Traditional Medicine

Toothaches

To ease the pain of a toothache, a pine cone (small and new) or the peeled root of a dwarf willow (amaallinaaq) is bitten on top of the sore tooth. This numbs the pain and sucks out any dirt or abcess. Also, Labrador tea leaves may be chewed, or raw seal fat placed on the tooth.

To remove a loose tooth, a caribou sinew is tied to the tooth and pulled. But as one man said, “Now, with so many sweets, the teeth come out all by themselves, without pulling.”