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Category: Dental and oral care

Published: Sunday, 04 December 2022 05:16

Healthy Teeth and Gums from the Inside Out

Since ancient times, Mother Nature has provided the healing power to care for your body, mind and even mouth.  For thousands of years, Ayurvedic has been advocating and providing a wide range of natural remedies to effectively cure tooth decay, prevent tooth cavities, relieve toothaches, reduce the formation of plaque, and treat receding gums.  This article is written to empower you to care more for your own teeth and gums, and as a result have a healthier mouth with fewer dental problems.

My natural oral care protocol:

The first thing in the morning, scrape your tongue with a tongue scraper or the back of a spoon to remove any mucus especially on the back of the tongue. The tongue should be pink and clean.

After each meal follow these three steps:

1. Very gently brush with a simple tooth powder such turmeric powder with cinnamon powder and a little neem powder. You can just use turmeric but many other substances depending on the condition of your teeth and gums can be used.   Salt can also be used or added in small amounts. Sea salt is also a very effective way to clean your teeth when you don't have any other choices. Charcoal, on the other hand, works very well in times of infection even for a tooth ache.  If you are not ready to make your own tooth powder, I recommend these brands: Auromere and Theraneem.  (Of course, don't use any commercial brands especially with fluoride and don't us baking soda as it is too harsh).
2. After brushing, rinse the mouth thoroughly and gargle with a disinfecting formula such as filtered mineral water with 1 tsp. of Himalayan salt, a pinch of baking soda (aluminum free), about 10 drops of tea tree oil and 3 drops of clove oil (optional).
3. Next, after brushing and rinsing, do oil pulling by taking about 2-3 tsp. of sesame oil (not coconut oil) in your mouth and "pull and push" the oil between the teeth for about 5 minutes before spitting out the oil.  You can massage your gums too if necessary.

Then, in between meals clean your teeth and massage your gums with a wooden tooth stick (Miswak stick). Carefully scrape away any buildup of bacteria, food or plaque around the gum line both on the inside and outside of the teeth.

Why this works so well:

• The cinnamon and neem are very good for the gums.
• The sea salt is also good for the gums and cleanses the teeth well.
• Flossing and using a toothpick is essential since most decay and cavities happen between the teeth and at the gum line.
• The rinse with the baking soda will alkaline the mouth to prevent bacteria growth, while the tea tree oil and clove oil will prevent any infection even if you have a cavity at the time.
• The oil pulling is very beneficial to the gums and using coconut oil instead of sesame seed oil will further fight infection in the case where there is a cavity, gum disease or tooth decay.
• Scraping or cleaning the tongue daily especially before bedtime and again in the morning removes any bacteria buildup and mucus which will keep the mouth healthy, improve your breath and reduce unhealthy bacteria buildup on the teeth.

This process can relieve you from the pain from tooth decay, cavity or abscess in the mouth. Eventually, if you continue with this process particularly the rinse with the tea tree oil and clove oil throughout the day, it will reduce the pain and avoid infection, thus avoid the need for a filling, in most cases. However, you have to diligently continue with cleansing out the decayed area of food after every meal and keep rinsing with the salt formula to avoid infection in the case of a cavity.

If you have an infection which will be noticeable with inflammation and pain, then you can put a very small amount of clove oil on the infected area and even use more clove oil in the salt solution to numb the nerves. The same can be done for abscesses. Additionally, if you have an infection then you should take garlic oil and/or oregano oil internally daily until the infection reside. These extra measures must be done for at least a month in the case of a serious infection or an abscess.

This is my own personal method which I have done to avoid having my teeth drilled, filled and removed. I am not a qualified or trained dentist so you must make your own decisions, but this procedure based on Ayurveda has worked for me.  Of course, your diet has a large impact on the condition of your teeth and gums but that is another story. I would read about the dietary recommendation of the famous natural dentist Weston A. Price for more details on how to eat for healthy teeth without cavities. See https://www.westonaprice.org/

Additional ways to strengthen and care for your teeth and gums

Use herbs that are high in minerals such as alpha, oat straw, marshmallow root and others strengthen the teeth and bones. In addition, consuming raw dairy products and taking cod liver oil regularly will prevent bone loss and help support strong, cavity resistant teeth. 

For more than 1,000 years, the world has used the Arab chewing sticks (Miswak) as an oral hygiene aid. The Miswak contains a large portion of gall, an anti-mildew substance and an antiseptic astringent that stops bleeding of gum and strengthens it.  Amazingly, the Miswak has natural minerals that kill microbes and germs and remove plaque. Because of its healing properties it prevents bacterial growth in gums and thus prevents tooth decay. I bet your toothbrush can do that!

The Miswak stick is a gift from nature for our teach since it heals the gums and cleanse the teeth without toothpaste.  I use one daily especially when drive my car.

© copyright by Khabir Southwick 2013 (revised 2014 and 2015)

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