Like many of us, you’ve probably invested a lot in your teeth and oral health over the years.
Maybe you buy special kinds of toothpaste, high-end silk dental floss, or pricey polishes to remove stains from your teeth. Or perhaps you’ve handed over your hard-earned cash for a fancy multispeed electric toothbrush, Waterpik, or expensive dental rinses that taste like aftershave gone bad.
Yet when you visit the dentist for your regular checkups, it’s the same old story. Another filling or painful deep cleanings seem to always be on the agenda. Followed up by a lecture from the dentist about keeping up with your oral hygiene.
And you’re left feeling sore afterward… physically, emotionally, AND financially.
Well, my friend, new research reveals what could be the missing link to clean teeth and healthy gums.
And once you unlock this secret, you may end up with more than stronger teeth and an easier time in the dentist’s chair. You could also get extra protection from a heart attack, stroke, dementia, and more.
The hidden community inside your mouth
Now I don’t mean to alarm you. But the truth is your teeth and mouth is home to some 700 different types of bacteria. Some are good. Some are bad. And they’re constantly at war.
The bad ones can shred your gums, allowing them to get deeper into your body. And once they succeed, that can lead to some serious chronic health problems. More on this in just a moment.
These bad bugs manage to “dig in” and do their damage to your mouth by hiding out under what scientists call biofilms on your teeth. But you or I know them better simply as plaque.
A critical (and almost always overlooked) factor in good oral hygiene… and GREAT teeth… is having enough good germs to stop the bad guys from taking over and causing more damage. And that’s precisely what happened in the new study.
Researchers used probiotic supplements to bring oral bacteria back into alignment. Within just four weeks, the lucky volunteers taking the real-deal probiotics had significantly less plaque on their teeth than the folks given the placebo.
They also had lower levels of two of the worst players in oral hygiene, Streptococcus mutans, and Candida albicans.
Bad bacteria harm more than your teeth
Now, as impressive as these study results are, there are two things we need to keep in mind…
- Oral health is more complicated than just tossing the good bacteria into your mouth. Eating too many carbs, for example, can also fuel those harmful germs. And, of course, you still need to brush your teeth and floss daily.
- The study tested a lozenge with a healthy strain of Streptococcus salivarius. We need more research to determine if other probiotics will also help as well and to figure out whether or not taking probiotic capsules will lead to the same benefits.
But one thing is clear. The bacteria in your mouth are not just critical players in your oral hygiene. They’re a significant factor in your overall health, too.
The same germs behind plaque, gum disease, and tooth decay have also been found on the scene of some of the worst chronic health problems.
These ugly bugs turn up in the blood vessels of people with hardened arteries, for example. And they’ve been found in the hearts of heart disease and heart attack patients. But it gets worse.
These bad bugs are also strongly linked to higher stroke risk. They’ve been implicated in several forms of cancer, including colorectal cancers. And the same bad-news germs have even been found inside the brains of dementia patients.
Protect your teeth and restore balance
But don’t worry. You can take steps to protect your teeth and your overall health from these nasty bugs.
Giving an oral health probiotic supplement a try isn’t a bad idea. There are already probiotic lozenges — some with Streptococcus salivarius — on the market.
But you can also fight back in a few other ways…
- Brush your teeth after meals.
- Don’t forget to floss daily or use a Waterpik to flush those suckers out from their hiding spots between your teeth.
- A good dental rinse can also help wipe out the bad guys. Just skip the big-name brands that use so much alcohol they taste like fuel. Xylitol is an excellent alternative proven to fight against teeth decay and gum disease while keeping your mouth feeling fresh.
Probiotics aren’t just for digestive health anymore. Hardly a month goes by without yet another benefit being uncovered. Check out my earlier report 5 things probiotics help beyond digestion for even more.
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