Your mouth is the gateway to your gut. Your gut controls your health. These two are connected and your mouth tells the story about how healthy your gut is. Keeping a healthy mouth assists in keeping your guy healthy in addition to what you eat.
Here are some tips to keep your mouth healthy!
Proper brushing techniques
Do you make long strokes like you see in TV commercials or the movies?
If you make long strokes, you are not brushing properly. Ever notice how the close ups on TV commercials for toothpaste show the bristles agitating around one tooth? That is how you should brush.
Spend a few seconds on each individual tooth, then move to the next tooth. Do this front and then back.
If you have an electric brush, read the directions. They will instruct you to spend a few seconds on each tooth with the brush at a 45° angle using a gentle rocking motion.
Electric toothbrushes will give you that “just from the dentist” feeling because they clean the teeth far more effectively.
There is plenty of information on the Internet or speak with your dentist about proper techniques!
A healthy mouth = healthy body = healthy skin!
Eating carrots cleans your teeth
Carrots are awesome both cooked and uncooked. When you eat them raw, here are the two oral health benefits you receive:
1. They help clean your teeth naturally!
2. Raw carrots fight the bad bacteria in your mouth. Which helps with cavities and bad breath!
Now you know. Eat your carrots! (But don’t substitute for brushing. There is no substitute for brushing.)
Oil pulling
Oil pulling should be completed upon waking up before eating, drinking and brushing.
1 Tbsp of cold pressed sesame oil, coconut oil. It is important to use a high quality oil and not just any oil in your regular grocery store.
Close your lips and begin swishing the oil all over your mouth. Without clenching your jaw, pull it back and forth between the teeth as well.
The length of time will vary depending upon the person. When the oil turns cloudy, usually after about 4 minutes, spit oil into the toilet or the trash.
Do not spit in the sink as it will clog your pipes.
Follow up with brushing and tongue scraping and you are ready to start you day!
This is the basics for oil pulling. There are many Ayurveda variations depending upon required balancing conditions. Consult an Ayurvedic professional for more information.
Healthy mouth = healthy skin
Acids and brushing
We all hear “don’t brush your teeth after consuming acidic beverages.” Wine, certain fruits & veggies, etc… This is not an excuse to skip a brushing. Wait 30 minutes after your last sip of the healthy juice you just consumed before brushing.
The better your overall health, the better your skin will look. To keep yourself looking young all the time, take care of your whole self. Stay close to nature when it comes to anything you put in and on your body.
Toothpaste
How do you pick a non-toxic toothpaste since everything is marketed as healthy? Read the ingredients and understand each one. Crest, Colgate, AquaFresh, the traditional ones we grew up with are all bad. They contain lots of unnecessary toxins.
Pick a natural toothpaste, if it has neem, even better! But be careful it does not have hard ingredients like rough cinnamon that can scratch and harm your enamel. Here are our faves:
Desily + Mitchell (no social media)
This toothpaste is created by Dr. Cassandra Hodges, a dentist, using natural baking soda and essential oils to help strengthen gums and clean the teeth. The important part of this is that SHE created the toothpastes and mouthwashes, not a lab or with a chemist who all want to use toxic products to make manufacturing easy. Baking soda will not scratch your enamel, it is a salt and dissolves with water and saliva and rinses exceptionally clean from your teeth. Give this lady a call, she is a lot of fun to speak with and truly enjoys what she does. I love all the toothpastes listed here, but this one is my favorite, sorry Jenny and Dr. Bronner!
@lovecurate has a great toothpaste we also use! Like us, this amazing gal also develops all of her own products without using any traditional, harmful manufacturing processes. She loves educating her followers about all the individual nasty ingredients you find in both “natural” and traditional products. Jenny’s story for creating truly natural skin care is also a very personal one and she takes it serious. Follow her to learn more!
If you need a toothpaste you can find in every store, @drbronners is the way to go! They are also just as dedicated to non-toxic products as we are and leave your teeth strong and healthy without the extra junk. I have even used their soap to brush my teeth long before they had a toothpaste! I know, weird, but that a true testiment to how safe their products are. If you don’t already use Dr. Bronner soaps for just about everything, you should. They are the perfect, easy and safe stain remover for clothes, clean shampoo, body wash, dish soap, you name it!
Do you have a favorite natural toothpaste not listed here? Let us know in the comments. We love trying new products that promote health and well-being for all people!