Primitive Ways to Brush Your Teeth

There are a number of primitive ways to brush your teeth. Incorporating some of these ancient traditional techniques can serve as an excellent way to maintain your oral hygiene. Encourage children to use these techniques as this may prevent a lot of future tooth decay issues. Primitive tooth brushing is still used in the present day all over the world.

Twigs and Branches

• The right twigs can make perfect toothbrushes.

  Get chewing sticks, twigs and branches from the licorice bush, gum tree, neem tree and salvadora persica tree. These are all very well known in traditional African and Asian cultures. You will find these being sold in African, Asian or Arab food shops. British herbalist David Hoffmann also suggests using the roots of marshmallow, licorice, alfalfa or horseradish. The World Health Organization encourages the use of these twigs as a legitimate method to clean teeth.

Natural Toothbrush

• Fray the ends of the twigs to form a brush. Scrub your teeth and gums with the stick. Make sure you brush in between your teeth. Use the twig brush to scrub your tongue as well. This will help regulate bad breath.

Regular Use

• Use the twigs after eating every day. These branches have natural chemicals that benefit your teeth. They contain enzymes, abrasives, fluoride, antiseptics, enzyme inhibitors and detergents. These will all help prevent gum disease.

Primitive Herbal Mouthwash

• Create your own mouthwashes using tumeric, hawthorn berry, licorice, cinnamon bark or

  Chaparral. Ayurvedic herbalist Melanie Sachs, in "Ayurvedic Beauty Care" (Lotus, 1994), suggests a gum massage with a mixture containing five parts alum powder, two parts rock salt powder, three parts black pepper powder and one part turmeric root powder. Ask your local herbal health store for these ingredients.