Holistic Dental care - overview

More on taking care of our mouth with tips from Dr. Burhenne, video interview by Jesse Chappus.

Dr. Mark Burhenne, a functional health dentist, says that mouthwash and other oral care products are making our health worse by harming our oral microbiome. Diet and product changes are likely needed to help the oral microbiome, dental health, and our overall health. The dental industry has been based on the theory that sterilizing the mouth and keeping it sterile will prevent cavities and dental disease — they have been wrong all along, but are still pushing the same wrong information and all the products that the industry has so heavily invested in.

• Functional Dentist REVEALS the Perfect Oral Care Routine to FIX YOUR MOUTH & Overall Health | Dr. B, interview by: Jesse Chappus, (Youtube).

Dr. Burhenne’s dental tips:

It is critically important to protect our mouth’s biofilm instead of attacking and removing it with scrapers or sterilizing mouthwashes. The biofilm covering our tissues is a protective layer where white blood cells can patrol and remove harmful pathogens. The biofilm is also where healthy species of our microbiome live and they also help prevent negative species from growing by eating the available nutrients instead and they may have other ways to inhibit growth of negative bacteria species or yeast.

• Don’t use standard mouthwashes that kill all microbes.

  • Original flavor Listerine uses essential oils that don’t kill good microbes but would leave the mouth acidic, follow up with a swish of baking soda water or potassium bicarbonate in water or sea salt in water may also adjust the acidity towards alkalinity.

  • **My pomegranate extract has been leaving my mouth feeling really good, but it is acidic. I follow it up with potassium bicarbonate in water.

• Don’t use hydrogen peroxide products in the mouth for tooth whitening or daily tooth care as it kills all microbes.

• Prebiotic foods are needed along with having a diet with a low overall glycemic index.

Background info: A low glycemic index diet would include meals that have less sugar and simple starches, and a balanced amount of fiber, protein and fats. More fiber can be from root vegetables, or whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, but they need to be presoaked to reduce phytic acid. Whole fruits and veggies also add fiber to our diet, more veggies is better than more fruit though as fruit sugar can harm the liver. We only need about two fruit servings per day, that would be a 4-6 ounce juice or a half-one cup of fruit (varying with the water content of the fruit ~ 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving).

• Dr. Burhenne recommends ‘mouth-taping’ at night - literally taping your mouth shut to prevent drying of the oral cavity while you sleep. Breathing through our nose is better for our dental and overall health.

• Hydroxyapatite for remineralization (and whitening) can be helpful, but don’t rinse after using it. Just spit out the excess and leave the rest there to keep remineralizing your teeth.

Background: Hydroxyapatite is the crystalline substance that our teeth form enamel from. Fluoride products can make teeth less shiny and it is the reflective shininess that looks “white”. Our tooth enamel is more clear like glass.

According to Dr. Burhenne, children tend to get more cavities than adults because demineralization happens at a lower acidity level in their mouth than for adults - i.e. - children will get cavities with less acidic beverages than an adult would - and therefore the acidity of fruit juice might be bad enough without needing the more acidic soda, lemonade, or coffee and caffeinated teas, or very acidic energy drinks of modern life (I encourage you to not use those.)

• Eat and drink anything with starches, acidity, protein, etc. quickly and then rinse the mouth with something alkaline. Intermittent fasting or not snacking between meals is better for our teeth.

Background: It is the saliva between meals that helps to remineralize teeth, while the more acidic saliva produced during eating to help with digestion will add to demineralization of teeth.

• Avoid brushing or flossing first thing in the morning or shortly (~ 30 minutes) after eating or after drinking acidic beverages. Chewing with xylitol gum can be a good follow up after a meal, and then brush after that. * See this related post: Xylitol for oral health & another dentist on the topic of receding gum tissue and how to regrow it. (Substack)

  • Electric toothbrushes can be okay to use. The Sonic brand may be more effective than the OralB brand based on research studies — USE GENTLY!

  • Look for soft bristles that have ‘rounded’ ends rather than a standard cut end which would be a right angle and sharp on the gum tissue. Brush gently, not aggressively scrubbing back and forth, instead use tiny circular motions.

• Or DON’T brush! Our ancestors did not brush their teeth. They chewed on chewing sticks. »The Neem oil chew sticks might be worth a try for people besides the elderly or mentally disabled.

  • Literally a package of Neem tree twigs: This site is very informative and has a free ebook to download: (neemtreefarms.com/shop/neem-chew-sticks/). You chew the end into bristly shaped, then brush with that a little too. Cut off the chewed end for a fresh piece (and more essential oils from the fresh wood) for the next day or ‘brushing’. This etsy has what looks like the same thing, except it is on sale. (etsy.com/natural-organic-neem-datun-manual)

  • Birch toothpicks that were soaked in Neem bark extract, Cassia (cinnamon) oil, Menthol, Peppermint, Spearmint, and Fennel essential oils: (iherb.com/pr/auromere-ayurvedic-toothpicks-neem-picks-100-pieces/54413)

    That would be too much salicylate for me. I think I will get some Neem twigs to try instead. Birch wood is rich in salicylates too. The mint can help with remineralization of teeth as it activates a TRP channel that can also signal ‘remineralize’.

• Dr. Burhenne does recommend tongue scrapping once or twice a day depending on how bad it is. As the mouth gets healthier every other day might be enough (to prevent white gooey buildup).

• Functional Dentist REVEALS the Perfect Oral Care Routine to FIX YOUR MOUTH & Overall Health | Dr. B, interview by: Jesse Chappus, (Youtube).

Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.