Your Guide to Holistic Dentistry & Oral Care Using Nontoxic Plant Botanicals
Health - It All Begins In Your Mouth
I've noticed that non-toxic oral & dental care is rarely discussed in the holistic beauty space. Good health is truly connected to your mouth: if the eyes are a window into the soul, the mouth, they say, is a window to your overall general health, connected to all sorts of things from heart disease to healthy pregnancy and baby weight.
We have been taught to brush twice daily, floss, and visit the dentist to prevent tooth decay. Yet, the staggering number of cavities, crowns, root canals, and extracted teeth confirm that something is amiss.
"Wearily, we roam the drug store dental aisles searching for solutions. We purchase countless tubes of paste, we maintain the ingrained hygienist and dentist appointments, and we brush with daily-diligence for decades; yet the possibility of periodontal disease percolates. Receding, bleeding gums are the norm; unexpected cavities form, and millions of root canals are performed. The definition of insanity, doing the same thing, and expecting different results applies to our current state of dental care."
- Holistic Dental Care by Nadine Artemis.
Taking good care of your teeth is not as simple as it may at first seem. The stores overflow with products, all advertising the best of benefits, and yet, you'll be hard-pressed to find an actual, complete list of ingredients on most drug store brands. It's an industry that truly does rely on expert recommendation, and not consumer education. It is important to ensure that you're using a product that won't just prevent tooth decay, but also won't do your body harm by using it.
The Problem
Toothpaste as a product is a lot more than simply a paste to clean your teeth. It's an entire user experience, incorporating visual appearance, taste, texture, and sensation. With that in mind, to achieve this a whole host of ingredients are used in proprietary formulas, each with subtle differences in an effort to win your loyalty. As with many things manufactured on a mass scale in a competitive market, to keep costs low, chemicals are used to keep things cheap, cheerful, and seemingly effective.
But, consider this: your gums are more absorbent than most other parts of your body, meaning that products you brush with, floss with, swish with, and whiten with, end up in your bloodstream even if you're careful not to swallow. The following is a quick snapshot at the biggest problems lurking in your tube of toothpaste:
MICRO-BEADS
Microbeads are microscopic plastic beads embedded in personal care products, including toothpaste, for an exfoliating effect. The trouble is that they are so small they pass through municipal filtration systems and end up in our water and waterways (and/or your body). There they act as contaminants, containing hormone-disrupting compounds (affecting estrogen in particular) that build up in our bodies and in the food chain, affecting both wildlife and humans, and contributing to diseases including cancer.
TRICLOSAN
Triclosan is an antibacterial agent found in a multitude of products, everything from lotion, soap, deodorant, cream, dishwashing soap, and yes, toothpaste. Basically, anything conventionally labeled as antibacterial probably contains triclosan. First put into use in the 1970s, it has since been found to promote cancer growth in rats and mice, though scientists are hesitant to claim it will do the same in humans. Personally, I don't find this worth the risk considering that humans and mice share 92% of their DNA! There are many natural products that fight bacteria just as effectively, such as oregano essential oil or grapefruit seed extract. The other problem with triclosan is that as it washes down the drain and inevitably finds its way into our waterways, it is wreaking havoc on algae populations and the development of sensitive keystone species, such as frogs. At this time it is a registered pesticide- what is it doing in our toothpaste?!
FLUORIDE
It's important to realise that fluoride is a cumulative toxin, which overtime can lead to more serious health concerns than dental fluorosis. It is a toxic industrial waste product that is poison to your body and in no way a "nutrient", offering no benefits at all to the human body. You can avoid fluoride exposure by stopping all use of fluoridated toothpaste & mouthwash, stop drinking fluoridated water, refuse fluoride gel treatments from the dentist, eat more fresh & less processed foods, avoid cooking with non-stick pans, avoid fluoridated salt, and minimise or cease consumption of mechanically deboned meats.
SLS
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate has long been present on the list of dirty ingredients to avoid in personal care products. An industrial-strength surfactant, it's sole purpose is to make toothpaste feel foamy, which we have come to equate erroneously with effectiveness. In regards to toothpaste use, it has been linked for some time to the increased occurrence of canker sores. It is also readily absorbed into the body and contains compounds that are known carcinogens and can affect normal human development.
*It should also be noted that all the above ingredients also bioaccumulate, meaning that our bodies cannot effectively rid themselves of them. Therefore, the effect of them is not yet fully understood, as they exist on a continuum of exposure rates and time.
Holistic Dentistry - Living Libations✨
A few months ago I was given the opportunity to try the Living Libations' dental care line, which I was THRILLED about as I have never seen beauty products with such clean, high-quality botanicals with ZERO chemicals! I have already been loving the Living Libations skincare for years now, and I've always been keen to try Nadine's natural tooth & gum botanical creations.
