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. In the “West”, we have for the most part forgotten these ancient teachings with regard to both healthcare and dental care. In turn, we have become dependent on others to “cure” and fix us. 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:
- Brush with a good natural toothpaste preferably with cinnamon and neem oil or powder after each meal. I recommend these brands: Auromere and Theraneem. (Don’t use any commercial brands especially with fluoride)
- Also brush with some sea salt after normal brushing or add some salt to your toothpaste. Sea salt is affordable and a very effective way to clean your teeth when you don’t have toothpaste.
- Then, once a day preferably at night, floss between each tooth and use a toothpick or wooden tooth stick (Miswak stick) to clean between the teeth. Carefully scrape away any buildup of bacteria, food or plaque around the gum line both on the outside of the teeth and the inside.
- Rinse between and after brushing the teeth with this formula: In 8 oz of 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.
- Next, after brushing and cleansing your teeth, do oil pulling by taking about 2-3 tsp. of coconut oil in your mouth and “pull and push” the oil between the teeth for about 5 minutes before spitting out the oil.
- Finally, scrape the tongue with a tongue scraper or the back of a spoon to remove any oil and mucus especially on the back of the tongue. The tongue should be pink and clean.
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 allow the nerves to heal by avoiding infection and thus avoid the need for a filling, in most cases. However, you have to continue with cleansing out the cavity or decayed area of food practically after every meal and keep rinsing with the salt formula to avoid infection.
If you have an infection which will be noticeable with 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 and reduce the pain. 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 and pain reside. These extra measures must be done for at least a month in the case of 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 has worked for me. At age 50, I have only lost one tooth in my life and it had a filling which damaged it early in my life. 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.
Additional ways to strengthen and care for your teeth and gums
Herbs that are high in minerals such as alpha, oat straw, marshmallow root and others strengthen the teeth and bones. In addition, foods rich with calcium and magnesium can help prevent bone loss and teeth grinding. Additionally, vitamin C deficiency can contribute to breakdown of connective tissue that produces blood vessel walls, bone matrix, cartilage.
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!
Arab 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 and you may see me cleaning my teeth with one while drive my car.