As a prepper, you know firsthand how unpredictable and inconvenient life’s minor problems can be, how quickly they seem to happen, and how they come about when you least expect them.
So what happens when minor medical problems pop up — like a toothache or sore throat — but you can’t get to a dentist or pharmacy? Having certain medical plants on hand can be of tremendous help.
When you’re unable to see a dentist right away and you’re longing for some pain relief, you’ll be happy you added this miracle plant to your prepper first-aid kit or garden.
What Is The Toothache Plant?
People have dubbed this small flowering plant a lot of interesting titles over the generations.
From “Spilanthes” to “Buzz buttons”, and “Para cress” to “Electric daisies” — of all the different names given to this plant, it’s most commonly recognized as simply “The Toothache Plant”.
Whatever you choose to call it — the usefulness of the toothache plant is recognized all over the world.
The best part about the Spilanthes is that this magical plant isn’t just for tooth pain. It also functions as a natural antibiotic and it possesses antifungal and antiviral properties as well — to name a few.
Related: 10 Home Remedies for Emergency Toothache Relief
Why Should You Grow The Toothache Plant?
As the name suggests, this plant is incredibly helpful when you find yourself the unsuspecting victim of bothersome sudden tooth pain.
This is due to the pain-relieving analgesic properties of spilanthol, which is present in the plant.
Chewing the leaves and flowers of this plant- raw or cooked- can not only provide you with almost immediate oral pain relief, but the intense tingling sensation provides a deep mouth bacterial cleansing that can help to ward off early signs of infection. The toothache plant more than lives up to its name and can be a pleasure to have in your home or garden.
Identification, Harvest and Uses
The toothache plant is a small leafy perennial herb with yellow buds and an electric red-colored center. It’s related to the daisy and grows naturally in warmer regions in places like Australia, Brazil, and India.
However, depending on where you live and your plant hardiness zone you can easily grow it in your greenhouse, home, or garden as an annual or perennial plant.
This makes it easier for you to harvest and reap the benefits straight from the plant, or dry the leaves and buds for later use.
Lookalike Plants and Precautions
Because of its unique appearance, there aren’t many plants you could mistake for Spilanthes. Upon first glance, you might think you were looking at daisies. However, the distinct red center of the yellow flowering bud should be enough to identify them.
When foraging in the wild for edible plants, it’s important to follow the wild plant safety guidelines to test for adverse reactions. However, if you’re growing from seed or transplant, you can rest easy knowing that your plant will be safe for consumption.
As with most things in nature, the difference between medicine and poison is in the dose. The toothache plant happens to be very potent so when employing buzz buttons for medicinal use, always err on the side of caution and use only as much as you need to feel relief.
Related: 8 Edible Backyard Plants And Their Poisonous Lookalikes
Medical Uses and Recipes
The toothache plant is an herb that touts a host of alternate uses thanks to its antifungal and antiviral properties. It’s been used to treat problems such as athlete’s foot, sore throat, skin conditions, and cold sores.
This little plant is so powerful, it even disinfects small wounds!
To make the most out of your toothache plant for long-term storage and use, it’s best to make a tincture.
Tinctures are herbal extracts that are made by combining alcohol and herbs in a tight container over a designated period and straining the remaining plant matter from the liquid.
Tinctures are the best way to ensure the herbs and their nutrients remain usable in a survival situation.
You can use edible plant tinctures externally and sometimes internally depending on the plant.
Toothache Plant Tincture
Ingredients
● Quality alcohol such as vodka to prevent mildewing of the herbs
● A glass mason jar or similar
● Dark or amber-colored glass tincture bottles, preferably with a dropper
● Toothache plant flowers and leaves — rinsed, dried, and finely chopped
● Time (about two weeks)
Instructions
Step 1: First, chop up herbs and fill your mason jar until it’s nearly full.
Step 2: Fill the jar to the top with vodka or other clear, potent alcohol.
Step 3: Seal the jar and keep it at room temperature away from direct sunlight. A pantry shelf or root cellar would be an ideal place for storage.
Step 4: Shake twice daily and store anywhere from a week to a month. Tinctures stored for longer tend to be more potent.
