Dental health in a pandemic

HealthSelf-careAncestorsAyurvedaHinduHealing

Oct 14

Disclaimer: This is not intended to be medical advice. This is merely an account of my own research and actions for my own dental health.

Trigger Warning Hinduphobia, lack of access to healthcare, poverty

**Screenshot** Picture of Dhanvantari, Hindu God of Healing and *Ayurveda*. Image description: Dhanvantari is a male figure with blue skin, wearing a thick gold and pearl necklace and armlets, and a golden crown, and holding a golden pot in his left hand while keeping his right hand raised in blessing. He wears a white and red flower garland. Behind him is a saffron background with Hindu lotus flower and mango pattern and a plate of gold on his right.

Who wants to go to the dentist in the middle of a pandemic? No one, that’s who. Especially in the USA where dental care is a fantasy for any poor person because prices are sky high for even basic care. That’s why if you travel in certain states you’ll find a lot of people in obvious and desperate need of dental care but they’ll never get any.

I’m obsessed with oral hygiene (it’s a Hindu cultural trait) so I’m vigilant about things like this. When the pandemic began and the westerners were fighting each other over toilet paper, I was quietly buying up eco friendly toothbrushes, vegan bamboo floss, and vegan toothpaste. “There is no way I’m doing the apocalypse with a filthy mouth,” I said to myself. Now, if I’d been in India I wouldn’t have to buy these things because I could just pick a twig off a neem tree (which acts as both brush and floss) like a normal person. However, I was in the colonizing USA, so like an obsessed capitalist I bought up enough toothbrushes and toothpaste to last me an entire year with enough to share with others (because I’ve got Hindu public health priorities westerners can’t possibly understand). Additionally, I stocked up on tongue scrapers to give to others in need. Tongue scraping is an ancient Hindu practice that the west has only just figured out by stealing Ayurvedic practices. Tongue scaping is essential to happiness, as far as I’m concerned.

Cut to present day and despite all my efforts, I noticed recently that my gums bled in a few places while flossing. I also noticed that some areas of my gums seem to have begun receding. I did some reading online and found that receding gums can happen from aging which is possible since I’m now 40. They could also, however, be a sign of gum disease. Bleeding gums are also a warning sign of gum disease. The problem with receding gums from gum disease is that if they’re left untreated, they keep receding. “In gum disease, or periodontitis, bacteria in dental plaque provoke an attack by the immune system. This triggers inflammation, which over time, erodes the soft tissue and bone supporting the teeth.” That means that receding gums left untreated will cause your teeth to fall out.

So…that’s not good.

Now, I want to be the kind of person who ages gracefully. I don’t want to be someone who lives in vanity and nostalgia, constantly longing for the days when they peaked in high school (I didn’t peak in high school). But I also like chewing. Chewing is good. So what to do about my teeth then?

All the medical websites I looked at said there’s no way to grow back gums that have receded. They can be treated to prevent further receding (with expensive dental surgery I can’t afford) but gums that have already gone are not coming back. I did more reading, trying to see if there was a way to cure receding gums without surgery or atleast to halt the process. What I found was scary.

Because the underlying problem is deep in the gum tissue people might have no direct visible symptoms and therefore they don’t do anything to treat it for years. During that time, the bacterial inflammation in the gums spreads inflammation to other parts of the body. Due to this, gum disease has been increasingly linked to other inflammatory diseases like heart disease, Alzheimers, and cancer. It can also lead to worse outcomes for people from viruses like Covid-19.

So…that’s really not good.

What if I’ve had this issue for years and just never known it and it’s been causing havoc in my body all this time? It only needs a little bit of bacteria that might have hidden deep into my gums and lurked there for years doing silent damage. Even the most vigilant of people can be the victims of that.

I stood in front of the mirror, pulling my lips back to try and see what inflammation my gums were spreading to the rest of my body. I noticed, now that I knew where the problem would lie, that some of my gums were reddened and the difference between that color and the other parts of my lighter pink gums was pretty stark.

I went back to researching, morbidly fascinated by how my body was falling apart. I was even more morbidly fascinated because there was nothing I could do about it because I’m poor and healthcare is so expensive in the USA and who wants a dentist up close and personal in my mouth in a pandemic that’s never-ending.

But wait…

In my reading, I stumbled upon some sites from my own people. It turns out that a traditional technique of my own Hindu people, called kavala, can help treat gum disease. It’s an Ayurvedic practice that uses medicinal oils to detox bacteria from deep in the gums. You’re supposed to take a tablespoon of the oil, either sesame or coconut (sesame is the traditional oil for this practice), and swish it around in your mouth for about 20 minutes straight. You then spit it out and rinse the mouth out with warm water. Some people said that 10 mins of swishing 4-5 times a day is good. Oil swishing for 15-20 minutes 2 times a day is also good.

Now, if you can imagine someone walking over hot coals but instead of walking they’re hopping and yelling “hot hot hot”, that’s how I was feeling as I read this. Because I’ve done kavala before. I’m Hindu, of course I’d done kavala. It’s been a while, however, and I’m surrounded by whiteness and life caught up with me and I forgot to do kavala on a regular basis, damn it!

I knew what ancestral practice to do to take care of myself but western life distracted me and now I’m in trouble. “Hot hot hot!”

After some quiet panicking and pacing up and down my house, I resolved to do kavala to save myself.

One point I should make is that westerners call kavala by the term “oil pulling” but that’s not quite correct. Oil pulling is the practice of both kavala and gandusha together. Gandusha is the practice of filling a person’s whole mouth all the way to the brim with oil (or another medicated liquid) and holding it there with no movement for 5-10 mins before spitting it out. Some Ayurvedic texts say to hold the oil until the eyes water, the nose runs, and the mouth uncontrollably salivates, and only then to spit it out. I can’t even imagine how intense and exhausting gandusha is because I haven’t done it yet myself.

