Your Oral Health & Your Physical Health

It is very difficult to achieve optimal physical health, without having optimal dental health.

How Your Oral Health Impacts Your Systemic Health:

Thousands of studies have linked oral disease to systemic disease. Inflammation is well-known as a major disease-causing force. Gum disease and other oral diseases, produce chronic low-grade inflammation in your body. Alzheimer’s, stroke, heart disease and diabetes all are related to inflammation, just to name a few major ones. Advanced periodontal disease can raise your risk of a fatal heart attack up to 1,000%! There’s is a 700% higher incidence of type 2 diabetes among those with gum disease.

When the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease enter into your circulatory system, they cause your liver to release C-reactive proteins, which have inflammatory effects throughout the body. Some estimates are that up to 80% of systemic disease have manifestations in the mouth.

The Importance of Your Oral Microbiome:

Achieving oral health is really about promoting balance among the bacteria in your mouth. Contrary to popular belief, antimicrobial agents and alcohol mouthwashes designed to “kill bad bacteria” actually kill the beneficial bacteria too!

The oral microbiome, while connected to the gut microbiome, is quite unique. Most importantly, it can help to protect you from harmful viruses and bacteria in the environment. The second function of the oral microbiome is the beginning of digestive process.

Probiotics do not work in the mouth, so it’s not as simple as adding more probiotics to your diet. You don’t want to kill the majority of bacteria in your mouth and hope that the “good bugs” come back.

So, What Do You Do?

Embrace Fermented Vegetables:

Fermented vegetables with live cultures are high in vitamin K2. The best way to get your fermented vegetables, is to make them yourself. This is very inexpensive and can be fun for your family to do. Always start off with organic vegetables.

Link for a starter kit

Fermented vegetables should be eaten for their probiotic value, but they can also can be used in a unique manner. Fermented vegetables can also supply billions of beneficial microbes to your mouth. By chewing the vegetables and allowing them to mix with the salivary enzyme amylase, the vegetables will quickly be broken down into a liquid. The fermented vegetable mixture can be pushed and pulled through the teeth and by the gums twice a day. This can be done for ten minutes at a time. The mixture should then be spit out and not consumed.

Vitamin K2 activates the protein hormone osteocalcin, which not only prevents calcification of blood vessels, but also prevents plaque in your mouth from turning to calculus or tartar.
Certain other nutrients are also very important for optimal gum health. Vitamin C is one; Coenzyme Q10 is another. Bleeding gums are often associated with a deficiency CoQ10.

Oil Pulling:

Oil pulling uses coconut oil in a similar manner as described above with the fermented vegetables. Coconut oil pulling helps to eliminate any unhealthy biofilm from your teeth. Coconut oil also has a natural detergent effect. Coconut oil also contains a number of valuable nutrients that help promote oral health.

If you want a healthy oral care rinse, you can use Himalayan salt dissolved in water. It contains 84 different minerals and trace elements.

Nutritionally, Your Diet Should:

1. Be alkalizing with fresh fruits and vegetables
2. Be antioxidant-rich
3. Lack inflammation producing foods, such as processed foods, gluten, dairy and/or a number of others, which can vary for each individual.

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