Benefits of Brushing Your Teeth with Baking Soda

Image by Earthworm via Flickr

We have all heard about the many uses for baking soda, the natural cleaner.  But have you tried brushing your teeth  with it?  Baking soda has been used as a tooth cleanser for over 150 years.  Somehow it got the reputation as being abrasive, therefore detrimental to the enamel.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Toothpastes are rated on a scale from 0 – 200according to their abrasiveness.  This is called the RDA value or “Relative Dentin Abrasiveness”.  Pure baking soda has an RDA of 7.  The closest RDA to this is 35, which is Arm & Hammer baking soda toothpaste.  TheRDA’s for every other tooth paste on the market just go up from here.  You can read more about toothpastes and their respective RDA values here.

There are many reasons for using baking soda for brushing teeth.  It is not only the least abrasive substance to use but it also whitens teeth, removes stain, and is also an effective germ killer against the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease.

Xylitol, the Sweet Revenge!

What is Xylitol?

Xylitol is a natural sweetener made from the fibrous parts of plants.  It is widely encountered in nature in a variety of fruits and vegetables and commonly extracted from birch bark.  It has a sweet taste similar to sugar and has40% fewer calories than regular sugar.

Which Toothpaste is the Right One for You?

Preparing this blog took much longer than we had anticipated!  At first we thought we knew all there was to know about different kinds of toothpastes and their use and indications but once we started exploring, we realized how little we knew and how hard it is to get some answers from various toothpaste manufacturers.

What Is Acid Erosion of the Teeth?

Acid erosion is the wearing away of tooth enamel. Enamel is mostly calcium, which is dissolved away by acid quite easily. Food or drink with a pH of 5 or less can dissolve the enamel from teeth. 
What are the symptoms, signs and effects of acid erosion? 
Acid erosion can wear away the enamel and change the texture, shape and appearance of your teeth, and may also lead to tooth sensitivity. People often do not become aware of acid erosion until it has reached an advanced stage. Detailed dental examinations can help to detect acid erosion in its earlier stages. Here are the typical signs and effects of acid erosion:
1.  Transparency: Teeth may appear slightly "glassy" or transparent near their biting edges. This tends to be an earlier warning sign of acid erosion.