So kavala isn’t oil pulling, its only one part of oil pulling. Kavala is an oil mouthwash and when I do this practice, I say I’m doing kavala, an ancient Ayurvedic practice. I don’t say I’m doing “oil pulling” which is a term use westerners use because they’re doing three racist Hinduphobic things:

Getting it wrong out of white supremacist colonizer ignorance which erases the wisdom.
Erasing the Ayurvedic Hindu origin this wisdom. It’s called cultural appropriation, Hinduphobia, and racism.
Erasing my ancestor’s Sanskrit language in favor of English language supremacy.

Understanding all of that, I started doing kavala once a day. You’re supposed to do it on an empty stomach for best results so I would do it in the morning before my breakfast smoothie.

Here’s how I’ve been doing kavala:

First I brush my teeth and clean my tongue with a tongue scraper. I do this first because I don’t want any surface bacteria to get in the way of the bacterial detox of my gums. Then I take a tablespoon of organic raw coconut oil (since that’s what I’ve got) and swish it around my mouth for 20 mins. Then I spit it out (I read that it should never be swallowed because it’s full of bacteria). I spit it out in the garden or the compost, whichever’s closest. I don’t spit it into the sink because the oil would clog up the pipes. Coconut oil in particular solidifies in cold conditions so I’m careful not to make this mistake. Then I rinse my mouth out with warm water. If my mouth feels dirty, I brush my teeth and scrape my tongue again to ensure that any toxins the oil pulled out of my gums is completely gone.

I started to add essential oils to the kavala oil since I’ve read that can help speed up the process of detoxing. I’ve added 1 drop of wild oregano oil (organic, obviously) because it’s such a powerful anti-viral. I’ve also added 1-2 drops of four thieves essential oil (I don’t add them alongside the oregano oil because the combination might be too strong for my body to cope). Four thieves is a traditional remedy of lemon oil, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, and rosemary oil. (Sidenote: It’s called four thieves because of a legend that during the great plague grave robbers would protect themselves by covering their mouths with handkerchiefs doused in the oils of certain herbs and spices. The original four thieves remedy also contained vinegars and possibly other herbs than the four I’ve listed above.) I’m going to experiment with other oils also, as I continue to research more.

I started out with 5 minutes of kavala, then each day slowly worked up to 10 mins, 15 mins, and finally 20 mins. I had to work up to the full 20 minutes because it’s actually exhausting to swish oil around in your mouth for a prolonged amount of time. I set a timer and try to distract myself by doing chores so I don’t think about how tired my facial muscles are. Who knew facial muscles could get so tired? My Hindu ancestors, that’s who. Certainly not the western medical websites that are like: “You can’t fix gum disease without expensive surgery that cuts up your mouth. And even then, your gum disease might come back, mwuhahahahahaha! That’ll be lots of non-refundable $$$$, thanks!”

According to my Hindu ancestors, it’s a good thing to exercise the facial and jaw muscles through kavala. That’s another benefit aside from the gum detox. Also according to my ancestors, you’re supposed to do much more than just kavala. Every morning you’re supposed to first get a full body massage (that’s relaxation and touch therapy), then a face steam (skin cleansing, detoxing, and beautifying regime), then do kavala while sitting in the sunlight (light therapy to get a vitamin D boost and mood enhancement). Then you’re supposed to clean the house and take a bath (cleanliness) and do your spiritual ceremony which we call puja that includes yoga asana, pranayam and dhyan (westerners call dhyan meditation). During your puja you would traditionally light a ghee lamp and incense. This means you’re cleansing your environment and air while also breathing in the medicinal power of the herbs in the incense (that’s aromatherapy and simultaneously cleansing your environment of bacterial toxins). Only after doing all of this are you supposed to eat breakfast (full of fruits/vegetables, and herbs) and only then do you go to work. This means that in ancient India self-care and spiritual practice was the focus of the morning before Hindus engaged in material work.

In other words, my ancestors advised their descendants to take care of the body, mind, and soul first. Then deal with the material world.

Can you believe my ancestors? I’ve heard social justice activists today talk about “self-care” as if it’s some new revolutionary idea. For them, it is. Meanwhile my sage ancestors thousands of years ago in our Indigenous land of India were like: “Every morning you gotta get a full body massage, a face steam, and then detox your mouth with oils before bathing and cleaning the house and doing your puja, asanas, prayanayam and dhyan. And you gotta do this every day before breakfast, ‘kay?” And they said it in Sanskrit and wrote it down in books and taught it in universities, schools, and temples, so this was widespread practice all over the Indian subcontinent called Bharat (that’s Indigenous Hindu land). It wasn’t just theory. My people were not shy about taking care of themselves — they took pride in it — because that was how they showed gratitude for this precious human body. Spiritual practice is much harder when you’re tortured by an unhealthy body so working on your physical health is a spiritual practice because it helps you live a spiritual life.

I’m not able to get a full body massage every the morning or even every week (since I’m chronically broke and we’re also in a pandemic) so I do other things like make sure my breakfast is super powered to boost my immunity. I also take supplements to help my diet. Doing this helps me to work through my internalized capitalism because I’m reminded that taking care of my health is my spiritual duty and what my ancestors want me to do. It really helps to dismantle the guilt that shows up, a guilt which has specifically been instilled by capitalist colonizers to make us dedicate all our time to making them money (which I refuse to do regardless).

