Tooth Powder & Dental Check-Ups
Wow, what a great day! Just had my dental check-up and I didn’t have any cavities.
Aren’t we all excited when we can come home from the dentist and say that! Free and clear for the next six months!
Today I would love to share my “secret” with you, because I really feel like it is what has made all the difference for me. I admit to being poor in the tooth flossing area, however I have always been a diligent brusher. No matter how diligent, my check- ups were always so-so. About 2 ½ years ago, I began to brush my teeth with herbal tooth powder. I’m still an on-again-off-again flosser, but my check-ups have had a steady improvement.
What led me to the day of ditching the toothpaste, you may ask. There I was one day, brushing my teeth when the thought struck me that, as an herbalist there must be something more natural for cleaning my teeth. So I checked into Tom’s natural toothpaste and other “natural” tooth cleaners in the health food store. And while much better than the grocery store stuff, still not herbal or wholesome enough. They still had chemicals that I didn’t know about. Then I found Dr. Christopher’s Herbal tooth powder. After checking his ‘recipe’ (all of the Christopher product ‘recipes’ are available) I thought that seemed pretty easy, I could make that myself (for a fraction of the cost I might add). So I did, with just a few small changes.
Christopher’s Herbal Tooth Powder My Herbal Tooth Powder
3 parts Oak Bark 3 parts Oak Bark
6 parts comfrey root 3 parts Comfrey leaf
3 parts Horsetail 3 parts comfrey root
1 part Lobelia 3 parts horsetail
1 part Cloves 1 – 2 parts Cloves OR Myrrh (to taste)
3 parts Peppermint Spearmint OR Peppermint IF DESIRED
It was easy to purchase all the herbs in their powdered form (check or your local health food store) making equal parts easy to measure. The first time I just used a gently rounded tablespoon as my part, mixing all the herbs together in a glass jar. It was a wonderful experience.
Ok, yes it tasted very ‘herby’ and looks funny, all brown and well, earthy. However, now ‘regular’ toothpaste tastes so sweet and feels gritty on my teeth…I get ahead of myself.
Here’s the low-down on the herbs, and why it works so well:
Oak bark is an astringent, which means it works to tighten tissue pulling it together.
Comfrey is the all-purpose healer, and cellular regenerator; it stimulates cell growth.
Horsetail is loaded with silicon, a natural scrubber/polisher.
The Clove or Myrrh both work as powerful antibiotics; they freshen your mouth as they kill of all those nasty cavity-causing bacteria. And I find they make the powder quite tasty enough without adding the mint family parts.
Each time one brushes with these herbs, the mouth is regenerated, cleansed and polished. Believe me, my teeth feel like I just got out of the hygienists chair every time I brush. It is Great! As a result, there has been less and less plaque build-up for the hygienist to clean and as stated at the beginning, less and less cavities.
Now a quick plug for the proper, wholesome diet. While I am still working toward perfection in that area, I am making progress. The proper diet (a.k.a. no refined foods, especially no sugar, or white flour) is also critical to good dental health. Remember: the less junk we put into the system, the easier it is to keep it CLEAN and healthy!
So herbal dental health; is as simple as improving your diet, and brushing with herbs.