Managing Dental Pain in Ancient Greece and Rome. Part I.

Herbal plants were an essential component of the healing process in ancient medicine. Although only limited evidence documents the practice of dental extractions, a review of major medical works from ancient Greece and Rome demonstrates that conservative approaches predominated. A survey of the work of Celsus, Scribonius Largus, Dioscorides, Galen, Oribasius, and Aurelianus show that numerous plants-such as Hyoscyamus, mandragora, poppy, gall, pine, and pomegranate-were frequently employed to treat dental pain and gingival inflammation. These same herbal remedies reappeared throughout the medieval period, and many continue to be used in various forms today.