Botanical Name: Syzgium aromaticum

Common Names and Synonyms: Caryophyllus

Background: Herbalists use cloves to decrease nausea, vomiting and gas and to stimulate the digestive system.  Cloves has a mild anesthetic effect and may be used externally to treat toothache.  The clove tree may reach 30 to 40 feet tall.  It has fragrant, glossy leaves.  Clusters of tiny yellow buds form at  the end of each branch.  When the clusters turn red at their base, the buds are ripe for gathering.   They are then sun-dried to keep them red-brown.  They are used extensively in cooking and baking.  Dentists use clove oil to ease a patient's toothache.
 

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• Edgar Cayce endorsed cloves in one reading given in 1943 for numbing nerves during dental procedures.

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(Q)  What is the best and safest method to desensitize cavities in drilling teeth and for removing of decay in teeth, both in children and adults?
(A)  Cloves, as well as a combination of Oil of Cloves, with more potent factors, are the ones to use, and are better than most of those used in the present.