In part 1 of this two-part article series, we explored the importance of feedback mechanisms / feedback loops.
In other words, we need a way to evaluate whether or not the actions we’re taking are helping us create positive changes in our oral health.
This seems pretty straightforward. However, we do things all the time without ever really knowing if the specific action helped.
For example, how many supplements have we taken over the years because we thought that they would help us, but we never got any feedback on whether or not they actually did?
When it comes to supporting our oral health, it’s super important to develop clearly defined feedback loops.
“Before we journey to a new oral health destination, we must first know our current location.” – OraWellness.com
If you haven’t read part one of this series yet, please do. That step truly is the most empowering action that anyone can take to create positive change in their oral health.
In today’s article, we want to share another feedback loop that we find helpful for navigating to greater oral health: checking our saliva pH.
It’s an inexpensive test that you can do yourself at home, and it provides a good measurement of your relative state of oral health.
How does a pH test kit work?
The pH test tape changes to various degrees of color based on the pH of the fluid that’s being tested.
Simply cut a piece of the tape from the spool and dip the tape into some saliva that you spit out.
When I test my saliva pH, I tend to do it in the morning. I simply spit into a dry bathroom sink, dip my cut piece of test tape into the saliva, and then ‘read’ the color on the tape.
(Quick note: it’s not recommended to put the tape into your mouth or onto your tongue, even though you may see some other folks do this in online tutorials. Instead, the manufacturer of these test kits suggests the above technique for testing your saliva.)
Not all pH test kits are created equal…
If you take a look at the variety of pH tester kits on the market, you’ll find that many of them advertise that they test a wider range than their competitor’s products.
However, these test kits with wider ranges also have more ‘space’ (a wider data gap) between the various color shades that determine the pH of the fluid that you’re testing.
We have found that while our pH test kits have a narrower range, they also provide a better reading of one’s saliva pH.
For example, in other kits on the market, the incremental variance for pH testing is 0.5.
However, for our OraWellness pH Test Strips, the incremental variance is 0.2. This provides more accuracy for testing the common pH range for human saliva.
What does testing saliva pH tell us?
Many things, really.
First off, the tape can simply be used to determine how acidic your saliva is right now.
This is very helpful to see if your oral ecological environment (say that 3x fast 🙂 ) is in the zone of REmineralization or DEmineralization.
You see, it’s generally recognized that tooth enamel dissolves in a pH that’s lower than 5.5. Optimal saliva pH is 6.8 to 7.0.
Quick chemistry review…
The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, and 7 is the mid-line. Ideally, a good source of clean water would be very close to a pH of 7.
Any number that’s lower than 7 is acidic. Any number that’s higher than 7 is alkaline.
And the further away that the pH is from 7, the more acidic or alkaline the fluid is. For example, a fluid that has a pH of 4.0 is 10 times more acidic than a fluid that has a pH of 5.0.
In our article, “How to drink kombucha and NOT destroy your teeth“, we discuss pH a little more. We also explain how habitually drinking acidic beverages can damage our teeth over time.
Why is saliva pH important to oral health?
Again, tooth enamel can demineralize if our mouth pH is low.
Also, our mouth’s ecological environment determines the types of bugs that thrive there. We take a close look at the relationship between oral pH, sugar, and plaque in the article, “The ‘perfect storm’ for decay – the interplay between pH, sugar, saliva and plaque“.
When our mouth pH falls outside of the ideal range of 6.8 to 7.0, this less-than-optimal pH results in a tendency for oral ‘thug bugs’ to proliferate.
Keeping an eye on our saliva pH provides us with an easy-to-measure ‘feedback loop’. It tells us whether or not our current attempts to improve our oral health are actually helping.
It’s especially important to note when saliva pH is consistently around or below 5.5. The scientific community has recognized that consistently low (acidic) saliva pH provides the ideal environment for all sorts of disease-causing microorganisms (thug bugs) to thrive.
So, tracking our saliva pH can be an excellent tool to help us learn how to balance our oral flora.
