Oral Health Quotes

Any gum chewing can strength the jaw and stimulate stem cell growth, but harder textured varieties offer a more vigorous workout. Falim, a Turkish brand, is as tough as shoe leather and each piece lasts for about an hour. I've found the Sugarless Mint to be the most palatable. Mastic gum, which comes from the resin of the evergreen shrub Pistacia lentiscus, has been cultivated in the Greek islands for thousands of years. Several brands are available through online retailers. The stuff can taste nasty but offers a rigorous jaw workout. [2020] - James Nestor

Science does not support six-month professional cleanings as a benefit for a healthy mouth. Frequent cleanings could weaken teeth, thin your enamel, and cause sensitivity by the removal of a vital protein layer, which may leave your mouth more vulnerable to damage and cavity bacteria. Frequent cleanings help patients who are at high risk. This makes sense, as the burden of infection is temporarily lightened—but it's not taken away. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Dental disease is preventable, and cavities in the early stages are completely reversible. With correct care, a cavity can be stopped and reversed, heal naturally, and never need a filling. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

I believe almost all dental materials, be they silver or white, are dangers to our health, since there is mercury in amalgam (silver) fillings and the plastic compound BPA in white plastic fillings and in sealants. Ceramic material is unyielding, and the constant biting contact against a hard crown can cause fractures of opposing natural teeth. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

A healthy mouth feels clean and comfortable, it has no plaque, no calculus buildup, no recession, and no sign of cavities, bleeding gums, or periodontal problems. A healthy mouth does not need a cleaning, which could potentially scratch or thin the enamel; more importantly, a cleaning may remove the thin layer of healthy protective proteins and the good bacteria that are the foundation of a healthy mouth ecosystem. Your mouth certainly should be professionally evaluated at regular intervals by your dentist, and at these appointments, I encourage patients to inquire if their mouth needs a “cleaning”. If your mouth is unhealthy, a cleaning will remove diseased plaque from around your teeth and gums for a time, and this will temporarily help to limit the amount of damage and inflammation in your gums.  [2018] - Ellie Phillips

You may want to have a saliva test to check the levels of mouth bacteria we know are implicated in a variety of chronic health problems. An ultrasonic scan can show plaque deposits in your carotid arteries, and A1c or C-reactive protein blood tests can indicate the level of inflammation in your body. When these tests are combined, they can give a useful warning or indication of the presence of chronic inflammation, which could have a serious impact on your life now or in the future. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

When you have a mouth teeming with bad bacteria, no amount of brushing or flossing will get rid of them. In fact, I suggest that flossing may actually aggravate the problem, open up wounds, and even push bacteria into the blood, which could increase the risk for an inflammatory response. This is why I do not think it is safe for anyone with an unhealthy mouth to floss. If you want to floss, I suggest you first ensure your mouth is as healthy as possible and maybe take a salivary test to know your levels of opportunistic mouth pathogens before you begin. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Placing a cap over the toothbrush head appeared to encourage virulent opportunistic pathogens, like one called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a species of bacteria that is adapted to low-oxygen environments. This is important information for anyone who travels or keeps their toothbrush in a gym bag, drawer, or confined space. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

I suggest you decontaminate the bristles of your brush after each use by swishing the head of your brush in an essential oil rinse like Listerine®. Then rinse it with water, and allow it to air-dry in a clean environment away from any toilet contamination. Do not rely solely on UV sanitizers as they may not be as effective as portrayed by their marketing. Even antibacterial toothbrushes need to be cleaned with some frequency, especially if you have an unhealthy mouth. Consider purchasing inexpensive brushes for travel and use them as throwaways. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

If your gums bleed when you brush or floss, it is likely you have gingivitis. Often, gingivitis occurs when your body’s immune system is weak or compromised, such as during pregnancy, a period of stress, hormone fluctuation, menopause, or if your mouth is dry from the side effects of taking certain medications or using an asthma inhaler or antihistamine drug. When you notice bleeding, it is important to take action immediately to resolve this. If gingivitis is untreated for more than a few days, deeper damage can occur, and a gum pocket may form that is much more permanent and difficult to resolve. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Root sensitivity is most often a symptom of gum problems, but it is usually felt as radiating pain in teeth, especially as you breathe or drink something hot or cold. Tooth roots are not good candidates for fillings, and sensitivity toothpaste will only cause additional discomfort, including a furry feeling on your teeth or the sensation of a dry mouth. My suggestion is to avoid peroxide, whitening products, oil pulling, or baking soda, which may lead to recession. Sensitivity will disappear naturally as your gum and tooth health improves. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