Step 5: Using a clean muslin material or cheesecloth, slowly strain the liquid to separate the plant matter from the tincture. Repeat if desired for extra filtration.
Step 6: Pour the strained tincture into dark-colored dropper bottles and keep it stored in a cool dry place.
Your finished tincture should have a shelf life of about 2 years.
Whenever you feel a toothache coming on grab your bottle, shake gently, and apply a few drops near the affected area. Then swish around your mouth and use like you would with ordinary mouthwash.
Cooking With The Toothache Plant
You can enjoy the toothache plant as a flavoring for food or in place of herbs in cooking. It’s great to eat in soups, salads, or sauteed as a side dish for a healthy dose of immunity-boosting vitamins, even if you don’t have a toothache!
When searching for recipes online, you’ll find no shortage of exciting options to choose from. More often than not, chefs and culinary sites use the term “Szechuan buttons” and “Buzz buttons” in place of the name “Toothache plant”.
Chefs use it to create exciting fizzy cocktails, desserts, and salads that pack a nutritious punch and leave the tastebuds with a slight tingling sensation.
When cooking with this plant, it’s best to experiment with small amounts first so you know how much to add to get the desired taste.
The toothache plant is a friend to preppers, survivalists, and homesteaders alike and deserves a spot among every prepper’s garden, even if you don’t have a toothache!
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Great Article, direct and to the point.
Thank you.
Very useful, thankyoy
Where can you get the seeds?
Amazon has 5000 seeds for $6.49: https://www.amazon.com/Outsidepride-Toothache-Herb-Plant-Seeds/dp/B006U1POYA
True Leaf carries the seeds.
I’m growing these for the first time this year.
I get mine from Strictly Medicinal Seeds. https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Spring2021.pdf
Hey Charles,
A vendor I’ve used, https://strictlymedicinalseeds.com/product/spilanthes-official-acmella-oleracea-potted-plant-organic/
Probably have it dried, seeds too. This link is for a potted live plant.
Best
It amazes me how much we (human beings) have forgotten about the ways our ancestors. They lived and dealt with situations such as a toothaches with natural remedies first. Then if they needed to go to the dentist, they did. Thank you “Ash A Prepper”, for your wonderful articles like this. What would we do without you.
Thanks for posting links to seeds and plants. I’ve been on a casual hunt for this seed/plant for a while. There seem to be several medicinals that have all but been swallowed up into a black hole.
Check Baker Creek Seed Company for seeds. I have some that I bought 2 years ago when grasshoppers ate everything that sprouted in my garden. I might try growing them again next year, now that I am having some success. The secret: Agricultural Insect Barrier Netting. Keeps the majority of the grasshoppers out, at least until the plants are large enough to survive a few hours a day of pollinator access.
Or you could just buy a small jar or two of oil of cloves which should last you a lifetime and a half unless you have some serious dental problems. All you need with oil of cloves is to moisten a Q-tip with the oil and touch it to the sensitive tooth. Be careful not to get it on your gums. If you do, it will focus your attention, You may even exhibit some fancy, original dance steps. Oil of cloves is what your dentist uses when he wants to desensitize a nerve in your mouth before he installs some appliance. It is incredibly cheap and every drug store has it in stock. It will be in the first aid section of the drug store. You can even buy temporary cavity filling material and other assorted dental aids.
If you do have serious dental problems, you really should get them attended to. They can lead to all kinds of problems that you wouldn’t ordinarily associate with your teeth, like cardiac infections.
In addition, if you think it is hard to get an appointment with your dentist now, wait until the EOTW. You will be forced to having someone like me take out your teeth with my water pump pliers. That’s something you REALLY want to avoid.
LCC:
The only problem with cloves is that they are grown in tropical regions that will no longer be accessible to people in other regions in the event of a shtf event. If you buy what you think you will need now, you should be OK, but the more things we can grow in our own gardens, the better. Also, most herbs and spices will eventually lose potency over time, even in a tincture.
Miz Kitty, oi, yoi, I’m shocked. And you, the boston hottie! what was Boston famous for, prior to the left wrecking it in trade for a few magic beans? Sailing, trade with far off places. All those rum jugs in the dumps did not appear by magic, but by the shipload from the Caribbean. Along with that, spices, herbs, ganga, tropical fruit, and more. ASAP, after the dust blows away, Boston, Bangor, and other places will be trading in the islands. BTW, whole cloves sealed will last for years. Oil of cloves, if sealed, should keep even longer. niio
Beat me to it!