I’ve been doing kavala for weeks now and I’ve kept a daily log to track my progress. I was stunned at all the details that came up for me in this process. My body changed so much and as a result I did a lot more research to understand what was happening inside me:

Day 1: Managed to do 5 mins of kavala with organic unrefined virgin coconut oil in the evening right before sleep. It was the only oil I had for this even though sesame seed oil is supposed to be traditional. My mouth is aching from holding all that oil and swishing it around in my mouth. This is hard. Is it really going to help my gums?

Day 2. Didn’t do kavala today. Couldn’t face it. Why is this so hard?

Day 3. Did kavala for 15 mins. I wanted to spit it out so badly after just 2 mins in but I kept pacing up and down the house and tried not to look at the clock. Got as far as 15 mins. Maybe psyching myself up yesterday helped me last longer this time? Also, do the tips of my healthy gums look lighter pink or is that just my imagination? I think it might be my imagination. Also, why do my teeth feel looser in my gums? Is the kavala making it worse? Yikes, I hope it’s not making it worse.

Day 4: Did 20 mins today. I’m phlegmy today and I’m careful to spit it out because I don’t want to swallow any bacteria that might be coming up. Also, my mouth feels so clean, it’s an amazing feeling. My mouth has always felt clean because of my oral hygiene obsession but this is really something. I think my teeth look whiter. Are they really whiter or is that in my head? I’m starting to see the problem areas in my gums looking a little less red, not so inflamed. Is that my imagination? I also didn’t see any bleeding when I flossed today. Wow. I didn’t realize kavala would work this fast but I might be seeing what I want to see. Is this a placebo effect? I was also very gentle with the floss so maybe that’s why I didn’t see bleeding. But my gut tells me that the kavala is making a difference. I feel so much more calm now that I know there’s something I can do for myself and my ancestors are the geniuses who figured it out. When I did kavala years ago there wasn’t anything visibly wrong with me so I never noticed a difference in my health but if I’d been doing kavala this whole time then I probably wouldn’t be in this gum receding mess. I’m going to keep at it and see what happens.

Day 5: Got to 20 mins again with a drop of four thieves essential oil added to the coconut oil. I really do think my teeth look whiter. And I really do think my gums are looking a healthier pink at the tips. I’m still phlegmy. Also, weirdly, I’m feeling dryness at the back of my mouth. I’m being careful to spit out any phlegm but also drink water. I went shopping and got some organic raw sesame seed oil since it’s supposed to be the traditional oil for this practice. If coconut oil is already making me feel a difference, how much difference will sesame oil make? I am noticing that I’ve been feeling more lethargic and tired the last few days though. Could the detoxing of my gums make me feel tired? It’s gotta be a lot of work for the body, right? Does that make sense?

Day 6: Did 10 mins with sesame seed oil in the morning since I read 10 mins is sufficient with sesame oil. It doesn’t feel as good afterwards as the coconut oil. Could the oil be rancid? A friend said that oils can go rancid but businesses in the west don’t realize that so they just package and sell it anyway. I’ll keep trying and see what happens. Maybe I should do both sesame oil and coconut oil together? When I flossed today without being excessively gentle my problem areas did bleed a bit but definitely not as much as before the kavala. I’m less lethargic and less phlegmy too.

Day 7: I did 10 mins with the sesame seed oil and four thieves oil this morning. The tips of my healthier gums are definitely looking a lighter pink. The problematic areas of my gums feel less inflamed and less swollen. I didn’t even realize they were swollen until the swelling went down! I also did 20 mins with coconut oil and a drop of 4 thieves oil at night before bed. Wow, kavala twice in one day! I want to speed this whole process up. I didn’t feel any lethargy today and was less phlegmy too.

Day 8: I got really intense this morning. I did 10 mins with sesame oil before spitting it out, then another 10 minutes with more sesame oil. Then I did 20 mins with coconut oil. Put a drop of four thieves in the oil each time. My mouth is so clean it’s squeaky. But I think next time I’m just going to keep the same sesame oil in for the full 20 mins. Maybe I’m not doing it for long enough and that’s why it doesn’t feel as good as the coconut oil? At night I did 20 mins with sesame oil and 20 mins with coconut oil. My problem area gums are starting to have patches where it’s much lighter pink. Not so much lethargy. I’m now more sure that the lethargy came from the detoxing process. Who knows how much stuff is being cleared from my system. Praise my ancestors! No phlegm but I am feeing dry in the back of my mouth so I’m drinking lots of water. It can only help with flushing out my system too.

Day 9: Did 20 mins with sesame oil and 2 drops of wild oregano oil, then 20 mins with coconut oil and 2 drop of four thieves oil this morning. I did the same at night. My mouth feels exhausted and my tongue is starting to cramp. Maybe I’m being a bit overzealous. Maybe I’m doing too much of a good thing? My ancestors didn’t say I should do 40 mins of kavala straight twice a day. But seriously, there’s also a veiny patch of much lighter pink gum in the most problematic parts of my mouth. That part had stayed dark red until now. No phlegm today.

Day 10: I’ve gone back to doing just one bout of 20 mins of kavala with sesame oil in the morning and at night. My tongue still feels exhausted so I think I pushed too hard too early. I ran out of coconut oil so need to go shopping for that. The sesame oil doesn’t feel as good but it’s traditional so it must still be good, right? I read on an online forum that some people aren’t even using unrefined or organic oils and it’s still helping them. I also found a list of different oils people have used for this and the different health conditions each oil can help with.

Day 11: Did 20 mins of kavala in the morning and also at night with sesame oil. My teeth are feeling a bit sensitive today. I think I ate too much fruit and that made them sensitive. Brushing my teeth felt a bit tender but only on my teeth. My gums are looking lighter than ever but there’s still problematic areas. Got some bleeding while flossing today too.