When it comes to effective teeth and gum care, Nadine Artemis – founder of Living Libations, totally blows me away with her holistic understanding, advice and wisdom, based on thorough research and experience, for how best to care for your mouth to bring about incredibly effective results. Thousands of people throughout the world have radically improved their dental health after integrating Nadine’s Successful Self-Dentistry into their daily life.
Nadine is also the author of a short but intensely informative book called Holistic Dental Care—The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums, in which she teaches that teeth are not inert bones, but actually living and directly linked to your digestive system—research can now prove that substances ingested through the mouth will actually appear within the tissue of the teeth in a very short time, turning the idea that cavities are caused purely by sugar coming in contact with the teeth on its head. It is, in actuality, very simple: cavities are caused by poor nutrition and a diet comprised of processed and refined foods. The relationship between your health and your teeth is actually quite intricate, and Nadine's book is worth reading simply to know and understand more.
Nadine's oral care system is comprised of 8 simple steps, and her products are designed to support them by helping to deep clean your mouth, strengthening and remineralizing your saliva, teeth, and gums, all with only the purest and natural essential oils. I LOVE the taste and texture of her toothpastes and gum gels, but they may take a small amount of getting used to if you are switching from foamy, conventional brands of toothpaste. My teeth have never felt cleaner, my mouth happier, and I will never go back. The potency of the products means that a little goes a long way, and they last for quite some time. Using her products, my routine now consists of (which is a mildly abbreviated version of her 8 steps):
Saltwater Rinse
Scraping the Tongue
Dry Brushing the Gums (using a drop of the Ozonated Happy Gum Gel on the brush)
Brushing the Teeth using the Happy Gums Clay Toothpaste with the Perfect Pearl Powder
Flossing (using one more drop of the Ozonated Happy Gum Gel on the floss)
Final Saltwater Rinse
Here are my thoughts on the Living Libations products I've been using & how I incorporate them into the 'successful self-dentistry steps' :)
Happy Gums Cleansing Clay Toothpaste
The BEST toothpaste ever. Since brushing with this toothpaste, my teeth have felt truly clean. My breath has never been fresher, and it leaves me wanting to flash my smile at everyone I see! I love how this toothpaste makes my mouth feel. It’s one of the only ones I’ve ever used that actually leaves my teeth feeling slippery and glassy after each use. I like to put a dash of the perfect Pearl Powder on my toothbrush as well and it makes my teeth and gums feel amazing afterwards. You only need a tiny amount on a toothbrush, which makes it last a long time. Apply to a dry toothbrush and brush for a deep clean, rinse, and follow with Happy Gums Ozonated Gel or Drops and the rest of the Successful Oral Care steps.
Some key ingredients in this toothpaste are:
Sacred Clay - Pyrophyllite: Sacred Clay is an incredible detoxifying agent and is said to be the best detoxifying agent of all the clays. Containing silica and nearly 10% electrolyte content, Sacred Clay is packed with free ions that attract toxins. This special pyrophyllite clay is 100% naturally occurring from a single deposit near the region of Crater Lake Oregon.
Virgin Coconut Oil: This diverse lipid is a caring carrier oil and botanical-biotic coconspirator that balances oral ecology. This optimal oil soothes the oral tissue and gently removes bacteria that cause bad breath.
Baking Soda - Sodium Bicarbonate: Teeth thrive when they are bathed in a sea of sweet saliva, and baking soda buffers and neutralizes food acids. In addition to being an effective cleaning polish, baking soda is gentle. It has significantly lower abrasiveness than the cleaning agents of chalk and silica that are used in commercial toothpastes, and the baking soda’s natural alkalinity neutralizes bacterial acidity.
It also contains a refreshing array of pure botanical-biotics that keep the teeth in top shape whilst banishing bacteria that cause bad breath, including; Seabuckthorn, Rose Otto, Peppermint, Clove Bud, Oregano, Cinnamon, Tea Tree, and Sweet Thyme.
Ozonated Happy Gum Gel
This product deserves an 11/10 rating. The Ozonated Happy Gum Gel has seriously been a major catalyst in the improvement of my dental and oral ecology. The overall health of my mouth has improved drastically since using this product. The Ozonated Happy Gum Gel is a super-charged, botanical toothpaste, massage gel for your gums, and a zingy breath freshener. Add a drop to your brush, floss, or smooth on the lips for an atmospheric shine.
What is Ozone?
This ozonized oral care creation, made of three atoms of oxygen (O3), delivers ozone to your tooth-brushing regime and adds a fresh depth to clean. Nascent oxygen and essential oils are natural partners for a happy mouth.
