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What can I do to improve my dental hygiene?

I'm a recovering addict and during my addiction neglected my dental health. I'm now having a lot of tooth and gum pain. I'm seeing a dentist and trying to get back into good hygiene habits. Was wondering if there are any natural remedies that would help me heal; rejuvenate my mouth, teeth and gums. If it helps with the pain too, that's great but I know a earthy mouth doesn't hurt so health is my goal. I had really good teeth and gums and I don't want to lose that.
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Avatar universal
LightSeeker, I agree with you that these concerns have been raised about canola oil, and the reason I say I don't care if anyone uses it or not is that nobody has to use it to survive or be healthy.  I say the same about soy, which you claim I've made some controversial comments about but my argument with Gymdandee has been simple:  it's a valuable non-animal food source that billions of people live on and show none of the harms claimed for it.  Because it's such as valuable foodstuff, to tell people not to use it has consequences that are severe, but as with canola oil, nobody has to eat it to be healthy or to survive unless you live in the most populous areas of Asia where it's a staple affordable food.  Things you see in small lab studies that don't appear in the real world need to be seen as informative but not having yet proved anything.  As for canola oil, many foods need to be used very carefully to avoid harm -- that doesn't make them not natural.  Nettles have to be carefully prepared so as not to cause cuts to both your insides and your outsides, but if you do it's quite healthful.  Many mushrooms are only safe if you know how to properly gather and prepare them but are toxic if you don't.  Pork and shellfish are unsafe if you don't use them carefully but aren't if you do.  People have learned how to do this, but the fact you use some of the plant and not other parts doesn't make it not natural.  As for oxidation, using high-oleic canola oil is actually one of the best high-heat cooking oils available for avoiding carcinogens; as for oxidation, that occurs in many foods upon cooking, but that doesn't cause harm, it just destroys nutrients in most cases.  Flax oil, for example, is well known to only be beneficial if consumed uncooked and kept under refrigeration.  Right now raw kale is a fad in the US, but raw kale is extremely hard to digest and not the best way to eat it.  The only way to eat it raw is to juice it, and that's not really raw anymore, is it?  But it's close.  So far, you haven't convinced me, but if out of this we've convinced others to do some homework before they believe what they see on the internet we've done some good.  As for what Gym said about fluoride, the biggest problem with it is putting it in the water supply, because that's supreme overkill and it's a potent immune system suppressant.  But it does harden and protect teeth.  And it does weaken bones, especially in the special products made for people with osteoporosis.  Again, too much marketing and overselling.  The lesson out there is, be careful out there, folks, but at some point you gotta do something.
Helpful - 0
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Pax. and your argument about Soy! As I stated for the past few decades if not longer it in everything as one form or another! Could you tell me why it's even added to some teas? As for fluoride it wasn't intended to be ingested!
I've agreed with you about fluoride, Gym.  The soy situation is the same as it's always been between you and me, which is, the amounts of soy derivatives in different products are minuscule in amount and any effect and certainly aren't estrogenic.  The main one, and you keep mentioning it, is lecithin, which I keep answering by saying it's taken as a supplement, that's how useful it is seen to be, has no isoflavone effect that could be measured, and is a safe emulsifier.  It's also found in egg yolks, as I've also said, so it's not something confined to soy.  Some soy forms are probably not to be consumed, as I've also agreed with you, such as TVP and soy protein isolate, but as I've also said, no protein isolates should be used as they're inferior to the concentrates so they don't even do much for the stated purpose (for those out there, most protein bars and drinks use isolates, so read the labels).  My only point on the soy issue has been, since it's such a useful food and since all accepted peer reviewed studies show it's beneficial to health to use soy (although, as I've also said, that may be because it's use usually means less red meat consumption), that it should be easy to study the billions of people who use soy at every meal in Asia and see if the stated harms are occurring.  As of yet, you have not answered this question, and it's pretty obvious they haven't occurred.  What has started occurring in China is, as the people have gotten wealthier, they're switching more and more from soy to red meat meals and with it are experiencing increased diseases more associated with the US.  My main point to LightSeeker was, how is this controversial?  The controversy was actually started by the beef industry in the US, which has paid for many of the small studies that have been done showing theoretical harm from soy.  My position isn't controversial at all.  Nor is it controversial to theorize that it might be best not to eat soy.  Calling my stated views controversial confused me, which is why I brought it up, and you only made it into the conversation because I think all that I've said about soy is in discussions with you.  Happy holidays to all.
1530171 tn?1448129593
Natural rapeseed oil contains large amounts of erucic acid, which is known to cause health problems.
The rape seed has been  modified to separate the part of the seed containing larger amounts of the toxic eruric acid retain the part which produces the so-called canola (a made-up term for commercial purposes, in an attempt to avoid controversy) with less toxicity and more oleic acid content.
I fail to see your point of view: "Now, I don't care if you don't use canola oil, but it is a real plant -- it's the rapeseed plant". Really?
How is canola oil natural? What am I missing here?