Hey, LCC. You beat me to it. I was going to mention cloves. As Kit mentioned cloves don’t grow up here so better stock up now. You don’t need a lot of them. Red cabbage is amazing with a couple of cloves thrown in. Makes stewed pears much tastier. If it came down to it, LCC, and we were in an EOW situation and there were no dentists anymore and I had something like root canal infection (shudder) going on then I would rather have anyone, including yourself rather pull that tooth than endure the pain and the possible more serious health issues from an infected tooth.
Glad you mentioned possible heart issues from bad oral health. Whenever I have any medical procedures done, even just getting my teeth cleaned my cardiologist insists that I take an antibiotic beforehand because I’ve had open heart surgery. The bacteria in our mouth from bad oral health also have negative effects on our heart.
Our oral health is SO important to our overall health. Bad oral health can have a number of consequences. Poor oral health can play a part in heart disease, pregnancy complications, osteoporosis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, copd, pneumonia, weakened immune system, infertility, dementia and even cancer. Brush those teeth regularly.
Thanks, I agree both with having some oil of cloves in stock for short term emergencies, but planting some of this (or preserving the seeds?) if it will grow in your area, for use in the more distant future.
I gather from the appearance this is not the same plant that produces Szechuan pepper, but sounds like the same or a very similar natural chemical may be involved; my Chinese cookbook describes the effect of Szechuan pepper as “mouth numbing”. If that is the case, 1) maybe some of this plant could be used to produce those nice spicy hot Chinese dishes I like, if Szechuan pepper is no longer available; or conversely 2) maybe some ground up Szechuan pepper could be used as a substitute, in treating toothache? Just a thought…
Spilanthol is the active chemical in toothache plant that causes the numbing sensation, according to this article on Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acmella_oleracea
Capsaicin is the chemical in hot peppers that gives them heat and analgesic properties, so no, you can’t substitute one for the other.
That being said, toothache plant is edible, and is said to make good pesto.
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/toothache-plant/toothache-plant-yellow
The above link is to Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, and they carry both yellow and red and yellow bullseye varieties.
Prickly Ash, Zanthoxylum clavi-herculis, is fairly common along fence lines in the country, east of the Rockies, although it is one of the 1st trees to die in a drought and can be hard to find in dry years. The fruit of this small tree is Szechuan pepper, can be used in any Asian recipe calling for it. From experience I can say that wadding up a few leaves, chewing them and packing the mass around a bad tooth gives good relief to tooth ache. Swishing a sip of liquor around a bad tooth is even better and does not stimulate my gag reflex like oil of cloves.
Never heard of Spilanthes, turns out is one of the most widely used garden herbs in India. A billion people know about it but to us it is a secret?
The article hints that there might be some toxicity with this herb but there is not, perfectly safe, guess like any plant a person could be allergic to it.
Don’t have experience with Spiranthes, it might be good for tooth ache, if it isn’t the alcohol in the tincture will help. I am very skeptical of any plant having useful anti-bacterial or anti-viral properties. It is used for cold sores in India, be big news if it can inhibit a herpes virus.
They put extract of eucalyptus, menthol, and the extract of thyme, thymol, in gold colored Listerine to denature the alcohol. Turns out Thymol is very effective at inhibiting the bacteria that cause gum disease, so I know at least one plant that is an effective anti-biotic.
Use gold Listerine daily and you will save a lot of pain at the dentist office, and put some prickly ash in your Thai food, and I will swish a little more vodka in my mouth while grilling yard bird tonite.
In 1976 I was in Washington DC attending a business convention. A group of us were in a high class Chinese restaurant, tuxedos on the waiters, real silverware (or a very close facsimile), linen tablecloths and napkins, everyone dressed in at least business attire. For some reason I ordered the Szechuan dinner. It came and again, for some reason unknown to me at that time and still a mystery, part way through my meal I came upon a pepper which I promptly popped in my mouth, chewed and swallowed.
