What do bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, skin issues, asthma, even migraines all have in common? All of these signs, symptoms and diseases can all stem from compromised digestion, what is commonly called leaky gut. Can oil pulling help heal a leaky gut? Leaky gut, also known as intestinal permeability, occurs when foreign ‘stuff’ that shouldn’t…Read More
Can some plaques actually help our teeth stay healthy?
This article is the second in the series on how to be a ‘good conductor’ of the symphony in your mouth. In the first article, How to Balance Your Oral Flora, we introduced the oral microbiome and debunked the overly simplistic cultural myth that ‘all plaque (biofilm) is bad’. In this second article, we’ll walk…Read More
Discovering the #1 Cause of Tooth Decay
If we asked 10 people what the #1 cause of tooth decay is, how many different answers do you think we would get? Let’s try it. 🙂 What do you think? What’s the #1 cause of tooth decay? Some will say tooth decay is caused from bacteria in the mouth whose waste is acidic and…Read More
What Causes an Abscessed Tooth and How You Can Avoid Them
A tooth abscess, also called abscessed tooth, is right up there with root canals, subjects that we all need to be aware of in order to have a clear understanding of what to do if we have an abscess as well as how to avoid ever having a tooth abscess. Anyone who has ever had…Read More
How to Balance Your Oral Flora and Be a Good Conductor of the Symphony in Your Mouth
Are you ready to go on an adventure? This journey requires great courage and an open mind. Today we want to explore one of the most common oral health myths in our culture: that all plaque is bad. It seems that modern culture loves to over-condense issues and subjects, categorizing things as right vs. wrong,…Read More
Are Dental Sealants Safe?
Dental sealants are heralded as one of the ‘great hopes’ to stop tooth decay in modern culture. Numerous research studies about sealants for teeth over the past 20 years have shown that sealants decrease tooth decay. But what’s really going on here? Are the results of the studies accurate or being manipulated to paint…Read More
What Causes Receding Gums and How to Stop it
Like so many subjects in medicine and dentistry, the internet is full of misinformation and misunderstandings around receding gums. It can be super confusing. Some resources will say you can grow back gum tissue while others will say you can’t. One site might tell you that receding gums are a result of brushing too hard…Read More
“Can Brushing After a Meal Damage My Teeth?”
At some point in the journey each of us takes toward optimal oral health, we wake up to realize that we have to take better care of our teeth and gums. Unfortunately, at this point, most of us simply increase what we are doing, assuming for example, “I must not be brushing my teeth…Read More
Is Xylitol Safe to Brush with?
Why are some subjects, like xylitol, so polarized? Some experts praise them while others throw them under the bus? In the same vein as our article on the safety of brushing with baking soda, today let’s explore whether it’s a safe and wise choice to use xylitol in the mouth on a regular basis.
“How long should I brush my teeth?”
We’ve all been there many times… We’re running late getting out the door to go to work, to the gym, on a date, so we drag our brush over our teeth for 20 seconds and promise our pearly whites we’ll make it up to them later (err, scratch that, we probably don’t rush brushing…Read More