Gum Disease

Photo: Everyone can have a healthy smile. Learn what you can do.

Maybe you think your breath is bad. Maybe you've got bleeding gums. Maybe you've noticed your teeth are moving or getting loose. And you wonder- Is there anything I can do for myself that is natural and cheap? The answer is YES!!

For a number of years, I wrote a Holistic Dentistry Advice column, and many of the articles were collected at a web site I constructed, www.HolisticDentistryOnline.com, I frequently discussed my feeling that the primary cause for gum disease is mechanical. Of course I know about the bacterial aspect, but under normal circumstances, your body's Immune System can handle that. Here, I am talking about particles of food, germs and other debris that get up under the gums and take up space that healthy bone and gums should occupy. In this war, the gums will always lose to the germs, food and trash.

There is hope! There are a number of things you can do, both herbal and homeopathic, depending on how long you have had the problem and how severe it is at the time you start to treat it.

SIMPLE PROBLEMS - SIMPLE HERBS

In the beginning, you may notice your gums are a little swollen and puffy. They will look red; perhaps a little angry. The gums may bleed easily when you brush them. This condition, in the early stages, is called GINGIVITIS. Try this:

Mix equal parts of tinctures of MYRRH, ECHINACEA, and GOLDENSEAL (unless you are pregnant - if so, use COMFREY instead of GOLDENSEAL). Three or four times a day, dab a soft nylon bristle toothbrush into this mixture and pat this gently all over your gums, inside as well as outside. SPIT THE LIQUID OUT WHEN FINISHED. DON'T SWALLOW IT.

To help control the spread of infection, it might be useful for you to get some WILD INDIGO (Baptista tinctoria). Put 1 teaspoonful of the dried root into a cup of water. Then bring the cup of water first to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drink this three times a day.

FOR MORE COMPLICATED SITUATIONS

If your condition has been going on a long time, or if the symptoms seem severe to you, there is a high likelihood that what you have is PYORRHEA, a more severe condition than gingivitis.

Pyorrhea, a preventable disease, can cause your teeth to loosen and finally fall out - if not treated properly. Certainly, I would advise you to see a dentist, but there is something you can do to help this situation, too.

You can take 1 or 2ml of the WILD INDIGO tincture three times a day - as for gingivitis. You are always going to be O.K. if you use a tincture of ECHINACEA, 3-4ml three times a day.

For those of you who use homeopathic remedies, consider Mercurius solubilis, Phosphorus, Silicea and Staphysagria.

BUT IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING, DO THIS

Get a power (electric) brush! There is nothing else I know of that will get you mouth healthier, faster, than one of the electric brushes. Best bet is the Braun Oral B Triumph, though it is the most expensive, by far. You use it differently than a regular brush.Here's how:

Put the brush right where the gums and teeth come together, so it rests partly on the gums, partly on the teeth. Turn it on and glide it slowly along from tooth to tooth. Take your time. Brush only the outside of the upper teeth until the brush "beeps". Then move to the inside of the upper teeth, etc. Your mouth will start feeling MUCH, MUCH better in just a few days.

It is O.K. to use toothpaste with the power brush, but I think it is better not to in the beginning - just to give yourself a chance to get used to using the power brush.

For more information and simple solutions to oral health, please visit our sister site HolisticDentistryOnline.com