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I had never suffered from toothache before. At the end of the twelfth lunar month in the Bingyin year, upon returning to my hometown from Tianjin, I caught a cold due to wind-cold pathogenic factors. I felt slight constraint on the exterior. After arriving home, sleeping on a heated kang (heated brick bed) caused a sudden sensation of heat in the heart/chest region, followed by toothache on the left side. I reasoned that resolving the exterior constraint would eliminate the internal heat, and the toothache might heal spontaneously. I took 1.5 grains of Aspirin (the standard dose being 1 grain). After sweating slightly, the heat in the chest subsided somewhat, and the toothache also alleviated. Two days later, the heat in the chest increased again, and the toothache became more severe. Medical texts state that the upper gums belong to the Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian, and the lower gums belong to the Hand-Yangming Large Intestine Meridian. In treating toothache with internal heat for others, I have consistently used heavy doses of Sheng Shi Gao (Gypsum Fibrosum), assisted by a small amount of dispersing herbs to clear the Yangming meridians, resulting in cure. Therefore, I used four taels of fine powder of Sheng Shi Gao (Gypsum Fibrosum) and 1.5 qian of Bo He Ye (Menthae Haplocalycis Folium), decocted in water, taken in two divided doses, one dose per day. After two doses, the internal heat was cleared, and the pain decreased. The next day, due to a severe case requiring an out-of-town consultation, traveling through deep snow (three chi deep) in extreme cold, I contracted external pathogens again. The exterior constraint was worse than the first time, and the toothache intensified, but there was no sensation of heat in the chest. I then used alone Ma Huang (Ephedrae Herba) six qian (My constitution is robust, so I often double the standard dosage; this should not be generalized for treating others). Decocted and taken at bedtime. No sweat occurred. The dregs were decocted and taken again, still no sweat. Sweat finally occurred around midnight. The skin felt slightly relaxed and comfortable, but the toothache remained unchanged. During severe pain, it felt as if Qi surged upward along the left side, causing pain penetrating the cheek, accompanied by a sensation of heat. Sometimes the Qi moved sideways, causing stabbing pain like a awl. I suddenly realized this condition was indeed Qi and Blood rushing upward carrying heat, stagnating in the left cheek. If it continued to rise to the brain, it would become Brain Congestion (nao chong xue). I then used Huai Niu Xi (Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix) and Sheng Zhe Shi (Oolithi Haematitum), each one liang, finely powdered, decocted and taken. The pain ceased immediately, with no residual pain, and the previous aversion to wind on the head and face disappeared completely. I have long recommended Jian Ling Tang (Decoction for Building the Cauldron) for treating Brain Congestion with great efficacy; the formula originally heavily uses Niu Xi and Zhe Shi. Using just these two herbs now to treat toothache proved even more rapid and effective, truly opening a new pathway for treating toothache. Hence, I recorded this in detail.

Appendix:
Letter from Zhao XX of Tangshan:
My second son, aged twelve, suffered from right-sided toothache, with swelling and pain in the right cheek. Having read Mr.'s account of curing toothache, I understood that the cheek swelling was due to external wind invasion, and the toothache was due to blazing Stomach Fire. I first administered 1 grain of Aspirin. After taking it, slight sweating occurred. Then I used two taels of Sheng Shi Gao (Gypsum Fibrosum) and 1.5 qian of Bo He Ye (Menthae Haplocalycis Folium). After three doses, full recovery was achieved.