A New Way to Treat Dental Pain

In 1975, a Cambridge University anthropologist, Francoise Freedman, experienced the anesthetic properties of the Acmella Oleracea plant first hand while living with the Keshwa Lamas tribe in the Amazon when she found herself in pain from her wisdom teeth.

She said, “We were trekking through the rainforest and I was having terrible trouble with my wisdom teeth. One of the men with me noticed and prepared a little wad of plants to bite on to. The pain went away.”

Indigenous tribes have known about the pain-killing properties of Acmella Oleracea for centuries. Now, the plant is being made into an analgesic gel that can effectively be used to treat dental pain. The gel has performed well during the first two phases of clinical trials and is about to enter late-stage testing before it goes to market.

“This treatment for toothache means we could be looking at the end of some injections in the dentist’s surgery,” Freedman added.