Day 12: Did 20 mins of kavala in the morning and at night. I used wild oregano oil both times today. My teeth are still sensitive. I’m also getting acid reflux. Could this be what I read on that online forum where people started getting increases in issues because it was the body detoxing the problem? The experts said to keep going because it always gets worse before it gets better. I think that might be what’s happening but I’m going to keep an eye on it. My tongue isn’t cramping anymore so that’s awesome.

Day 13: Did 20 mins of kavala with sesame oil in the morning and at night. Used a drop of wild oregano oil in the morning and a drop of four thieves oil at night. Had acid reflux today too. Teeth still sensitive. Gums looking pinker though. I’m actually surprised. Even the gums I thought were ok are much lighter pink. So maybe the bacteria was spreading to those areas and this is helping them heal? I feel lighter in my spirit.

Day 14: I’m at the 2 week mark. Did 20 mins of kavala with sesame oil and 1 drop oregano oil in the morning. Went shopping and picked up some organic unrefined virgin coconut oil for tonight. After kavala with the coconut oil and four thieves oil at night my teeth feel less sensitive. I wonder if sesame oil makes them sensitive? I didn’t notice them becoming sensitive until I did kavala exclusively with sesame oil. But why would it affect me that way? So weird. I don’t know if any receded gums have grown back but I’m monitoring that and keeping an eye out for any changes. I wish I’d taken pictures of my progress from the beginning but I can’t get the right angle to take pics of my mouth and the lighting is too dim and not able to highlight the issues anyway.

Day 15: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil in both the morning and evening. My teeth are definitely less sensitive so I think it is the sesame oil making them that way. Also no acid reflux today so what if that was also being caused by the sesame oil? The oil might be rancid or the oil just might not be good for my bodily constitution. Need to do more research on that.

Day 16: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil in the morning and evening with four thieves oil. No tooth sensitivity or acid reflux. My gums are looking amazing which is something I never thought I’d say in my life. The problem areas are still reddened but it feels like they’re half red and half light pink now. I’m even noticing a reduction of swelling in the gums I thought were healthy. There’s less tightness in my jaw that previously I didn’t even know was tight. Wow. This is incredible.

Day 17: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil and 1 drop oregano oil in the morning. No sensitive teeth or acid reflux. The veiny patch of light pink in my most problematic area is growing lighter. I tried a new thing and did 20 mins of kavala just before lunchtime (since its supposed to be done on an empty stomach). Sesame oil and 1 drop four thieves. My teeth felt sensitive right after so it’s definitely the sesame oil. I had no acid reflux though. I did some reading on sesame oil and Ayurveda says that it’s important to look at the right oil for each bodily constitution. Coconut oil is one of the oils recommended for my particular bodily constitution. Sesame oil is not in the recommended list for me so I think I figured out that mystery. Didn’t do kavala at night for the first time in two weeks because I was too tired. It’s a good thing I did it at breakfast and before lunch.

Day 18: My gums looked more amazing than ever this morning. It looked like 2/3 of the redness from the problematic areas had gone down with some patches still left to work on. That was before I brushed my teeth. Then I brushed and flossed and the redness came back to those areas but there was no bleeding from any of them while flossing. I didn’t try to floss gently either, just normally. Then I did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil and 1 drop oregano oil. I felt really sleepy after and was phlegmy and thirsty both. I had to be careful to spit out any phlegm and drink water when I was thirsty. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil and 1 drop oregano oil at night.

Day 19: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil using 2 drops of both oregano oil and four thieves at morning and at night. The parts of the gums that were lightening are much paler than pink now, almost a pale yellow. So I’m guessing there’s still detoxing going on from those areas. It feels like there’s a lot of cleaning going on in my body. My skin looks so clear and my pores are very small. I’ve been worrying about the fillings I’ve had in my teeth since childhood. They’ve probably got mercury in them and everything I’m reading is telling me how bad that is and how that might be linked to the inflammation in my gums. The areas of my gums that are inflamed are right next to where my fillings are. I looked up how much it costs to get fillings changed and it’s so expensive. I wonder if this whole experience will lead to me forking out money I don’t have to change my fillings, because kavala made me realize what was causing my receding gums. Maybe it’ll be worth it. I’m going to do kavala for 2 months and see how my gums look at that point. Then maybe it’ll be time to think about going to the dentist to change out my fillings. *shudder*

Day 20: Was really exhausted by all the events this week. I slept in and didn’t end up doing kavala until lunchtime. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 1 drop oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil. The whole time I’ve been doing this kavala experience to detox my gums, I’ve experienced pressure in my throat near where my thyroid is. This is something I’ve experienced for some time on and off depending on my stress levels. I know it’s because my thyroid levels have been increasing when I’m stressed out (they’re not out of healthy range yet) but this kavala detox is making me wonder if the toxins in my gums has been contributing to my thyroid levels increasing. Gums and thyroid are so close in proximity to each other. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, 2 drops four thieves oil, and 1 drop hemp oil with black seed oil before bed. Felt a sudden surge of energy before bed which was startling.

Day 21: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil in the morning. I’m feeling really motivated today which I think means the lethargy is starting to lift, thank god. Until I started to feel more energetic late last night, I didn’t realize how much and how long the lethargy had been affecting me through this whole process. Also, my teeth no longer get that loose feeling that they had at the start of this whole experience. They feel firm and strong in my mouth. I wonder if that was part of the whole healing process? Maybe the kavala was dislodging the bacteria embedded within my swollen gums and maybe that led to gaps that have now gone away because the bacteria has lessened? All of this is my speculation, of course. What do I know, it’s only my own mouth. I did 20 mins of kavala in the evening with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil. No bleeding gums on my problematic areas when flossing. One thing I noticed today was that I wasn’t ravenously hungry. I’ve been eating a lot this month. I normally eat 2 meals a day but this month I’ve been eating 3 meals a day and still craving dessert. I thought it was just hormones but now that ravenous feeling has gone away and I wasn’t hungry for any dinner tonight. In my reading, other people reported feeling loss of appetite from kavala which has been the opposite of my experience and I thought that was interesting.

