Dragon’s Bone and Teeth
Dragon bone is classified as sweet, astringent, and mild in nature. It is taken internally to tranquilize nervousness, calm the mind, and astringe sweating; topically it is used to promote tissue regeneration and astringe boils. In modern Chinese clinical practice, dragon bone is most frequently used to “settle uprising yang.” This syndrome can contribute to hypertension, stroke, menopausal hot flashes, and various mental disorders. Dragon tooth is classified as astringent and cool. It is taken to stop palpitation, calm the mind, clear away fever accompanied by restlessness, and treat epilepsy. Dragon bone and tooth materials are not recommended for use in cases of heat accumulation due to excess-syndrome. Yang Yifan explained the differentiation of dragon bone and dragon tooth this way (8): “Dragon tooth is heavier than dragon bone and its descending property is stronger and quicker than that of dragon bone. Dragon tooth is very effective for sedating the heart spirit and calming the mind and is used to treat manic-depressive psychosis, hysteria, anxiety, irritability, and insomnia. Dragon bone has two functions that dragon tooth does not. First, it can anchor the liver yang to treat liver yang rising, which manifests as dizziness, tinnitus, headache, and dream-disturbed sleep. Second, it can stabilize the leakage of the essence and body fluids.”
