Inexpensive Dental Care

Brush, Paste, or Powder                                                                                                           

Often I am saddened when I see young people with missing front teeth or dentures. Of course, acute toothache or severe gum disease needs a visit to the dentist. But many people can immensely benefit from some rudimentary knowledge about routine dental care and hygiene. This article is for the benefit of such folks, people who would like to be self sufficient and self reliant for their own bodily upkeep and health. Healthy teeth are essential for good digestion (masticating), speech, singing, and natural smile. Like the late Prime Minister Sri Morarji Desai some grand parents can munch on walnuts or chew on a fresh stick of sugar cane. Lucky for them! With age and experience one learns a lot about the human body. Every incident need not be a great crisis or catastrophe. The famed physicist and peace lover, Dr. Sakharov was once in extreme pain due to tooth abscess. His physician wife immediately came to his rescue and chided him gently thus: “Dear, it is just a tooth. It won’t kill you.” Her words give us much needed guidance when dealing with matters of health. Some times what is sorely needed in life is “the right perspective” and an ability to learn, persevere in the face of adversity.

           

My parents and grandmother inculcated good oral hygiene habits in me; I bow to them in reverence. In the village we never had to buy anything for routine daily dental care. In the backyard or street side there are always many options: neem (Margosa indica, వేప), Pongamia pinnata (గానుగ) , mango, or Achyranthes aspera (ఉత్తరేణి ). Once I had to accompany my grandmother on a short trip by walk (about 5 miles) to see our ailing paternal grandmother. We hardly carried any paraphernalia with us (కౌపీన వంతం ఖలు భాగ్య వంత!), as we’re more concerned about the terminally sick grandmother. In the morning as part of daily body purification, my grandmother got hold of a mature mango leaf and brushed teeth with the petiole. I imitated her, chewed the leaf a bit, and used the midrib to scratch the mucus off of the tongue. Gargling with plain water completed our daily routine. Mango leaves are also useful for minor throat troubles (dryness, rough voice) and they are mentioned in Ayurvedic therapy.

Daily Care

            Normally teeth (human as well as animal) can maintain their surface appearance and functionality with minimum external care. With balanced nutrition (calcium, phosphorus, and a little fluoride) in most cases teeth will retain their enamel, physical strength, and inner structural composition. You may not always get these minerals and micronutrients with modern bottled water, so be aware of this important fact. What we can do or supplant is to do a minimum of preventive care. Cavities will not occur if we just gargle with plain water (room temperature) after every meal or after every brownie bite. When gargling is not possible (in travel or public gatherings), one can just swallow a few gulps of water, keeping the act a little furtive perhaps. It seems the body and its organs (this includes the permanent set of teeth) have a way of repairing themselves; that is, if we let them to their own devices. The writer prefers daily morning brushing. We keep good personal hygiene habits for our own benefit as well as for presenting a pleasant appearance to our friends and colleagues. When we talk, ideally one should share a clean fresh breath of air (and of course polite conversation without rancor). Sadly we still come across people who are totally oblivious of their own foul breath (halitosis) or unaware of their own odors (bad manners, etiquette). One can find out easily bad breath by puffing air against palm and smelling ones own exhaled air.  A seed of cardamom, clove, or cumin will temporarily mask bad odor. But if the teeth are healthy and the general constitution is good – then there is no need for cardamom or chewing gum. Usually natural saliva and oral bacteria keeps bad breath in check. Excessively dry mouth is one of the causes of mouth and saliva gland problems.  

Methods and Materials

            For young children with milk teeth, a simple wiping of teeth with soft cotton cloth (muslin) is good enough. The tongue can also be mechanically scraped (sort of gentle wiping) with moist cotton cloth. Gargling afterwards will produce good results; plain water or very mild saline solution is all that is needed. These ideas are known to many grand parents and they are also explained in some books (Yoga, naturopathy). In the village we utilized fresh ash and charcoal powder with excellent results. Charcoal powder can be sieved with cloth to remove hard particles. Sometimes we would add a little of sea salt or alum to the charcoal powder. Charcoal gives excellent shine (whiteness) to the teeth and it also removes bad odor. In most situations rubbing teeth with charcoal once a day (preferably right after waking up in the morning) is enough. Obviously preserving healthy teeth is a little easier than caring for decayed (cavities, bleeding) teeth.

Minimal Care

             

            A gentle brushing in the morning and gargling after meals is all that is needed. The neem toothpaste (by Jyothi lab.) or Ayurvedic powder (Dabur Red label or Vico Vajradanti) seems to yield good results. For minor irritations with cavities (or sensitivity) the following home remedies yield some relief: a) Clove oil or plain clove b) sea salt crystal c) munching on walnuts or d) gargling with sesame seed oil. Walnut leaf, twig, and even wild walnuts have beneficial properties for teeth. This is well known in the dental care prescribed by Ayurveda. Here in North America I have come across a number of trees useful for brushing teeth. These range from maple, hawthorn, walnut, spruce, and locust to several wild bushes. In the absence of sesame seed oil (black is preferable), one can just bite the black sesame seeds and wash with lukewarm water later. It seems the body tries to heal minor tooth cavities itself. It is better to leave the body to its own natural ways whenever possible. In some circumstances it is unnecessary to make a benign tiny cavity (black mark) into a bigger hole (i.e., enlarged by drilling) and fill it afterwards.

             

What is the proof? The writer has used most of these techniques over many decades with excellent results. These simple methods have helped in keeping natural teeth in good condition. Perhaps heredity (genes) also plays a role in healthy teeth, but we have no control on that!