Day 22: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil in the morning. Still feeling motivated and energetic. Want to go out for another walk like I did yesterday when I haven’t wanted to go anywhere for weeks. The remaining redness of the problematic areas is reduced but it’s still red for sure. When I flossed in the evening I didn’t have any bleeding gums but my problematic gums were tender. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, 2 drops four thieves oil, and 1 drop black seed oil in the evening. My appetite has gone back to normal where I’m having 2 meals a day so I think that’s not the kavala, I think it’s just hormones.

Day 23: I have some cardamom essential oil that I’ve never used. I looked up it’s uses and according to my reading it’s supposed to be good for removing toxins from the body, help heal oral infections, alleviate the pain of toothache, help the digestive system, among other things. So I’m using 2 drops of that today along with 2 drops of oregano oil in my coconut oil this morning. Feeling motivated so I did another walk today. Did 40 mins of kavala in the evening by mistake because my 20 mins timer got turned off somehow. It was with coconut oil, 2 drop oregano oil, and 3 drops cardamom oil. I didn’t mean for 3 drops to fall in, it was an accident and made me sneeze and sneeze to have that much cardamom. You know what I’m noticing though? This last few weeks, I’ve noticed that my muscles feel less stiff. Even though I do yoga asanas and stretching, my usually limber muscles have felt increasing stiff in recent years. That stiffness now feels like its melting away. I was able to stretch my calves easily today when I’ve had so many issues stretching them for the last few years. I can’t believe my gums were causing that problem but it looks like it.

Day 24: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil in the morning. I needed a break from the cardamom. I think I might use it when soaking in the bathtub instead of in my kavala oil. Or maybe I’ll just use it in kavala once a day. It’s very strong. I think the problematic area on the right side my mouth has another lighter patch. But I think maybe the left side redness has increased a small fraction. What does that mean? Does it mean more toxins are being pulled up and expelled or does that mean the toxins are growing? I wish more than ever that I had taken pictures of my mouth through all this so I could track stuff more precisely. Also, my hair and skin has definitely felt softer these last few weeks. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil in the evening. It looks like what I thought was some more redness on my left side is actually just a greater contrast with a thin line of lighter gum. I did get some bleeding of my upper gums on one tooth while flossing. I haven’t had many problems with my upper teeth this whole time so what does this mean?

Day 25: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil and 2 drops oregano oil and 2 drops four thieves oil in the morning. I do have lighter patches on my problematic lower right and left areas for sure. Told a community elder about my kavala experience and they were excited to try it themselves since they’ve been having dental challenges and have spent so much money on botched dental surgeries. The horror stories they told me! Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil before bed.

Day 26: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil in the morning. More lighter patches of gums are showing up in the areas I thought were going darker. So I think what’s happening (my pure speculation, of course) is the kavala is drawing up more toxins from where they’re deeply embedded and getting rid of them. I’m definitely feel better today, and am still motivated and energetic. It’s way easier to get out of bed in the morning and this is despite the fact that I have a stiff neck on my left side (I think lifting some heavy stuffy yesterday caused that). Did I mention that the whites of my eyes are now super white? They were white before but it feels like they’re even clearer now. Maybe I’m imagining that but I’m not so sure. I’m definitely starting to feel like my old limber self, doing yoga asanas is easier now than it’s been in years. I’m almost at the end of one month, I can’t imagine how I’ll feel after one more month of this dedicated practice. As I was getting ready to do kavala before bedtime, I saw that my problematic areas are continuing to look lighter. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil. No bleeding while flossing before bed.

Day 27: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil and 2 drops oregano oil and 3 drops 4 thieves oil both in the morning and evening. Didn’t notice any major difference in my gums between today and yesterday.

Day 28: I’m at the point where it’s hard to distinguish a difference between the day before and today. I think the gums seem lighter but I don’t know if it’s in my head. Got some bleeding on my lower right side gums when I flossed this morning. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil in the morning. In doing more research, I learned that castor oil is supposed to be really good for kavala, so good that you don’t might not even need to do it for the full 20 mins, you can just do it for as little as 2 mins and you only need 1-2 tsp, not a full tbsp. So I did kavala after lunch using castor oil to see what happens. I didn’t add any essential oils to it to get a sense of what castor oil itself is like. I used almost a full tablespoon since that’s what I’m used to. The taste was pretty bland, not bad or good. I found that it’s definitely more tiring than coconut oil to swish in my mouth because it’s thicker and stickier. That also means that it’s effective exercise for the mouth, jaw, tongue and throat muscles. Since I’ve done a month of coconut oil kavala that’s built up my facial muscle strength, I made it to 18 minutes with the castor oil before I needed to spit it out. Then before bed I managed to do the full 20 mins kavala with castor oil. As I was going to sleep, I felt a sudden stabbing pain, about level 3 or 4 on a pain level of 1-10. It was in the pad of my foot beneath my big and second toe. I rubbed it and massaged the area but it continued on and off for several minutes before I fell asleep. No idea what that was about.

