Q. Hi D! These toothaches are killing my 5-year old son! He has so many cavities in his mouth, despite brushing two times daily. I am getting distressed as well, since a gum infection affected one tooth severely, calling for a root canal treatment. What exactly is going on in his oral cavity, and how can I prevent it? – Rachna Srinarula, Working Mother.
A. Hi Rachna! A universal problem indeed, and becoming more of a plague in the current times, given all the sweet and yummy seductions out there to which our children just cannot say no!
Dental caries or cavities in the mouth is a result of bacterial action on food parts stuck in our teeth. This bacterial action continues to erode our tooth enamel and dentine, the outer most layers of the tooth. If left unchecked, the bacterial activity can reach the gums and manifest as an infection, necessitating a root canal. Ouch! Painful indeed, and more so for young ones who seem so vulnerable and helpless. However, if you are armed with a few facts and natural practical solutions, you and your family could keep safe from this painful oral epidemic called cavities.
Oral bacteria thrive in an acidic environment. Our slightly acidic saliva plus leftover food in the mouth is the perfect breeding ground for oral bacterial. Moreover, refined flour and sugar based food (denatured) such as fast-food, cakes, pastries, chips, soft drinks, crackers, etc. are fibreless and leave a sticky coating on our teeth. This is called plaque. Bacterial action on plaque hastens the tooth decay process. Diet plays a vital role in tooth and gum care. Remember, healthy teeth require healthy gums, which require nutrients from natural whole food rich in minerals and fibre.
Let’s translate the above facts into practical preventive solutions.
1. Keep your diet healthy and whole. Fresh fruits like apples to be consumed daily. Apples and unripe guavas have been proven to thwart bacterial growth in the mouth.
2. Sesame seeds have a very high calcium content. Chew a tablespoonful of white sesame early morning. Then, without applying toothpaste, brush your teeth so that there is friction between the sesame seeds stuck between your teeth. This friction will clean plaque and strengthen the teeth.
3. Sesame can be used in another avatar as well. Take a spoonful of sesame oil in your mouth, swish around a few times and spit it out. Then massage the gums with the residual sesame oil in your mouth. This a timeless secret to swasth daant, swastha masoode (healthy teeth, healthy gums)!
4. The commercial flour and sugar based toothpastes do little to remove plaque and bacteria. They could in fact be exacerbating the bacterial activity in our oral cavity. One needs herbal toothgels with high concentration of bitter herbs like neem (bai sadao in thai), cloves, amalaki, cinnamon, etc. to effectively retard bacterial growth. A good idea would be to brush after every meal (twice a day not enough for most of us) with such an herbal toothgel. Chewing on herbs like cardamom, fennel and clove after meals, or sipping or gargling with a herbal infusion of these herbs would also benefit you in the long run.
5. One practical measure I implement is preparing a choorna or powdered mix of the various bitter/astringent herbs in my kitchen like cloves, cinnamon, saunf (fennel), elaichi (cardamom), amalaki, turmeric, ajwain and sea salt. After each meal, my children take a pinch and rub this all over their gums. It’s a digestive aid as well and they love the taste too!
6. Our dear old onion has been scientifically validated to be a superhero against oral bacteria. Chewing on raw onions along with meals kills bacteria by almost 80%! Brings to mind the Indian farmers in Punjab and their traditional lunch of makki di roti, saag with kacha pyaaz (onions)!