dental health
Last month I had my first dental check-up in 18 months and I wanted to record my experience – a lot has changed in the last 18 months in terms of my lifestyle and diet. So here is a report on my current dental health – the dental health of someone whose life has changed significantly for the better.
When I went to my last dental exam, I smoked 20 cigarettes a day, I drank sugar-filled white wine, 6-8 liters of coffee a day, I ate sweet, sugary processed foods constantly, and I ate a lot of jelly candies. However, like all good people, I brushed my teeth twice a day and rinsed them with mouthwash – that’s enough, isn’t it?
How was my dental health 18 months ago?
When I went to the dentist for a check up 18 months ago, the visit resulted in me getting a filling because a cavity had deteriorated and needed filling, I needed a scale and polish because my teeth were brown (from nicotine and plenty of coffee). , tartar had built up around all my teeth and the dentist was considering capping another tooth. not good right? You can’t hide your lifestyle from a dentist – she knew I smoked, she knew I drank more alcohol than I should have, she knew about my coffee habit and my sugar addiction!! I was shocked. The toothpaste I used was the same toothpaste that you can find in all supermarkets around the world, and I didn’t always buy the most expensive toothpaste.
Immediately after this visit, I was told by my doctor that unless my lifestyle improved, I was headed for a fatal heart attack and when I met my health mentor and began my journey to organic living.
What has changed?
Those who don’t know my story may be wondering what changes I made to affect my dental health.
• I quit smoking – something I worried about because when my first wife’s mother quit smoking her teeth were crumbling leaving her at age 40 with dentures. My teeth were fine
• I stopped drinking tea and coffee and replaced hot water with lemon and ginger. Lemon can help neutralize the naturally occurring acids in your mouth that cause tooth decay. To have healthy teeth you need a neutral pH in the mouth – it should be between 6.5 and 7.5 – this can be achieved by eating the right foods and drinking the right drinks. I check my oral pH weekly as it is a good indicator of overall health – papers can be bought online for almost nothing – and healthy oral pH means healthy teeth!
• I stopped eating sweets, junk food, and processed foods and using refined sugar (sucrose), which meant I stopped putting refined sugar in my teeth at all—a major cause of tooth decay
• I started eating natural, organic, fresh, whole foods 80-90% of the time — these contain fructose, a naturally occurring sugar that is processed by the body in a completely different way and doesn’t rot teeth (despite the popular misconception that the natural sugars in fruit are just as bad as the refined sugars found in candy, or that you put in your drinks, or that makes up 50% of a can of soda!!
• I started making my own toothpaste, something the Egyptians and Aztecs did thousands of years ago and indigenous tribes still do – it’s made with just 4 ingredients and is inexpensive to make – sodium bicarbonate, salt, mineral water and peppermint essential oil it is optional. Sodium bicarbonate and salt work to further neutralize the acid in your mouth. This is a gritty paste that works really well for whitening teeth and removing any buildup of tartar. We also use a fluoride-free organic aloe toothpaste that is commercially available and contains no chemicals. The toothpastes that most people use contain:
– Fluoride (contrary to popular belief, this is not good for the body – it is actually a toxic chemical that is created as toxic waste from the manufacture of fertilizers and such – you just need to do a little research to find out the facts about fluorides and them are scary!);
– Abrasives containing aluminum (linked to Alzheimer’s) and silicon, known to be sometimes so abrasive that they damage tooth enamel; detergents, the most important being sodium lauryl sulfate, which has been implicated in many diseases;
– Humectants – chemicals that prevent your toothpaste from drying out, like Glyceril (when my toothpaste dries out, I just add more spring water!!);
– thickeners such as carrageenan (known to be carcinogenic);
– Preservatives that prevent bacteria from growing in your toothpaste, the main ones being parabens, which are known to mimic the effects of estrogen and have been linked to breast cancer – if kept in an airtight container, grow in mine toothpaste no bacteria;
– sweeteners – saccharin is commonly used, but also has a small effect on increasing the likelihood of tooth decay;
– Flavor – necessary to mask the taste of the detergents, toothpaste would taste awful without them – the flavor in my toothpaste is optional, it tastes good without;
– Dyes – E numbers to make your toothpaste blue or green or white – toothpaste would look gross without these
It’s not strange that something so easy and cheap to make yourself should contain so many ingredients, some to counteract the effects of other ingredients and others to harm your overall physical health. If they do this to your body, imagine what they are doing to your dental health – as we’ve seen, some of the abrasives used can destroy the enamel on your teeth. Our abrasive is Himalayan salt, a natural substance that dissolves in water.
• The last thing that changed was that I did our cinnamon-honey road test the month before my exam, so I drank a few cups of cinnamon and honey in hot water a day. This has been used for thousands of years by indigenous peoples (as I discovered when I started road testing) to freshen breath and maintain oral hygiene and dental health
What was the result of my last investigation
My dentist went through a lot of “mmmm” and “aah” ings as she picked my mouth. She then asked me what I do differently – as I said, you can’t get past them! So I admitted it — I told her everything I listed above, including the fact that I mostly use my homemade toothpaste. Her reaction was “Wow!” one of a shaking head and disbelief. She then told me that my teeth were in “better shape than ever,” that they were “the healthiest she’s ever seen,” and that my gums have stopped receding and my teeth are coming up. Tartar formation was practically non-existent! Reassurance that what I’m doing is working and that my overall dental health has IMPROVED since making lifestyle changes.
Will you still use your regular toothpaste?
Thanks to Dale Preece-Kelly
