Clinical Cases

Elaine Finally Has Another Toothache!

Written by Elaine Lewis

Elaine is back with a toothache! Homeopathy to the rescue..

When I have a tooth infection on the upper right side, it’s Pyrogen 99% of the time!”

I’m sure a lot of people have been looking at their clocks and saying, “Isn’t Elaine over-due for her next toothache?” It has been a long time, hasn’t it? I hate to disappoint our Hpathy readers; so, in the middle of the night, towards morning, I was awakened, again, by, yet, another toothache! There, I hope everyone’s happy now!

It hurt when I pressed on it with my tongue–a premolar, upper right side. It wasn’t an intense kind of pain, more of an annoying pain; frankly, I just felt like I wanted to take a pair pliers and rip it out, and it felt like it would come out easily too, like there would be nothing to it!

I didn’t get up, I figured I’d deal with it later. I went back to sleep. When I got up this morning, it was worse. I had the feeling I would not be able to eat breakfast, that biting down would be too painful. Now I was worried. Not to be able to eat my whole wheat blueberry pancake? OMG! No way! And as always, I was afraid homeopathy wouldn’t work!

But, after so many toothaches, I knew which remedy to pick without having to check the repertory; which is good because this remedy is very under-represented in the tooth chapter, namely–Pyrogen!  And in case you didn’t know, Pyrogen is potentized rotten meat!  Now don’t freak out!  We’re the people who dilute a substance over and over again, right?  So we’re not really ingesting rotten meat; just wanted to be sure everyone understood that!  This is a great remedy for all conditions where the situation consists of “rot”!  Think of it in a septic condition, tissue break-down, blood poisoning, a burst appendix, etc.  You can see how valuable this remedy is! 

I have especially noticed that when I have a tooth infection on the upper right side, it’s Pyrogen 99% of the time!  Here were the rubrics I used in The Repertory:

Teeth: pain, toothaches, brushing agg (3)

Teeth: pain, toothaches, biting teeth together, when (3)

Teeth: pain, toothaches, cold, drinks, from (1)

Pyrogen isn’t in any of these rubrics, but obviously should be! You can only find it (as a 3) in Teeth: abscess, roots. That’s it, that’s the only rubric it’s in. Anyway, less than half an hour after taking Pyrogen 200C in water, I could tell a shift had occurred. (Some people are going to want to know why I took a 200C potency. In an acute, there is probably a range of potencies that will work. The idea is to match the severity of the complaint with the appropriate potency. This acute was moderately severe with the potential to get worse. I thought 200C was a good match. The idea is to match power with power. If the illness is recent and strong, 200C is about right. When a complaint is brand new, you can knock it out of the park with one hard swing; it hasn’t “calcified”, turned to “cement” like a ten year old chronic state has; for that you’ll need slow, careful chipping away of the complaint to start with, like a 6C three times a day–always in water with a few succussions before each dose. But what we have here is not “calcified” and one good whack should take care of it! I took the remedy at 7 a.m. By 9, I was eating my pancake. Now, 6 hours later, I can bite down hard on my tooth and I feel almost nothing! Whew! Another close shave.

I hope you realize what happens to people, “regular” people, in my situation?  They’re canceling the day’s activities and they’re trying to get into the dentist on short notice! They’re going to get a prescription for antibiotics, which may or may not work; but, will cause stomach pain and who knows what else! Plus, think of the cost! What’s the cost of this toothache? It cost me nothing! Why? I’ve got my Pyrogen 200C in a vial of water and brandy. When the vial gets low, I’ll just add more water and shake; I’ll have this vial for the rest of my life! What does the dentist charge?  What’s the cost of the antibiotic?  I’d be afraid to ask!

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

16 Comments

  • Thank you for the good clue for pyrogenium! I just this week had an episode of having a tooth filled and two days later it decided it would like to abscess! The pain woke me up and my entire jaw ached, with sharp pain in the actual tooth nerve. I chose to take Hecla Lava 30c. It helped but didn’t last through the day. I upped the potency to 200c and also took a dose of Hypericum 1m for the nerve pain. The pain is gone and the tooth seems to be healing nicely. I’m pleased since I’ve tried other remedies without success in the past.

