Cleaning the teeth with a tooth-stick

Every morning the teeth are cleaned with a faultless tooth-stick suited to the doshas, which the commentary explains as sticks of neem, babul, karanja, arjuna and the like that counter vata, pitta and kapha. This is said to bring desire for food, clear speech and a fragrant mouth, and to destroy all mouth diseases.

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Names and synonyms

Sanskrit: दन्तधावनदन्तकाष्ठ
Hindi: दंत धावनदातुन
English: Cleaning the teeth with a tooth-stick

Ingredients and preparation

Mouth and garglesChapter 6 · p. 73 · v. 2-3

Ingredients

Ingredient	As written in the text	Quantity as written
Nimba (neem)नीम (निम्ब)	नीम	Not stated
Babbula (babul)बबूल (बब्बूल)	बबूल	Not stated
Karanja (Indian beech)करंज (करञ्ज)	कारंज	Not stated
Arjunaअर्जुन	अर्जुन	Not stated

How it is used

The teeth are cleaned with the tooth-stick every morning.

प्रतिनित्य प्रात:काल, नीम, बबूल, कारंज, अर्जुन आदि के दांतूनों से जो वात पित्त कफों के अनुकूल अर्थात् दोषों को नाश करने वाले हो एवं निर्दोष हों दांत साफ करना चाहिए।

Indicated for, as the text says

Mouth disorders (mukharoga)(सर्व मुख रोग / आस्यरोग)

Therapies involvedTooth cleaning (dantadhavana)दंतधावन (दातुन)

Organs mentionedTeeth and gumsदांत और मसूड़े Mouth, teeth and gumsमुख, दांत और मसूड़े

प्रात: प्रातर्भ़ायेद्रंतकाष्टं। निर्दोषं यद्रोषवर्गानुरूपम्॥Source wording as converted, Chapter 6 · p. 73 · v. 2-3.

Safety

Contraindication in the text: Those suffering from consumption, insanity, indigestion, fainting, cough, breathlessness, vomiting, hiccup and the like, those whose body is moist from wounds and the like, and those who have just drunk or eaten should not use a tooth-stick.

Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, kidney or liver disease and other medicines all call for professional advice before any traditional remedy is used.

Indicated for10