Ways to use pH test strips to optimize your oral health
Feel free to use pH Test Strips:
- First thing in the morning to determine your baseline oral pH.
- Before and after brushing your teeth to see if the product you use is helping to re-establish a healthier oral pH.
- To test beverages you typically drink to determine their relative pH. That way, you’ll know if you need to take corrective actions after consuming the drink to support your tooth enamel. (For a deeper dive on this, check out, “How to drink kombucha and not destroy your teeth” and, “Can brushing after a meal damage my teeth?“)
How to use the pH strips
1. Cut a 1-inch segment off of the test strip roll.
2. Spit saliva (not the thick, mucusy stuff 🙂 ) into a cup or small dish, or even just into a dry sink or onto a bathroom counter.
3. Place one end of the pH test strip into the saliva until it becomes saturated (1 to 2 seconds is generally sufficient).
4. Immediately compare the color of the wet strip against the color chart on the test kit.
5. Record the pH so you can track your progress of shifting your oral pH over time.
We have created a free simple yet powerful pH tracking tool to serve as a record for you to use.
In this way, you can track your morning saliva pH. Then, you can take notes about how various foods, stress levels, and other factors impact your saliva pH throughout the day.
Using a feedback tool like our saliva pH tracker is a powerful way to assist you along your path to optimal oral health.
Click here to download the free OraWellness saliva pH tracker.
(For full disclosure, yes, we do sell pH Test Strips, and it happens to be one of the lowest-priced pH test products on the market. 🙂 )
Also, if you’re ready to take your oral health to the next level and gain a complete understanding of how to stop tooth decay and reverse cavities, feel free to download our FREE eBook, “How to Remineralize Your Teeth”.
“How can I change my saliva pH?”
If you find that your saliva pH is just occasionally low (acidic), in those instances, you may have eaten or done something that temporarily threw off the balance in your mouth.
To give your mouth a little assistance in recovering, feel free to swish with some clean water to help wash away any remaining food/beverage acids. Or better yet, try swishing with clean water and a pinch of baking soda to help neutralize any remaining acids.
And again, remember to avoid brushing your teeth right after eating or drinking.
If your saliva is consistently more on the acidic side, then it might be helpful to look into the many online tips for alkaline diets. Modifying your diet to make it more alkaline can be a good way to balance your saliva pH ‘from the inside, out’.
In an upcoming article, we will explore the many ways we can impact saliva pH via diet, exercise and lifestyle habits.
In the meantime, feel free to check out the oral health-supporting dietary tips in our free video series, 5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth.
But before we make any changes, we need to know where we currently stand.
Testing our saliva pH and tracking it on our free saliva pH tracker provides you real-time feedback on your current pH status.
What about you? Have you benefited from monitoring your saliva pH? Please share your story in the comments below so we all can benefit from everyone’s experiences. We’re in this together!
Helpful, Related Resources:
How to stop decay and remineralize your teeth [FREE eBook]
How to KNOW if you are heading in the right direction (part 1) [article + free download]
OraWellness pH Test Strips [product solution]
How to drink kombucha (or other acidic drinks) and NOT destroy your teeth [article]
The ‘perfect storm’ for decay – the interplay between pH, sugar, saliva and plaque [article]
How to balance your oral flora [article]
Can brushing after a meal damage my teeth? [article]
OraWellness pH tracker [FREE download]
OraWellness Starter Kit Complete [product solution]
5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth [[FREE video series]]
Hi, I’m a general dentist who treats individuals with disabilities, and I would like to speak to someone regarding this product as an instrument to educating caregivers. How may I contact you?
Aloha Dr. Bolin,
Thank you for your comment!
Please feel free to reach out to us here. : ) We’ll also try to call your office to see how we can be of assistance.
Aloha!
I have had recurring canker sores in tongue since November (every other week…..canker sore one week, I’m ok one week, canker sore other week…etc). I stopped drinking seltzer drinks period.. I’ve been using Ora Health for many years. ENT said to stop using, I haven’t for about 10 days now. Please advise, could this product be causing them? Do I need to get the PH strips? I’m lost…..seeing another EMT 12 Apr.
