Hydrogen peroxide works!! I brushed my teeth with baking soda, rinsed. Then swished a little HP for a few minutes (let it foam), then spit it out and rinsed with a little warm water. Again, that was 11 months ago, and I have absolutely no pain in that tooth, it's still there.
I'll make this quick. Tooth abscess, not eating, not sleeping, and terrible pain. A tablespoon of 3% Peroxide mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. Just let it sit in my mouth for about 30 seconds. Pain slowly started going away. About 10 minutes later I tasted something in my mouth. Grabbed a paper towel and there it was. Abscess blood and pus. Rinsed again and was instantly back to normal. Wow! It worked so quickly, wish I knew sooner.
I used 50/50 water and 3% hydrogen peroxide. Swished for 2 min, spat, rinsed, and repeated after about 5 min. (2 min because that's as much as I could take before it got too foamy.)
When I had a tooth infection a decade ago, a dentist gave me a prescription Hydrogen Peroxide mouthwash. I came upon this site trying to find a DIY version.
I have had a broken molar for years, but was able to keep it clean and happy with oil pulling and obsessive flossing until about 5 months ago. At that time, it started becoming very sensitive to cold and heat. This winter I couldn't open my mouth outdoors because the cold air would go right into my tooth and give me a blinding headache for hours. Eventually the gums around it became constantly swollen, tooth became painful to touch, and i'd get a massive tooth/headache every night. Advil/Tylenol did nothing. Was on antibiotics recently for something else, and that did nothing for my tooth. This past week I haven't been able to chew on that side of my mouth. I assumed this meant the broken tooth was finally dying.
This evening, in great pain, I finally tried the 50/50 peroxide water. Painful at first, but by the end of the swish it had improved about 10%. I thought that would be it, and that I'd just have to continue this regimen for a few days to see any major improvement. 2 hours later, it has improved 60%. The tooth is not painful to touch, the swelling has gone down massively, though it's still sensitive to cool air. No pus but my gums are steadily releasing something like salt water, and a tiny bit of some hard foreign substance has been ejected along with the liquid. Maybe popcorn kernel? broken piece of tooth? I might be up all night spitting out salt water, but I'm without pain for the first time in months. I'll take it!
I drained my abscess with 3% hydrogen peroxide and paired it with antiseptic mouth wash and massaged the area with my thumb to push the pus up and out. I had the worst pain while doing this but I pushed through it. I was starting to get lock jaw so in order to fix this I actually killed two birds with one stone. Fast forward to two weeks ago I got my wisdom tooth pulled and a couple days later I noticed the taste in my mouth was funny, but there was that unpleasant taste of pus I couldn't mistake. So I started rinsing with peroxide and salt water until I was cleared to use mouthwash again. So far so good; the pain has somewhat gone away but the swelling in my gums is still there. I'll continue to use the peroxide until I go to my check up next week. Peroxide worked wonders.
I have been using HP for about 2 months. Oral surgery was the recommendation. Have L. molars 20 &21., one broken at the gum line that can't be repaired. I have been staving off the tooth extraction as long as possible. I take a blood thinner so surgery is the option. Not looking forward to implants either. I have been wondering how often is safe to use HP. Someone here I think said twice a week was OK. If anyone else has a routine, I would sure like to hear. I have been doing pretty well by being careful with foods with hard surfaces. I also take a Tylenol 500 mg twice a day in case of a flare up. But haven't needed anything for pain otherwise.
I have a cavity in one of my wisdom teeth. I started using Hydrogen peroxide as a rinse to keep the germs away. My tooth did have some tenderness in it at first. But then the pain went away completely. I just now came upon this article. Three cheers for Hydrogen Peroxide! It is nice to see the info I gained as well. All I did was swish some peroxide around the inside of my mouth. I made sure it went inside the cavity. kept it in my mouth for about 2 or 3 minutes. Spit it out. Then rinsed with warm water. spit it out. Then for good measure I rinsed again with a little mouthwash. I did this right before I went to bed after I brushed my teeth. And again in the morning. I am waiting for a dentist appointment. it is nice not to have any pain while I wait.
Hi everybody. I'm 65. Ten years ago all of my upper teeth were hurting. Dentist told me to yank them all and get dentures. $3 to $4 thousand smackers! The big hunt for a natural cure began. Found Hydrogen Peroxide. Brushed my teeth with a cap full of 3% HP two times a day for 2 days. Let it foam for about 5 minutes. Pain free after that. Here I am 10 years later with all of those teeth that the dentist told me to yank except one. I still brush with HP once a week. My teeth are doing GREAT! Thanx for the opportunity to help someone else. - Bill
My abscess is 100% gone after using the Peroxide method. What I did was boil a sewing needle for 10 minutes to sterilize it, I poked the abscess a few times and then pressed on it and drained it all out. I immediately swished straight 3% peroxide afterwards. It turned the gum (Where the abscess was) white for half an hour which was the infection being killed. I continued using peroxide for several days after. It's been over a week now and the abscess has not returned and the pain is gone. So relieved!
