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Receding Gums |
Receding Gums |
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"I'd really
like to avoid it," she said. "The very idea of getting my
gums cut into makes me queasy." "You are on
friendly turf here," I replied. "Dentistry in general makes
me weak in the knees. Maybe that stems from my boyhood, when our
dentist didn't believe in Novocain, or at least believe in taking the time
for it. Gum surgery sounds especially unpleasant." "They've
already scheduled it," Kate said. "They'll do the procedure
next month. I'll do it if I have no choice, but I'd sure like to avoid
it." "Well, you can
always fall back on surgery if nothing else helps. Since you have to
wait for it anyway, you might as well see if you can improve your gums in the
meantime." "How?"
said Kate "Two things
come to mind," I said. The first is comfrey." "Is that an
herb?" "Yes," I
said. "Comfrey has a 400 year history of wound
healing. It is favorably mentioned back in Turner's Herball
of 1568, Gerard's Herball of 1597, Parkinson's 1640 Theatrum
Botanicum, and Tournefort's 1719 Compleat Herbal. There have
been monographs on comfrey throughout the centuries [http://www.doctoryourself.com/comfrey_herb.html]. One of the active
ingredients, allantoin, may still be found in salves and lotions today." "Can I just
buy some capsules at the store?" Kate asked. "Yes and
no," I answered. "You can buy comfrey capsules, all right,
but they tend to contain dried comfrey leaf. Traditional herbalism tells us that the leaves are best used fresh, beaten into a poultice, and
applied externally only. Do not take comfrey as a dietary supplement, because it isn't one. Swallowed capsules offer little benefit. Liver-related side effects are possible if comfrey is used more than just occasionally. It is long-term consumption that has gotten comfrey a negative reputation among doctors and even online. Comfrey, like medicinal herbs in general, is not a food. Comfrey needs to be used appropriately." [http://www.doctoryourself.com/comfrey_herb.html] "What part do we want, then?" "The root," I said, "is the part we want to use. The root is not to be taken raw.
Instead, you make what is called a decoction of the comfrey root. A decoction is basically just a boiled tea." "And how do
you make that decoction?" said Kate.
"First you have to take a bit of root, maybe an inch or so, and wash it under
water. Cut the root up, like you would a carrot, into slices or chunks. Put the pieces into a Pyrex or stainless steel saucepan with a
cup or so of water. Bring it to a boil, boil it for five minutes or so, and then let it sit and cool. The result is a brown, not
particularly bad tasting tea. A teacup's worth every other day will probably be enough." "Where do I
get comfrey root?" Kate asked. "Probably at
most herb stores and certainly online. I got mine fresh from a farmer who was trying to get
rid of it. Comfrey grows like a big weed: very fast. If you mow
it down or try to plow it under, it just comes back. Even a little bit
of fresh root will grow a new plant. I'm here to tell you, there is
nothing to growing your own comfrey. Cheaper that way, too." "Is that
it?" "Well, not
quite. Another approach you might consider is topical use of vitamin
C. In other words, direct application of the vitamin to your
gums." "That sounds a
bit weird," Kate said. "It really
does," I admitted. "However, vitamin C is so closely involved
with wound healing in general and gum integrity in particular that it merits
special attention. Vitamin C works as an anti-inflammatory agent.
It also is essential for building collagen, the protein "glue" that
literally holds your cells together."
"I know that
vitamin C is good for my gums," Kate said. "I'm already
taking 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day. Why hasn't that
helped?" "Two reasons
come to mind: either its not enough, or its not sufficiently concentrated
where you need it most."
"But
vitamin C is an acid: ascorbic acid, isn't it? I can't go putting that
all over my gums and teeth." "True
enough. The trick is to use a non-acidic form of vitamin C called
calcium ascorbate. Topical calcium ascorbate will not sting even sore
gums. You can obtain it as a powder, and spread about half a teaspoon
on the gum surfaces. It has a bit of a metallic aftertaste, but its
quite bearable. Doing this two or three times daily is easy and harmless. Personally, I prefer to just leave it there until it is all eventually swallowed. Or, after 15 minutes or so, you can rinse it out.
And by the way, calcium ascorbate is only about 11% calcium, so you are not getting that much calcium when you do swallow it. " For two weeks, Kate
did exactly that, plus, for the first week, she drinking the comfrey decoction. However, she did
not cancel her gum surgery. After a pre-op
examination, her dentist canceled it.
Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE
YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at
http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html
) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html
)
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