Aloha Rose,
We’re sorry to hear that you’ve had recurring canker sores since November! 🙁
Since seltzer drinks tend to fall on the acidic side of the pH scale, it’s possible that drinking them could have contributed to your recurring canker sores, but I don’t know for sure.
Our pH Test Strips could certainly help you determine the pH levels of your saliva, as well as track which factors may raise or lower the pH of your saliva.
On an anecdotal level, I’ve heard that supplementing with Lysine (an essential amino acid) can help to reduce canker sores. However, according to WebMD, “People use lysine for cold sores, canker sores, athletic performance, diabetes, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support most of these uses.” If you’d like, you could look into the possibility that supplementing with Lysine could help to reduce canker sores in your mouth. For clarity, we’re not recommending that you do or do not supplement with Lysine; we’re simply sharing that anecdotal information with you in case you’d like to look more into it.
You guys are Awesome!! I am learning So Much. Just received my kit, but I wish I would have ordered the pH tape test too. I started oil pulling, and just used the HealThy Mouth Blend last night. I know I am going to see great results. I plan to get my records from both the dentist and the periodontist as I was on the rotating schedule with the two docs. The periodontist suggested bone surgery and I am scheduled for Feb 2018, but I am going to do the OraWellness Program and postpone that surgery. I love the idea of correcting my oral health in the comforts of my home. Such awesome info. May God Bless you in your work. I’ll be back to report my results!!
Quick note: a year ago my oral pH was consistently below 6.4, usually 6.0-6.2. We ate primarily fresh ground, home-made, whole wheat baked goods, a fair percentage of home-grown veggies and fruits, and grass-fed, grass-finished beef.
Today, after
1. eliminating vegetable oils,
2. introducing multivit/minerals, K2 capsules and sourdough into our diets,
3. bass brushing regularly with Shine,
4. gum pocket srynging (GPSing) sporatically, and
5. pulling sesame, coconut and/or HealThy Mouth oil blend pulling infrequently, my oral pH is almost always 6.4-6.8.
My dental exams are finding gum pockets and gum recission are cming back, bleeding & swollen gums are resolved, and inconclusive evidence of spontaneous tartar/calculus dissolution.
Jonathan!
Congratulations for creating your own ‘dental miracle’! 🙂
It definitely sounds like you are heading in the right direction.
Thank you so much for keeping us posted of your successes!
Aloha!
🙂
Have you ever seen a pH test meter that works easily for saliva?
I’ve used little test strips in the past but often couldn’t tell very clearly between shades of the colors. I’m not talking about yours as I’ve never used yours. But what interests me is a little tool that I could put in my mouth for a moment or two, or could apply saliva to directly. I’ve looked for such a tool but haven’t ever found one that works for saliva. The ones I’ve seen are good for various other things, not saliva.
Thanks
🙂
Aloha Troy,
Yeah, I hear your frustration with the paper based pH test kits. My guess is you are probably ‘color blind’ like me! 🙂
I haven’t found a meter to work well for saliva mainly because of the amount of fluid you need for all the pH meters I’ve seen. They all function by dipping the end of the meter into the solution you’re looking to test, so wouldn’t work for this application.
Thanks for asking! I’ll keep you posted if I come across a better solution.
Interesting article. Oral health and good dental hygiene is super important and can impact your overall health greatly. I look forward to checking out your saliva ph test kit. I’d be keen to see the difference in results before and after brushing my teeth too!
Oops, I am NOT AT ALL an internet savvy old broad! I think I have just posted a message of gratitude on a site regarding how to track my saliva pH!! Not too “with it” of me was it?? I am very sorry & hope to learn from this mistake.
