As some of you may or may not know we have been thinking more and more about oral care.
This post really challenged my thinking on our brushing with toothpaste and flossing is the best way to go theory. I had never really thought about it before I just sort of went with the flow. We tried the remineralization toothpaste but for the amount of work and the lack of cavities in our home we decided to go with just plain salt. We also changed our way of brushing.
http://www.orawellness.com/ has a video that explains a way of brushing teeth that just made sense to me. My gums need just as much focus during brushing as my teeth do if not more! (I know Mum, I know, you taught me this a long time ago but it has JUST sunk in.)
As we undertook this endeavor we also read up on the tooth blog about tooth
whitening. WOW! This was more of a change that we expected. Take a look.
Attractive, I know... One more... this one is me... embarrassing.
Now after about a week and a half of brushing with charcoal, not regularly mind you and still drinking coffee and the like.
Not perfect, but it's coming. By the way, sorry for the terrible pictures. We really wanted to get these up ASAP because we are super excited to share this with you!
Ok, interested? Wanna try? Here's how. Buy some charcoal pills. Most health food stores will carry them from what I understand. I bought mine at a health food shop in the Comox Mall. Then it was just a matter of cutting open the gelatin capsule and dipping in a toothbrush that was on it's way out anyway.
From there we brushed our teeth for two minutes. Not too bad for taste, just a bit dry in my opinion. This was what Anthony looked like while brushing!
Just a tip for you, you won't want to do this over your porcelain sink. Apparently this stains. Might be a good idea to wear some older clothes or a bib and brush over your kitchen sink.
I'm interested in hearing thoughts on this post. Feel free to comment.
-Olivia
Hahaha... the charcoal looks so nasty! I would be willing to give it a try sometime though. Tooth hygiene has been on my mind a lot lately too. I did make our own toothpaste at one point - salt, baking soda, glycerine and essential oils, but it wasn't a big hit and too hard to resist the tubes of blue paste still sitting on the counter. Last time we needed toothpaste I went for the fluoride-free Tom's of Maine, only to get it home and see that it still contains sodium lauryl sulfate! Ack. Maybe after this tube is empty I'll try the homemade again, or even the salt. Do the kids use salt? Do they complain?
ReplyDeleteThe charcoal is definitely worth a try. Let me know how it goes if you get the chance. The salt isn't a big hit in this house with the kids, but I will give it a try once they are a bit older. They won't need the charcoal for a long time from now I don't imagine.
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