5 Top Tips For Alternative Dental Care

By Olivia Rahim | September 17, 2020

As we become more conscious of how we care for ourselves, it stands to reason that there should be some natural alternatives to all the fluoride, aluminum hydroxide and the list of chemicals that go into conventional toothpaste. You may think to ask why one would want to seek out alternatives, surely this formula that has been used for generations can’t be all that harmful? 

Well, those heavier compounds and abrasives have been proven to cause a multitude of health problems if ingested. You could ask the best family dentist in Vancouver, Washington, and they would readily agree that conventional toothpaste is more of a risk than it is worth. True, we all learn to spit and rinse, but this does very little to prohibit a comparatively large amount of trace elements staying behind and being swallowed. The effects of this may not be immediately apparent, but studies have shown that they are anything but arbitrary.

Fluoride calcifies brain matter, this, in turn, may exacerbate other neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It is also toxic to the human body at surprisingly small quantities. Combined with the list as mentioned above of chemicals that make up most kinds of toothpaste, and we think the question should be why not seek out alternatives?

Baking Soda

You may have heard this one before, a lot of people swear by it; however, it seems a counterintuitive thing to believe to be true. After all, if it worked that well then surely they would sell a paste with baking soda in, right?

They do, most whitening kinds of toothpaste contain baking soda. Why it makes little sense to purchase this product is because it is by and large the baking soda that does all the work. You can bring it into your everyday dental care routine with no health risks, cutting the rest of the chemicals out.

Cloves

Any persistent toothache warrants a visit to the dentist, but we often find ourselves suffering a small ache that goes away after a bit. This could be a temperature sensitivity or possibly the start of a cavity. Irrespective of the symptoms it is always wise to seek out a professional opinion. While you wait for an appointment, incredibly if they couldn’t fit you in immediately, you are going to need something for the pain. 

Medical practitioners are surprisingly willing to prescribe mild opiates for toothache, and this is not a road you should think to travel. As a practical alternative, use cloves. You can buy clove oil from most pharmacies. You could also easily make your own at home by boiling cloves in hot water. Apply directly to the sensitive tooth with a swab, and you should feel the pain subside in an instant.

Kavala (Oil Pulling)

An ancient Ayurvedic practice, Kavala is a method of thoroughly cleaning one’s mouth and teeth. It boils down to merely sloshing sesame seed oil around in your mouth for twenty minutes a day. A little bit time consuming, but the process is more than worth the time and effort. The oil has a higher viscosity than anything else you may have in your mouth.

This means that as you force the oil through the spaces between your teeth, it loosens and essentially replaces whatever may be stuck there. As the oil drains from the little crevasses between your teeth, it draws out even the smallest specks. It is an all-natural alternative to flossing, particularly useful if you struggle with flossing.

Holistic Dentistry

There is an entire field dedicated to reforming the dental industry in the name of healthier alternative treatments. It is critically important to understand that a legitimate holistic dentist would have undergone the same education as a regular dentist. It becomes somewhat disturbing to listen to some of the concerns these doctors are raising. According to holistic dentistry, root canals pose a severe threat to one’s long term health. 

These practitioners state that it is not possible to truly clean out the tooth, not on a microscopic level. By sealing the tooth with a filling, you have constructed the safest possible environment for microbial life like bacteria to flourish, which will then find their way into your bloodstream causing health issues years after the actual procedure.

This is just one example of the radical changes that holistic dental practitioners champion. Concerns regarding amalgams seem frighteningly appropriate. These are the ‘silver’ fillings that are still used to this day despite consisting of 40% mercury, a severe and potentially lethal neurotoxin. 

Eat An Apple

The old saying that an apple a day will keep the doctor away is rather obviously not entirely true. You can eat all the apples you like; you will still catch the flu or sprain an ankle. Perhaps the saying should be repurposed for dentists. You may be aware that apples play some role in dental hygiene, only it is a severe understatement to phrase it so casually. 

Apples in and of themselves do nothing for your teeth. Some argue the texture ‘scrubs’ teeth. That is neither here nor there. The real cleaning power of apples comes from the effect it has on your saliva glands. 

The acidity prompts your spit glands to produce alkaline saliva to cancel out the apple’s acidity. It is a fortunate happenstance that this process then neutralizes any other acidic compounds that would otherwise have eroded your teeth.