By Dr. Puja Shah
Tongue scraping. Every morning, our family starts the day with this simple Ayurvedic wellness ritual: and its effects have been remarkable. I’ve been using a tongue scraper since I was a little girl; my preference is copper or stainless steel, they’re better than the plastic ones.
But whichever way, when you take a couple of minutes to scrape your tongue daily, you can look forward to a wealth of benefits, including:
- Clearing of toxins and bacteria from your tongue
- Removal of the coating on your tongue that leads to halitosis (bad breath)
- Elimination of undigested food particles
- An enhanced sense of taste
- Gentle stimulation of your internal organs
- An increased awareness of your state of health
- Overall better oral and digestive health
And now let’s move onto the second morning oral health ritual…
Oil pulling is an interesting one. This ancient Ayurvedic treatment for gum and teeth ailments may seem peculiar at first. Instead of alcohol-based mouthwash, you’re taking spoonfuls of oil and swishing it around in your mouth.
But here’s how I know it works:
When my husband Amish started oil pulling, I saw a huge turnaround in his gum health in just 6 months. He said he could even feel the difference.
The thing is, it’s not only in the mouth that oil pulling helps.
Oil pulling removes the toxins within the body, since bacteria that affects you everywhere can enter through the mouth. So along with oral health, it can help with skin conditions, arthritis, asthma, headaches, hormone imbalances, infections, liver problems and more.
Here's how you can do it in 5 steps:
Step 1
Brush your teeth first to get rid of all that “gunk”, (us dentists call that plaque). Some say to brush at the end before cleaning your tongue, it’s your preference.
Step 2
Put 1 – 2 teaspoons of oil into your mouth. You can use sesame or some prefer warmed coconut, too. Be sure the oils are organic.
Step 3
Swish for 10 – 20 minutes. The oil will get thicker and milky as it mixes with your saliva – and it should be creamy-white when you spit out. Basically you are pulling it through your teeth in every location. Push it in and out of your gums.
Step 4
Spit the oil into a jar you can empty out and clean, (many avoid spitting in the sink because of the oil and the drain). Just do not swallow the oil since it is full of bacteria and toxins!
Step 5
Rinse well with warm water. Swish a few times with warm water to get any remaining oil out of your mouth and spit out.
Step 6
Use your tongue scraper to clean your tongue.
So why does Ayurveda places so much emphasis on your mouth?
In Ayurveda, oral health is a gateway to the entire body: your mouth is said to play a tremendous role in your overall wellbeing.
As a Western-trained dentist, I agree with this perspective. Often, what’s happening in the mouth is thought to be a secular activity, when in fact imbalances in our Vata, Pitta, and Kapha Doshas can be manifesting as dental problems.
I invite you to try one or both of these morning oral health rituals – happy scraping and swishing!