I had similar results injecting HP in the abscess region. Yes the pain was intense. It took several tries but after more than a week the abscess is not active. Did it kill the infection deep in the tooth? No idea. But since there is no puss being produced, it just may have done that. Did it feel risky? Yes. I would not have done it if the antibiotics had seemed to be working.
As to the safety: I seriously doubt it could trigger an infection as it clears bacteria in its path. I wish I had tried this earlier with a tooth that eventually rotted, broke and was finally pulled.
So far so good. I just used a capful of the 3% hydrogen peroxide literally just five minutes ago, for the first time. Too soon for a final verdict, of course, but the tooth/gum pain seems to be reduced (not entirely gone). I did a capful of the 3% HP, without mixing it with water as a 50/50 mix, swished it around the (presumably) infected area for 30 seconds, then spit it out, then repeated once, then rinsed my mouth with water. My dentist can't see me for two weeks so I need to bridge the gap between now and then. I'm hoping the pain stays under control for a bit. 4 stars for now, will re-rate after a few hours.
I used hydrogen peroxide every hour for one day. Next day swelling and pain were gone. Antibiotics are in the trash can and I am cancelling my root canal appointment.
Also going to buy a bottle of colloidal silver and use it once a week to make sure no more infections occur.
It is 2 am. My husband, who has had tooth pain for 2 days now, woke me at 12:45 howling in pain and using unprintable words. After googling emergency dentists to call in the morning, I came here to EarthClinic and found out about gargling with 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and water.
Within 3 or 4 minutes he was smiling... but it was short-lived. So I hauled him back out to the kitchen sink for a repeat... but this time he's doing it with just the peroxide, no water.
I have a broken molar, and being new to the area had to find a new dentist. I finally found one that takes our insurance but my appointment is still a week away. By a few days ago, the tooth had gotten infected and the roof of my mouth swollen to the point I had trouble closing my mouth. I tried two things. First, I pulled coconut oil for three mornings, with no change but increased swelling and pain. Finally yesterday morning, I mixed half hydrogen peroxide 3% with water and swished it in my mouth for about five minutes, then rinsed, brushed my teeth and went to work. Around noon, my work partner asked if I was ok and I realized that I was tasting something really bad. Apparently the abscess started draining, and by this morning the swelling and pain is gone. Still going to have tooth pulled, but thanks to the H202, no infection and no pain!
I''m not going to give anyone a bunch of bs. by talking about garlic cloves or dentist's so here goes..."I have to have all my teeth pulled but in insurance". I've had several abscesses and all I did was to massage the sore area until the pain subsided and then put about 2-3 cap's of Hydrogen Peroxide in my mouth and saturate the painful area with the HP. The pain will pass almost instantly and since I have several bad teeth, rinsing with HP once or twice a day and letting it foam up in my mouth heads off any further flareups.
"IT'S ALL THAT SIMPLE "! I Should add "I did have a puss bag on my outer gums" so I sterilized a needle and lanced it a few times to empty it, adding pressure on my face to make it drain "then put some HP (APPROXIMATELY 1 OZ.) in my mouth and let it foam to kill the infected puss. "ALL MY PAIN WAS GONE IN 5 MINUTES "!! NOW JUST RINSE YR MOUTH AND HAVE A BETTER DAY......JACK
I had a tooth /gum infection of an upper jaw molar (not the back one) that caused swelling on the left side of my face up to my eye including swelling the eye partially shut. I got prescriptions for antibiotics which brought the swelling down but still left what appears to be a bump abscess on my gum which would cause the tooth to become sore also.
The antibiotics clearly were not working to get rid of the abscess, so earlier today I tried injecting 3% hydrogen peroxide (no stabilizer) at several locations in the gum (2-5ml) in and around the abscess. Warning - doing this will really hurt like hell when actually injecting the hydrogen peroxide, especially the first few injections when the hydrogen peroxide is actually killing the infection under the gum but it seems to have removed almost all the abscess infection - there is little or no soreness from it now - however the area is somewhat sore from all the syringe pokes as I type - I'll have a better idea tomorrow if the infection is completely cleared up when the gum heals some but it's feeling much better already.
