Receding Gums

[BingDing]

You bet, Charlie. I'm doing the oil swish, too, just not for 20 minutes.

 

[charlie]

Well I know one thing. There is some major gunk coming out my sinuses the last couple days since I started this.

 

[nwo2012]

I researched this last summer and tried it. The 20 minutes is for toxin withdrawal, which I decided was hooey. Maybe because the first hit I got was on Skepticforum. I decided "first thing in the morning" was hooey, too. But a lot of people said it whitened their teeth, which is why I tried it. I got good results for that.

Note that in the quote upthread RP said a couple of minutes, twice a day, for dental benefits.

There is a commercial toothpaste with bentonite clay, Earthpaste, that has gotten a lot of good reviews. I'm not sure what to make of the oils, they usually aren't for me

Edit for grammar.

I make my own paste. Coconut oil, bentonite clay, baking soda and maybe a little organic aloe vera juice. Blend all together and brush. Nice and clean. I use only very soft brush, the Radius brand (on iherb) as BPA-free.

Been pulling for a year, we all have. Teeth never been so white and not once swollen, inflamed or bleeding gums. Also use wooden dental sticks (not scented, wood only)every day to scrape the teeth until smooth. ***k dentists!

 

[charlie]

Right on!

Thanks nwo!!

 

[nwo2012]

Right on!

Thanks nwo!!

No probs. Anyone not a member of iherb then feel free to use code PUM535 for a discount during checkout.

 

[HollyLooyah]

I second the bentonite clay usage. I've actually been using the clay and baking soda combo for quite awhile (before I was a Peat groupie) and I can attest to the great results with the clay. I've been plagued with gum issues for the last few years because of a lovely whackjob dentist that nearly destroyed my teeth with ill-fitting crowns. No matter what I did, brush, floss, proxa brush, etc. I kept having pockets and bleeding gums. The clay just gets in there and does the job. I have a little container of about half and half baking soda/clay that I dip my brush in and every now and then I add one or two drops of tea tree oil. My teeth and gums have never been in better condition - even when I was going to a dentist every three months for cleanings. In fact, they were worse then.

 

[Spacehoppa]

Glad to hear it's not just me who finds the clay useful. I have tried the oil pulling, but honestly it's hard to do consistently and it does tend to make me gag as well. And it didn't noticeably whiten my teeth either. The clay really, really just works. It pulls all the bacteria out between the teeth, and smothers them as well I think - just kills the suckers dead, and as long as you use a nice soft tooth brush, I think the abrasiveness is just right for removing stains from teeth. I keep the clay in powdered form in a jar and just dip my toothbrush in. It works so well, I've never considered adding anything else to it.

 

[SheilaHelm1]

Glad to hear it's not just me who finds the clay useful. I have tried the oil pulling, but honestly it's hard to do consistently and it does tend to make me gag as well. And it didn't noticeably whiten my teeth either. The clay really, really just works. It pulls all the bacteria out between the teeth, and smothers them as well I think - just kills the suckers dead, and as long as you use a nice soft tooth brush, I think the abrasiveness is just right for removing stains from teeth. I keep the clay in powdered form in a jar and just dip my toothbrush in. It works so well, I've never considered adding anything else to it.

Hi Spacehoppa, since you last wrote about bentonite clay, I ordered some, drank some, cleaned my teeth with some and I love it. Feel 'cleaned out' I made the tooth paste with it and like you said added bicarb... also added charcoal to it. Don't think I could live without it now so thanks for bringing it to my attention x

 

[ratcheer]

I made up a powder of half baking soda and half calcium carbonate powder (from Now). It's great - very little plaque, my teeth and gums feel really clean. I used to use straight baking soda but it was too intense and astringent - adding the calcium carbonate powder makes for a much softer feel. I've heard people warn about enamel erosion but I haven't seen any of that after half a year so far - maybe it's because my toothbrush is on the softer side?

Bonus, the stuff makes great underarm powder too - I'm so not stinky these days I can't tell the clean tee-shirts from the used ones!

 

[nwo2012]

I made up a powder of half baking soda and half calcium carbonate powder (from Now). It's great - very little plaque, my teeth and gums feel really clean. I used to use straight baking soda but it was too intense and astringent - adding the calcium carbonate powder makes for a much softer feel. I've heard people warn about enamel erosion but I haven't seen any of that after half a year so far - maybe it's because my toothbrush is on the softer side?

Bonus, the stuff makes great underarm powder too - I'm so not stinky these days I can't tell the clean tee-shirts from the used ones!

