In a medieval German legend, people were said to kiss a donkey to relieve a toothache. This was folklore rather than an effective medical treatment, but it became one of the more memorable remedies associated with medieval dental beliefs.
The idea appears in historical discussions of popular customs and is also linked to older European traditions in which animals, charms, and unusual physical actions were believed to transfer illness or pain away from a person. The donkey may have been chosen because it was a familiar working animal, not because it possessed any scientifically recognized healing property.
Medieval dental care was usually basic and painful. Barber-surgeons commonly pulled decayed teeth, while people also tried herbs, powders, rinses, and other household remedies. The donkey story is sometimes exaggerated into a claim that everyone in the Middle Ages followed this practice; the safer wording is that it was a recorded belief or legend. Kissing a donkey cannot cure decay or infection, and an agitated animal could cause serious injury.