And BTW, here's some info from the Mfg of Melt Organic
Canola Oil products  (sourced from Netherlands to avoid GMO contamination):
"Oils high in Omega 6s and Omega 3s like CANOLA, soy, safflower, and flax should be avoided for cooking purposes as well as foods fried using these oils (e.g., potato chips, corn chips, fries) because polyunsaturated fats are prone to oxidation, polymerization, and cross-bonding. Oxidized oils are carcinogenic and should be avoided".

My suggestion: simply avoid Canola Oil

And as far as environmental impact, the coconut industry is not nearly as damaging compared to red palm oil,
however, this is up to the consumer to make the right choices.
I purchase Klassic Coconut products which are imported from the Peter Paul Phillipines Corporation, which has the following certifications:

Certified Organic

EU Regulations 834/2007 and 889/2008;

USDA National Organic Program

Bio Suisse

Certified Fair Trade

ECOCERT Fair Trade Standards

Cheers,
Niko
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Dental fluorosis is a health condition caused by a child’s receiving too much fluoride during tooth development. The critical period of exposure is between 1 and 4 years old; children over age 8 are not at risk. In its mild form, which is the most common, fluorosis appears as tiny white streaks or specks. In its severe form, it is characterized by black and brown stains, as well as cracking and pitting.

Fluoridated water is not the only source. It's also is found in teas, vegetables, grains, juices, and toothpaste. Our intake of fluoride has increased during the past 20 years because of these other sources of fluoride. Fluorosis has been increasing during the same time. Researchers reported that fluorosis in permanent teeth has increased from 10 percent to 15 percent in the 1940s to as high as 70 percent in recent studies. No one knows the amount of fluoride that is safe for ingestion on a daily basis. In 2002, nearly 33 percent of American children were found to have dental fluorosis.
a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association  “found a small but significant increase in the risk of hip fracture in both men and women exposed to artificial fluoridation at 1 ppm (the standard amount of water fluoridation in the United States), suggesting that low levels of fluoride may increase the risk of hip fracture in the elderly." Lets not forget mercury fillings.
1530171 tn?1448129593
Ask me!
I had severe periodontitis and had major work done in my gums with ongoing issues even after all that!
Apparently, I have a genetic predisposition for excessive deposition of plaque and tartar, regardless of all the precautions and dental care.
When I started oil pulling, I experimented with various oils, but my real breakthrough came when I tried coconut oil for a week.
It is the only oil which is anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-viral anti-parasitic and VERY absorbable.
The lauric acid in the coconut oil  reacts with sodium hydroxide in saliva during oil pulling to form sodium laureate, the main constituent of soap which explains the superior cleansing results and decreased plaque accumulation.
Every single person that I know who has switched to coconut oil for oil pulling, has shared similar experiences.
The only reason sesame oil has been heavily promoted, is because it was traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine, since it was more in abundance than other oils in India.
Cheers,
Niko
Helpful - 0
6 Comments
LightSeeker, the research just doesn't back this up.  Not that there's much of it, and almost all of it is done by one advocate of Ayurveda, but even those studies in the only head to head trial showed coconut oil killed very little bacteria while the pharmaceutical product worked well.  My own guess is, having spent so many years in the retail side of this, is when you see a particular substance suddenly get publicity it never had before it's usually someone trying to make money off it.  If you go to a health food store you just won't find any coconut oil in dental products, and the technology probably was the problem with coconut oil vs. sesame oil -- it's a lot easier to press a sesame seed.  Coconut oil doesn't have strong antibacterial properties, but it's being advertised for absolutely everything -- it's in substitute ice creams, substitute milk products -- it's in everything all of a sudden, yet it's very high in saturated fat and while it's also high in antioxidants it's still better in every long-term study to not use saturated fats too much.  I'm glad your experience has been good, but I'm going to get it was something else you did and not the coconut oil.  Don't pull too much -- it can cause a form of pneumonia.  And I should add for anyone who looks at this, my holistic dentist turned out to be a horrible dentist, so don't let my experience turn you off to all holistic dentists.  It turned out he couldn't even properly fill a cavity because he was so much in a hurry to get to the next conference against the use of fluoride and mercury.  A good lesson, you gotta be good at your basic job before you rush off to add a second!  
And let me add, the various versions of sodium lauryl sulfate in soaps and cleansers is for lathering and is in most cases a highly synthetic process that can cause canker sores and other problems.  It isn't anti-bacterial or for cleaning for the most part, it's what makes them form lather so they can spread.
You have been reading too many (flawed) medical studies and articles financed by the same entities who have 'their" best interests served by the results of those studies , not yours!
There's no profit for big Pharma in Coconut oil...
Why would coconut oil  be supported by a money-driven  system?

