The history of cannabis as medicine began long before we got to the oils and standardized products we know today. In the episode of Deusa Cast, a podcast from Portal Sechat, cannabis dentist Joyce Bernardo takes us on a journey through time, showing how the plant began to be recognized for its medicinal potential.
 

"The first of all was this skin impression," recalls Joyce, referring to studies dating back to the mid-19th century, when researchers began to separate the fruit from the leaf and realized that there, in that white powder, there were healing properties. "When they started to observe, they saw that it had a healing power and it acted directly on the skin," she explains.

The study of cannabis in oral health had curious and surprising developments. Joyce recounts that, from the first tests, the plant was used directly for toothache relief. Chewing cannabis on an inflamed tooth already provided immediate analgesia. In addition, researchers noticed important effects in situations of bleeding and xerostomia, problems that affect the mouth and overall body health.

"Body health starts with the mouth, and that's exactly where the studies began. Over time, it was possible to formally record the use of marijuana in dental treatments and understand its potential as an analgesic and therapeutic," emphasizes Joyce.

In the same episode, historian Luiz Fernando Petty contextualizes the trajectory of cannabis in Brazil, from its arrival by Europeans to records of shamanic and spiritual use, showing that the plant has always been present in the country's history, both for healing purposes and for cultural and spiritual practices.

The episode also addresses harm reduction, an increasingly relevant topic. According to Joyce, understanding the impacts of combustion on oral health is essential, and exploring safer forms of consumption is a fundamental step to unite tradition and science.

Follow the clip we selected for you to understand a little about oral health x cannabis with the interviewed dentist: