Quotations by Ellie Phillips

Avoid mouth acidity as much as possible and encourage healthy plaque by consuming sufficient 100% xylitol each day, especially after meals and beverages. At least 6-10 grams of xylitol per day is recommended in (at least 5-6) divided doses. Mints, gum, breath sprays or granular xylitol are all acceptable. My general recommendation is to dissolve one teaspoon (4 grams) of granulated xylitol in 6-8 ounces of water and drink this each morning. This can be repeated again in the afternoon, or mints and gum can be eaten at the end of snacks or meals. Frequency is believed to play a major role in reducing plaque. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

To prevent gum disease, watch for the first signs of infection (bleeding gums) and take action immediately. When you prevent or stop gum disease at the early stage, you avoid all the problems that aggressive periodontal bacteria can inflict on your gums, bones, and health. When your teeth have multiple exposures to xylitol each day, totaling at least 6.5 and 10 grams of xylitol, studies show that you can radically change the kind of bacteria in your mouth within one year. The next thing to do is visit a dentist as soon as possible to have an evaluation to learn about remedies that can help return your mouth to health. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Mouth rinses and toothpastes contain various kinds of fluoride. I recommend only sodium fluoride, which has been studied for decades and is the most stable and safe. And it will not stain teeth, a problem that can occur with other kinds of fluoride, particularly stannous fluoride. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

I advise patients to avoid high-concentration fluoride products and look for lower-dilution products, such as ACT, with 0.05% fluoride, which, ironically, can be more effective in strengthening your teeth than gels and pastes that contain ten times the concentration of fluoride. Try to keep fluoride in contact with your tooth surfaces for as long as possible; the longer the duration of contact, the stronger your tooth enamel will become. The more often you rinse with fluoride, the more help you give your teeth. Rinsing several times a day will speed and improve results in you're trying to strengthen your teeth or repair damage. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Adults will benefit from using a dilute 0.05% sodium fluoride rinse without alcohol the last thing before going to bed. If you rinse and spit out but don't wash your mouth or drink anything more, a thin residue will cover your teeth for many hours during the night. The residue helps minerals in saliva rebuild damaged tooth enamel to improve the condition of your teeth while you're sleeping. The treatment will be especially helpful for people with tooth damage caused by dry mouth, acid reflux, or trauma to teeth from a hard bite. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

If you're going to bleach your teeth, understand what you're doing and evaluate the risks. During bleaching you can upset or kill the nerve of a tooth, which could potentially require a root-canal treatment or even an extraction. Everyone who bleaches their teeth will damage their enamel to some extent. Bleaching decreases the hardness of the teeth, demineralizing and weakening them. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Most whitening products contain peroxide as the main ingredient. The problem with peroxide is created by something called a hydroxyl-free radical, a by-product of bleaching that causes damage to the gum--damage that may be permanent. In addition, many whitening toothpastes contain abrasive polishing agents to remove some of the surface layer of your tooth, the part most often stained. But remember, this layer offers your tooth the most protection from infection and a barrier to make teeth less sensitive. I consider that a very well-known brand of whitening mouth rinse should be considered a co-carcinogen and that using the product may increase your risk for oral cancer. Stay clear of products that claim to whiten teeth. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Sweeteners like stevia and xylitol are derived from natural sources and are healthy and safe sugar substitutes, despite the fact that they have such off-putting and chemical-sounding names. Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, often have alluring names like Splenda, Sweet'N Low, and Equal. There are great differences for teeth between the effects of consuming the natural and dentally beneficial sugar substitute xylitol and xylitol's ugly stepsister, the artificial sugarless sweetener called sorbitol. Sorbitol can cause gastric problems like bloating and stomach cramps at low dosage. Many people who consume sorbitol find they develop acid reflux symptoms. Don't believe that when a product says it's sugar free it means it's "safe or good for teeth." Sugar-free products, especially chewing gum and diet drinks, may contain sorbitol. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Few mineral waters are alkaline, and even tap water may be acidic. As a generalization, the more expensive bottled waters, originating from various regions of the world, seem to be alkaline. Evian is a brand of bottled water and is mildly alkaline, with a pH of 7.2, and Fiji water from the island of Fiji, has a pH of 7.4. People who wake and need a drink during the night, people with a dry mouth, or those who are dehydrated or sick may want to take particular interest in the pH value of the water they are consuming. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Citric acid is damaging in any mouth, and in a dry mouth, where it is not diluted or washed off teeth by saliva, the damage will be more extreme. Many fruits contain citric acid, as do the drinks made from them: grapefruit, oranges, limes, or lemons. Other foods, such as bananas, almonds, potatoes, vegetables of all kinds, fresh apples, and even pineapple, can make the mouth alkaline. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Several foods are not only safe for teeth but also have tooth-protective or anti-cavity features: 1) Cow's milk; 2) Cheese; 3) Dark chocolate; 4) Certain plant fibers and leaves (sugarcane, fresh apples, tea, etc.); 5) Intense sweeteners (glycyrrhizin from licorice root, thaumatin, miraculin, etc.); 6) Propolis. Finishing a meal or a snack with something dentally healthy can alter the chemistry of your mouth and leave it safe for teeth. Know at least one or two foods that you like and which are safe for teeth so that you can eat these to complete any meal or snack made up of foods that are damaging. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