If you believe in the saturated fat myth, specially in regards to coconut oil, perhaps your favorable position on soy consumption benefits, may fit into the same "basket" of thought .

A good friend of mine (prediabetic, overweight, fibromyalgia etc.) was using coconut oil daily and feeling generally better.
After seeing a Registered Dietitian at the hospital, she was told that coconut oil is saturated fat and she's putting herself at risk by consuming it!!
Really???
Naturally, my friend's health has been worsening ever since she went totally off coconut oil.
Instead she consumes.. canola oil,
which is heart friendly.
Who's kidding who here?
Canola BTW is not even a real plant.
The canola industry is a major sponsor of American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association and their Canadian counterparts!
Even the "Heart and Stroke" Foundation are promoting BECEL
-a margarine made from canola oil-
as heart healthy.

You think that coconut oil is on a level playing field?

Some skeptics point to a “study” that suggested oil pulling can lead to lipoid pneumonia. In fact, this was not a study, it was a correspondence, i.e. a letter, to The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease discussing the experience of a single patient. It appears that a 56-year-old Korean woman had aspirated (inhaled) the oil, rich in bacteria, into her lungs, causing four successive lipoid pneumonias. Ceasing oil pulling resulted in no further bouts of pneumonia. This is an isolated incident with a patient who appears to have had difficulty not inhaling the oil.

Aspirating oil while pulling is not part of the protocol and should be avoided at all costs. If you feel that you frequently cannot control the desire to cough, oil pulling is not an activity for you.
Pax, get the facts!
Is this how you get your research done and make comments on the forum?
I was just curious.
The information in the above post comes from a search which took me 2 seconds, from an online article titled:
Benefits and Side Effects of a 14 Day Oil Pulling Experiment.

Well, at least I know where some of your (often controversial) comments come from.
Someone else may actually believe
you and for everyone's benefit you should include all the details, not
just the ones which support your point of view.
"One  56-year-old Korean woman had aspirated (inhaled) the oil, rich in bacteria, into her lungs, causing four successive lipoid pneumonias."
Not impressed.
You have made many positive contributions in this forum.
Please use your time for positive feedback, instead of unjustly knocking down other members' comments.

If you need more  information about coconut oil and its benefits, go under research at the coconut oil ******* website.
They have dozens of studies and articles on coconut oil.
Cheers,
Niko

