I noticed a new product the other day for gum disease and it made me think about dental health in general.
First, the new herbal/essential oil mouthwash is called Peri-Gum, developed by a US naturopath originally for his son who was suffering from advanced gum disease. In recent trials, it showed that gum disease scores dropped 20% and plaque levels 16%. It’s had some excellent write-ups – see here: http://www.peri-gum.com/Testimonials.htm and a 29ml bottle will last about 3 months.
The other products I like for killing nasties in the mouth eg bacteria or yeast, is Higher Nature Grapefruit Seed Extract or Biocare’s Oxypro. It’s a good idea to pop your toothbrush in some water overnight with a few drops of either of these added. So often a chronic mouth problem is down to constantly re-infecting yourself with nasties that grow happily on your brush.
Mouth health is really important as periodontal disease has been linked to many other conditions in the body, including heart disease. As well as oral hygiene, it’s important to make sure that your levels of oral health nutrients are good. For example, we know that Vitamin C deficiency is the cause of scorbutic gingivitis, that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to softening bone (of the jaw etc), Riboflavin deficiency is most often the cause of cracks at the corners of the mouth, that Calcium deficiency/malabsorption leads to bone density loss (and softening of teeth) and, finally, that having a Zinc deficiency means you’re unlikely to solve a chronic gum infection. No brainer, then, that if you want to look after your oral health, you need to make sure you have the right nutrients in your diet and/or supplement programme. CoQ10 is also important for bleeding gums, and protects the heart.
Vitamin K2 is also said to be a wonder for reducing oral health problems such as cavities, excess plaque and soft teeth. K2 is known to help metabolise calcium properly and should be a part of any diet or supplement with a hope of preventing osteoporosis. Thorne Research do a liquid version which is absorbable and can be swished around the mouth.
Day to day, remember to use the Aloe Dent range of toothpastes and mouthwashes, which is rich in CoQ10 and some of the essential oils also found in the Peri-Gum. Aloe Dent also make a vegan dental floss which is made purely from vegetable waxes.
For those of you who hate needles and the local anaesthetic at the dentist, there is something else you should know about. With thanks to John Scott at Foods Matter (www.foodsmatter.com) who wrote about this in the really useful FM forums, you can now get your dentist to use a cryogenic mouthpiece called GumEase G100, ‘which is made from soft, latex-free biocompatible PVC and filled with a saline solution. After being chilled in a temperature-controlled freezer to minus 7 degrees C, the device is placed around the gums, where it feels very comfortable and produces surprisingly powerful pain relief. Up to three devices can be applied in succession, for 4 minutes each, until the required amount of anesthesia is achieved. In tests, the average patient experienced 100% pain relief in 2 to 3 minutes, and this lasted for up to twenty minutes.
The device is suitable for use with most procedures, including fillings, crowns, extractions and root canals, as well as brace application and adjustment.
As this is a disposable item, so far as the dentist is concerned, the patient can take their gumEase devices home with them and, after re-freezing them in a household freezer, can apply them post-operatively if any pain occurs after their procedure.
Most dentists are still unaware of the existence of the gumEase, so you will need to speak with your practitioner well in advance of your appointment to check whether this type of anesthesia is routinely offered to patients and, if not, suggest that the dentist obtain a supply to try them. As the device could save dentists both time and money, s/he will probably be grateful for the suggestion!’
Supplies of the GumEase can be obtained in the UK from George Harrell at gharrell@cryodevices.com (£69.77, including shipping, for 10).
Interestingly, John also writes that ‘patients who have migraine and tension-type headaches who have tried this device have reported that, in addition to delivering effective dental anesthesia, the device has also provided relief from their headaches. In fact, such has been the success of the device in this respect that a trial is about to begin to test this new application.’
You should be able to get all the stuff I’ve mentioned, except the GumEase, from either Nutricentre or Goodness Direct. Click here for a link to these companies: http://www.purehealthclinic.co.uk/html/links.html