Lol.
If you dissolve the baking soda and immerse the carbonate, less likely to get any enamel erosion especially with a very soft toothbrush head.
I prefer zinc oxide for underarms (and in coconut oil makes a great sunscreen) but that's not a bad idea either.

 

[nwo2012]

Glad to hear it's not just me who finds the clay useful. I have tried the oil pulling, but honestly it's hard to do consistently and it does tend to make me gag as well. And it didn't noticeably whiten my teeth either. The clay really, really just works. It pulls all the bacteria out between the teeth, and smothers them as well I think - just kills the suckers dead, and as long as you use a nice soft tooth brush, I think the abrasiveness is just right for removing stains from teeth. I keep the clay in powdered form in a jar and just dip my toothbrush in. It works so well, I've never considered adding anything else to it.

It's not hard at all, you are just unreliable. :P
The coconut oil seems to be better for gum and tooth health rather than teeth whitening. Anyone with root canals should definitely do the coconut oil in addition to the other strategies suggested here. Weston Price was a little crazy but his research on root canals was sound imo.

 

[ratcheer]

If you dissolve the baking soda and immerse the carbonate...

Actually I do it dry - dip the dry brush in the powder, then brush away. Then spit it out. No rinse. The calcium carbonate won't dissolve much anyway but the baking soda does eventually of course. I'm intrigued by the bentonite comments - maybe I'll add some to my powder.

I have this very unscientific idea that the calcium in the presence of an alkaline environment will help keep resident calcium in the teeth, since it's the opposite of what would happen in an acidic environment. I think it's optimistic to say that it would actually replace missing calcium, but at least the teeth should lose less.

 

[nwo2012]

If you dissolve the baking soda and immerse the carbonate...

Actually I do it dry - dip the dry brush in the powder, then brush away. Then spit it out. No rinse. The calcium carbonate won't dissolve much anyway but the baking soda does eventually of course. I'm intrigued by the bentonite comments - maybe I'll add some to my powder.

I have this very unscientific idea that the calcium in the presence of an alkaline environment will help keep resident calcium in the teeth, since it's the opposite of what would happen in an acidic environment. I think it's optimistic to say that it would actually replace missing calcium, but at least the teeth should lose less.

I believe that teeth can remineralise. I don't mean regrow missing chips or the like, but they can reform enamel that is worn. I have experienced this personally.

 

[chris]

Ordered some bentonite clay after reading this thread, looking forward to experimenting with it.

 

[charlie]

Sweet! I have it on my list to order to.

 

[kettlebell]

One thing I have found is great for treating bleeding, receding gums is to clean your teeth with bentonite clay. I suffer from bleeding gums when my estrogen is too dominant. But recently I have switched to cleaning my teeth with bentonite clay (which as an aside also works to abort cold sores before they blister if used mixed with water to form a paste). I use the clay dry on the end of my tooth brush. I would imagine that it's drawing effect helps remove bacteria from the mouth and its slight abrasiveness does a wonderful job cleaning the stains from my teeth. Plus, I think the simple act of having traces of calcium and other minerals left around your teeth may help strengthen them. Certainly my teeth seem smoother and the enamel thicker (teeth seem whiter and not as see through). Honestly, I can't say enough good things about bentonite clay. My husband uses it in his psoriasis plaques, and I seem to find a new use for it myself every so often as well. So far though, the toothpaste is the best!

Where do you get yours from Spacehoppa? Can you recommend some?


Thanks

 

[Spacehoppa]

Hi kettlebell, mine is called living clay. I don't think the brand is important, as long as you get stuff that is being advertised as safe to eat, as you are putting it in your mouth. It doesn't cost much and it lasts for ages. I bought a huge jar of the stuff about 4 years ago and we're still only just over half way through it.

 

[Dan W]

When I looked into gum recession a year or two ago, the Bass Method of tooth-brushing sounded promising. There's some evidence that it's better than regular brushing (from a small study here), and it's partially focused on the gumline.

Here's a video explaining how to do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q5H91HdAJY

Instructions for it suggest using a special brush, but the technique alone seems valuable.

 

[charlie]

Dan Wich, interesting. Thank you. Have you had any success with this?

 

[Dan W]

Charlie,
It's hard for me to tell whether the brushing technique has been effective. My oral health has been improving a lot, but I think that's primarily due to frequent xylitol rinses, which is something else you might want to try. I haven't seen anything specific about it helping gum recession though.