Day 29: Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil in the morning. I was phlegmy afterwards. My problematic areas of gums are definitely still shrinking. I waited till today to say it because I wanted to be sure. There are still obvious patches of inflammation but they have lighter patches within them too. Also, the thing about castor oil is that my research says that it should be virgin, cold pressed, organic, hexane free, and in a glass bottle. The castor oil I have is all of that except it’s in a plastic bottle. Apparently that’s bad because I run the risk of poisoning myself with plastic since castor oil is a binder and it binds stuff to it (that’s why it’s such an effective detoxer). So I’m going to use up the small bottle I have and then buy better quality castor oil in a glass bottle which is expensive. Way more expensive than coconut oil. It’s a good thing I’m only going to do castor oil half the time. I’ll try it for a few days and see if I notice a difference that justifies the cost. I want to do castor oil packs since I’ve heard that’s so powerful for detoxing the liver to get a deeper sense of well being. Since my gums have clearly been spreading so much inflammation to my body through my blood, that would mean that my liver has been working overtime to filter and break down those toxins from my blood, right? So I want to give some love to my liver in the form of soothing castor oil packs. Also, I looked up what the stabbing pain in my foot yesterday meant. In reflexology that area of the foot relates to thyroid which I already knew is a problem for me and it’s come up in this kavala practice before. Considering how the kavala is supposed to be drawing all the toxins up and out from my mouth - very close to my thyroid (and I’m pretty sure those toxins have been affecting my thyroid for years) - I’m wondering if this stabbing pain in my foot is an indication of the detoxing. If it is then that’s a huge win. Did 20 mins of kavala with castor oil in the evening before taking a soak in the tub.

Day 30: I feel like my stiff muscles are coming back again! Also, are my teeth less white? What the heck? Could it be the castor oil that’s causing this? My gums are way less inflamed though. It’s a noticeable difference. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil in the morning. Can’t believe I’m on day 30 of this journey. It really does feel like the toxins are being pulled out of me in waves. I was exhausted earlier today, just out of nowhere, and it wasn’t even noon. I wanted to take a nap! I powered through it and am still tired but didn’t get to sleep until 2:30am. Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil before bed.

Day 31: It’s felt for a few days now that my left side redness is fading faster than the right but the fading is so gradual that I couldn’t say it for sure until today when the difference is more obvious. The odd thing is that my receding gums on the left are now less red than the gums on my right side that weren’t receding. The right side is more red and inflamed still. So that’s weird, right? But…I have two fillings on my right side whereas there’s only one filling on my left. So maybe it’s linked to that? The redness is still on both sides but there are bigger patches of lightness. It’s a very slow fade. Did 20 mins of kavala with castor oil in the morning and before bed. I decided to do full day of only castor oil to see how it makes me feel. I’ve noticed I get sneezy when doing castor oil kavala. The slightly loose feel of my gums feels like it’s coming back. It’s not as bad as it was way back when I started kavala but it’s there in a slight way.

Day 32: Did 20 mins of kavala with castor oil this morning. The sensation of a lump in my throat that I’ve had for months and months (it comes and goes depending on how stressed I am) is feeling less intense this morning. It feels like my thyroid is less stressed. Does that sound weird? I noticed it yesterday but today is a repeat and I’m more sure of it. I ran out of castor oil so I’ll get some more tomorrow). Did 20 mins of kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil and 2 drops four thieves oil before bed.

Day 33: I’m exhausted today. Yes, I am sleep deprived and that’s an obvious cause but even on my worst sleep deprived days I don’t feel like this. My eyes are really heavy and I just want to sleep. Is it the castor oil from the last few days? I noticed that my previous bout of exhaustion was also after castor oil kavala. Maybe it’s dredging up really deeply buried toxins and that’s causing the fatigue? Because this fatigue is next level. On top of my fatigue, I had a lot of meetings this morning and so wasn’t able to do kavala then. I only managed to do kavala before lunch with coconut oil and 2 drops oregano oil and 4 drops four thieves oil (I meant for 3 drops but 1 extra fell in by mistake). I meant to do 20 mins of swishing but only managed 15 before time I had this sudden uncontrollable urge to spit out. Interesting. Also, I need to write a book called “50 Shades of Red”. The sequel will be called “How Red are my Wotsits, really?” The third book will be called “Pink: The Climax”. The trilogy will be called “50 Shades of Fading” and have a “This is not medical advice” disclaimer. Seriously tho, these gums are fading soooooo gradually. I guess this is the long stretch now. The beginning of this kavala case study seemed to have such a fast turnaround but now I’m in the deep rooted stuff and it’s taking way more effort to detox. No wonder I’m so tired and sluggish. I need to get more castor oil and it must only be the bestest cleanest castor oil. Where do I go to get the bestest cleanest stuff? This pandemic has turned me into a baby bird who needs everything delivered directly to me but I don’t have time for that nonsense. I need my castor oil now! (This is yet another thing I never thought I’d say in my life, along with: “My gums look amazing today.”) Did 20 mins with coconut oil, 3 drops of oregano oil, and 2 drops of four thieves oil. My mouth feels exhausted so I think the castor oil from the past couple of days did tire out my face muscles. My thyroid feels less stressed after kavala though, both times today.

Day 34: Bizarrely, I forgot to do kavala this morning even though I woke up at 8:30 feeling rested and well. I didn’t realize until lunchtime and ended up doing kavala then, 20 mins with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil, and 2 drops four thieves oil. I’m noticing that my skin is really soft today. My brain, however, wanted to shut down around 2pm. This deep detox from kavala is no joke. I had a work meeting at that time and needed to let my work colleague know that I was barely functioning (they were really great about it and let me cook lunch and eat while we were working). I also got a recommendation from a naturopathic doctor for an integrative dentist to change out my fillings (they call them amalgams). The naturopath said that they might need to do the work in more than one appointment because the body’s immune system needs time to cope with the change. I’m thinking I want to finish out 2 months of kavala before doing all that dentist work though. I want to draw out as many toxins as possible first so my body’s not so shocked by the dentist work. Fingers crossed my gums will look a lot better by the end of 2 months. There was some tenderness on my problematic areas when I flossed today but no bleeding. Did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. I noticed a weird slight pain in my tooth tonight, somewhere in the region of where my problematic gums are on the bottom left. This was before I did my brushing and kavala tonight and I have no idea what it was about. I haven’t had any tooth pain in years and years, since back when I actually went to the dentist and got these fillings, sorry, amalgams.

