Tips to better oral health
I share these tips with my patients, and I practice them myself every day.
Good nutrition.
Healthy teeth are linked to good nutrition, as great nutrition helps remineralize teeth.
An excellent oral hygiene routine is one of many things a person needs to do to prevent tooth decay. I recommend the Weston A. Price Foundation dietary guidelines, but each individual has different needs; consult a health practitioner and/or a nutritionist to find the proper diet and run the adequate tests to be sure your gut is capable of absorbing nutrients.
Keep your oral pH as neutral as possible.
Rinsing food away inhibits bacteria's fermentation, keeping plaque ‘immature.’ Mature plaque is full of bacteria and much more toxic to oral health.
After you have a meal or drink, rinse your mouth with neutral-to alkaline Ph water four times. Ideally, the water should be 6,8- 8 pH. You can swallow it or spit it out, whichever you prefer.
Salt rinses
Understanding the benefits of raising our pH can benefit our oral health. Our pH is most acidic at 2 a.m. (because of our physiological cycle), so practicing good oral hygiene before bed will raise your pH, which is essential for good oral health.
Salt raises the pH in our mouth and starves the bacteria, further enhancing the health of our teeth and gums. You can mix ½ tsp of salt in 4 oz. of water. Stir with your toothbrush, take a sip, and switch. Continue taking sips until you finish the four oz. Do not rinse with water afterward.
Safely drink carbonated drinks.
There is a safe way to enjoy carbonated beverages. Carbonated drinks such as soda, kombucha, sparkling water, beer, apple cider vinegar, and lemon water have a low pH. Low pH is harmful to teeth's enamel. For instance, a good-quality kombucha should have a pH between 2.5 and 3.2To avoid damaging your teeth's enamel when drinking carbonated or acidic drinks, follow these tips:
1. Use a straw: This will prevent the acidic drink from staying on your teeth for an extended period, thus dissolving your enamel. Using a straw that goes to the back of your mouth, close to your throat, is best.
2. Drink quickly: Don't sip on your drink throughout the day. This will prolong the acidic pH in your mouth, causing harm to your teeth's enamel. Enjoy your drink, but try to finish a 4-ounce glass in no more than 10 minutes. Better to sip 6,8-8 pH water during the day and switch it to keep the plaque diluted, this will make the brushing at night better since the diluted plaque would be easier to remove.
3. Rinse your mouth: After drinking a carbonated or acidic drink, rinse your mouth at least five times with neutral-alkaline pH water. This will help increase the pH level in your mouth to neutral pH. Remember that bacteria thrive in acidic pH. Switching water keeps the plaque diluted, this will make the brushing at night better since the diluted plaque would be easier to remove.
4. Avoid brushing your teeth immediately after drinking carbonated or acidic drinks. The acidic pH weakens the enamel; brushing it immediately will only remove more minerals from the tooth surface. Rinse with neutral-alkaline pH water immediately but wait at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth.
Safely drink coffee and tea.
Add a tablespoon of cream, coconut, or MCT oil to your drink to avoid staining your teeth.
People may experience stomach discomfort when adding coconut oil to coffee, MCT oil is a good alternative. Always consult your medical doctor before adding either to your diet. If you prefer bulletproof coffee, starting your day with collagen, butter, and MCT oil can fuel your brain. When drinking coffee, avoid adding sugar. Use stevia as a sugar substitute if you can't resist. Remember that coffee raises the acidity of the pH in your mouth, so limit your intake to 6 oz and rinse your mouth with water afterward to increase your pH level.
Wait at least three hours before you begin eating again.
The buffering capacity of saliva takes approximately 3 hours.
Buffering capacity is the ability of saliva to neutralize acids in the mouth. Our pH becomes acidic before any meal or drink except water. Rinsing with neutral water , switching and waiting at least 3 hours to eat again will allow the buffering capacity of the saliva to take place in our mouth, which stops the harmful effect of the bad bacteria.
Combine the right foods and eat them at the right time.
Eat protein with your snacks and main meals. If you really like fruits, combine them with a protein.
If you feel daunted by giving up sugar, start by eating them with protein. The sugar in the blood won’t be that high, and the pH in your mouth won’t be as acidic as if you ate the sweet alone.
Take the right supplements for you.
The older we get, the more minerals we lose.
Good food alone is often insufficient to meet our nutritional needs. Therefore, taking supplements can be beneficial. However, I always advise my patients to consult their medical doctor first to determine their deficiencies and ensure they take the correct supplements. Being sure that the our body can absorb nutrients.
Use good oral hygiene before bedtime.
While it's ideal to floss, brush, and rinse our mouth twice a day, we understand that mornings can be hectic. If you find brushing your teeth in the morning after breakfast challenging, a simple rinse with water can still contribute to your oral health.
Here's a recommended oral hygiene routine: After your evening meal, floss with Smart Floss. Brush your teeth using Akamai toothpaste or Deltalcidin. Finally, rinse your mouth with baking soda (explained below). This sequence of steps ensures a comprehensive cleaning of your teeth and gums.
Flossing is very useful to clean our teeth and our gums. In doing so, we keep the bone (which holds the teeth) healthy. In addition, our immune system gets stronger when we use dental floss. When we don’t floss, gums become inflamed, and our ant-inflammatory cells rush to help, which wastes their energy. When you use dental floss, the inflammation decreases or disappears, and our body uses that energy for more important things we can’t control ourselves.
Akamai toothpaste is one of the best toothpaste that I have found on the market. My family and I have been using it for quite a while, and we love it! The ingredients are great. It’s great for detoxing, pH, remineralization, and more. It has no fluoride, no glycerin, and no added chemicals. It is also a local Boulder company.
If you use another toothpaste, be sure not to brush it with powders since they are very abrasive. The best way is to dilute the powders in water, dip your toothbrush in the mix, and then brush your teeth.
Oral probiotics are live bacteria similar to the beneficial microorganisms found naturally in your mouth. Adding oral probiotics to your oral care routine can restore the natural balance of beneficial bacteria. Oral probiotics are different from regular probiotics. Probiotics are a good example of an oral probiotic.