Herbal Medicines in Dentistry

Learn How to Manage Pain and Tooth Decay With These Modest Herbs

Herbal medicines have been used for many years. Their history can be rooted from ancient civilization wherein their role as a primary source of medication is evident. Although today only a few of these many herbs have been approved for their commendable medicinal properties, a large majority of naturally occurring herbs are only considered as food supplements because of the lack of a randomized controlled clinical trial. However, this isn't to say that herbal medicines have no future at all in the field of medicine. Currently many studies are presently being conducted to know these herbs in depth. Many are hopeful about these natural substances for if ever approved, they are going to be cheap and affordable for all.

What are Herbal Medicines?

Herbal medicines for them to be considered as such should be naturally occurring and with therapeutic compounds to our bodies. As said earlier, they are considered supplements rather than drugs because manufacturers of these alternative medicines do not have the budget to conduct randomized controlled clinical trials (in layman's terms are experiments done to prove or disprove a product's efficacy to a particular disease).

In contrast to drugs, which have a lot of criteria to satisfy before they can pass the standards of drug regulatory commissions, herbal medicines are required only 4 criteria that is safeness, efficacy, affordability and acceptability.

Accessible Herbal Medicines

There are a lot of herbal medicines that are found right in your fridge. For example garlic has been shown to reduce cholesterol in the body thus may play a role in lowering your blood pressure. It also contains an antibacterial compound called Allicin which is known to be effective in preventing wounds from progressing into worse infection. What is even better is that past tests show positive results in the treatment of AIDS. So we have a lot of hopes for our modest garlic.

Garlic can even boost your immune system so that your body can fight off infections effectively. If you are feeling sick in the morning, you can swallow chopped garlic mixed with honey and you'll feel well after.

Another accessible herbal medicine is bitter gourd. I know it tastes, well, bitter, but they say only those vegetables which taste bad actually possess vital vitamins and mineral essential to our body's functioning. In the case of bitter gourd, research has been shown that it is effective in lowering blood sugar level as in diabetes. It is a good source of vitamins A, B, C and minerals such as iron, folic acid, phosphorus and calcium. Yes! It is that loaded!

Herbal Medicines and its Role in Dentistry: Pain and Mouthwash

Peppermint has anti-pain effects and is effective in alleviating body aches and even a simple toothache. It can be taken internally as a decoction or the leaves can be applied directly on the afflicted area.

Peppermint is also known in Spanish as Yerba Buena which means "good herb" in Spanish. This herb has been around and been consumed for centuries as tea. For a simple toothache, if you want to be all-natural, this is the herb for you. You might also want to consult your dentist if you think the pain is intolerable. This may mean that it is inflamed and you might want to drink an anti-inflammatory agent for this matter. For headaches, you can heat the leaves and place them on your forehead and wait for the pain to go away for good.

Guava can be used as an antiseptic and mouthwash to disinfect our oral cavities from oral infections such as gum infections. It can also be used to treat tooth decay. As an herbal medicine, the guava fruit, bark and leaves can be used. Aside from its antiseptic property, guava is also loaded with a high concentration of vitamin C.

The bark can also be used as a substitute for toothbrush if you happen to be stuck in a forest and you badly need to clean your teeth. What you can do is to peel off the hard covering of the bark and turn the inner portion of the bark into bristle like. This is a very effective alternative for our regular toothbrush plus it is packed with antiseptic too! In fact, in the Middle East, they actually manufacture guava barks and even packaged them into individual blister packs and sell it very cheaply.

What is important with these herbal medicines is that they are really good supplements for our bodies to survive the everyday pollution of this world. A lot of these alternative medicines are immune boosters and are essential for repair and regulation of our body's function. We should not underestimate these herbs and we should always remember that much of synthetic medicines today have been patterned from the actions of these modest and natural substances.