sundar@cwruecmp.UUCP (Sundar R. Iyengar) (05/06/85)
My village folks in South India use sticks from Neem trees (I am not sure if this is an English name for the tree) for chewing. We also use charred remains of rice husk for normal brushing. Combined with salt and lemon this powder can be quite effective. It is very abrasive and if used for long during one brushing ses- sion could cut the finger tips (yes, we use the index finger and the thumb for rubbing the powder on the teeth. This rubbing ac- tion also massages the gums.). Once a year there is a festival during which every one is supposed to chew raw sugar canes. Stripping the skin of sugar cane needs strong teeth. And the chewing action througly cleans the teeth. sundar r iyengar case western reserve university
jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman) (05/09/85)
> My village folks in South India use sticks from Neem trees (I am > not sure if this is an English name for the tree) for chewing. > > sundar r iyengar One of the science programs on PBS talked about neem trees recently. Evidently, the plant contains some sort of strong anti-bacterial agent. This helps to prevent tooth decay. -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) aka Swazoo Koolak {amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff {ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff