A review on traditional practice of tooth brushing in Ayurveda and its relevance in current era.

Ayurveda recommends sound and healthy life. It basically focuses on prevention rather than treatment. It includes a systematic lifestyle pattern which is composed of several principles and activities. Dinacharya (Daily routine) is one of the important principles. It includes various activities started from just before sunrise. All these activities are necessary for the maintenance of homeostasis of the body. Tooth brushing is one of the essential routines of Ayurveda daily practices. Traditionally it has been advocated with a soft twig of medicinal plants with or without herbal tooth powder. There are so many medicinal plants have been described in this context. Contradictory plants have also been described. Oral hygiene products are so much advanced and globalized nowadays. There are so many types of toothbrushes; dentifrices, dental floss, tongue scrapers, mouthwashes, oral irrigators, etc. are available along with specifications. Contemporary oral hygiene products esp. dentifrices are chemically rich and have their own side effects. No doubt these products have their own advantages like easy availability and adjustability according to current lifestyle. But their safety is questionable on long-term use. Herbal products have additional benefits over it that those are natural and easily adjustable and acceptable with body physiology.