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My dental hygenist recommended brushing with baking soda, as it creates an environment that bacteria can't easily grow in. Most toothpastes with baking soda don't have enough baking soda. I never had gum disease before, but did have some due to a prescription drug that slowed my mouth's saliva. Brushing with baking soda turned it all around. You'll notice the disappearance of the "fuzzies" on your teeth, as she explained. She said that if you only use it once per day, use it before bed, as that's when most bacteria are likely to grow. Wet your tooth brush and dip it into baking soda in a paper cup.
I think that you can do anything you want as long as the last "rinse" is the baking soda. Sometimes I brush my teeth with the electric toothbrush with regular tooth paste and follow it up with a rinse baking soda and water. The electric toothbrush scrubs the teeth for the two minutes and I like the minty taste.
Sometimes I manually brush with the baking soda. I run my brush under water and then dip it into a small container of baking soda (like a paper cup or plastic cup). I rinse the brush under the faucet at the end. Once a week a put the brushes in a cup with a drop of bleach for a few hours and then I rinse the brushes very thoroughly to remove any bleach. Again, the dentist said that if I choose to use baking soda only once during the day, then do it at bedtime. I have a bit of salty taste in my mouth in the morning, but it's better than bad breath.
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Thank you for speeding up the rate of dissemination of these articles. I agree with you that this is significant news. As practicing dentists, we have been eagerly awaiting documentation of a tighter link between inflamed gingival tissues and other systemic conditions, especially coronary artery disease. We have not wanted to present to the public that we contribute to heart health when all studies to date showed only correlation, but no direct link, such as gum treatment and an immediate effect on artery walls. Your post has found its way onto the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics forum (ACEthetics), and has been distributed to hundreds of the country's most progressive and top dentists. Again, thank you. James F Crummett, DDS. Redding, CA
Dear Dr. Crummett:
Thank you for your kind words. I am part of several groups that are on the bleeding (but not from the gums) edge of heart disease prevention and reversal. What is becoming increasingly clear is the inter-relationship of multiple health factors. It is almost as though what we are really seeing are different manifestations of the same underlying disease. It will require of consortium of these health disciplines to nail down a true cure for symptoms such as coronary artery disease. Wide spread dissemination of this groundbreaking concept is the first step.
Thanks again,
HeartHawk