What you put in your mouth really does matter. I don’t just mean your food, but also the dental products you use.

These days, there is so much more to oral health than sterilizing the mouth with whatever means necessary. We must consider the friendly bacteria in our mouths, the health of the tissue in the mouth, and the whole body. While we don’t want them to overgrow, we want to nourish a healthy community of beneficial microbes that help us become our healthiest selves. That’s why the products we use for oral health shouldn’t just be good at keeping our mouths free from bacterial overgrowth, the ingredients should be high quality, safe, and effective.

Ingredients Matter

While the health of young children might be foremost in the minds of their parents, grown-ups need healthy, non-toxic, effective toothpaste, too. If you go through the ingredients list of RiseWell’s toothpaste, you will find that all of their ingredients are food ingredients, or they have low concern for any toxicity or even environmental risk. How’s that for taking care of our mouths, our bodies, and the planet? If you don’t believe me, check out their ingredients on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database.

Teeth can incorporate hydroxyapatite into their structure, becoming stronger and more resistant to cavities. In a 2019 study, they found that hydroxyapatite was equally effective as fluoride toothpaste when treating early cavities and preventing tooth break-down. In fact, hydroxyapatite helped build teeth at a deeper layer of the enamel. Many studies show the same thing and hydroxyapatite has been used safely in medicine and dentistry for many decades. 

Hydroxyapatite

I’m especially impressed by RiseWell’s children’s toothpaste. It’s so much more than fluoride-free toothpaste for kids that you can find at any grocery store. It contains hydroxyapatite. This is what bones and teeth are made of – a simple yet unbreakable combo of calcium, phosphorus, and oxygen.

Hydroxyapatite toothpaste is a perfect solution for toddlers and children who could get too much fluoride, especially when you add up the fluoride from water, food, pharmaceuticals, and dental products. Fluorosis is a condition that makes teeth look discolored. Kids under eight years old are at risk of fluorosis if they are exposed to high amounts of fluoride. Too much fluoride during this critical window can affect the enamel on their permanent teeth.

Applying hydroxyapatite directly to the teeth with toothpaste is a great way to make your kids’ teeth stronger and harder. And my daughter loves the taste.

It’s not just about a safer alternative to fluoride toothpaste. I don’t have to worry about hard-to-pronounce potentially toxic chemicals in my child’s toothpaste. Everything that enters the mouth can be absorbed into the bloodstream. The oral lining is naturally permeable, meaning small things can pass through it. The ingredients in toothpaste and floss will make it into your child’s bloodstream.

In fact, dental floss PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances), such as Teflon, have been found in the blood. Some brands of dental floss use PFAS so that the floss glides easily between teeth. This ingredient can be ingested from floss and make its way into the blood. 

Heal Your Oral Microbiome

Read more about the oral health and the oral microbiome in Heal Your Oral Microbiome. “It is the first book out there to focus exclusively on the oral microbiome. In these pages, you’ll learn how your mouth paves the way for full-body health, as well as how to identify common habits and practices that could be negatively impacting your unique microbiome.”

About The Author:

Cass Nelson-Dooley, MS, studied medicinal plants in the rain forests of Panama, in 2003 as a Fulbright Scholar, and then launched a career in science and natural medicine. She researched the pharmacology of medicinal plants at the University of Georgia and AptoTec, Inc, and then joined the innovators at Metametrix Clinical Laboratory and Genova Diagnostics. She enjoys teaching, presenting, writing, and researching how to address the underlying causes of disease, not just the symptoms. She has over a decade of experience teaching doctors about integrative and functional laboratory results. In 2013, she started Health First Consulting, LLC, a medical communications company with the mission to improve human health using the written word. She created innovative videos and patient education handouts to improve practice efficiency and motivate patients. Ms. Nelson-Dooley is the author of Heal Your Oral Microbiome and has published case studies, book chapters, and journal articles about natural medicine, nutrition, and laboratory testing. Learn more at www.healthfirstconsulting.com.