Natural Tips for Healthy Teeth
Healthy teeth are something many of us are blessed with, while others find it challenging to keep their teeth healthy. Poor food choices, bad digestion, stressful emotions, and bad oral hygiene all can contribute to teeth issues. Dentists can easily point out health issues to their clients based on their teeth.
Your teeth are like any other part of your body. They can get broken, scraped, damaged in many ways and they can also heal. I have had many customers that have told me how improving their health has improved their teeth, even popping out fillings as their tooth repairs itself from proper nutrition in their body.
Although teeth are hard, they are also living and repairable just like any other part of the body.
Recently I got a cavity. I have not had many cavities in my life. This was a wake-up call for me to let me know that my food choices had got off track. Changing to a better diet helps to repair teeth and the rest of the body.
Many people do not realize that healthy teeth start with a healthy digestive system. If you don’t digest your food in the first place, how do you expect your body to get nutrients to your teeth to make them strong to work and prevent disease?
So, to have healthy teeth, watch what you eat. By this, I mean to eat foods that have nutritional value and nourish your body. Many people think this is important just because of the plaque that can accumulate on our teeth from bad foods. However, if you are eating the right foods, our digestive system can help strengthen our teeth from inside preventing a whole host of problems from cavities, to gum disease. If you eat toxic food, it doesn’t just stay on our teeth, it also inhibits our cells from creating healthy new cells for our teeth and our whole body.
Sugar
We are all human and get pulled in from billions of dollars of advertising, peer pressure, and the time constraints to eating food that is less nutritious than our bodies need. Then there is sugar. Sugar is known to be as addictive as any drug. It affects the brain the same way, only we do not have a mechanism to tell us when we have had too much, except when we get sick or get a cavity.
Cutting sugar out of your diet can be challenging. However, tooth pain can be a great motivator! Focusing on eating higher quality foods is a great way to clean up your diet. Adding in good fats such as avocado & coconut oil can help prevent sugar cravings. Most people are deficient in essential fatty acids, as well as the medium-chain fatty acids from avocado/coconuts. Good fats cause transportation in the body and help to build bones, and your teeth.
Other factors
Stress can also be a major factor attributing to a rundown immune system and causing nutrient depletion. Not getting enough sleep has been proven to cause us to make poor food choices and eat emotionally instead of properly. Many natural tools can help with stress and sleep issues.
Contact us for specific issues you may need assistance with.
Teeth chart
When I worked in California, I got a tooth chart from a holistic dentist that shows which organ is represented for each tooth. Like reflexology, this chart helps to show people what organ in their body may need assistance and is showing up as a weakness in a specific tooth. Many people find it helpful in getting to the core of the issue with the tooth, instead of just pulling out the tooth, which of course does not fix the core issue. If the organ is not fixed along with the tooth issue, it will remain and most likely will cause problems later in the actual organ itself, if not somewhere else in the body. So, knowing what organ or body system is weak, and working to strengthen it will not only help that part of your body but also that particular tooth as well.
Mercury fillings
This is a hotly debated topic. Mercury is a poison. Of course, most dentists will tell you that this is not an issue, and there is nothing to worry about. But of course, if they told us there was something to worry about, any of us with this issue, would demand that they take this out of our mouths, carte blanche because they put something harmful in us in the first place! But the dental industry does not think this way – and even dentists I know that do think it is an issue, charge quite a bit to take this harmful substance out the correct way.
I have also worked with many people to help have their fillings taken out in the right order.
We do this by using muscle testing (Kinesiology). Some dentists do this as well to help make sure the teeth are removed in the correct order to prevent what is called the “ghost effect” – like what happens when people lose an extremity. They still “feel” the extremity, even though it is no longer there. And the same can happen if you are having issues that the mercury is causing, and taking them out is good, but taking them out in the right order is even better.
Fluoride
Another hotly debated topic is fluoride. Fluoride is now put in so many toothpaste and mouthwashes and of course our drinking/cooking water. It was put there to help prevent cavities; unfortunately, it can cause many other problems. Fluoride is an ENZYME poison! Well, now, doesn’t that just answer some questions? You know what’s funny; they tell us not to eat the fish from certain lakes/oceans more than once a week if you are young or pregnant… because that fish is mercury contaminated from living there for a few years. But somehow then it is ok for the whole population to DRINK the “clean” water after it had fluoride, chlorine, and more added to it. In fact, on September 1, 2005, eleven unions representing more than 7,000 workers at the Environmental Protection Agency called for a national moratorium on programs to add fluoride to drinking water, citing what they call a possible cancer risk. J. William Hirzy, an EPA scientist and vice president of the National Treasury Employees Union, Local 280, said the agency should act now in light of allegations that a Harvard University dentistry professor downplayed research showing an increased risk of bone cancer for boys who drink fluoridated tap water. Unfortunately, it is still in most people’s water. Fortunately, there are companies like Custom Pure that have filters that remove chlorine and fluoride out of the water. You can learn more about these filters at www.custompure.com, or you can often get water filters at health food stores as well.
Here are some tools to help keep your teeth healthy:
Natural Remedies
Many herbs and supplements can be used to help people with teeth/gum issues. One that is very common is myrrh. Myrrh is used often in natural toothpaste, mouthwashes, and can also be taken internally as an infection fighter, as well as put on the tooth with an issue. Another herb that is a stronger infection fighter is Golden Seal. Again, this can be taken internally, or put topically on the tooth especially for infection. Wild Lettuce is another herb that is often used in the mouth, but mostly for pain. This herb can help to numb tooth pain until you can get to your local dentist.
One final supplement that works great for the teeth is CoQ10. CoQ10 is especially good for healthy gums, but I have also heard of people turning around the health of their whole mouth, just by taking CoQ10. I know it is pricey, but it can totally be worth it to prevent future dental problems, and possibly help clean up some of the ones you may already have.
Nature’s Fresh
Another product we use for teeth issues successfully is an enzyme spray we sell called Nature’s Fresh. Enzymes help to repair the tissue, alkalize the area, and help to remove toxins from the damaged tooth. Colloidal silver is another product that is useful in helping teeth as well. Many of my clients have found relief from teeth issues by mixing the colloidal silver and the enzyme spray together, swishing in the mouth, and swallowing – help the teeth and the body overall.
Toothpaste – have you read the label of your toothpaste box? You may be surprised to see chemicals and ingredients you did not know were going into your mouth. Check out labels and get the best product for your teeth issues. There are natural toothpastes for whitening, sensitive teeth or healing tissues in the mouth.
Oil Pulling – oil pulling has been used for many years to help people with their teeth and overall health. Oil Pulling is swishing an oil (often coconut or sesame oil) around in your mouth, first thing when you wake up, pulled between the teeth for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Using Ozonized oil some say is even better. Here is an article for more information on Oil Pulling.
Colloidal Silver – Silver has been used for centuries to kill infection and is useful in toothpaste, mouthwash, or swished in the mouth and then swallowed to kill infections in the body as well. There are many brands of colloidal silver on the market – check the label to get pure silver 18ppm, without preservatives or other ingredients that are unnecessary.
Clove Essential Oil – has been used for many years to stop tooth pain. Putting just one drop of clove oil on a sore tooth can help to relieve the pain, and help kill an infection. It can also be put in toothpaste or mouthwash for flavoring and antiseptic properties.
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) – Hydrogen peroxide is very useful and seen often in natural mouthwashes or toothpaste. There is Hydrogen Peroxide in most grocery or drug stores. It is great to be used as a mouthwash and to clean off your toothbrush.
Xylitol – Xylitol is a natural sweetener that is added to many gums/mouthwashes, etc. to help prevent tooth decay. It is good at killing fungus and some bacteria in the body. It can have a laxative effect for some people so should be used in moderation.
Be sure to read the gum/candy labels and avoid artificial sweeteners (aspartame, Splenda, asulfamine potassium) as many companies put Xylitol on the label but have these harmful ingredients added. Purchase 100% xylitol-sweetened products for the best results. Your teeth will be happy you did
Homemade Toothpaste
You can easily make your own toothpaste. Here is one recipe we use often. Get a small container – I use one of the small glass jar with a lid. It is small, with a wide mouth so I can get my toothbrush in easily to scoop out.
- Bentonite clay – 1-2 Tbsp
- Coconut oil – 1-2 Tbsp
- Baking Soda – ½ tsp
- Clove oil – 2-3 drops
- Colloidal Silver – ½ tsp
- Xylitol – 1 Tbsp
- Activated Charcoal, White Oak Bark or Black Walnut for whitening (if desired) – 1 capsule
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Use solid coconut oil. I used a butter knife to mix the ingredients smooshing down the coconut oil and mixing all the dry ingredients into the oil. Then use the butter knife to put into your container – that is it! Use as much or as little as you like. When brushing it can make a little bit of a mess – so make sure you do not have on your favorite shirt, or brush in the shower where it does not matter. Make a small batch at first so you can see what works for you. Experiment to find what you like best.
Homemade Mouthwash
I use an old glass dressing bottle for the mouthwash. Add in any of the following ingredients:
- Aloe Vera liquid (NOT the gel) 1-2 Tbsp
- Collodial Silver 1-2 tsp
- Xylitol (if using xylitol, you will need to dissolve the crystals in warm water first) 1-2 tsp
- Essential oils – I use peppermint (10 drops) and clove (5 drops)
- Minerals – recommend liquid minerals – 10-20 drops
- Calcium – you can add in liquid calcium, crush a tablet or empty a capsule of coral calcium – which can also help to whiten teeth
Please reach out if questions.
Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash
