Is Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste good for bleeding gums: Brehan Crawford, L.Ac. holding a tube of Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste

Is Yunnan Baiyao Toothpaste Good for Bleeding Gums?

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    Most people use far more toothpaste than they need, because the long stripe across the brush in every commercial taught them to. In Chinese medicine, toothpaste is also a cold substance that goes into the mouth twice a day, every day. And there is a Chinese medicine toothpaste most people in the West have never heard of, made with an herb that has been stopping bleeding for well over a century. If your gums bleed when you brush, this is the one I want you to know about.

    The short answer

    Yes. Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste is wonderful if you have bleeding gums. Its main ingredient, Sanqi (Panax notoginseng), raises platelet counts, increases platelet activation and promotes vasoconstriction at sites of bleeding and injury, which helps you bleed less. It has been used as medicine for more than 100 years. Whatever toothpaste you use, you need much less of it than the commercials show.

    The short version, on video.

    How much toothpaste should you use?

    Much less than the commercials show. In the video I am reacting to a dentist who says the amount shown on commercials is a hard no, and that dentist is absolutely correct. A study by the Centers for Disease Control has shown that 40% of people use an excessive amount of toothpaste.

    The CDC work behind that number looked at national survey data from 2013 to 2016 on how American children brush. More than 38% of children aged 3 to 6 used more toothpaste than the CDC and other professional organizations recommend.[1] The recommendation is small: a smear the size of a grain of rice under age 3, and no more than a pea-sized amount, about 0.25 g, from age 3 to 6. The same report explains why the amount matters. Swallowing too much fluoride while teeth are still developing can cause visible changes in the enamel, discoloration and pitting known as dental fluorosis.[1]

    Adults learned their habits as children, from the same advertising. The paste works through contact with the teeth and gums, not through volume. If you want to go deeper into how small daily habits like this shape your gut, that is exactly what we work on inside Gut Brain Synchrony.

    Is toothpaste a cold substance in Chinese medicine?

    Yes. In traditional Chinese medicine, toothpaste is thought of as a cold substance. Chinese medicine sorts everything that enters the body by its thermal nature, not by its temperature on a thermometer but by its effect on the body: warming, neutral, cooling or cold. The sharp, icy feeling of a mint paste is that cold nature announcing itself. Once a day is a small dose. Twice a day for decades, in a large amount, is a habit worth looking at.

    Why the mouth leads back to the kidney

    Oral health in Chinese medicine is not only about the mouth. The kidney governs the bones, and the teeth are described as the surplus of the bones, so the condition of the teeth reflects the strength of the kidney system. That is why I think about how a cold substance, used every day, might relate to the kidney through oral health. The kidney is the organ system Chinese medicine most wants to keep warm.

    What toothpaste has to do with tongue diagnosis

    The tongue is one of the main diagnostic tools in my clinic. Tongue diagnosis is used across traditional medicine cultures as a non-invasive way to assess a person's health, and tongue analysis is valued because it reflects the metabolism and function of the internal organs.[2] The color of the tongue and its coating tell me about digestion, heat and cold. Toothpaste connects to this directly: brushing and strong pastes change what the tongue looks like for a while afterward, so what you put in your mouth shapes what I read. I have written more about what your tongue is telling you if you want to learn to read your own.

    Could fluoride toothpaste affect the gut?

    This is a question people disagree on, and it is one I want you to think about. Toothpaste that is swallowed goes to the gut. A 2025 review on fluoride and gut health describes how excessive fluoride exposure disrupts the composition of the gut microbiota, reduces the production of short-chain fatty acids and impairs the integrity of the intestinal barrier.[3] The same review reports a dose-dependent pattern in animal and human studies, with depletion of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium and enrichment of pro-inflammatory microbes.[3] The word that matters there is excessive, which brings us back to the size of the stripe on your brush.

    Is there a Chinese medicine toothpaste for bleeding gums?

    There is, and it is not very well known in the West: Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste. It is difficult to find in America. I bought my tube when I was recently in Chengdu. I have no financial relationship with this company. I talk about it because it is wonderful if you have bleeding gums.

    Bleeding gums deserve attention. A European consensus workshop on preventing gum disease named the need to communicate to the public the critical importance of gingival bleeding as an early sign of disease.[4] Swollen, bleeding gums are the sign of gingivitis: bacteria in dental biofilm provoke an immune response that inflames and damages the gums, and over time the damage can reach the ligament and bone that hold the teeth.[5] A pink sink after brushing is the body telling you something early, while it is still easy to listen.

