How important is good oral hygiene? VERY important! Oil Pulling, hydrogen peroxide and your diet are great places to start to improve oral health. The latest research reveals a connection between the microorganisms or bad bacteria in your mouth and cancer. Good oral hygiene is necessary if you want to remain healthy. There is evidence that the overgrowth of oral bacteria eventually spreads to the bloodstream and can cause everything from as small as mouth pain to as big as cancer and stillbirth. In a study put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they said that participants with poor oral health had a 56 percent higher rate of HPV infection. They believe at least 60 percent of oropharyngeal cancers are related to HPV, but it could be as high as 80 percent.
In the early 1930s, there was a Cleveland dentist named Weston A. Price who began to research dental health in other ethnicities. According to westonaprice.org, for more than ten years, Price traveled all over the globe to study the dental health of populations not touched by western civilization. His studies revealed that dental problems including cavities, deformities, crooked teeth were all the result of nutritional deficiencies, not inherited genetic defects. Price studied “villages in Switzerland, Gaelic communities in the Outer Hebrides, indigenous peoples of North and South America, Melanesian and Polynesian South Sea Islanders, African tribes, Australian Aborigines and New Zealand Maori. Wherever he went, Dr. Price found that beautiful straight teeth, freedom from decay, good physiques, resistance to disease and fine characters were typical of native groups on their traditional diets, rich in essential nutrients.”
His website continues to say that, “When Dr. Price analyzed the foods used by isolated peoples he found that, in comparison to the American diet of his day, they provided at least four times the water-soluble vitamins, calcium and other minerals, and at least TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins, from animal foods such as butter, fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats, eggs and animal fats–the very cholesterol-rich foods now shunned by the American public as unhealthful. These healthy traditional peoples knew instinctively what scientists of Dr. Price’s day had recently discovered–that these fat-soluble vitamins, vitamins A and D, were vital to health because they acted as catalysts to mineral absorption and protein utilization. Without them, we cannot absorb minerals, no matter how abundant they may be in our food. Dr. Price discovered an additional fat-soluble nutrient, which he labeled Activator X (now thought to be vitamin K), that is present in fish livers and shellfish, and organ meats and butter from cows eating rapidly growing green grass in the Spring and Fall.”
So in order to have good oral hygiene and a healthy mouth, it looks like a whole foods diet is essential. But what can we do now if we have mouth pain, a canker sore, a cavity or maybe gingivitis? Try these natural remedies for better mouth health:
- Coconut oil has some great health benefits for the mouth. It is antimicrobial, which is great for treating minor wounds and skin conditions including the mouth. Using coconut oil in place of regular mouthwash can be beneficial. Have you ever heard of oil pulling? Oil pulling is a therapy that is said to heal cells, tissue and organs as the body gets rid of its toxic waste such as bacteria, Streptococcus and Candida. It is also said to be great for tooth decay, cavities and teeth whitening.Instructions are as follows:
- Before breakfast, on an empty stomach take 1 TBSP. of coconut oil in the mouth. Do NOT swallow.
- Swish the oil all around the mouth and teeth for 15 minutes.
- Spit out and thoroughly rinse with water.
- You could even use it as a tooth paste:
- TOOTHPASTE RECIPE: Mix 1 part coconut oil with 1 part baking soda. Add several drops of peppermint oil to mixture for taste.
- Hydrogen peroxide. A hydrogen peroxide rinse can also do wonders with the bacteria in the mouth. Some people have even claimed that it helped eradicate their cavities and gingivitis. You need to be informed before using hydrogen peroxide. See my post on hydrogen peroxide.
- Rinsing, brushing and even drinking a little baking soda regularly in small amounts is often good for canker sores, not to mention gut! Acidity can be a big problem with people who continually get canker sores. Maybe your pH in your body is off. Consider the benefits of sodium bicarbonate or baking soda in your diet. Also read on the benefits of baking soda and cancer in my post.
- You might also want to try sucking on a whole clove or two if you have mouth pain for some temporary relief. Soften the clove up first with hot water if you must and then just put it on what ails you. Go look, you probably have cloves in your spice cabinet. Cloves have anesthetic and antimicrobial qualities and is sometimes used by dentists to anesthetize the gum before injecting Novocaine. You can also buy clove in an essential oil. Clove oil is used for an upset stomach, bad breath, intestinal gas, nausea, vomiting and as an expectorant which makes it easier to cough up phlegm.
- Other natural things to consider: garlic, and peppermint essential oil.
Who would have know that coconut oil, hydrogen peroxide, peppermint oil, cloves AND a healthy diet could do so much? Good luck!
[…] fillings leak mercury into the blood stream. If you have small cavities, you may want to try oil pulling with coconut oil. The latest research reveals a connection between the microorganisms or bad bacteria in your mouth […]