Brilliant visionary, Nikola Tesla, was an electrical genius with over 300 patents including a wireless light bulb, wireless communication, ionized gases, cold plasma, and ozone generation for oxygen therapy. In 1896, Tesla was issued a patent for an ozone generator. He formed the Tesla Ozone Company and began producing ozone generators. He created a powerful gel, made by bubbling ozone through olive oil until it solidified, which was used by those seeking botanical-biotic freshness.
If you are new to ozonated oil, the smell can be surprising as it is reminiscent of the aroma of charged air during a lightning storm- (I personally can't get enough of this smell and flavour!). Most people love the fresh charged aroma of ozonated oil while others, at first sniff, find it strong and unusual. These folks find it more enjoyable after using ozone for a few days. However, each formula is enhanced with the infusion of aromatic essential oils to further activate the olfactory and skin experience.
Perfect Pearl Powder
This product is great because it can also be used on the skin as well as being an excellent tooth product! Created from nourishing Pearl Nacre sourced from deep in the South Seas, this ancient beauty care preparation is used to infuse skin and teeth with beneficial ingredients.
For over three thousand years, pearl powder has been a staple of Chinese health and beauty. Women used Pearl powder to slow the signs of aging and fight the appearance of wrinkles. Pearl powder was also applied externally and taken internally by ancient peoples throughout India, Egypt, and the indigenous cultures of South and Central America. Cleopatra was a big fan of Pearl powder for her skin, as was Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in China’s long history. Today, Pearl powder is used for its beautifying properties in skin care products and to polish teeth. Within the tissues and shell surrounding each perfect Pearl are nourishing compounds that fortify and strengthen the Pearl just as they rejuvenate human skin and teeth. Pearl powder is an ancient Eastern beauty remedy celebrated to improve the appearance of the skin, dim dark spots, and smooth fine lines polish teeth, and cleanse blemishes.
This makes a wonderful addition to my tooth-brushing regimen; I add a pinch to the Happy Gums Clay Toothpaste to polish my pearly whites. You can also mix with Coconut oil for a pulling serum.
Wintergreen Clean Floss
I always got told at every dentist visit that it is crucial that I floss twice a day, but I've only just started seriously implementing this, flossing anywhere between 2-4 times a day. Creating this habit has DRASTICALLY transformed my gum health. My gums used to always bleed, whether I was brushing or attempting the occasional floss, I'd see blood. Now, after consistently flossing, using these Living Libations dental products, and sticking to this routine, my gums NEVER bleed! Yay!
I used to hate flossing simply because the floss I was using was cheap and weak from big & popular dental brands. The strings of floss would break apart in my mouth and I didn't like the fact that I was scraping plastic string between my teeth and having it tear off into several bits.
We all know why we should floss, but floss, just like toothpaste, is graded based on user-friendliness as well as effectiveness. Particularly the glide factor, which is often achieved using Teflon or PFCs, a known hazardous and carcinogenic ingredient. It is important to get a good quality floss - for your health AND the environment. Choose instead a floss waxed with natural waxes, either vegetable or beeswax. Two brands I recommend are the Living Libations Wintergreen Clean Floss or the Dr. Tung's Smart Floss.
I particularly love the Living Libations floss pictured here because it's infused with detoxing charcoal, and icy-sweet essential oils for ultra-fresh breath and a mouth that is squeaky clean. Wintergreen Clean Floss is a vegan dream, coated in organic plant wax and it is rolled in a cylindrical glass and stainless-steel dispenser that is entirely recyclable and better yet, reusable.
How I use: Wintergreen Clean Floss can be used every day. After brushing, apply one drop of the Ozonated Happy Gum Gel along approximately 45 cm of floss, wrap the floss around fingers, and pull it tight. Slide floss between teeth, curve it around a tooth, and clean between the tooth and gums with gentle up and down motion. Repeat between each tooth, using a clean section of the floss.
Saltwater swishing & tongue scraping
The first two steps of my dentistry routine involve saltwater swishing and scraping my tongue with a metal tongue scraper. I make a saltwater solution and keep it in my bathroom which is made from Kangen water and Celtic sea salt. You can also add a drop of Mint & Myrrh, Yogi Tooth Serum, or Happy Gum Drops from Living Libations. To use the salt water rinse, pour yourself a shot glass of the mixture, swish, swish, swish, and spit. This alkalises the mouth, as well as nourishes and switches on saliva flow.
I then use my tongue cleaner and scrape my tongue 3-4 times to remove any coating, combat bad breath, avoid reabsorption of toxins, bacteria & fungus in the body, and improve my ability to taste! For Step 2 of Nadine's Self Dentistry Steps, fully extend your tongue, place the scraper as far back as is comfortable, and gently but firmly pull the scraper forward to remove any coating. Repeat until almost no matter is pulled up. Remember to rinse your scraper in hot water in between.
