Digestion Starts in the Mouth!
Daily use of traditional mouthwash kills good and bad bacteria. It can disrupt the natural beneficial microbiome in your mouth, protecting your teeth and digesting your food. This disruption goes down the chain and disrupts the gut microbiome also. Traditional mouthwash also has a lot of alcohol in it, and that can dry out your mouth which can cause more bacteria to grow. If you are messing with the microbiome in your mouth, you are messing with your body’s first way of digesting your food. There are many issues with nutrient deficiencies because our food is less dense. We certainly don’t need to make it harder for our bodies to digest our food, making it harder to get the nutrients from the food we eat!
We all know sugar is bad for our teeth. Consuming too much sugar encourages the development of biofilm on teeth, which increases acid-producing bacteria and causes cavities. Eating too many carbs can also do the same thing. Eating gluten can also do the same thing! When I stopped eating gluten, I went from getting my teeth scrapped for ½ hour to get all the plaque off to maybe 10 minutes. I also stopped getting cavities. For ME, gluten was changing the microbiome in my mouth and causing cavities. Sometimes, this can be because of Silent Reflux. This is where gases from your stomach get into your mouth while you sleep, causing tooth decay.
If you are worried about the probiotics in your mouth, probiotic and prebiotic toothpaste are available now.
Using Herbal Antimicrobial herbs.
Why can you use an herbal antimicrobial that doesn’t mess up your microbiome, but can you use a traditional mouthwash? Well, I’m not going to pretend to know all the scientific aspects behind this, but Herbs have a very large, complex mix of compounds in them. These other compounds may have protective effects on our microbiome. So, they can both reduce the effects of the bad microbes without killing the good microbes. Antibiotic mouthwashes are specifically targeted to kill off bacteria without the protective benefits.
What herbs can I use for a mouthwash?
YARROW: Is my favorite herb for all things mouth-related. It is easily accessible, works as a tea or a tincture, and has never failed me. You just put a dropperful or two into a little bit of water, swish for as long as you can, and spit. Download the Yarrow Recipe Card above Here.
Before any dental work, it is great to use yarrow. It helps for those with oral thrush (most prefer tea here as it is gentler) and mouth canker sores. It works amazingly for tooth abscesses. It works, so will I have to tell my clients they STILL need to go see the dentist!
I also use it as a swish and spit for anyone post-dental work. At least five times, I’ve had someone mention they were getting dental work done (usually a tooth being pulled), and I mentioned they should get some yarrow to swish with post-op, and they didn’t, and then a couple of days later, they’d call me in pain wishing they had gotten some. They’d swish and spit, and it would help them immensely. It helps keep infections at bay, cleans the open wounds, and stops the bleeding.
The bonus is it can also help with pain. One client I saw IN the dental office. She had gone there because her tooth felt abscessed, which was bothering her. The dentist said, “Nothing was wrong.” I told her to try some yarrow. She was singing its praises within 1 hour! She said after swishing, she felt like something dislodged from the open wound and immediately felt better! Yarrow for the win!!! I’ve got many similar stories!
Echinacea: A potent Echinacea angustifolia tincture (or even tea) taken internally and also used as a mouthwash has effectively prevented or treated oral infections following gum surgery when antibiotics were refused.
Bee Balm: The wild Monarda fistula is the best but Monarda dydima is also nice! It is a great spicy antimicrobial
White Oak Bark + Calendula Tea or tincture can be used for pregnant women developing Gingivitis or receding gum lines.
Goldenseal and Myrrh are often a great antimicrobial combo used for the mouth and gingivitis.
Here’s a blend if you need something really strong to take.
- 4 parts – oak bark
- 2 parts – myrrh
- 2 parts – bayberry
- 2 parts – goldenseal
- 1 part – cinnamon
- Recipe adapted from Bergner – botanicals, biofilms, chronic infections
Enjoy using herbs to support your mouth microbiome with herbs!