Dear Will & Susan, I went thru the first 45 years of my life with gratitude in my heart because I NEVER had any oral health problems, literaly no cavities, no braces, actually rarely saw a dentist other than an occasional check-up & cleaning. I did have wisdom teeth pulled without any problems though. I still have a great amount of gratitude because things can always be worse, but now, almost 10 years later & with what I consider VERY poor oral health due to what I attribute to medications I am required to take, I am finding myself in quite a bit of pain most every day!! My neck & jaws hurt & I seem to have a headache at least 3 to 5 days per week. In addition, my spinal x-rays show a curve in the lumbar area, my shoulders just snap & pop when I move them. In October 2014 I just stepped down a little harder than normal on my right leg & the ball of my hip bone broke at the neck & I had to have a complete hip replacement!! Based on the description I hear others talk about, I am afraid I am developing neuropathy in my feet & if possible my hands too!!! Please, please do not dismiss me as a hypochondriac! I am posting this for no other reason than to sincerely thank you for opening my eyes (and comfirming my uneducated suspicions) that most of my health problems can be tied to the mouth full of infection & decay (for lack of better words)I have developed. A wonderful dentist in my hometown (who I have never met or seen as a patient)answered an email I sent her & referred me to your article at wellnessmama.com titled “How Oral Health Impacts the Whole Body”. Thank you so very much for helping me regain some peace of mind!! I was beginning to become convinced I was on the “downhill side (& slide) of my life”! Well, at 54 years old, I guess I am (tee-hee) but now I know that if I am allowed to live long enough to save enough money to get some of these broken teeth & buried roots cut out of my head, some if not most of my aches & pains will more than likely subside if not disappear completely. I feel as if I can not thank you enough for your help & I look forward to reading anything else I can from you at OralWellness.com. I am a disabled social security benefit receipent & do not have a dental insurance plan. If you would be at all familiar with organizations in the middle Tennessee area that are able to help low income individuals obtain dental services, would you please (at your convenience) send me any information as to how I might contact them? Your help would be so greatly appeciated as has the information you have already shared with me in your article!! May GOD bless you both for caring enough to share your knowledge & experience with others.
Sincerely,
Tawnya L. Clark
P.S. Please forgive me, but I am told that the “Talkie Tawnya” problem(?) has been a fault of mine since, oh let’s say…well, since my mother delivered me in 1961!! Chatty chatty chatty & obviously I talk a bit too much even when I’m sending a message or letter too!!
Would like to order the healthy mouth system since I have advanced oral disease but need the promo code. Thanks for your help.
Aloha Anthony,
I’m sorry for my late reply. If you have not yet ordered, please email us and we’ll take care of you. 🙂
What does it mean if the test consistently says alkaline? Is there somewhere I could find out what steps are needed to correct this?
Aloha Amy,
Are you testing first thing in the morning before drinking anything?
In general, we have found that most people tend toward the acidic side of the equation. How alkaline are you averaging?
Great information you gave above. I am new to your website and just got the Bass brushes in the mail yesterday and so glad I learned of them. I sense they wil l be most helpful.
I was wondering if you or Dr. Strader have heard if over the long run using the battery operated tooth brushes cause sensitive teeth due to causing receeding gums. I have been swishing with coconut oil now about 2 months and my gums have been so much better. Was thinking it was about 8- 10 yrs ago I started using the battery brushes (soft bristles) and thought they were great. But realizing maybe they really were too rough and used too long sometimes. Any info. or research on this?
Great article. I have spent a long time researching oral hygiene and discovered a lot of good things. For example, the difference between a sonic and regular toothbrush, why cleaning your tongue is important but this is the first time I’ve come across an article on saliva. After reading this, It makes a lot of sense.
Do homemade yogurt, kefir (from raw milk) or fermented vegetables act like Kombucha? I recently paid a visit to the dentist and they discovered 4 teeth with incipient decay at the gumline. They wanted to fill then, but relented when I said I wanted to try and remineralize them. They gave me 4 months.
Aloha Suzanne,
Thank you for reaching out to us here!