I don't know if injecting hydrogen peroxide is 'safe' so I can't recommend it for others, but it definitely seems to have the potential to stop at least some abscesses.
I recently used HP because of a tooth abscess. I swished about 1-1/2 tsp undiluted over the counter HP a couple of times. I must say it did help with the abscess tooth pain. Unfortunately, several days later, I noticed an extreme sensitivity of my teeth to hot and cold. I can only assume it was from the HP. Has anyone else had this experience? I haven't found anything thus far on the website that indicates that HP can harm your teeth in this way. I'm puzzled! I am still having trouble with that particular tooth abscess but am now reluctant to swish any more HP until I can find out what I've done wrong. I did not mix it with water and maybe that was the problem? Anyone with some feedback would be very welcome to respond!
Hi, just wanted to share with you my cure for an infected gum -- hydrogen peroxide. Also wanted to respond to Subashini from Kuwait, because I may have an answer for her about the bad breath and oil pulling.
My story (I'll try to be brief)... got a piece of food stuck in the gum behind one of my front teeth. No matter what I did -- floss, oil pull, swish peroxide -- it didn't come out. I then went to a new dentist last week to have my teeth cleaned and the stuck particle removed. Lucky me -- the hygenist was just filling in for the day and during the teeth cleaning part, said she saw something dislodge but then "lost sight of it". Okay, fine, I thought. That night I awoke in the middle of the night with terrible bad breath. It was so bad it actually woke me up. Yes, I do have sensitive smell!! When I looked at the right front tooth the next day, I noticed that the gum was severely swollen, from the tooth to the roof of the mouth. The bad breath also persisted. I started my holistic regime of oil pulling, then later swishing with hydrogen peroxide. The oil pulling, like Subashini said, made my breath worse. YUCK! I tried swishing with sea salt. No luck. Finally I had the idea a couple of days ago to soak a cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide and then hold it (tightly) to the swollen gum for 10 minutes. I also pinched another h202 soaked cotton ball to the back side of the tooth where the piece of food had initially lodged. Interestingly, it didn't hurt, but certain areas of the gum turned white. 10 minutes later the white had disappeared. Glad to say that my bad breath smell immediately disappeared and has not returned. My gum is looking a little better. A couple more days of this (soaked h202 2x a day) and I think I will be back to 100%. I highly suggest this technique if you have a tooth abcess or swollen gums from an infection. It is the best way for hydrogen to penetrate, otherwise it just turns to foam if you swish it around in your mouth.
So Subashini, I think your issue may be an infection somewhere in your gums that the oil pulling is bringing to the surface. Infection smells like dental plaque -- quite disgusting. My suggestion is to pull up your top lip (then pull down the bottom lip) in the mirror in daylight and look for redness in your gums. If you can pinpoint an area, then soak it with hydrogen peroxide cotton ball 2x a day for a day or two. I would predict that your issue of bad breath will immediately go away, even after you oil pull.
Oh, one more thing. You will need to bend over a sink whilst holding the cotton ball to your gums and let your saliva run out. You may need to do round 2 during the same session. Most importantly, you don't want to swallow anything! Rinse well afterwards. Hope this helps someone, somewhere. All My Best,
Hydrogen Peroxide 3% solution has cured my toothache. I had a nasty cavity that was causing a lot of pain. I couldn't chew or put any pressure on my teeth on the left hand side. I read about the amazing cures with hydrogen peroxide & decided to try it. I took a shot glass and diluted it 50/50. From the first time I swished the rinse to the present, it has worked like magic! Not only has my toothache gone away, but my gums look & feel so much better! I also put hydrogen peroxide drops in my ears to prevent cold & virus. It has taken away earaches and sore throats.
I began using hydrogen peroxide and prohealth mouthwash to take away the pain of a lost filling as I have no dental insurance. I began to notice immediate results in pain, diminishing so I continued to gargle and swish on affected area several times a day for 3 days: ratio is 1:1 equal amounts. I still have the lost filling and on occasion when food enters and bacteria begins to grow, I swish the mixture and it cleans it out and I am good to go. I hope this helps. It sure did me!
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Hi everybody. I'm 65. Ten years ago all of my upper teeth were hurting. Dentist told me to yank them all and get dentures. $3 to $4 thousand smackers! The big hunt for a natural cure began. Found Hydrogen Peroxide. Brushed my teeth with a cap full of 3% HP two times a day for 2 days. Let it foam for about 5 minutes. Pain free after that. Here I am 10 years later with all of those teeth that the dentist told me to yank except one. I still brush with HP once a week. My teeth are doing GREAT! Thanx for the opportunity to help someone else. - Bill