I instantly was seized with uncontrollable hiccups, they were wrenching, from below my diaphragm. I felt like I was going to treat everyone to display of violent projectile vomiting. I dared not open my mouth to eat a spoonful of rice or take a drink of anything, but just sat there with my gut trying its damnedest to rid itself of the burning object. It must have been five minutes before they subsided enough for me to eat a mouthful of rice and take a drink of water. It seemed like much longer.
Since then I have assiduously avoided Szechuan cooking and especially the dark peppers that seem to come with such cooking. I know some folks eat them like candy, but not this kid.
Did I mention I also sweated profusely during my ordeal? Another lesson learned the hard way.
If a chili doesn’t make you sweat, it’s not a good chili. i draw the line at just under habaneros. Hiccups, man, wow. Rocoto are good, if pretty hot. niio
Sounds like you ate a Thai Dragon pepper. The art of Szechuan cooking is to balance the intense heat of the Dragon with the tingling and mouth numbing sensations of the Szechuan pepper, which isn’t A pepper. Those little Thai peppers are sauteed in oil which spreads and intensifies the heat. Our generation generally could find humor in inflicting pain, a fine trick was to give a green horn A bite of hot pepper. Guess we learned that from Bugs Bunny. I have some Thai chili’s growing in the front flower bed, the birds often bite off the tip of a pepper but one bite seems to be enough.
I grow Thai peppers. Don’t eat as many as I once did. The heat burns me more as I get older. Loved Very hot Thai soup. A little one is plenty in a meal today.
Cloves and oil of cloves, chewing tobacco, and other things will numb pain. Both are highly antibacterial. Avoid carbs as much as possible and you should avoid cavities. niio
I had an aweful toothache that went deep into my jaw and stopped me sleeping well for weeks. MMS is great but doesn’t penetrate into bone.. unless you add MSM to it. In a jar I put 10 drops of mms and about the same of HCl activator and another 10 of MSM than about a quarter cup of water and capped it. The chlorine dioxide is created as a gas but is absorbed by the water. Every couple of hours I put maybe half a teaspoon of this liquid into the palm of my hand and pressed it into my jaw at the area the inflamed tooth is. Hours later some relief. First night without pain killers. It just got better and better and totally fine now. The jar lasted a couple of weeks. If I had have gone to the dentist they would have pulled that tooth.
Obviously, best behaviour at times like these. Sugar free, super dose vitamin C for a few days, eat on the other side, plenty of vegetables, etc.
I didn’t recognize the abbreviation MMS, so looked it up on line. I would urge anyone thinking of following waynos’ remedy to research MMS on line before embarking on the treatment. Disregard comments relating to multiple messaging service. That’s an entirely different topic.
Good article, but I wish you would have stated what the growing zones were for it. After some searching I found they grow in zones 9 and 10 which is basically parts of CA, Tx and FL. Can’t grow them where I live which a zone 5. I could grow them indoors, along with my other plants, but then my wife would probably kick me out!
Alan K:
You might be able to grow them as an annual…try planting it in a container. Seems to prefer hot and dry weather, according to some reviews I read at the Baker’s Creek website. They are out of stock there, BTW.
Miz Kitty is right. I live in zone 9B, Arizona, and can raise perennial tobacco (glauca and wivian), can keep chilis and other tings alive from year to year, but here, strawberries and so on are considered annuals. Even garlic has to be a heat-loving type (Creole) or burns up in our gentle spring sun. It never gets hot in Arizona, just real, real warm. But, if you ever get caught in the sun, and come across a tree and some shade, take it. The horse, bull, and deer will make room. If the rattler complains about having to move over, the hawk will stop it. (old Arizona joke 🙂 Listen to Miz Kitty, in her few years on this earth, she acquired a lot of wisdom. niio
Red:
Gee, I would have said baked beans!?
But wouldn’t reestablishing trade and re learning the necessary low tech skills take years?
You probably already know this, but the USCG trains cadets how to sail a real sailing ship. I don’t know if any other military branch has a similar program to familiarize people with low tech skills like that, but it does make you wonder if they know something that the rest of us don’t!
Not sure if it is as effective as over-the-counter meds but I will give it a shot if I ever get a toothache.