Taking care of your pearly whites all naturally!

One of the most important personal hygiene practice is taking care of our oral health every day. Whether it is just brushing your teeth, flossing, gargling or oil pulling, all of us dedicate at least 5 - 10 minutes of our time every day for this activity. Now, considering how important oral health is, why would you intentionally jeopardize it? Did you know that the tooth paste that most of us resort to by default is full of harmful, toxic chemicals that can get directly absorbed into our body through sub-lingual absorption and lead to a toxic build up over time? Not to mention, the amount of sugar in these pastes that slowly but subtly changes our taste preferences over time.

There is no dearth of research when it comes to identifying the toxic ingredients in your toothpaste - take a look at this, this, and this. For additional measure, check this one too to know about what FDA has banned after so long (Triclosan!) but still in most of our toothpastes!! Seriously, even if you dont do anything for yourself that would be considered 100% natural, do this one thing - throw out your tooth paste right away and switch to a tooth powder or an all natural oral care regimen. You will be doing yourself a huge favor as well as contributing positively to the water bodies.



And if you are a parent, please make all attempts to ensure you NEVER introduce tooth paste to your child and if you have already done it, then make sure to help them switch to tooth powder asap. Do look out for my post for tips on how I did it with my own children later next week.

Now, let's look at some natural options for tooth care and how you can adopt a DIY approach to it. Of course, in India, fortunately, we have wonderful options to buy tooth powders that we can trust and rely on from retail product shelves. Some brands that I have used in past and trust include KP Namboodri Dantdhavana Chooranam, Dabur/Divya Dant Manjan, and Greenhands Siddha Tooth Powder.

The first thing we do before we undertake any DIY is to of course look at our traditional practices - what did our grandmas, great grandmas, and great great grandmas do? Well, simply follow that. They used neem sticks (or other regionally grown trees' barks) salt, charcoal or some even used plain red soil/clay. Now, if you want anything fancier than these or find these not so convenient, then we can look at two main medicine systems in India to get a clue - Ayurveda and Siddha.

So, in accordance with these two systems of medicines, here are two great Tooth Powder recipes you can make and try on your own.

Option 1 (Ayurveda):

The most easiest option is to use Triphala as a tooth powder. Just buy a trusted Triphala powder/chooranam from a nearby Ayurveda store. Mix it with Sea Salt/Himalayan Pink Salt and Crushed Clove Powder. As easy as that.

Ingredients:
Triphala - 50%
Pink salt - 45%
Clove Powder - 5%

Make a trial/small quantity at first and then make a quantity that will last you 1 - 2 months. It is always a good idea to make and store for upto three months but not more than it. Also, ensure when you take it out in the morning/night, not to get it wet.

Option 2 (Siddha): 
Traditional Siddha Tooth Powder

Siddha medicine goes back thousands of year and originated from Siddhars and Saints (mostly from South India) who practiced advanced spiritual and yogic practices. Siddhars have written many texts on natural body care including oral hygiene and have prescribed many methods to maintain good oral health using 108 main herbs. Here is one option/version of the Siddhar tooth powder - there maybe many more out there.

Ingredients (dried and powdered):
Mint leaves – 5 gms
Tulsi leaves – 15 gms
Lemon peels – 5 gms
Haritaki (without seeds) – up to 8-10 gms
Cloves –dried and powdered –7 gms
Pink Salt/ Sendha Namak/Rock Salt – 5 gms
Kandankathiri / Yellow Fruit Night-Shade (looks like tiny Brinjals) – 2-3 gms

Optional:
Alum Stone/ Fitkari – 10 gms
Natural Camphor – 2 pinches

Method of preparation:
Mix all the powders
Sift once to get a fine powder
Shift to an airtight container. Can be stored for up to 6 months to 1 year.

Now, before we close, how do you use these tooth powders?

Just follow these simple instructions:

1. First wet your mouth thoroughly and perhaps gargle with plain water once or twice. If you have a habit of drinking water before brushing when you wake up, go ahead and do that.

2. Then, after wiping your hands dry, take a pinch or two of the tooth powder on your left plan. Using your right middle finger (do not use Index finger, there is a spiritual reason for this, trust me), take the tooth powder and nicely coat your entire gums and teeth areas in your mouth. Take your time and spend at least 3 minutes on this activity.

3. During this time, you can also massage your gums gently and practice some energy healing techniques for sensitive teeth to heal them. Or you can simply mentally chant some positive affirmations for good health.

4. Post this, if you are keen on using a toothbrush, then take a Bamboo toothbrush, and brush your teeth as you do regularly with paste. By now, the tooth powder would have become almost paste-like in your mouth sans the foams. Do this for a minute or so perhaps.

5. Wash off your mouth thoroughly 4-5 times with plain water and ensure all tooth powder is out. If you feel there is some minuscule particles left, don't worry. Just follow up with a glass of drinking water and drink it in! It won't harm you as the powder is 100% natural!

6. If you have a habit of tongue cleaning, you may do that now. Else, pack up your tooth powder and brush and ensure there is no wetness left behind on them.

So, that's that - all natural oral care hygiene at its best! You can of course simply use a neem stick though you need to spend at least 5 - 10 minutes on it to be effective. Don't forget to follow other oral care practices through the day after your morning/night regimen - including gargling post meals, avoiding sticky candy (not chocolate, they are fine!), etc, etc.

Finally, if you are like me and love reading research reports, take some time to review this medical research on Oral care in Ayurveda and Oral care in Siddha.

Do share if you know other natural recipes for tooth care. 

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4 Comments

  1. I have sensitive teeth. The doctor says that most of my teeth enamel has worn off. Will this be suitable for me?

    I have tried using a mixture of salt, coconut oil, peppermint oil and baking soda in place of toothpaste. While I felt great, the sensitivity had worsened. So I went back to the tooth paste.

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    1. Oh dear! Bakign soda is a strict no no for sensitive tooth. So is salt initially - you can try a dant manjan tooth powder from market (with no baking soda) and see how it fares. Better yet, if you move to oil pulling, you should be able to get rid of the tooth sensitivity in under a month. Do check out the miraculos effects of oil pulling - you can even start with just 3-5 mins if you cant do 10 mins. Cold pressed Coconut or Sesame oil is good. Or try your own recipe sans the baking soda with very little or no salt and see how it goes. Also, reduce the peppermint oil % in the recipe as well.

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  2. May I know why index finger can't be used for cleaning teeth

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    Replies
    1. It's a wisdom that was shared by one of my spiritual mentors with me. What I remember is that, the index finger has a lot of power and is a very specific energy point. We may not know to use it properly. If one is perhaps thinking a negative thought while brushing and using the index finger, one may indirectly harm oneself - this is what I remember, I may not be 100% accurate. If I happen to speak to him, I shall ask him and come back and update here :)

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