By toothbrush or by toothpaste?

Recently we have noticed a new trend in the world, mainly to stop using traditional toothpaste. Dentists say that teeth brushing isn’t so much about using this or that toothpaste, as it is about brushing the teeth. As this trend is getting more and more noticeable, we decided to present the most popular natural ways to keep our teeth healthy. They have already become quite succesful in America. Maybe now is the time to introduce them to Poland? We’ll see!

Oil pulling

Oil pulling is considered to be a great way to take care of your mouth hygiene. What you should do is take a teaspoon of coconut or olive oil, put it in your mouth and keep it there for about ten minutes. After that time spit it out and brush your teeth using toothpaste without fluorine. This way you get rid of the bacteria and toxins in your mouth. Supporters of this method proclaim that you can even cure cariosity but dentists don’t confirm it. It’s just a supplement to our daily mouth hygiene that helps us remove bacteria from places where a toothbrush doesn’t reach. It also prevents inflammation.

Turmeric and soda

Not everybody knows that saliva of every human being has a different composition and our teeth have different propensity to sediment but we all have to brush our teeth everyday. Various advertisments try to covince us that the most important thing is a toothpaste with a lot of different functions and a long-lasting effect but, the fact is that the only thing that really matters is the way we brush our teeth and how long we brush them. We can even use just a toothbrush and water. Apart from a toothpaste we can also use soda or tumeric from time to time, as a natural way to whitewash. Both of them have whitening properties and they are protect us from bacteria and inflammations. But soda can do damage to our enamel as well as increase the risk of discolorations. So it’s better to use soda just from time to time. In the meantime, you can try chewing turmeric.

Rinse your mouth with sea salt

It’s better to use a natural product, such as sea salt than a mouthwash that you buy in a chemist‘s. Just dissolve salt in lukewarm water and get an amazing antibacterial rinse. What’s more, it can also be a remedy for sore throat. The sea salt rinse gives us fresh breath and minerals for our teeth. But in this case we must also have moderation. The enamel is weakened especially after meals.

Another great way to refresh our mouth is to have herbal rinse – sage, mint or thyme. We can also use antiseptic cloves instead of a bubble gum.

Bad breath isn’t always just an effect of dirty teeth. For fresh breath you must always drink a lot of water and gargle throat, especially after meals. Bad breath can be also caused by digestive deseases. So don’t buy the most expensive toothpaste, just go to the doctor.

Healthy teeth and a diet

Brushing teeth is linked with preventing dental caries. Although, caries is most often caused by bad, full of sugar diet, we must also give our teeth calcium, not just fluorine. We should avoid candies and eat fruit cautiously because they contain acids which can be harmful for our teeth. We should also be careful with drinking coffee and black tea. People who eat healthily aren‘t exposed to the risk of caries as much as people who drink sweet drinks everyday. As always, prevention is the most important if we don’t want to pay a dentist for regular visits. Thanks to that we will avoid bothersome after-effects of caries.

Text: Anna Siódmak