For many people who haven’t been adhering to a tonsil hygiene routine, tonsil stones can grow big enough to require surgery to remove. In fact, the largest tonsil stone
ever recorded is over 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inches thick!
Can you imagine what that thing would have smelled like?!
Thankfully most people won’t have to deal with stones that large, but even if you do there might be a way to remove them with a caustic solution that is food-based.
This is especially important for people who want to remove tonsil stones but have a sensitive gag reflex (check out my article on that) or if stones are hidden and you aren’t able to directly remove them.
So can tonsil stones be dissolved? Since tonsil stones consist of calcified debris/food particles, you can use natural ingredients such as lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to dissolve tonsil stones within the crypts. A recipe is described below.
“WHOA, I had a persistent “stuck in throat” feeling + nasty taste in left side of the back of my mouth, and wondered if it might be a tonsil stone. Did this a couple times daily for two days and then coughed up the grossest, nastiest tonsil stone. No white was visible so it must’ve been pretty stuck in there before :/ Thank you! Feeling so much better now.”
Pamela C.
Most Common Causes of Tonsil Stones
It’s simple – tonsils are part of the immune system and help your body protect itself against infection, and all sorts of debris gets caught in there.
If you’re lucky, that debris gets washed away and you never even knew anything was there. But if you’re not, tonsil stones will form due to your body attacking the foreign invaders.
In other words, tonsil stones can be thought of as an auto-immune reaction.
The horrible smell that infuses the stone is caused by anaerobic bacteria, which is why it smells just like the inside of a septic tank.
Most common causes of tonsil stones:
- Hygiene
- Diet
- Pollution – that is where the parabens come from
- Inflammation
- A reduced immune system
- Xerostomia – Dry Mouth Syndrome
- Desalinated water
These Are Some Of The Things Found In Tonsil Stones
Although it appears tonsil stones are just old food particles, they can actually consist of many different compounds.
Think about it this way: you are what you eat AND what you inhale. These are some of the things found in tonsil stones:
- Salt
- Calcium
- Parabens
- Cells from the body
- Particles from cells outside of the body
- Plastic beads and hard materials found in toothpaste
Calcium is used by the body to protect an organ from harmful materials.
The problem is that it can also cause an inflammatory response, just like in cardiovascular disease, and stones are formed.
So armed with that information, we can begin to put together a battle plan for going to war! Put your helmets on (and cover your mouths, please)!
What Is The Fastest Way To Dissolve Tonsil Stones?
While you may be tempted to use a mouthwash, the best way to get tonsil stones to dissolve is to use acids that will rapidly break down the calcifications. But which ones are going to be safe to use?
The answer here lies in our food, and you most likely already have these ingredients in your pantry!
Tonsil Stone Dissolver Recipe: Ingredients You’ll Need
| Preview | Product | Shop |
|---|---|---|
  | Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar | Amazon |
  | Sherpa Pink Himalayan Salt | Amazon |
  | Pure Lemon Juice | Amazon |
In order to make an effective tonsil stone dissolver, you can simply look in your pantry for some household ingredients.
Because tonsil stones are largely formations of calcified debris, in order to dissolve them we can simply leverage the power of foods that contain various types of acids, such as hydrochloric, citric, malic, and acetic.
Check out your pantry for the following items. If you don’t have them for some reason, a quick trip to the grocery store will be in order:
Himalayan Pink Salt
Why use salt for this gargle in the first place? Because the saline solution will help kill off the anaerobic bacteria and reduce the putrid smell!
Many websites advocate the use of ordinary table salt to help remove tonsil stones.
Although it is cheaper, pink Himalayan salt is more effective.
It is packed with micro-minerals which can help to reduce inflammation and will improve oral hygiene much more effectively.
Table salt can even cause tonsil stones as it is more difficult to dissolve, and salt crystals can end up being deposited in the tonsils.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) has an incredible array of health benefits, including the ability to dissolve kidney stones.
And if ACV can dissolve kidney stones, shouldn’t it be able to make short work of tonsil stones too?
The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar melts calcium carbonate like butter and should dissolve tonsil stones with ease!
Lemon Juice
Much like Apple Cider Vinegar, lemon juice is full of antioxidants and acids that will help break down the calcified debris and dissolve tonsil stones.
While ACV has acetic acid, lemon juice has citric acid, and both will work together in harmony for a very potent concoction.
The best source of lemon juice will be from fresh squeezed lemons and would even be preferred over packaged juice since they are pasteurized and processed.
Your Own Natural Tonsil Stone Dissolver in a Few Easy Steps
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water | 8 OZ |
| Apple Cider Vinegar | 1 Tablespoon |
| Lemon Juice | 1 Tablespoon |
| Sea Salt/Himalayan Pink | 1/8 Teaspoon |
Grab your favorite container that you can store in the fridge and mix everything together in water! It’s really that easy, and you can make enough to keep on hand for many weeks.
You should use this solution any time you feel like there is a tonsil stone in your throat that you cannot get out, either because you can’t find it or because your gag reflex is preventing you from removing it.
You can also drink the solution for health benefits, including increasing nutrient absorption and insulin sensitivity from the ACV!
Will Hydrogen Peroxide Dissolve Tonsil Stones?
It’s true that hydrogen peroxide can also dissolve tonsil stones, but it’s not part of this recipe due to the potential danger it can pose if you’re not careful.
The store-bought hydrogen peroxide that you typically find in the grocery store (the stuff in the brown bottle) can be very harmful because it’s full of stabilizers that get absorbed through your mucus membranes.
That’s why I recommend a food grade hydrogen peroxide (Here on Amazon) and dilute it down to 3% before gargling. Check out my dedicated article on using hydrogen peroxide for tonsil stones.
Precautions
If the solution is too strong for you, feel free to dilute the ingredients with more water to something more comfortable – however, just know that the dissolving action will be much less potent.
It’s also important to note that the solution is very acidic and will wear out the enamel on your teeth if you are not careful. Definitely don’t swish this around in your mouth! You may even want to use a straw to intake the solution.
Final Thoughts
Gargle with this solution every day an you’ll find that your tonsil stones will start disappearing. Some have even reporting that their stones are falling out after a single use!
This is a natural safe treatment which you can make at home.
It’s an effective remedy which will dissolve tonsil stones and make them fall out on their own, and you can ingest it for additional health benefits.
More than anything, it is perfectly safe to use on a long-term basis and does not contain any alcohol to dry out your mouth.
If you want to buy a ready-made gargle, you should check out companies such as Weleda Ratanhia Mouthwash and Therabreath, which is linked in my recommended resources page.
It not only helps to improve oral health, but they are oxygenating and non-burning so it will kill any anaerobic bacteria left behind from your tonsil stones.
I consider this to be an ongoing experiment of mine to create the most effective gargle to dissolve tonsil stones, and I realize that there might be some different recipes out there.
So I’m curious, do YOU have a better recipe? If so, comment below!