Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

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Kenshou
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by Kenshou »

I allow tooth wood eight fingerbreadths long at most. And novices are not to be flicked with it.
Ha!
danieLion
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by danieLion »

Thanks Chris. This is really cool. I use popsicle sticks and Plackers. Work way better than toothbrushes (which are only a recent invention). Since I've started using them, my checkups have been cavity free (Did you know they added the tingle to toothpaste just to make it more appealing?) I also have a toothbrush and some "industrial strength" fluoride toothpaste from my dentist I use about once a week along with occasionally swishing with the Crest pro-health she recommended.
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tiltbillings
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by tiltbillings »

What is shown here is very similar to what Ajahn Sumedho showed me when I briefly stayed at Wat Ba Pong in the mid 70's:
A chewstick, called a suwak, was probably the earliest toothbrush.

The chewstick for cleaning teeth was apparently borrowed from the Chinese and Babylonians. It is first mentioned as a common method of cleaning the teeth by the Romans. It consists of a stick a little smaller in diameter.than a pencil and about 6 inches long. It is made from any one of a number of fibrous woods. One end is chewed to separate the fibers and then the teeth are scrubbed one at a time. This method is still used in many parts of Africa and many Islamic countries.

Image http://drjuggles.com/history-of-dentistry.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And here it is for sale:

http://izismile.com/2011/06/13/a_unique ... _pics.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

miswaks are available on Amazon.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

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Khalil Bodhi
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by Khalil Bodhi »

Hey everyone, here is a link to the tooth sticks which were probably used in the Buddha's day: http://www.miswakstick.com/miswak.html

Surprising, they are also considered a traditional accompaniment to the wudu (ablutions) of Muslims and were praised by the Prophet Muhammed. I may get a tooth stick myself!
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Cittasanto
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by Cittasanto »

Khalil Bodhi wrote:Hey everyone, here is a link to the tooth sticks which were probably used in the Buddha's day: http://www.miswakstick.com/miswak.html

Surprising, they are also considered a traditional accompaniment to the wudu (ablutions) of Muslims and were praised by the Prophet Muhammed. I may get a tooth stick myself!
You are not the only one!
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But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
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danieLion
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by danieLion »

tiltbillings wrote:What is shown here is very similar to what Ajahn Sumedho showed me when I briefly stayed at Wat Ba Pong in the mid 70's:
A chewstick, called a suwak, was probably the earliest toothbrush.

The chewstick for cleaning teeth was apparently borrowed from the Chinese and Babylonians. It is first mentioned as a common method of cleaning the teeth by the Romans. It consists of a stick a little smaller in diameter.than a pencil and about 6 inches long. It is made from any one of a number of fibrous woods. One end is chewed to separate the fibers and then the teeth are scrubbed one at a time. This method is still used in many parts of Africa and many Islamic countries.

Image http://drjuggles.com/history-of-dentistry.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And here it is for sale:

http://izismile.com/2011/06/13/a_unique ... _pics.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

miswaks are available on Amazon.
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Cittasanto
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by Cittasanto »

I am wondering if there are any way to make that in the British Isles?
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
piano piano
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by piano piano »

It is available from Germany at this source
http://www.zahnbewusstsein.de/english/s ... uerste.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am using the SOLO brush since some time with good result. In that practice you brush only the upper part of a tooth a few times to left and right. What also must be used though are interdental brushes, for most bacteria live there. I am planning to change to the Swak brushes when I am back in Europe later next year.

These are some of the ingredients in Miswak
Fluoride hardens the enamel
Silicate for gentle cleaning
Vitamin C preservative
Tannins astringent
Saponins cleansing agent
Flavonoids antibacterial
Potassium, Calcium remineralization
source see link above
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piotr
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by piotr »

Hi Cooran,
cooran wrote:I'm just dipping into Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of the Anguttara Nikaya - The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha - and am interested to see that there was no aspect of ordinary life that could not benefit from advice from the Blessed One.

Here is his advice on good mouth hygiene
Somewhere among Fives there is a sutta about benefits of walking and a sutta about benefits of eating porridge. There are probably more suttas on similar topics but that's what I can recall right now.
Bhagavaṃmūlakā no, bhante, dhammā...
mynameisadahn
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by mynameisadahn »

This is interesting. Just for everyone's information, I wanted to mention that this tooth brushing issue was also addressed a great deal in Islam. (I am not Muslim, this is just my understanding). As some may know, Muslims pray multiple times per day, and I believe the use of the "miswak" stick is suggested after each prayer. It was also encouraged during Rammadan, I believe.

Just a comparative religions point, I suppose.
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cooran
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by cooran »

piotr said: Somewhere among Fives there is a sutta about benefits of walking and a sutta about benefits of eating porridge. There are probably more suttas on similar topics but that's what I can recall right now.
Thanks Piotr! I'll keep an eye out for them.

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Pajjoto
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by Pajjoto »

I'm quite surprise that nobody know about neem toothbrush... Neem tree is used in ayurvedic since thousands of years... Like a base medicine for most of diseases.
Indian people still use nowadays those toothbrush stick and I cannot imagine that the buddha was speaking about something else..
The story of thai monk spending hours to prepare one toothbrush for the elders from I don't know what tree is quite hilarious to me. :rofl:

Probably hundreds of website offer them but here is one
neemtreefarms.com/neem-chew-sticks-p-119.html

With metta.
alan
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by alan »

Now, if I could just find a Buddha quote advising everyone to stop using perfume. That includes you guys--no aftershave, no cologne. Reason? It stinks like hell, and messes with my mindfulness.
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bodom
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by bodom »

alan wrote:Now, if I could just find a Buddha quote advising everyone to stop using perfume. That includes you guys--no aftershave, no cologne. Reason? It stinks like hell, and messes with my mindfulness.
7. "Bhikkhus. Ariyan disciples in this Religion reflect thus:

"'All arahants, for as long as life lasts, have given up singing and dancing, the playing of musical instruments and the watching of entertainments, which are stumbling blocks to that which is wholesome. Nor do they bedeck themselves with ornaments, flowers or perfume.'
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .vaka.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
jmitra
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Re: Buddha's advice on Brushing Teeth

Post by jmitra »

https://pasteboard.co/Il1lOHc.jpg

As a dentist of over thirty years I can inform people that a dental infection can spread to the eye. And it can even result in blindness.

But in this day and age it would be extremely unlikely to cause permanent blindness because of better treatment and medical/dental knowledge.

This is a photo taken recently by me of a Buddhist monk from Bodhinyana monastery (Western Australia) who presented with an infection of the upper left lateral incisor that was causing some swelling around the eye (orbital cellulitis). The infection was rapidly treated with root canal treatment and antibiotics, both of which were not available 2,500 years ago.

This photo is shared with permission.

I think this sutta again shows us the validity of the suttas when the historical context is properly taken into account.
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