    What the research on Yunnan Baiyao shows in the mouth

    Some of the best human evidence for Yunnan Baiyao comes from oral surgery. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at Peking University, 87 patients having upper and lower jaw surgery took Yunnan Baiyao capsules or placebo for 3 days before the operation. Total blood loss averaged 330.5 ml in the Yunnan Baiyao group against 420.3 ml with placebo, and no allergic reactions, thromboembolic events or other side effects were recorded.[6] A 2025 review of two decades of research describes Yunnan Baiyao as widely used for hemostasis, anti-inflammation, antibacterial action, pain relief and wound healing, cites a 21.4% reduction in blood loss in orthognathic surgery, and lists inhibition of bacterial virulence, including breaking down biofilm, among its effects.[7] Biofilm is the same thing that inflames the gums.

    It has also been used where bleeding is hardest to control. At Columbia University, four adolescents with advanced cancer and uncontrolled bleeding, two of them with nosebleeds that would not stop, received topical Yunnan Baiyao alongside their conventional treatment. In all four, bleeding control improved, and no adverse events were reported.[8]

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    What are the Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste ingredients?

    The main ingredient is called Sanqi, Panax notoginseng, a close relative of ginseng that grows in Yunnan province. Sanqi means three, seven. In Chinese medicine it has a reputation few herbs share: it stops bleeding and it moves stagnant blood, so it controls bleeding without leaving clots and bruising behind. Researchers at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine open their paper on it by noting that it is known as "a miracle hemostatic medicine," used for coughing up blood, vomiting blood and traumatic bleeding.[9] I have written separately about San Qi and why it is in Evil Bone Water.

    The same study screened 44 batches of the root and identified the group of compounds behind its hemostatic effect, including dencichine and several ginsenosides and notoginsenosides.[9] Dencichine, also called Tianqi acid, is an amino acid that has long been used in its raw form in Chinese medicine to arrest internal and external bleeding, eliminate blood stasis, improve circulation, disperse bruises and reduce swelling and pain.[10] The word raw matters. Classical practice says Sanqi is used raw to disperse and stop bleeding, and steamed to tonify the blood. Modern chemistry agrees: heat processing sharply reduces dencichine, and raw Sanqi is the form that excels in hemostasis.[11]

    Yunnan Baiyao has been medicine for more than 100 years. A nanotechnology team that studied the powder under an atomic force microscope opened by describing it as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine that has been used to treat wounds for over 100 years.[12] The toothpaste puts that tradition where gums meet brush every morning and night.

    How does Yunnan Baiyao work to stop bleeding?

    Through Sanqi, in three ways. It raises platelet counts, it increases platelet activation, and it promotes vasoconstriction at sites of bleeding and injury, which helps you bleed less. The laboratory work lines up with each step.

    01 More platelets. 20(S)-protopanaxadiol, one of the hemostatic compounds from Panax notoginseng, shortened bleeding time in two mouse bleeding models and mainly increased blood platelet count in rats within 4 hours.[13]
    02 More active platelets. The same compound markedly promoted platelet activation, raising the release of the activation markers CD62P and PAC-1 binding, through the platelet thrombin receptor PAR-1.[13] Notoginsenoside Ft1 was the most potent procoagulant of the Sanqi saponins tested in a British Journal of Pharmacology study; it induced platelet aggregation, reduced tail bleeding time and works through the P2Y12 receptor, the same platelet receptor that common anti-clotting drugs block.[14]
    03 A stronger clotting signal. Ft1 also potentiates the platelet signalling chain that ends in thromboxane A2, and in mice it restored a normal bleeding time that had been prolonged by aspirin.[15] Under the microscope, Yunnan Baiyao powder itself contains uniform nanofibers, about 25 nm across, which the researchers concluded may play a role in platelet aggregation, clotting and the sealing of wounds.[12]

    Add the vasoconstriction at the site of injury and you have the whole picture: more platelets arriving, platelets that switch on faster, and narrower vessels at the spot that is bleeding. For gums that bleed every time you brush, that is the help you want, delivered in the place it is needed.

    How to use toothpaste the Chinese medicine way

    01 Use far less than the commercials. A pea-sized amount is plenty. You do not need a stripe across the whole brush.
    02 Remember it is a cold substance. Treat toothpaste the way Chinese medicine treats any cold input: a small, steady amount, not a large one. Spit it out rather than swallowing it.
    03 Take bleeding gums seriously. Blood when you brush is an early sign. Notice it, and do not brush harder to make it go away.
    04 Look for Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste. It is difficult to find in America, so check Asian grocery stores and import shops, or bring some home if you travel to China. Its Sanqi is what helps the gums bleed less.
    05 Let your tongue be read as it is. On the morning of an acupuncture or herbal visit, skip strong pastes on the tongue so your practitioner sees your real coating. You can learn the basics in 3 secrets about your tongue coating.