Day 35: Went camping today so I only did kavala once in the morning with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, 1 drop cardamom oil, and 2 drops four thieves for 20 mins. Felt sleepy all day but that might have also been because of the excessive amount of sugar and refined carbs I ate (I cannot tell a lie).

Day 36: Felt sleepy all day but again, I did eat a lot of refined carbs again. Well, who else was going to eat that leftover vegan pizza? I did what I had to do. Got back from camping late so did kavala once before bed for 20 mins with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil, 4 drops four thieves (the 4th drop fell by mistake). I had no bleeding when I flossed today but my upper gums were a bit tender in the problematic area on my right. Looking in the mirror for the first time in two days, the redness in my problematic areas is definitely still fading. There are now lighter patches way at the bottom of my gums, so it physically looks like the kavala really is drawing up the toxins from deep down in the gums.

Day 37: Was fasting today so missed kavala in the morning. My gums are looking less red at the bottom though. I went shopping to look for good quality castor oil but couldn’t find any in a glass bottle. I found some that was in a dark non-see thru plastic bottle (organic, virgin, cold pressed, hexane free) so I picked that for now and will order a decent dark glass bottle brand I can afford later on. Did kavala with castor oil for 20 mins before bed. It’s weird how I get sneezy around castor oil. I sneezed before I even poured it out and then sneezed several minutes later when doing kavala too (which is not easy or comfortable at all). I did get some slight acid reflux as I was falling asleep.

Day 38: Woke up at 4:30am this morning which is the first time that’s happened since I began this whole kavala detox situation. I did 20 mins kavala with castor oil this morning but before brushing my teeth (to see what that felt like). It didn’t feel too different to doing it after brushing. I didn’t get any sneezing so maybe I just had something in my nose last night that made me sneezy. Noticing that my thyroid feels stressed today after doing kavala. It felt stressed last night as I went to sleep too, after I’d done kavala. So the question is, is the castor oil harming my thyroid? Or is it detoxing my thyroid and the process is causing the stressed feeling? I think it’s the latter but we’ll see. I got a blood test yesterday to check my thyroid levels and I’ll get the results on Thursday. Did 20 mins of kavala with castor oil before brushing at night.

Day 39: Did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil this morning. Fatigue wasn’t as bad today but I had some fierce brain fog in the afternoon. Didn’t notice as much feeling of thyroid stress but maybe my brain fog meant I didn’t notice? I’ll try to look out for this tomorrow. Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil before bed. Noticed a hint of acid reflux as I was going to sleep.

Day 40: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil this morning. Had acid reflux later at night about 9:30pm. That might have been because of my late lunch that included deep fried tater tots. Or it could be the castor oil :( I really hope it’s not the castor oil, I didn’t have any issues with it before. Maybe it’s just this brand of castor oil? Or the plastic bottle it’s in? Urgh. It might also have been a homeopathic remedy I took that I’d never taken before. Missed my bedtime kavala because I was so exhausted from work all day that I could barely function and fell into bed.

Day 41: Did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil morning and evening. No acid reflux. No brain fog either. Also, the fatigue is lessening significantly. The problematic red areas are fading so slowly but they are fading and there are more pink patches further down at the bottom of my gums now where it was only redness.

Day 42: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning. Noticed some tenderness in the back of my mouth on the left side where previously I hadn’t noticed any issues. Not sure what that’s about. The white veiny streaks on my problematic areas that I noticed way back at the beginning are still there. Not growing or shrinking or painful, just there. I did some research on that symptom and it looks like I have a lichenoid reaction to the amalgams which should be resolved within a few weeks of removing the amalgams. I mean, who thought it was a good idea to put mercury in peoples’ mouth? Why is the entire western dentistry world not being sued for poisoning people? If the west insists on keeping prisons, shouldn’t people who poison others be put in them? If I gave someone rat poison, I’d be put in prison. So how come all these dentists are literally putting poison in people’s mouths that destroys their health over years and people just shrug and carry on? I got these fillings when I was child. They put poison in the mouths of children. By the way, amalgams aren’t banned yet. There are still children (and adults) who are getting poison implanted into their mouths. I noticed some bleeding on my left side gums where the lichenoid reaction is while flossing. Did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil before bed.

Day 43: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning (it was likely way longer that 20 mins but I lost track of my timer). I’m starting to think that this redness is never going to fully go away until I get these amalgams out. It has been almost only 1 and a half months though. *shudder* I’m waiting for the integrative dentist to give me a call and set an appointment for after the 2 month mark. Missed bedtime kavala because I was traveling.

Day 44: Missed kavala today due to traveling.

Day 45: Did kavala in the afternoon when I got home from traveling. I need to make sure I take some coconut oil with me next time I travel so I can do my kavala. So exhausted I missed it in the evening. My gums are less red though.

Day 46: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning. Something I discovered recently is the difference between looking at my gums both before and after kavala. What’s fascinating is how much redder they are after. Usually I look at them after I spit out the oil so I’ve been tracking how much the redness has reduced by that but just recently I looked at them before and was shocked at how light my gums were. So thinking about it now, the fact that they’re redder after kavala is another indication that the oil seems to be drawing all the toxins upwards and out. Amazing. My energy has been ok the last couple of days too. No surge of energy or anything, just steady, which is what I’m used to. I was working really hard so was really tired before bed but that’s a good thing. Now I’m wondering if the heavy metals were messing with my internal clock and making me a night owl. Is that too weird a speculation? I’m so tired at bedtime these days whereas for most of my adult life, I’ve stayed up to about 2 or 3am. Now I’m knocked out by at least 1:30am which is early for me. I did 20 mins kavala with castor oil before bed.

Day 47: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning. Energy level normal today. Missed kavala in the evening because I was up until 1:30am taking care of my guest.

Day 48: Did only 10 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning because I was doing it while driving and had to pull over due to an overpowering urge to spit it out only 10 mins in. I had such a busy day today (working from 9am to 2am) and even though I was busy, I didn’t get tired once. Also, I learned a few days ago that the chlorella I put in my morning smoothies (because it helps detox from heavy metals) is actually best on an empty stomach. So now I’m taking it before I do kavala in the morning to help detox the mercury that’s coming up. Then after 30 mins I have my morning smoothie.

Day 49: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning. Missed the evening kavala due to traveling.

Day 50: Did 15 mins kavala with peanut oil in the morning. Didn’t do the full 20 mins because I was rushed. Used organic peanut oil because I’m traveling and could only get my hands on that type of oil. I didn’t experience any issues from it. Energy level normal.

Day 51: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the evening when I got home from traveling. Energy level normal.

Day 52: Did 20 mins kavala in the morning with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. Got a bit sneezy while doing kavala. Had a bit of heartburn come up right afterwards. Energy level normal. Did 10 mins kavala at night with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. I planned to do 20 mins but had an overpowering urge to spit it out at 10 mins. I’m starting to wonder if my body is telling me I don’t need so much kavala anymore and 10 mins is enough. Or maybe I haven’t done it properly in a few days and I need to train myself up a bit more.

Day 53: Did 7 mins kavala in the morning with castor oil before getting an overpowering urge to spit it out. I got fresh castor oil and did the remaining 13 mins kavala. Got heartburn right after. I’m pretty sure at this point the castor oil is giving me heartburn. *sigh* I’ll have to switch back to coconut oil. The brain fog that was bothering me the last few weeks seems to be dissipating. I’m definitely feeling more motivated and clear headed to do things I’ve been putting off for ages. Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil before bed. Wanted to spit it out at the 5 mins mark but I persevered and got to the finish line. Got a bit sneezy.

Day 54: Did 20 mins kavala with castor oil in the morning. Didn’t notice any heartburn until later in the evening. Did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves oil before bed. My gums are much lighter at the bottom of my mouth.

Day 55: Did 14 mins kavala with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. I only managed 14 mins before I had an overpowering urge to spit it out and I also had some bile come up. I’m now wondering whether the kavala is trying to draw out the toxins in my digestive system. Mercury poisoning has been going on in my body for the last 25 years which means it’ll be everywhere, including in my digestive system where my immune system is. I wondering if that’s why the sesame seed oil and castor oil gives me heartburn? The coconut oil is more gentle about it but it seems to me that something is clearly happening in my belly to do with the kavala. I wonder if I’m at the point where there’s not much more in my mouth that can be changed until I remove the amalgams so the kavala is trying to detox the different parts of my body where the poison is deep rooted? This is pure speculation, of course, but kavala already did incredible stuff when it loosened my muscles. I literally feel lighter in my spirit. Did 20 mins kavala before bed with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. I’ll keep up with the coconut oil for now and see if the heartburn subsides.

Day 56: Missed morning kavala but did it before bed for 20 mins with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. No acid reflux all day. Energy level great.

Day 57: Did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil with 3 drops oregano oil and 3 drops four thieves. Was sleepy but that’s because I had planned to sleep in and then realized I had a 10am appointment and had to get up, doh! 30 mins before my bedtime kavala, I took an activated charcoal capsule because I’ve been reading about how it’s good for heavy metals detoxing. I’m going to try to take it every evening 30 mins before kavala to ensure it’s in my digestive system before I do the oil mouthwash. I wonder if this could help prevent the acid reflux from castor oil? I wasn’t ready to experiment with that yet, so I did kavala for 20 mins with coconut oil, 2 drops oregano oil, 3 drops four thieves before bed. I read that I need to take about 5 grams of activated charcoal for a decent amount of detox per day but I also read that you can’t start with that much at first. You need to give your body time to adjust which is why I’m starting with just one capsule a night. I also want to get a cilantro tincture and try to maybe alternate between the two once I’ve adjusted to the activated charcoal.

Day 58: Woke up, took my chorella/spirulina tablets like normal. Drank lots of water to help the activated charcoal from last night. Waited 30 mins before doing kavala. Bought a cilantro tincture to take midday. Missed kavala before bed but I did take my activated charcoal.

Day 59: Missed kavala in morning but I did take my chlorella/spirulina and cilantro. Did 20 mins kavala before bed with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil, and 3 drops four thieves. Energy level normal. Took my activated charcoal before bed too.

Day 60: This is the last day of my 2 month long case study. I’m feeling more vitality and energy than I’ve felt in years. I’ll continue to do kavala each day but despite the redness continuing to fade very slowly, I’m clearly at the point of needing to remove the amalgams to see total improvement. I’ll also continue taking activated charcoal each day and I need to do castor oil packs on my liver to help them filter and detox my body properly. I did 20 mins kavala with coconut oil, 3 drops oregano oil and 3 drops four thieves in the morning and before bed. I also took my chorella/spirulina in the morning, and my cilantro tincture in the afternoon, and my activated charcoal before bed.

I’m excited to see what happens next in my health journey but I’m not excited about the dentist bill.

I don’t know if any receded gums will grow back but I’ll monitor any changes and let you know in a follow up.