An interesting topic came up the other day…
Bad breath.
Why is that interesting?
Because what I learned is that people think it is the use of toothpaste that gives good breath…
… and the lack of using toothpaste causes bad breath.
But that’s not it at all.
The majority of toothpaste is actually toxic.
There are a bunch of toothpaste options that are just greenwashed (the marketing makes it seem like a good option but it still contains toxins).
And then there are a bunch of options that just aren’t all that helpful even without toxins.
Did you know the actual cleaning from brushing your teeth comes from the mechanical action of brushing your teeth?
It’s not the toothpaste that does it.
If bad breath is present, that means there is an imbalance in the oral microbiome.
An imbalance of the oral microbiome can be because of:
- Poor gut health
- Using oral products that kill bacteria in the mouth
- Poor oral hygiene
- Smoking
- Eating foods that harm oral health
I know that second one surprises a lot of people.
The marketing for mouthwashes that kill bacteria has been pretty impeccable, getting lots of people to believe they must kill the bacteria!
But we need those bacteria in our mouth!
Killing off those bacteria just means creating an imbalance there (that leads to bad breath).
And it’s not just bad breath that results, other health issues can ensue as well.
After all, oral health is about far more than bad breath, but bad breath is an indicator that something is not ok.
So what are actual, healthy steps to get rid of bad breath and improve your oral health?
- Start healing the gut (that’s a topic all of it’s own…)
- Don’t use oral products that kill bacteria
- Brush your teeth daily (not too hard though), floss (use silk or coconut fiber floss), oil pull, maybe use baking soda water to swish for 30 seconds before
- brushing if you’ve been eating or drinking recently
- Don’t smoke (for so many reasons) side note: I do mean don’t use any tobacco products…
- Avoid processed food, sugar, soda, juice, candy, alcohol
You may have noticed that these considerations will impact far more than oral health.
You are correct.
All of our health is always intermingled, so helping one area will help other areas as well.
I consider that a major win in my book!