In general, a toothbrush head should be less than one inch in length and should have a handle that allows a firm grasp. The bristles must have rounded ends to avoid damaging the gums. I suggest looking for "caretaker" brushes with small heads and longer handles. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Brushes should be cleaned daily, using an anti-bacterial or other sanitizing method. Toothbrushes can be cleaned by swishing the bristles of the brush in ½oz undiluted antibacterial rinse (Listerine) for 30 seconds. Rinse away the disinfecting liquids under running tap water. Store the brush head up, in a cup, allowing the bristles to air dry completely between each use. If your storage conditions are damp or wet, mold or bacteria will grow easily on your brush, even under a cover or in a bag. Depending on their bathroom conditions, some families may be able to keep their toothbrushes cleaner by storing them in a kitchen area. The makers of the UV sterilizers for toothbrushes are now making small portable units for traveling toothbrushes, and the units seem to work well. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Most pastes contain dicalcium phosphate dehydrate as an abrasive to clean teeth. Abrasive toothpaste, often used for tartar control, can cause sensitivity and may actually weaken teeth. Some antibacterial ingredients and whitening products may even be classified as co-carcinogens, capable of triggering cancer in cancer-prone patients when used repeatedly over time. I recommend the original Crest Regular Cavity Protection toothpaste with no extras. This paste is sufficiently cleansing without being too abrasive. It contains sodium fluoride to strengthen teeth. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Recent testing confirms the effectiveness of Listerine in removing plaque from teeth and shows that rinsing twice a day is as effective for removing plaque as flossing once a day. Listerine exerts its antibacterial effect mainly on immature bacteria, so rinsing every 12 hours is important. The bonus of Listerine is that rinsing reaches everywhere in the mouth whereas only about 25% of the mouth is cleaned by flossing and brushing. Look for the original formula or a taste you can tolerate. Avoid rinses that are advertised for plaque control, whitening, or have other features that are unnecessary. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

A large percentage of adults have acidic saliva or drink acidic drinks just before brushing their teeth. Their teeth will therefore already be acid softened as they start brushing. Acid-softened teeth are easily abraded, especially by a toothbrush coated with toothpaste. Poorly designed brushes, stiff or hard bristles, or an abrasive toothpaste make this problem worse. I suggest using a stabilized chlorine-dioxide mouth rinse called Closys in the United States (Ultradex in the United Kingdom) for a prerinse. A chlorine-dioxide rinse is most effective if it's unflavored. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

If you use xylitol gum, do not chew it for longer than 10 minutes-by which time the sweet taste should be gone. Longer gum chewing will bring a different kind of digestive saliva into the mouth, which will dilute and wash away the xylitol-stimulated saliva that is most useful for healing the gums and teeth. It's ideal immediately after each xylitol exposure to have a period when you do not eat or drink for at least an hour-this allows saliva with xylitol dissolved in it to interact with the mouth and teeth, and for xylitol to work in what is called a prebiotic capacity, which serves to nurture the mouth's population of good bacteria. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Sensitivity pastes can dull the pain felt in your teeth, especially when this involves any root dentin that may have become exposed in your mouth. These pastes frequently desensitize the tooth by creating a plug made up from a tin compound that works as a barrier substance over the exposed dentin. This will provide immediate relief, but since the underlying problem has not been addressed, more damage can occur and result in more problems elsewhere in the mouth. Sensitivity is better addressed by using xylitol at the end of meals, followed by a period of mouth resting. This is really a time, after using xylitol, when you do not eat or drink anything for an hour or two. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Sticky or highly processed foods, especially soft cereals and crackers, are particularly dangerous for teeth. The quantity of sugar you consume is not as important for mouth health as the frequency and duration of time during which sugar is in your mouth. This is why a more successful approach is to plan healthy meals, and then end every meal with a tooth-protective food or xylitol, which will negate any drop in your mouth's pH level generated by the sugary foods and/or beverages in question. [2025] - Ellie Phillips

Tomatoes and pink grapefruit contain special nutrients called bioactives, which can protect the DNA of cells from damage that may occur during X-rays, provided that they're consumed prior to any radiation. Fresh apples are a great example of a food rich in probiotic properties (together with the aforementioned bioactives) that help to speed up the repair of DNA damage to reduce damaging effects. This is why apples are useful when they're consumed after one has undergone X-rays, or for patients with disrupted salivary glands who are following a course of radiation and/or chemotherapy.  [2025] - Ellie Phillips