Gingivitis and Dental Health - Cure Receding Gums and Gum Disease We all know that dental health is important. Brush your teeth twice daily, floss and get your teeth cleaned twice a year to remove any plaque. That’s the basics of good dental health. But, what if I could prove to you that brushing, flossing, checkups and removing plaque is not nearly enough to prevent gingivitis, receding gums, and gum disease (also know as periodontal disease)? Well, I can prove it. Here’s an easy test that you can do at home. Brush your teeth really well and then rinse with your favorite mouthwash. Floss, rinse again. Be absolutely sure that your teeth are as clean as you can get them. Now, rinse your mouth with hydrogen peroxide. Swish it around like mouthwash for a couple of seconds and then spit it out. (Please don’t swallow) You will be amazed at what happens next. You will instantly feel the foaming action in your mouth. Smile real big and look in the mirror at your teeth. See all the foaming action around your teeth and gums? That’s the hydrogen peroxide killing millions of germs left behind from your best attempt at oral health! That's right. All this time you thought you were getting your teeth clean, practicing good dental health, and preventing gingivitis and gum disease. This article is about what you need to do to prevent and actually reverse gingivitis, receding gums, and gum disease. Whether you have problems already or you just want to prevent problems in the future. Daily dental hygiene is critically important for your overall health. Why Do I Care? I hate to admit this because it’s a little embarrassing. But, for about a year I suffered from swollen, painful gums. In fact, I had bleeding gums. I was puzzled and tried numerous “fixes” but nothing helped. The dentist had been telling me for 2 years that I had receding gums but I never had any gum pain until the past year. He recommended that I floss more frequently but brushing better and flossing more often did not help my bleeding and painful gums. My gums were increasingly sore and they would bleed every time I brushed my teeth – it was getting worse. You can imagine how concerned I was every time I saw that red toothbrush. Not to mention how painful it was to scrub that toothbrush over my sore and bleeding gums. I was desperate to find a cure for my painful gums. One thing that helped a little was to use mouthwash both in the morning and at night. My habit had previously been to only use mouthwash in the morning. So, that helped a little. My Breakthrough When I found that using mouthwash twice each day helped a little, I began to think about how germs might be causing my gum irritation. It made sense that a wet toothbrush would be the perfect breeding ground for germs. So, I poured a little hydrogen peroxide over what looked like a clean toothbrush. What a surprise! It foamed like crazy. In case you don’t know, hydrogen peroxide only foams when it’s oxidizing something. In this case, when it’s killing germs. Try pouring a little into your hand - it will just sit there like water. But, pour it onto a wound and it comes to life as it kills germs. So, I started cleaning my toothbrush each day with hydrogen peroxide to see if it could help get rid of gingivitis. Amazingly, my gingivitis symptoms got quite a bit better. But, it did not solve the problem. It was only when I took the next step that my gum disease went away completely. Hydrogen Peroxide For Oral Health The final solution that I found was to brush with hydrogen peroxide instead of toothpaste. This completely healed my gingivitis and gum pain within about 2 weeks! I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to be done with the bleeding gums, the gum pain and the fear that something worse was ahead. Here’s how I was able to get rid of gingivitis. I pour a little hydrogen peroxide on my toothbrush and brush one quarter of my mouth (top right or top left, etc.). Then I rinse the toothbrush, pour a little more hydrogen peroxide on the toothbrush and brush another fourth of my teeth. Repeat until all four areas are done. Once more, I pour some on the toothbrush and brush my tongue. Then I use hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash and then a final rinse with water. Of course, the hydrogen peroxide foams a lot so you have to spit several times while brushing. Also, it does not taste really good at first but, if you stick with it for a couple of weeks, you will not even notice the taste anymore. I promise. Another method I’ve tried is to put my toothbrush in a cup after I’m done brushing (bristles down) and pour enough hydrogen peroxide into the cup to cover the bristles. I leave it to soak until I brush again. I like this method because of the longer contact with the hydrogen peroxide. Also, after brushing, I use what’s left in the cup as a mouthwash. Here’s a little hint, if the taste bothers you at first, rinse with water after you are done and then use a little mouthwash. Over the course of a few weeks, you will get used to the taste of the hydrogen peroxide. By the way, this is a good way to get rid of whatever mouthwash you have left over because you will not be needing it anymore. Also, in addition to getting rid of gingivitis, you can cure any problems with bad breath. Bad breath is caused by germs and hydrogen peroxide is much better at killing germs than any mouthwash. That should be obvious to you after taking the little test that I described at the beginning of this article. I’m Cheap! And here’s a little more good news. You will be saving money! Instead of spending money on toothpaste and mouthwash, you will only need to buy hydrogen peroxide which – ounce for ounce - costs about one fourth as much as mouthwash. I have a couple of pint bottles that I use and I refill them every few weeks. You can buy a couple of pint bottles of hydrogen peroxide for about 69 cents each. Then, when they are both empty, you can refill them by buying a quart size bottle of hydrogen peroxide for about a dollar. How’s that for cheap dental care? Whiter Teeth And Fresh Breath How about a few more benefits? Using hydrogen peroxide every day will gradually whiten your teeth. What do you think is in those teeth whitening products? Simply a stronger version of hydrogen peroxide. Teeth whitening is a big industry these days and using hydrogen peroxide for your daily dental health could save you some money on teeth whitening products. Also, we all know that bad breath is usually caused by germs. Right? Then killing more germs with hydrogen peroxide than with your old mouthwash should be more effective at helping with bad breath. Here’s a quote from the USDA website on hydrogen peroxide to help with bad breath – What About Safety? Good question. First of all, don’t swallow