Okay, now you want me to give up my toothpaste? I know that's what you're thinking and YES. I do. "But why...." you might whine "It whitens my teeth and freshens my breath!"
Yes...it does that. But I found that the toothpaste I had in my bathroom also contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Whoa...what? Yep. That's that nasty stuff I talked about here. If it makes my hair fall out and is potentially dangerous, do I want it in my mouth? NO, I think not!
So, I looked around for some alternatives and came up with this recipe for a tooth powder:
3 parts baking soda mixed with 1 part salt. (I used 3/4 cup soda to 1/4 cup salt, but this will last me a LONG TIME I think so you may want to cut back a bit.) Add to this 5 drops of tea tree essential oil (anti-bacterial) and 5 drops of spearamint or peppermint esssential oil. Now, I found this mixture to be....salty. Not terrible but not terribly pleasant either. Futher reading showed that I could add a tablespoon of xylitol to the mix. Xylitol is a sweetner and has been used by the dental community for some time in gum products to help with teeth. (it is POISON to dogs though, so be careful). Ah...much better! I store my powder in a small container and just dip my damp brush in. You could also scoop a little out so you don't contaminate your jar with your mouth germs.
Now that we've brushed, shall we rinse? My dental hygeniest reccomended a mixture of 1/2 listerine and 1/2 hydrogen peroxide (the stuff you put on wounds to help disinfect, that you can find SUPER cheap in the pharmacy.) This mixture is gentle on your gums and helps combat gum disease (which most of us have, even if we don't have symptoms.) Now, I've found other recipes using just peroxide mixed with a bit of essential oils (again, tea tree and/or mint) but I think I'll stick to the listerine.
Rinsed and brushed? Now what. Well, I was going to try oil pulling. However, somebody on facebook pointed out to me that it's not a good idea if you have fillings, since the pulling can loosen up those fillings. I....sadly....have a lot of fillings. Years of neglect to my teeth (not getting them cleaned)....I'm telling you, depression is hard core stuff. So I'm opting out of this, (though I did try it once and it's not bad! My mouth felt nice afterwards!)
So floss and now you're squeaky clean!
(Alternate recipe to make your tooth powder into a paste? 6 parts baking soda : 1 part vegetable based glycerin : 1 part hydrogen peroxide : essential oils to flavor to taste)
Wait! Wait!! What about flouride? Ah....the flouride. Read this: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/toxicchemicalsan/a/flouride.htm
and this:
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/fluoride.htm
and this:
http://www.fluoridedebate.com/
and if you really have a lot of time look at this book:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1425144845/ref=nosim/?tag=shirleyswel02-20
You guys decide for yourselves. I'm not saying one way or another. (It's in the water we drink already, sometimes naturally occuring). However...not saying one way or another...I'm opting out of it. I'll take my chances..my teeth are already full of filling as it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment