HEALING LOG – Sinusitis & Abcessed Teeth
Posted by weesandy on July 21, 2008
I managed to get through my sinusitis and abcessed teeth without using antibiotics, of course. Instead, I followed my instincts and that inner voice that advised me what to take, when to stop taking it, and how to adapt my activities for healing’s sake. Here are exerpts from my Healing Log from that time:
On TUE June 24th, I was eating a cracker when a piece of it jammed up into the gum behind one of my front teeth (left, 2nd from front). When I pulled it out, it bled for quite awhile. This might or might not be relevant.
On THU June 26th, I felt a very painful toothache beginning in what seemed to be the same tooth. The pain was bad enough that I started taking 1000mg Tylenol every 4-6 hours. [I normally avoid taking pain killers, but I was in a lot of pain.]
By SAT June 28th, the pain was so intense that Tylenol was barely taking the edge off it at all, and wasn’t lasting more than about 2 hours. I phoned the dentist, even though the office was closed for the weekend and it’s a holiday weekend, and asked whether there was any way they could get me in as an emergency. I barely slept that night, as the pain kept waking me up. Started catching myself moaning with it, at times.
On SUN June 29th, I was so desperate to make the pain lighten up that I took Tylenol every four hours and began taking Extra Strength Echinacea Root Tincture. I also drank as much pure water as I could stand. In the evening, unable to sleep, I spent hours online investigating homeopathic & natural remedies, and started taking Aconite, Arnica, Pulsatilla, and the Inflam 1 that I had unopened from Wellness Technologies in Lethbridge, AB. I also began holding salt water in my mouth over the area. I experimented with EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), but didn’t perceive any result other than a sense of taking action to help myself. I woke several times in the night to drink water and once to take Tylenol.
On MON June 30th, I woke with my upper lip, under nose, and left cheek/sinus area badly swollen. It hurt to move my head, especially to tip my face downward. The one tooth that had caused me so much pain was now not hurting much, but other teeth were hurting. Afraid it was sinusitis, I went to emergency. My family doctor, also a good friend and advocate of natural healing, saw me in his clinic and thought it sounded like sinusitis. He was concerned at how severe it looked, so he gave me a 3-day sample of Clarithromycin 500mg and sent me for a sinus x-ray. The x-ray didn’t show a raging sinus infection, but he said it was still likely. He also thought I might have a concurrent abcessed tooth, but that the dentist would determine that.
When I got home from the hospital, there was a message from the dentist that they had an opening. The dentist took a dental x-ray and confirmed an abcess of the front right tooth. He said that the x-ray showed an abcess in the 2nd tooth, too, but when he tapped on it, it didn’t hurt. So, he said I need to come back next week for a root canal; in the meantime, I need to treat the infection. He confirmed that I might have both an abcessed tooth (teeth) and sinusitis, which is what it feels/looks like to me.
I tried several times to pop one of the Clarithromycin pills out of its bubble pack, but my body is violently rejecting the idea and I’ve been unable. I decided to give myself until TUE morning, to see if I can make some improvement through natural treatments.
I followed up by stopping the Tylenol and just taking the extra strength Echinacea tincture, Inflam 1
homeopathic, lots and lots of water, salt water rinses, and applications of 100% tea tree oil – externally and a tiny dot dabbed on my gums just under the infection. I also ate what I craved – garlic & turmeric in tofu, and not much else. I wanted to take fresh plantain juice – I even juiced it, but then it kept telling me it wasn’t the one, and the echinacea root tincture kept calling me back over to it, so I decided to trust the wisdom of the herbs I have known and loved for so long. Within the first day, the swelling was noticeably down, and completely gone within 3 days. The spot beside/under my nose is still tender to the touch.
So here I am, a few weeks later, feeling as good as if it never happened at all. I didn’t go back for the root canal, but I’m a little nervous about that. I have had several root canals, and every one of the teeth has become brittle and/or blackened, and some have eventually had to be extracted anyway. I’ve been hearing whispers of tooth regeneration, and I’d love to hear more about that, if anyone knows about it. Someone somewhere, long ago, suggested fresh alfalfa for tooth regeneration. Have you heard anything about this subject?
…and yes, I did note that I allowed myself to go into “fear mode” over this healing crisis. You’d think that at my age I’d be better able to redirect that energy, but I was in extreme pain and not at my best. I had sinusitis once before and came very close to dying from it. Someone in the town next to me had it at the same time, and she did die from it, when the infection ate through the bone and hit her brain. That’s really how bad it felt, too – like something chewing through the bone and heading for my brain!
On the other hand, I want to treat myself with love and kindness, and give myself a big hug for trusting my green allies – both the ones I used, and the ones I declined. That’s the kind of healing I want to participate in, and the kind that always brings me the quickest, gentlest recovery.