hydrogen peroxide. It won’t poison you but you’ve seen how it foams in your mouth, right? Imagine what it would do in your stomach. It would be like swallowing an Alka- Seltzer tablet. Another concern that I’ve read about is where dentists have told their patients that hydrogen peroxide will react with gold fillings. This is ridiculous. Gold is almost completely inert and does not react easily with chemicals. Why do you think it’s popular for fillings? Also, if hydrogen peroxide reacts badly with fillings, why do dentists use it everyday as a teeth whitening product for their patients? If your dentist has any reservations, refer him to this article in the Journal of Dentistry. Or, you can ask him about Colgate Peroxyl which is a product that contains hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, mint flavor and a sweetener. In fact, you can use Colgate Peroxyl instead of hydrogen peroxide if you are put off too much by the taste. But, I promise you, you will get used to the taste of hydrogen peroxide in a few weeks. And, Colgate Peroxyl is about $6 per bottle instead of $1 per bottle. One caution that I need to make is that you should only use a 3% or 3- 1/2% solution of hydrogen peroxide to treat gingivitis. If you buy it at the grocery store or a local pharmacy, that’s probably the only kind you will find on the shelf. However, some health food stores may carry it as a 25% solution. Don’t buy this type. It’s dangerous to handle if you don’t know what you are doing. Other than this one caution, hydrogen peroxide is completely safe as a 3% solution for use as a mouthwash and for treating gingivitis. Another Health Benefit It is reported that oral health and heart health are directly linked. It has been shown that heart disease is either caused or made worse when the bacteria in the mouth invade the bloodstream. The exact method of how heart disease is made worse by oral bacteria is not completely understood. However, the evidence shows that people with gum disease are twice as likely to suffer from heart disease as those without gum disease. The deciding factor is not what kind of bacteria you have in your mouth but the number of bacteria. Having some bacteria in the mouth is normal. But, a higher number of bacteria in the mouth is directly linked to a greater chance of heart problems. You can read more at the following links: www.sciencedaily.com www.perio.org/consumer/mbc.heart.htm I Swear By This Toothbrush As a final note, I have to tell you about my toothbrush. It’s nothing new. I’ve been using it for 3 or 4 years and I absolutely love it! I use the Sonicare Essence. Sonicare has a full line of toothbrushes and I have to warn you that they are kind of expensive. I bought the cheapest model that they make (I told you I’m cheap). I hesitated for a few months before buying one because of the price but I’m telling you that the first time I used it ... I was amazed. I’ve had other electric toothbrushes before (an Oral B) and it did not come anywhere close to the Sonicare. Do you remember how smooth and clean your teeth feel after you get a professional cleaning? There’s nothing quite like it. Well, when I used my Sonicare for the first time, I got the same smooth feeling on my teeth. I could not believe it! Now, I’m sure that brushing with a Sonicare is not as good as a professional cleaning. But, I’ve been so impressed with mine that I had to take the opportunity to tell you about it. Sorry to sound like a Sonicare salesman but I believe in this product. If you’re cheap like me - think about it. If you don’t suffer from the same penny pinching phobia that I do, you owe it to yourself to get one of these. Before we move on, I want to say that I’m not knocking the Oral-B toothbrush. It’s just that I had the older oscillating type Oral-B. Their newer ultrasonic models may be as good as the Sonicare. I've just never tried one. Toothbrush Sanitizers There’s one more type of product that I recently discovered that I wanted to point out. I’ve never used a UV toothbrush cleaner but it’s worth mentioning. There are several brands of UV toothbrush cleaners on the market. I can’t recommend one over another but it’s another option that you might be interested in exploring. They work by exposing the bristles of the toothbrush to ultraviolet light which kills the germs. Sounds like a great idea. A Few More Links If you are still having some doubts about using hydrogen peroxide for your dental care, I’ve done lots of research that I can share with you. Here are a few quotes that I’ve found from some authoritative government sources - Conclusion If you’ve ever suffered from painful bleeding gums, you know how important it is to fix this problem. If you’ve never suffered from any type of dental problems, be thankful. But, please try the test that I described above to prove to yourself that there is more that can be done to prevent dental problems in the future. If you are not using hydrogen peroxide daily as part of your daily routine, you can easily improve your oral health and prevent gum disease. It’s inexpensive and very effective. Here’s to your dental health. Cheers! =============================================== January 23, 2010 Update - In today's news: Mother’s gum disease linked to infant's death. Pregnant woman's gingivitis caused baby to be stillborn. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34979552/ns/health-pregnancy/?gt1=43001 Whoopi Goldberg on The View November 4, 2008 Related Articles Bad Breath Cures Bad breath is embarrassing. And, it's unnecessary too. While curing my gingivitis, I learned the secret to removing bad breath forever. Cold Sore Outbreaks and My Cold Sore Miracle Cold sores are curable. I cured mine and you can too. This cold sore remedy works fast. |
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Common Misspellings Gengivitis Gigivitis Gingervitis Gingivitas Gingivits Gingivitus However you spell it, Gingivitis is bad news! |
“We assessed the effects of several treatments on the concentrations of oral sulfur-containing gases, compounds thought to be responsible for morning breath….Hydrogen peroxide significantly reduced the sulfur gas concentrations for eight hours.” National Institutes of Health - IBIDS |
“The dentist may recommend rinsing with salt water or hydrogen peroxide and water.” Florida Agency for Health Care Administration “Toothpaste does not have to be used to remove the plaque - baking soda, salt or hydrogen peroxide (diluted 3% solution) can be used with soft bristle toothbrush and dental floss.” Indiana State Department of Health “Hydrogen peroxide, used to rinse the gums, is often recommended to remove dead or dying gum tissue.” U.S. National Institute of Health |
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