Herbal health claims have always left me skeptical. I am not a doctor, but a professor of Middle Eastern and African History. Common sense tells me that if green tea cures cancer, as some herbalists claim, broccoli prevents Alzheimer’s, and ginkgo reverses aging, then why do we need cemeteries? Three weeks ago, however, I had an experience that made me take a second look, not at miracle cures, but at the medicinal effects of licorice on toothaches. I was sitting at my desk preparing for my lectures when a pain shot through my jaw. Within minutes, the stabbing pain had intensified to the point where I could barely stand up.
I belong to a Dental HMO in which I must go to the dentist prescribed by the plan. A call to the dentist’s office informed me that there were no openings available for patients as of Wednesday morning. It was Monday afternoon. I couldn’t afford to see a dentist outside the network. I probably couldn’t afford to see the dentist on my plan, since dental work I’d had in the past even using the plan had cost more than $500. But he was desperate. I got in my car and headed home, stopping at a pharmacy on the way. I took a bottle of Orajel from the shelf and handed the cashier my credit card for the $5.00 purchase. He put it through the machine. The card came back “declined”. The toothache was getting worse and I didn’t have the energy to call the number on the slip of paper the teller gave me with the declined credit card to find out if it was his mistake or mine. I rummaged through my bag and found about $1.50 in change. I grabbed a box of black gummies called “Black Crows” from the shelf by the cashier station, dropped the quarters, nickels, and pennies on the counter and ran out of the store. Of course, this was not a rational decision as sugary snacks could only make the toothache worse. But he was past the point of mature, adult decision making. Misery, frustration and pain pushed me to seek solace in the cheapest way I knew, devouring the sweets I used to eat as a child. I ripped open the cellophane wrapper and popped those gummies in my mouth like Tic Tacs. I turned on the car’s ignition and tossed the half-empty box onto the passenger seat. The pain stopped as abruptly as it had started.
Although I was relieved, I didn’t associate gorging myself on licorice jelly beans with the cessation of the toothache until I got home and mentioned the incident to my husband. He made the connection for me, having found an article [http://www.kswildflower.org/details.php?flowerID=231] describing the use of licorice root for toothaches, while researching wildflowers to plant in our garden. As is often the case with personal discoveries, it turned out to be new knowledge to me, it had been known as a folk remedy for centuries. But I didn’t know that. More importantly, the Internet can sometimes offer such information overload, with useful information so intertwined with the commercial add-ons to the products being sold, that it can be difficult to filter through all the conflicting reports. This is even more the case when your analytical abilities are dulled by pain and discomfort.
The day after the toothache incident, I went to the health food store and bought several ounces of licorice root, which I could chew as needed. Licorice is the root of the glycyrrhiza glabra plant, a vegetable that belongs to the same family as beans, peas, and soybeans. It has been used in Chinese medicine since ancient times, as an expectorant to reduce coughs, colds, and bronchial infections. It is sold as tooth powder in India and chewed as a mouth freshener in southern Europe. Medical research describes the active ingredient in licorice as glycyrrhizic acid, a powerful chemical compound with anti-inflammatory effects. But he also warns that excessive amounts of the herb can raise blood pressure and cause fluid retention. Pregnant women should not eat licorice. Available information also warned that what appears to be a toothache can sometimes be the symptom of a more serious ailment, such as heart disease.
Licorice candy is not the better remedy for toothache. But if you’re nowhere near a well-stocked healthy food when a toothache strikes, grabbing some from a convenience store shelf can be a lifesaver.
