Home remedies to get rid of tooth infection
Home remedies cannot remove a tooth infection; they may briefly ease symptoms while a dentist treats the infected pulp or drains the abscess.
The short answer
Home remedies cannot remove a tooth infection; they may briefly ease symptoms while a dentist treats the infected pulp or drains the abscess. A dental infection is bacterial inflammation in the pulp, root canal, gum, or tissues around a tooth. Salt-water rinsing can cleanse the mouth, but it cannot reach and disinfect an infected root canal.
What does a dental infection affect inside the mouth?
A dental infection is bacterial inflammation in the pulp, root canal, gum, or tissues around a tooth. Salt-water rinsing can cleanse the mouth, but it cannot reach and disinfect an infected root canal.
What can you do while waiting for infection treatment?
Use a soft brush, drink water, avoid chewing on the tooth, and use only pain medicine that is suitable for you and taken as directed on its label. Never place aspirin or chemicals on the gum and never use leftover antibiotics.
When does a tooth infection need urgent care?
Seek urgent care for facial swelling, fever, pus, worsening pain, or difficulty opening the mouth, swallowing, or breathing. Treatment may involve drainage, root canal treatment, extraction, or a restoration after infection control.
Where is the infection and what treatment is needed?
Ask where the infection is located, whether the tooth can be restored, what procedure is needed first, and which symptoms require emergency treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Can salt water cure a tooth infection?
No. It may soothe the mouth, but the infected tooth or abscess still needs dental treatment.
Will an infection disappear if pain stops?
Pain can change while infection remains, so symptom improvement does not prove the source is gone.
Who wrote this page
This library is published by Dental Nation, a licensed dental group practising in the United Arab Emirates. Pages are written and overseen by the same clinical team that treats patients in our clinics, and are held to a fixed editorial standard for safety and accuracy.
This page is patient education, not medical advice, and cannot replace an examination. Anything urgent — facial swelling, trauma, uncontrolled bleeding or severe pain — needs a dentist or emergency care now.