    Frequently asked questions

    Does Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste have fluoride?

    Yunnan Baiyao makes several versions of its toothpaste for different markets, so read the ingredient panel on the tube you buy. The ingredient that matters for bleeding gums is the Sanqi, and that is the reason to choose it.

    What is Yunnan Baiyao used for?

    Above all, to stop bleeding. It is used for hemostasis, inflammation, pain and wound healing, and it has been studied in surgery, wound care and hard-to-control bleeding.[7] The toothpaste brings that action to the gums.

    How much toothpaste should an adult use?

    Far less than the amount shown in commercials. A pea-sized amount, the same guide the CDC uses for young children, cleans well and keeps the dose of a cold substance small.[1]

    Small daily habits add up over a lifetime, and the mouth is where digestion begins.

    — Brehan Crawford, L.Ac.

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    Health starts at the mouth

    Bleeding gums, a coated tongue and an unsettled gut are often the same story told in different places. Inside you will find courses on gut, brain and sleep health, condition-specific programs and weekly live Q&A with our clinical team.

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    References

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    2. Bhatnagar V, Bansod PP. Challenges and Solutions in Automated Tongue Diagnosis Techniques: A Review. Crit Rev Biomed Eng. 2022;50(1):47-63. doi:10.1615/CritRevBiomedEng.2022044392
    3. Meenakshi S, Amrutha TV, Abubakar M, et al. Fluoride-induced gut dysbiosis in metabolic disorders: Mechanisms and public health implications. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2025;93:127806. doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127806
    4. Tonetti MS, Chapple IL, Jepsen S, Sanz M. Primary and secondary prevention of periodontal and peri-implant diseases: Introduction to, and objectives of the 11th European Workshop on Periodontology consensus conference. J Clin Periodontol. 2015;42 Suppl 16:S1-4. doi:10.1111/jcpe.12382
    5. Tsuchida S, Satoh M, Takiwaki M, Nomura F. Current Status of Proteomic Technologies for Discovering and Identifying Gingival Crevicular Fluid Biomarkers for Periodontal Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;20(1):86. doi:10.3390/ijms20010086
    6. Tang ZL, Wang X, Yi B, et al. Effects of the preoperative administration of Yunnan Baiyao capsules on intraoperative blood loss in bimaxillary orthognathic surgery: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2009;38(3):261-6. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2008.12.003
    7. Qian H, Zhang W, Zhang M, et al. Yunnan Baiyao (YNBY): pharmacological mechanisms, therapeutic applications, and clinical evidence. Front Pharmacol. 2025;16:1589035. doi:10.3389/fphar.2025.1589035
    8. Ladas EJ, Karlik JB, Rooney D, et al. Topical Yunnan Baiyao administration as an adjunctive therapy for bleeding complications in adolescents with advanced cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2012;20(12):3379-83. doi:10.1007/s00520-012-1598-1
    9. Liu J, Zhang G, Wang Y, et al. Screening and verification of hemostatic effective components group of Panax Notoginseng based on spectrum-effect relationships. J Ethnopharmacol. 2024;321:117539. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2023.117539
    10. Zhang X, Wu H, Wang C, et al. Pharmaceutical Research Progress of Dencichine: a review of recent progress. Fitoterapia. 2025;188:106995. doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2025.106995
    11. Zeng X, Zheng Y, Chen P, et al. Processing-driven chemical transformations and pharmacological shifts in Panax notoginseng. J Ethnopharmacol. 2026;368:121854. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2026.121854
    12. Lenaghan SC, Xia L, Zhang M. Identification of nanofibers in the Chinese herbal medicine: Yunnan Baiyao. J Biomed Nanotechnol. 2009;5(5):472-6. doi:10.1166/jbn.2009.1056
    13. Zhang H, Pan D, Wu X, et al. Platelet Protease Activated Receptor 1 Is Involved in the Hemostatic Effect of 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol by Regulating Calcium Signaling. Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:549150. doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.549150
    14. Gao B, Huang L, Liu H, et al. Platelet P2Y12 receptors are involved in the haemostatic effect of notoginsenoside Ft1, a saponin isolated from Panax notoginseng. Br J Pharmacol. 2014;171(1):214-23. doi:10.1111/bph.12435
    15. Liu Y, Liu T, Zhao J, et al. Phospholipase Cγ2 signalling contributes to the haemostatic effect of Notoginsenoside Ft1. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2019;71(5):878-886. doi:10.1111/jphp.13057