Q1.
Find out the ways our elders were maintaining oral hygiene.
Answer
Ask your grandparents and older neighbours, and note down what they used before toothpaste and brushes became common. Almost every part of India had its own method.
| Traditional practice | What was used | Why it worked |
|---|---|---|
| Datun (chewing stick) | Fresh twig of neem, babool (kikar), banyan or mango, chewed at one end into a brush | The fibres clean the teeth like bristles; neem and babool have a bitter juice that checks germs |
| Manjan (tooth powder) | Charcoal, burnt rice husk, salt, or salt mixed with mustard oil, rubbed with a finger | Mildly gritty, so it rubs away food film; salt keeps the gums firm |
| Tongue cleaning | A U-shaped copper or brass tongue scraper (jibhi) | Removes the coating on the tongue that causes bad smell |
| Rinsing (kulla) | Plain water, or lukewarm salt water, after every meal | Washes away food bits before they can decay between the teeth |
| Oil pulling (gandusha / kaval) | Swishing sesame or coconut oil in the mouth | An old Ayurvedic practice believed to keep the gums and mouth clean |
| Chewing after meals | Fennel (saunf), clove, cardamom | Freshens the breath and increases the flow of saliva |
Sample answer: "My grandfather says that till he was about twenty he never used a toothbrush. Every morning he broke a fresh neem twig, chewed one end till it opened into a soft brush, and cleaned his teeth with it for several minutes. He scraped his tongue with a copper jibhi and rinsed his mouth with water after every meal. He still has most of his teeth at seventy."
Tip: old and new methods agree on the same three rules — clean the teeth twice a day, clean the tongue, and rinse the mouth after every meal.