It is amazing that thousands of years ago Ayurvedic acharya knew the importance of oral health and include it as part of daily routine (dincharya). They suggested some very easy practices which help in maintaining oral health, preventing problems related to teeth and gum, improves the sense of taste, increase digestive strength and aids in improving the immunity of the body.
By seeing your oral cavity, an Ayurvedic practitioner can tell many things about your health by observing dosha imbalance.
In Ayurveda, 65 different types of oral diseases are explained.
Many patients complain even after brushing two times a day they suffer from dental problems and after spending a lot of time and money on their treatment still they are not sure about dental health in the future, so by following Ayurvedic guidelines you can save your precious smile.
1. Use tooth powder or twig for brushing your teeth in the morning and after each meal or at least after dinner, instead of toothpaste. Ayurvedic tooth powder like dashan kanti, dashan sanskar or other powders from ayurvedic pharmacies are good to use for brushing as they cleanse oral cavity, give fresh natural aroma to mouth, remove stickiness, plaque and prevent tartar formation. Twigs of Neem, Khadir, tejovah, malti, asan, arjun, vat, yashtimadhu etc. are used from ancient times in India as a toothbrush but now they are replaced with well-advertised toothpaste, you can easily say which is better, effective and safe. Using twigs as a toothbrush gives double advantage like they maintain oral health as well as their rasa which gets absorbed sublingually help in maintaining overall health. Use a twig 9 inches long and thickness of one’s little finger.
2. Tongue scraping – it should be done regularly after toothbrush. In Ayurveda tongue scraper made up of metals like gold, silver, copper and brass are suggested to use, stainless steel scraper is also good, twigs of the above-mentioned herbs can also be used to scrape tongue after brushing with them. Tongue scraping cleanses the tongue, removes bad breath, increases the sense of taste and stimulates digestive organs.
3. Oil pulling – its ayurvedic term is kaval; in this oil is swishing around in the mouth for 10-15 minutes. You can use medicated oil like arimedadi thailam or til oil, coconut oil according to your requirement or as advised by an Ayurvedic doctor. Oil pulling is becoming popular in the western world due to its benefits:
*Regular oil pulling makes teeth, gums, and jaw strong.
* Prevent plaque formation.
* Remove bad breath.
* Prevent diseases of throat, mouth, eye, ears, head and neck.
* Good for those who feel fatigued all the time.
* Prevent dryness of lips and throat
* Improves voice
Other than oil, medicated kashayam, ghee, pastes also used for kaval in various oral problems.
4. Diet – *Avoid excessive sweets, products made from refined flour like bakery, bread, etc.
* Do not take excessive tea, coffee and cold drinks.
* Avoid regular consumption of non-vegetarian food, fried items and things that are hard to chew.
* Avoid extremely cold or hot food.
* Quit smoking
* Eat warm, fresh and easily digestible food.
5. Oral ayurvedic medication – Ayurveda has many herbs that have antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic action so if you are suffering from any dental problems along with dentistry procedures you can also take ayurvedic herbs.
In today’s time where due to bad eating habits and irregular routine , oral problems are on the rise. It is very important to include ayurvedic practices in daily routine which are not only safe and effective but economical also. Brushing teeth with paste is clearly not enough, try ayurvedic practices for 1 week and then decide yourself.