It goes without saying that looking after your toothy-pegs is really important. Whilst standard brushing and flossing is a pretty bang-on modern method for keeping teeth healthy due to all toothpastes using fluoride as a main ingredient to protect and strengthen tooth enamel, I wanted to explore other methods of oral care and incorporate them to keep my mouth as healthy as possible. After all, hundreds of years ago toothpaste wasn't even around and people used alternative and effective ways to keep their teeth clean. It is true that a huge reason for this is that their diet was completely different to ours now, however, no matter what you eat, if you don't have good oral hygiene, you aren't going to keep your teeth for very long. I'm not encouraging anybody to abandon brushing their teeth with toothpaste at all, these methods can be incorporated into your normal routine. First things first...
COCONUT OIL PULLING
I've yet to come across somebody that doesn't love using coconut oil in at least one aspect of their life. And if you don't, well you should be. Coconut oil is great, it's full of healthy fatty acids and can be used both topically and ingested for multiple health benefits. You can oil pull with other oils like sesame and clove, but coconut is one of the most popular due to it's high amount of fatty acids and pleasant taste.
WHAT?
All you have to do to oil pull is take a teaspoon of oil in your mouth, wait until it turns to liquid and then swish it around for 15-20 minutes. Yes, this is a bit weird at first but I'm now 6 weeks in and I'm so used to the texture and the taste I just don't notice it anymore. So it gets better with time, I promise!
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| The consistency of the oil when solid - it liquidises quickly when you start oil pulling |
WHY?
Oil pulling is meant to be AMAZING for oral health. When you swish the oil around your mouth it basically "pulls" all of the bad bacteria and other icky stuff from around and in between your teeth and gums. Which is why, when you finish, you're meant to spit it out in the bin and not swallow it. Doing this daily over a long period of time reduces your risk of tooth decay, gum disease and other nasty infections. It is also meant to whiten your teeth as it helps remove stains and marks caused by plaque.
Now, when you research this online, you'll also find a number of other claims from people that it "cures" tooth decay, heals cracked and broken teeth, helps your teeth and enamel grow back and regenerate, etc. I'm not sure if I necessarily believe this. Enamel is inorganic, once the body creates tooth-buds during your time in the womb the cells die off :(. However, I do think that it can hugely benefit the prevention of tooth decay and also heal your gums and generally make your mouth a cleaner place.
SO?
Am I seeing results? Yes and no. I've only been doing it for 6 weeks, and I don't have any drastic health problems with my teeth or gums. However, I have noticed my teeth look a lot brighter, and feel so much cleaner, so I'm going to carry on. I think that the longer you do this for, the more benefits you see over time. I've also noticed a few other benefits, I find it easier to get up in the morning, my energy has improved throughout the day, and I don't feel as groggy during the mornings on the way to work. I've read that coconut oil pulling can contribute to better energy throughout the day and improve your well-being. So I will probably do another quick update after I've been doing it another 6 weeks (12 weeks overall) to see a difference.
HIMALAYAN SALT WATER MOUTH RINSE
WHAT?
Warm water and pink Himalayan rock salt! As a mouth rinse. I use this 3-4 times a week after oil pulling.
WHY?
Salt water rinsing in general is great for oral health because it kills bacteria in your mouth. Himalayan salt contains 84 minerals including calcium and phosphorus which can help remineralise your teeth, so rinsing with this is giving you the most benefit and depositing all the goodness and minerals into your mouth whilst keeping it clean and healthy.
SO?
I love this, makes my mouth and teeth feel super clean. I've actually reverted to using Himalayan salt instead of normal table salt in cooking as well as it's pure and natural.
TOOTH REMINERALISATION
There's a little red squiggly line underneath "remineralisation" which makes me doubt whether this is actually a word or not. I've only very recently come across this term, and it was in a dentists chair in Melbourne Australia. Since then I've done a LOT of research on this to figure out exactly what it means.
WHAT?
Although you can't make lost enamel grow back or replace itself once it's gone, you can deposit minerals back into your teeth and saliva that help strengthen it. There are two ways that you can do this.
-Tooth Mousse
I bought this from the dentist in Australia for about $30 and I really don't know why this hasn't been introduced into the UK market, or isn't being recommended by dentists more often. It was formulated and developed in Melbourne, and it's a paste that you put over your teeth after brushing and leave on for 3-5 minutes. It's main ingredient is calcium phosphate which is deposited onto your teeth and helps them remineralise, therefore strengthening your enamel and helping prevent the beginning stages of decay.
- Homemade toothpaste
You can make your own remineralising toothpaste using coconut oil, xylitol, baking soda, calcium powder and diatomaceous earth. This works in the same way, depositing minerals into your mouth and teeth, but does have a few extra ingredients that benefit your teeth, like xylitol which can help prevent demineralisation and also stop bacteria sticking to your teeth. Wellness Mama has a really good blog post all about how to make and use a homemade toothpaste, which you can view here.
WHY?
When decay starts, it begins with a loss of minerals from the tooth due to too much acid wearing them away. So by remineralising, you can both prevent and effectively halt or in some cases, reverse the start of the decay process.
SO?
This is all new to me and very scientific. Basically, I'm thrilled at the idea that there is something extra that I can do to help keep my teeth strong and healthy, and I'm using my tooth mousse most nights as a preventative method. The blurb on the official tooth mousse website claims that it can both prevent and "reverse" tooth decay. I think that this is reversal in the VERY early stages of decay that might not be visible yet or noticeable to an untrained eye.
I'm still really interested in the idea that you can further reverse decay and potentially heal your teeth. I know that enamel is inorganic, but your teeth are still a living organ in your body, so I don't want to yet dismiss any claims that healing your teeth is completely impossible. At the moment I am enjoying using other methods to improve my oral health and look after my teeth, and I will update this post with any more results that I see.
Has anyone heard of tooth mousse and noticed any difference? Do you oil pull regularly or use your own toothpaste? I'd love to know.
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