LightSeeker, I don't know anything about the Korean woman.  The reports I saw were from data required to be collected from American hospitals.  The head to head studies are there for anyone to research.  As for the money part of coconut oil, you have to be knowledgeable about foreign relations and environmentalism to know what I was referring to.  The first was red palm oil, which is high in tocotrienols, a part of the Vitamin E complex that isn't in most other sources of Vitamin E.  While this is true, it, and the new information, also true, that highly saturated fat oils aren't as bad for you as was thought upon further research because of the high level of antioxidants (of course, many of these are destroyed upon cooking, but still).  But the people who wholesale palm oil went nuts with it and started cutting down the rainforest in massive amounts to plant palm oil trees.  Now it's happening with coconut oil -- to plant all those additional trees to supply the additional demand means creating a lot of cleared land to do this.  The pharmaceutical industry was never mentioned by me.  The saturated fat is from several long-term studies that have been studying long-lived clusters of people for decades, and mono-saturated fats such as canola and olive are winning this contest big time.  Now, I don't care if you don't use canola oil, but it is a real plant -- it's the rapeseed plant.  It's true that Canada renamed the oil to create a bigger market, thinking nobody would buy a plant called rape, but people have been eating rape and using its seed oil for centuries, mostly in far northern countries where it grows and not much else does.  The only truly bad thing about canola oil is not health related  but environmental related, which is that most of it is GMO, but if you buy organic you can avoid that, but again, I don't care if you don't use canola oil.  The fact is, and the site you tried to mention got blocked out but appears to be a trade association website devoted to coconut oil, not an unbiased source, is that coconut oil does not have very strong properties that are being pushed and has for that reason not been used traditionally for the things it's suddenly being pushed for.  As for anything I've said being controversial, nothing wrong with being controversial, but I think what you don't like is that I can be a strong advocate of the environment and of natural medicine without losing my objectivity.  Some of it works, some of it doesn't, and it is not immune to the same profit motive that clouds pharmaceutical medicine and everything else in the world.  People exaggerate and lie to sell things, and people like you read the stuff and believe it.  Having worked in the field at the store level for 18 years, I learned this over time.  I use a lot of natural medicine and there's a lot that I won't use.  I see you as a true believer, which is fine, I don't claim to be the only repository of truth, but you shouldn't be surprised that someone else might disagree with you from time to time.  Peace.  
Avatar universal
Oil pulling was probably done more with sesame oil than coconut oil -- coconut oil is very popular these days for nearly everything but there's no evidence that it works for much.  Oil pulling was popular before the invention of the toothbrush.  There are actual anti-bacterial agents you can use, such as iodine or myrrh or grapefruit seed extract, but if your teeth are truly bad and in pain you probably want to at least get them healthy first by using standard dental treatments recommended by dentists before moving over to the natural route.  I followed the natural route with my homeopathic dentist for years and now, in my 60s, I've lost four teeth, have nine root canals, and still counting.  Kinda wish I'd done it differently in some ways, but dental products recommended by dentists have their downside as well -- fluoride works but can cause other problems if used too much, and pharmaceutical products usually downplay their downsides.  The main thing is diet and flossing and brushing regularly.  But some people just have bad teeth and there's really no telling why sometimes -- I'm the only one in my family with bad teeth, and they were always bad even though we all ate the same things and did the same things when I was young.  In your case, since you had good teeth before neglect, I'm guessing using strong dental products for awhile until they're healthy is best.  Then, you can try natural products, which use a host of different substances and are quite different from one another.  I'm very biased toward the natural, because pharmaceutical products have so many hidden costs, but in the case of my teeth it certainly didn't work out.
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1530171 tn?1448129593
"Oil Pulling" using 1 teaspoon organic coconut oil, 1st thing each morning.
This entails swishing vigorously for about 20 minutes and then spitting it out and rinsing real good, to rid billions of toxic molecules and harmful bacteria, instead of them gradually seeping into your body & eventually causing infections and additional damage.
The coconut oil is able to enter the tiny dental tubules and
attack the bacteria which may be hiding there.
This is all natural, safe and inexpensive, but most importantly it is very effective.
I have been doing this daily for years and my oral hygiene and dental health is excellent!
There's no better remedy than oil pulling, which dates back thousands of years, as it was used in Ayurvedic medicine.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Niko
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Lightseeker, As per your statement to pax. "You have been reading too many (flawed) medical studies and articles financed by the same entities who have 'their" best interests served by the results of those studies , not yours!"
pax. does to much trolling!
I have been oil pulling for a few years.
I guess my genetics for oral health is good because I have all my wisdom teeth except 1 was removed years ago being impacted. I'll be turning 72 have 1 cap and 2 fillings.  
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