A lost art: brushing with tooth powders and gargling with oil

For complete dental health use an ayurvedic tooth powder to brush your teeth. Dasanakanti tastes like garam masala, evocative of the flavours of biriyani. Not surprising, since the ingredients are clove, nutmeg, cardamom, and pepper among others. All popular toothpastes, however, contain a variety of chemicals that are not even listed on the pack. I thought I would do a google search and find out the exact ingredients in the popular toothpastes. No luck. They give you all other details but not what they put into it. The net is indeed amazing because I found another curious person who was on the same quest. He too could not get the ingredients from the toothpaste companies but after hours of research managed to locate the ingredients from the British dental association web site.

Almost all toothpastes contain mild abrasives for cleaning and polishing and detergents to make the toothpaste foam, as well as the near-universal ingredient, fluoride. Other ingredients include tartar-control agents, most often pyrophosphate; sensitivity reducers, such as potassium nitrate; triclosan to contol plaque; baking soda; binding agents; humectants to retain moisture; chemical teeth whiteners and preservatives. When you have a wonderful natural alternative to the chemical filled toothpastes it makes abundant sense to switch. I love the spicy and astringent taste of dasanakanti. Many of us have lost the art of using tooth powder to brush our teeth. It is quite simple really. Wet your brush, dip it in some toothpowder shaken out onto a paper and brush as you normally do. Why I am giving you these silly details? Because if you are not quite comfortable with the toothbrush and powder routine you wont want to change your already existing comfortable routine. I never visit a dentist and hope never to do so. One exception was when I gave in to vanity and decided to have a sitting to whiten my teeth.

The dinacharya gives detailed instructions regarding your morning routines among other prescriptions for healthy living. After brushing ones teeth one should gargle with arimedadi tailam. The gargling keeps the mouth and teeth free from disease. The recipe for this tailam is given in the sahasarayogam. The oily gargle is made from boiling 46 different herbs and other ingredients in sesame oil. Some of the ingredients are astringent, some are refrigerants, some are antibacterial and some are aromatic, a combination surely dictated by the gods. I was really amazed by the inclusion of laksha as one of the ingredients. These are twigs covered by the bodies of the lac insect which prevent caries, is useful in the treatment of diseased dentition, and promotes tissue generation and healing. Or consider the ingredient Gairika a soft red calcareous earth with hydrous silicates of alumina which is cooling, astringent and useful in the treatment of inflamed glands and ulcers. The barks of acacia, peepul, white fig, and lodh bark impart the astringent quality to the tailam. The roots of manjishta while having an astringent quality also imparts a pleasing red colour to the oil. Jatamanshi called the Indian valerian and the lodh bark give the oil its antibacterial properties. Lotus stamens are cooling and astringent. I would rather start my day with this tailam than a toothpaste made with detergents and preservatives. The western world did not have a tooth powder till the 19th century. In India we not only have an all natural tooth powder, we also have a mouth gargle with this incredible list of ingredients which prevents various diseases of the teeth and mouth. I gargle with arimedadi tailam most mornings. The daily use of dasanakanti and arimedadi will ensure that you also rarely have to visit the dentist.

--- The writer was earlier Health Secretary, Govt. of Tamil Nadu and is currently CMD, TN Industrial Investment Corporation; Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail.com