Most of us dread going to the dentist. Something about those tiny drilling machines, having your mouth kept wide open, and the feeling of helplessness creeping in on us just isn’t right.
Not to mention, allowing a stranger to dig out our secrets. No one needs to know what we’ve been up to in the past few months!
Reduce your chances of going to the dentist. It’s time to go beyond just a toothpaste. Here are two natural ways to improve your dental hygiene.
Sea Salt
Our history is indeed salty. Early civilizations across the world relied simply on rinsing their mouth with whatever they could easily get their hands on. This included the white fairy dust – salt!
They knew salt helped with reducing, and ultimately destroying, infections. Even Ayurvedic scriptures reveal that salt water was an integral part of oral health.
Sea salt is great to make your mouth free from bacteria. This is because salt increases the pH level in your mouth, making it difficult for bacteria to live.
Bad breath thrives on the buildup of bacteria. Salt is a booster for saliva. When your mouth produces an adequate amount of saliva, it creates an antibacterial protection for the enamel.
Need even more reasons? Sea salt is a mixture of magnesium, calcium, silicon, sodium, nickel, phosphorous, iron, and minerals. This army of nutrients promotes gum health, protects against tartar (the hard deposit on the teeth that escalates tooth decay), reduces bad breath, and improves teeth whitening with regular use.
When plaque builds up on your teeth, it gives the teeth a yellow-tinted appearance. Reducing the plaque is what you need to concentrate on for whiter teeth.
If you ignore plaque, it’s going to turn into tartar. You might as well book an appointment with the dentist. Because that’s just not a stubborn stain; it’s going to haunt you till you plant yourself in a dentist’s chair.
Sea salt triumphs over regular salt because sea salt contains more minerals than its counterpart. Also, regular salt undergoes a lot of processing before reaching our tables.
Dampen your toothbrush, and coat it with a half teaspoon of sea salt. Brush your teeth gently. If brushing your teeth with salt freaks you out, you can opt to rinse your mouth with salt water.
You could even substitute your mouthwash with salt water.
Baking Soda aka Sodium Bicarbonate
There is a reason why you find sodium bicarbonate listed in your mouthwash. Baking soda is highly alkaline in nature. This means it neutralizes the acid in your mouth, reducing your chances of getting tooth decay, and removing nasty plaque.1
When the pH level of your mouth is low, it makes your mouth prone to the growth of bacteria. Baking soda, with its high pH level, boosts an alkaline environment in your mouth. This makes it difficult for the bacteria to live. Also, regular use of baking soda in your dental care helps to reduce bad breath.
Go up a notch, combine salt and baking soda
Using sea salt and baking soda together is also a good choice to keep your dental game strong. Just mix one teaspoon of sea salt and two teaspoons of baking soda. Dip a damp toothbrush into this mixture and brush your teeth.
Or go with a mouthwash-style remedy. Add half-teaspoon of salt and half-teaspoon of baking soda to a quarter cup of water. Gargle it in your mouth for a few seconds, spit, and then rinse.
You don’t have to give up on toothpaste, completely. You could use baking soda or sea salt (or combine both) once a week.
Oral health doesn’t stop there. Here are a few other things you ought to know.
- The best thing you can do for your teeth is to brush twice a day. And floss between your teeth. This removes plaque and helps to keep your teeth squeaky clean!
- Brush your teeth with care. Don’t clench a fist and pack all your frustration on your toothbrush. There’s a fine line between brushing your teeth and scrubbing dirt from the bathroom floor.
- Change your toothbrush every 6 months. Unless you’re interested to use a brush that has accumulated all the dirt and goo for months together. Eww!
Follow these methods and you would soon be excited to flaunt your pearly whites. May the floss be with you!
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