Your comments, suggestions, experiences, or insights are welcome. The comments section is moderated, so it might take a day before your comment shows up, but I will read every one!
weesandy said
Please note that this site is NOT a place to get advice on any medical issues, just a place where I share what I’ve learned & experienced, and what has worked or not worked for me. Anyone reading this, if you have any question or doubt about what the right course of action is for your health, you should consult a health care professional such as a naturopath.
Rachel Weaver said
Moderator’s Note: The following submission represents the author’s educated opinion and should not be considered as medical and/or dental advice. Try at your own risk and discretion.
Here is a little bit from the book I am writing – I am a mother of 9 and a Master Herbalist
Black Walnut
“The Household Dentist”
I read it again, and again. “You can fill in your children’s cavities,” it promised. This was not some “fly by night” firm. This was a reputable family-based business. I kept promising myself that I would order some to check it out since our one daughter had trouble with cavities but it was a rather expensive kit and I did not get around to it. Then I enrolled in the “School of Natural Healing” to get my Master Herbalist Degree and somewhere in the course, Doctor Christopher talked about black walnut healing teeth enamel. I was intrigued. I purchased his tooth powder and gave it to my married daughter to try. She used it faithfully and said that it took away the pain in her teeth, but that it was not enough. It did not seem to fill in the cavities that she always dealt with. Her diet was good, but she had been a premie and I did NOT understand nutrition when she was little. She was missing some necessary mineral or something.
I kept searching. Then one day a midwife friend, who knew that I worked with lots of people’s health problems, gave me six or seven bottles of black walnut glycerite from the food co-op that her husband worked for. They had just gone out of date and she thought that maybe I could use them for someone. Interestingly enough, I had just read about how black walnut helps with cavities that week and here was my chance to try it. I was having tooth pain from some cavities that I had. (I dislike going to dentists) and so I immediately went to work swishing black walnut in my mouth and presto! My toothache was gone. If it would return, I would swish a few times a day and it would be gone for awhile. Then it went away and did not return, Interesting!
I gave it to my children when they got toothaches and if we were faithful and swished two droppers three or four times a day for a week or two, the cavity filled in. I was impressed. Now I wanted others to experiment on to prove my theory. I could not find much info anywhere on my idea, but it seemed to be working.
One day I got a call from a friend. “Can you come over quickly? Our son was in a bike accident and his face is all messed up. We’d like your help.” I went as quickly as I could. His face was messed up, way too messed up for me to deal with! I am not a doctor! I do not do surgery! One glance told me that he would need extensive stitching to fix him up. There was a huge split above his lip and the skin on his lower jaw hung slack. I sent them in to the hospital for repair, wishing that I could have helped them. The next morning she called and asked if I had anything to repair teeth. The doctors had put in about 40 stitches inside and out and told them to go to the dentist since his front teeth were all cracked and would need extensive work. X-rays agreed, and the dentist told them to come back in two or three weeks when his mouth was healed up and she would begin to work on the teeth. We all knew that, that would be expensive. Dental work always is these days. I thought of my black walnut tincture and gave her a bottle with these instructions:
Use 2 or more droppers of this in a small bit of water. Swish it around in the mouth and swallow it. Repeat at each meal time and just before bed.
Of course that was just a good guess and I had no idea what the results would be. But it would not hurt to try. Imagine my surprise and delight when she phoned me after his next visit to the dentist two weeks later. “His teeth are fine. The dentist got him into the chair and took a look at his teeth and said, “There must be a mistake. He does not need any work on his teeth.” “Get the x-ray,” requested my friend. Mr. Dentist obeyed and behold, the x-ray showed very cracked teeth.
“How did the teeth heal?” he asked. “We used black walnut tincture,” replied my friend. “Never heard of it.” said the dentist. “But his teeth are fine.” And you know what, that is all he said. He did not ask to learn more. That is so sad. Think how many people he could have benefited with that knowledge.
This incident gave me the courage to really begin to introduce folks to the healing benefits of black walnut. I have found that children’s teeth heal more quickly than adults. In adults it takes the pain away and sometimes it heals their teeth. Other times it is only a pain reliever. I suspect the reason lies in the fact that the potassium actually aids in the repair in young, healthy children and younger adults, and in older adults who heal less quickly, it sometimes only does a temporary fix because our bodies are aging.
Today I read this little comment. “A lady told me that she took her son to the dentist and he had a cavity. They scheduled to get it filled two weeks later. She had him brushing with black walnut powder and when they went back to the dentist, the cavity was not there.” I was encouraged. Black walnut powder does work, but it is messy. I like the tincture best, myself. It so easy to swish and swallow.
Since that time quite a few folks have taken my tincture and really feel that it helps. Some of these folks are in their 50’s. They feel that it has helped them keep their own teeth longer, without so much work at the dentist. Some of the folks are younger people with families and they tell me that it has helped them avoid many fillings.
For toothache and for cavities: Put 2 droppers of tincture in about 1/8th glass of water, swish well and swallow. Repeat as often as needed, at least 4 times daily.