How do you know when tooth pain is telling you something serious or if it is sensitivity that can be reversed naturally? The rule of thumb is that a painful sensation that lasts fewer than two minutes usually indicates the problem is reversible. You should consider this pain as a warning, but the situation may not be a disaster. Usually, the longer the pain continues, the more serious it is. When tooth pain is felt as you press on a tooth, this is usually a call for more urgent dental help, as this kind of pressure is normally caused by fluids accumulating from a bacterial infection inside the tooth or an abscess in or around the tooth’s root. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

It is important to control prolonged periods of mouth acidity, and this may involve reducing habits like snacking, frequent sipping of drinks (even water, which dilutes saliva), and allowing chronic stress to dominate your life. It is equally important to nurture the healthiest possible biofilm, ideally by keeping your mouth bathed in healthy saliva as much as possible. The health and pH of saliva is affected by diet, stress, changes in hormones and circulation, smoking, and the quality of nutrients absorbed from your food, which depends on the health of your digestive system. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Some apparently healthy products may stop disease, but they allow different problems to occur, such as gum recession, enamel erosion, sensitivity, weakened teeth, and fractures. A mouth that is not comfortable is not healthy. My greatest concern is that some of these products, especially the pastes and rinses that are specifically designed to strip biofilm, may allow viruses, chemicals, bacteria, or free radicals to damage skin cells in the mouth, working as precursors for oral cancer. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Many times, I have helped patients return their teeth to total health, but success is easier to predict if we begin remineralization before the tooth’s enamel skeleton has been physically broken. Most small cavities take at least a year to form, and the reversal and repair can happen in a fraction of this time— often in less than three months. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

I do not endorse drinking fluoride. I encourage everyone to spit several times after using any dental products to ensure good clearance from the mouth; do not eat, drink, or wash your mouth for at least an hour, so that your teeth can derive the maximum benefit from fluoride rinsing. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Almost everyone’s saliva pH becomes more acidic at night, or when we are tired or unwell. Mouth pH can be tested with special litmus paper or a pH meter dipped into saliva that is collected in a spoon or small dish. Your morning saliva can be used as a baseline reading, but remember, saliva pH fluctuates easily with stress, travel, extra hours of work, or mouth breathing. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Baking soda is a handy cleaning product, because it is not abrasive and is excellent for dissolving grease and removing molds. In the mouth, however, this ability to dissolve fats and grease appears to damage the beneficial proteins that are the foundation of healthy biofilm that covers teeth and stops sensitivity, enamel erosion, and gum recession—particularly for mouths that are acidic or dry. Baking soda appears to strip this protective protein layer away in some mouths, which leaves teeth and gums more vulnerable to mechanical, thermal, and chemical assault. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

The suggestion to brush your teeth immediately after a meal may sound logical to some people, but not if you understand that your mouth is almost always acidic after a meal. It can take about an hour for this acidity to dissipate. This is why some dentists tell their patients to wait an hour before brushing. If you brush acid- softened enamel, it will easily be abraded or worn. In my opinion, the best solution is to use xylitol at the end of meals. If xylitol is not available, an option would be to have a tooth-protective food like whole milk or cheese or to rinse the mouth with water to wash away the acidity. [2018] - Ellie Phillips

Buy some new toothbrushes, and ensure they are not too soft. You’ll want to concentrate on reaching all the areas of your gums: even higher above, on the inside areas, and below your teeth in the areas of the teeth’s roots. Brushing techniques that target teeth and do not reach your gums will leave plaque at the gum margins in an infected mouth. In some cases, a battery-operated brush can be useful, since the vibrations help to stimulate circulation when dexterity or access to the mouth is difficult. In other situations, when the vibrations are not tolerable, cleaning the gums with a manual brush or even a sponge or cloth may be your best option. [2018] - Ellie Phillips