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The Oral Hygiene Step-Up

  • Writer: Dr. Adam Miller
    Dr. Adam Miller
  • Jun 3, 2019
  • 4 min read

Updated: Jun 4, 2019


If you aren’t using an ultrasonic toothbrush, make the switch.

A 1996 study showed that the sonic brush was statistically superior in removing dental plaque from the teeth compared to mechanical (traditional) brushing (1). A study in 1997 showed that long-term use of electric toothbrushes improved oral health in adult periodontitis patients. The same study showed that Sonicare’s sonic brush was superior to Braun’s sonic brush in reducing gingival inflammation and reducing (periodontal) probing depths (2).

Floss, waterpick, and effective rinse please.

Waterpick (oral irrigator device) is no substitute for flossing. In an ideal mouth you would brush, floss, and waterpick. If you can’t get yourself to floss then at least do the waterpick. I had a waterpick device for a few years, but eventually tired of using it. So, now I:


i. Brush* T2 (teeth + tongue) 2-3 times per day with a Sonicare Series 3

ii. Floss 4 times per week and finish with a 1 minute “oil pull” (and spit) **


** I use BioBotanical Research’s Dentalcidin LS Liquid rinse for my post-floss oil pull

*** I’m am currently beta-testing a new spore-based probiotic mouth rinse-and-swallow as a fourth step in my process and will report my experience in Summer 2019.


All products are available exclusively at the ARISE MD Store.


Tips for the “too busy” crowd.

Timing matters for cleaning your mouth. The “debris” left behind in the mouth after consuming food for your body then becomes food for the estimated 700 species of bacteria in the mouth (3). Several oral bacteria use carbohydrates to make cavity-producing acids. So, consider the following for on the go oral care:


Dinner out: visit the restroom after your meal and do a vigorous rinse and spit.


En route to a meeting: I keep one bottle of Dentalcidin liquid in my car and one in my office—so I can do a rinse and swallow when I’m on the go. The components of

Dentalcidin are safe to swallow and probably improve the downstream ecosystem in the small and large intestine (we are about to launch a study on this).


Bad Breath: If halitosis maximosis (my term) takes you or a friend by surprise, reach for a drop of peppermint pure essential oil or use another pump of the Dentalcidin liquid. Make sure you are brushing your tongue. And consider a good probiotic.


Saliva is sacred.

We’ve all had moments when “nerves” leave us with clammy hands and cotton mouth.

If you aren’t practicing effective stress management, you are likely experiencing a relative xerostomia (dry mouth), making your mouth a susceptible host for infection. Another way you reduce the protective power of your saliva is by drinking less than 2 liters of water per day and not getting your minerals through a variety of vegetables and supplements. So, practice deep breathing during stressful moments and get a tall glass of water after the moment passes.



The tough cases have new options.

Some people, despite perfect personal oral hygiene practices, still accumulate plaque and carry periodontal disease. If you have a comprehensive stool analysis already, see if you have Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) in your stool. This is a particularly nasty oral bug due to its propensity to bind up immune cells that would otherwise be helping to maintain your gingiva. The result? Deeper pockets of decay and increased chance for what I call “leaky mouth.”


Two other bacteria to watch for in your stool include Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) and Anaerococcus hydrogenalis (Ah) (4,5).


Pg, like Aa, is a well-recognized bully in the oral cavity. If either of these bacteria are present in high levels in the stool, then strongly consider a more aggressive dental care plan including flossing, waterpick use, and Dentalcidin liquid. The bacteria Ah is less recognized in the literature, but should still cause one to think about improving oral hygiene if it is present in the stool.


If you do not already have a stool analysis to reference, then consider doing an analysis of your oral microbiome. One lab that I’ve used in my practice is Oral DNA. They not only identify the number and density of oral pathogens, but Oral DNA also tells the doctor and patient what prescriptions will or will not be effective.


For those who don’t want to invest in advanced gut or oral microbiome testing, be aware of new natural treatment options that are emerging. In a study of patients with root canal-related cavitation, the combination of Dentalcidin toothpaste and Dentalcidin liquid rinse—used twice per day for 4 weeks—caused an average reduction of pathogens in a patient’s mouth (root canal cavitation) from 34 to just 3 pathogens (6).



^ We use Vibrant America’s expanded Gut Zoomer test for patients with gut issues who we suspect also have oral disease. We also use Genova’s GI Effects test as a comprehensive test for gut health.


Learn more about the mouth-body connection:


Who can blame anyone for overlooking the mouth? Dr. Miller helps colleagues and patients return the mouth to the body in the medical setting. Watch the video above to learn more.



Available exclusively at the ARISE MD Store.


Adam C. Miller, DDS, MD

Board-Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Board-Certified Anti-Aging Medicine

Founder,

ARISE MD Integrative Medicine and Surgery

Comments, questions, inquires or

to purchase products or lab test please email:

Or call: 414.386.3600


Disclosure:

Dr. Miller is a paid consultant for

Bio-Botanical Research, Inc.




References:


(1) Comparison of a sonic and a manual toothbrush for efficacy in supragingival plaque removal and reduction of gingivitis.

Tritten CB1, Armitage GC. J Clin Periodontol. 1996 Jul;23(7):641-8.


(2) A six-month clinical comparison of the efficacy of the Sonicare and the Braun Oral-B electric toothbrushes on improving periodontal health in adult periodontitis patients.

Robinson PJ1, Maddalozzo D, Breslin S. J Clin Dent. 1997;8(1 Spec No):4-9


(3) Defining the Normal Bacterial Flora of the Oral Cavity

Jørn A. Aas, Bruce J. Paster, Lauren N. Stokes, Ingar Olsen,

J. Clinical Microbiology, 11.2005, p. 5721–5732 doi:10.1128


(4) Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans - a tooth killer?

J Clin Diagn Res. 2014 Aug;8(8):ZE13-6. doi: 10.7860. Epub 2014 Aug 20.


(5) Porphyromonas gingivalis: An Overview of Periodontopathic Pathogen below the Gum Line

Kah Yan How*, Keang Peng Song and Kok Gan Chan. Frontiers in Microbiology. published: 09 February 2016 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00053


(6) Before and After Lab Results after 4 weeks use of Dentalcidin Liposomal Oral Care Solution

Dr. John Rothchild, DDS ; in-house research Bio-Botanical Research 2018


 
 
 

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