Are you asking whether all these foods have the same acidic nature and are thus also temporarily compromising to the teeth? If this is what you are asking, yes, I do think that all acidic foods challenge tooth enamel. However, let’s keep in mind that these same naturally occurring acidic foods from lactic acid fermentation are very good for gut health too. (We don’t ever want someone to remove a healthy food because we said it wasn’t good for the teeth! 🙂 ) The game here is to be aware of the acidic nature of the food we are eating and swish with plain water after the meal.
Another tip you might find helpful is the idea to wait to brush your teeth at least 30 minutes after eating/drinking something acidic. You see, acids ‘soften’ the outer layer of enamel on the teeth. So, brushing right after will actually ‘liberate’ more enamel from the teeth, which in our opinion is heading in the wrong direction. We want to swish with room temp water after a meal that contains acidic foods/drinks, then allow the saliva to REmineralize any surface enamel softening prior to cleaning the teeth with a brush. Make sense?
Last, I have to comment on your post, “They gave me 4 months” with a gentle, loving reminder that you are in control. You pay them to help you. You are the commander, general, CEO, whatever analogy works for you regarding what actions are taken or not taken in your mouth. If you ever feel bullied by a dental professional, perhaps it is time to take your money to a dental practice that will support your desires. Our dentist would never bully us. If I told him we were planning to do something that he didn’t think possible, I would want him to tell me that he didn’t agree with the idea and explain to me why my logic was faulty. Bottom line, if a dentist isn’t willing to take the time to educate you, or worse yet, doesn’t have the solid reasoning to argue his/her case, then they are probably simply pitching you the same story that they have bought into and may not have all the information possible on the subject.
You may find benefit from our recent free video tutorial series titled ‘the 5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth’ Here’s a link so you can sign up for this free video tutorial series. It contains A LOT of info regarding diet and oral health.
I hope this helps you navigate your path to greater oral health!
yes! no bullying health care professionals! Thanks for writing that part.
I had a dentist years back that refused to clean my teeth unless I got an x-ray. I was pregnant. No thank you!
The advice Will gave is right on. As a minimally invasive dentist, I might add that early decay at the gumline, especially on lower teeth, could be areas that do not receive adequate cleansing when you brush resulting in biofilm fed by fluids consumed that have any type of sugar settling there due to gravity.
Suggestions:
1) Brushing right at the gumline EXCEPT right after acid exposure, just rinse right after exposures.
2) Try changing from bad bacteria to good bugs by using xylitol, a natural sugar that does not feed bad bacteria. The Xylitol Mantra is “Strive for Five” exposures to xylitol through gum, mints, toothpaste, etc.
Thanks for stopping by and adding your expertise here Dr Strader!
To our readers, to add to what Dr Strader offers here, our Bass toothbrushes are perfect for cleaning along the gum line.
Here’s a video that shows how to use the Bass brush not only to clean plaque implicated with tooth decay from the gum line, but also to disrupt and disorganize the bad bugs implicated with gum disease. We love the efficiency of the Bass brushing method and our ‘plain looking but awesome’ Bass brushes! 🙂
Thank you and Aloha!
Thanks to Will and Dr. Strader. My dentist actually said it could wait till 6 months and to give remineralizing a try. It was the hygienist that wanted to fill them now. She thinks I should also have my wisdom teeth pulled because of some 4’s and 5’s. I am 63. Dentist thought my teeth looked excellent! I have been going to this place since I was in my 20’s, as I used to have extremely sensitive teeth and they were very careful not to cause pain. They give me some horrid tasting stuff to swish for a minute before cleaning and it does work wonders. I have been swishing with coconut oil for over a year (no cavities last yr. – I go once a yr.), eating wild salmon, fruits and veg., raw milk kefir, fermented veg., but also increased my sugar intake this last yr. I am confused with the xylitol as R. Nagel said it was not good. Oh, and I use the Bass brush and OraWellness as well as other products. Use waterpik and electric 1x a day.
Keep these articles coming! They’re invaluable :).
Thanks Sam! Supportive words like yours really do help to encourage us to continue our research and share our findings with you all! 🙂
Aloha!