  • Dr. Elaine,
    You have a down-to-earth style of writing and explainig which comes across to the reader as simple. I love it. Your article on toothache is revealing and fascinating. Pyrogen! I hope you continue to enrich the knowledge of readers like myself.
    Nisar

  • Thank you Nisar. I have the attention span of a Golden Retriever on speed! If an article doesn’t get to the point soon, I’m on to the next one! So, when I write, I try to be considerate of my readers. They don’t have all day to indulge you a long, pompous, tedious, recitation about next-to-nothing!

  • Dr.Elaine
    Thank you for the nice article and the your style of presenting is excellent.
    Kindly enlighten me why the toothache always agravates or starts during night(almost in 90% of cases)

  • Dear Sirajudeen,

    I can only guess here. When you’re lying still and not moving about, all your systems slow down, back up, become sluggish, toxins accumulate, etc. People often wake up feeling grumpy, irritable, achy; but, once they start to move around, have something to drink, etc. they begin to feel better.

  • Love your style Elaine! There is nothing like a sense of humour to help us through the painful times in life. Although I have been on a sabbatical for the past few years [the last two countries I have lived in do not accept my foreign Diploma and clinical experience and insist that I “redo” my studies to their standard, which at the age of 60, I have no yearning to comply with….], I would like to put in my two cents worth regarding toothache, a condition that seems to feel a persistent urge to enrich a number of my family members. The remedy I have found to have a broad spectrum, beneficial effect on toothache, gum abscesses, swelling about the jaw, as well as difficult dentition, is Hecla Lava, derived from the farther boundaries of the ash from this Iceland volcano. It contains Silica, Alumina, Lime, Magnesia and traces of Oxide of Iron. Pyrogen is definitely the main remedy, but when it fails, Hecla Lava often works, as outlined by one of the other contributors. Main thing is, try to persevere for a little while and experiment with at least three remedies before throwing in the towel. Homoeopathy works, but sometimes the difficulty lies in selecting THE remedy to facilitate that.

  • Thanks, Veronika; thanks for the tip on Hecla Lava; I’m going to try that next time; oh yeah, there’ll be a next time!!!!!

  • Hi Elaine,

    Just a note in passing. It is not the homeopathic pharmacies that are to blame for restrictions on the sale of nosodes. It is the FDA.

    Diderik

  • Nope! It’s the pharmacies. In fact, you can get nosodes from hahnemannlabs.com; but, you have to call, it’s not on their website, and they ask you who prescribed it. Does that sound like it’s illegal?

  • thanks for your valuable tip. My 60 years old wife is suffering from tooth pain. She has told me that the pain is from a broken tooth, filled earlier for DC. I will try Pyrogen and Hackla leva.

  • Does Pyrogen works only for “tooth infection on the upper right side, it’s Pyrogen 99% of the time” or has been tried in general toothach.
    Pankaj jain

  • A little further, there is swelling around the hollow teeth with unbearable pain with swelling which gone upto cheek (left) and below the eye. I took Merc Sol 30/200C but it has probabely developed the swelling. Now, took Silecia 6X follwed by Sil 200. Find some relief, salty pus seems to be oozing out but pain is only reduced but still keeping uncomfortable. Should I take Hypericum 200. Shall be thankful.
    Pankaj

  • Your wonderful humor and writing style are so fun to read. The dentist said the root of my lower, pre-molar tooth is broken and must be extracted. I don’t want to go that route so I looked online and found that the roots of teeth are fed by blood, just as our bones are. So I figured that if Symphytum knits bones back together, it’ll do the same for a tooth root. Hopefully, that’s working but I’m still getting a little volcano of bloody pus in the gum. Nothing has cured it yet. I’ve taken lots of Hecla Lava, Mercurius, Echinacea, Calendula (worked best) and even Pyrogen. So, after reading your article today, I’m back on Pyrogen, this time in a 6c in water. As always, thank you so much for your helpful articles, Elaine. I always enjoy reading them.

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