Was Skeptical (Palm Desert, CA.) on 06/04/2021

I had a chipped/cracked molar that caused me no pain or problem, so I put off getting it fixed. It started with an aching kinda sore gum around the tooth for a couple days, which went south super fast.

Within 24 hours, the pain increased substantially, my jaw started to swell, & I knew I had a serious problem. I was taking the max dose of Advil, & Aleve, & neither was helping with the pain. I was so uncomfortable, & couldn't sleep. I was moments away from taking myself to the ER out of desperation, when I started searching for information about picking a dentist who took my insurance, what could be wrong with my tooth, & on various home remedies. When I read about black tea bags helping, I was willing to try anything, but remained very skeptical.

I drink black tea anyway, so I had some strong British tea (PG Tips) readily on hand. So I boiled the water (like I was making a cup of tea) poured it over two bags, just enough to cover them, & let it steep a couple mins. I squeezed the majority of hot liquid out of them, placed one on the tooth, & one between my gums & the tooth, & tried to bite down. The warmth felt super good, & I crawled on to the couch & passed out for a few hours.

When I woke up, I was completely stunned. Not only had the swelling gone down 75%, but I had zero pain! I felt immensely better. I went from gobbling pain medicine with it having no effect, to feeling almost "cured" (so to speak). I repeated the process twice more, before being able to get in to see a dentist. I've taken some time to further research what's going on & I have some tips which I'll list below:

* Use plain BLACK TEA (not Green Tea, Herbal Tea, flavored tea, diet teas, etc.)

* Activate the healing properties of the tea with VERY HOT WATER. I recommend boiled water, but you should think of it almost like the teabag is a 'hot water compress'. The hot water activates the tannins & the other anti-oxidant properties of the tea, plus help soothe the mouth and draw out the infection. You're not putting it boiling hot into your mouth! You'll give it a squeeze and allow it to cool a bit before you put it in your mouth. It's far less effective if you use cold water!

* Have a terry-towel or something handy as you should expect some hot tea/liquid to come out of your mouth, as you're biting down on the bag, but mainly this occurs just at the beginning.

* You may feel better, but this will not "cure" the underlying condition. Don't get me wrong, this really does wonders and helps you in the moment but it'll just buy you some time. You will still need to go to a dentist, unfortunately.