You brush your teeth religiously, eat a reasonably healthy diet, floss at least some of the time, and regularly use a mouthwash. Use a fluoride-based toothpaste. It’s reasonably good at keeping a regular dental appointment schedule. In fact, follow all the usual dental care tips. However, when you get to the dentist, there is always some tooth decay, always a filling or cavities that needs attention. When you get a filling, you often need a larger filling, then a really large filling, followed by a crown and root canal. If the root canal fails, all that’s left is an implant, a large gum gap, or some type of bridging device.
You, in turn, feel more frustrated. Buy bigger and more powerful sonic toothbrushes, bigger tubs of mouthwash, and start brushing your teeth after lunch at work. Mirthless. Nothing seems to work. You talk to your dentist, who just shrugs and says it happens.
What’s going on? Quite simply, tooth decay and gum disease is an infection, “an invasion by pathogenic microorganisms of a part of the body in which conditions are favorable for growth, toxin production and consequent tissue damage.” (Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary).
What are these microorganisms? Bacterial, protozoal, viral, or fungal pathogens have been implicated as causative factors in periodontal disease. A particular strain called Streptococcus mutans has been identified. Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus are the bacteria that cause most cavities and gum disease. Streptococcus mutans is a heterotrophic organism, which simply means that it must live off another organism by eating another organism or using it as a host. The human oral cavity is the host for S. mutans.
The bacteria feed by metabolizing sucrose to lactic acid, which causes a change in pH that becomes acidic and clings to the tooth in the form of plaque. The combination of plaque in an acidic environment that clings to the tooth and under the gums causes highly mineralized tooth enamel to break down until a small hole is created. Once the enamel has been penetrated, Streptococcus mutans really goes to work. You subsist on a diverse group of carbohydrates, and once in the warm and cozy confines of your new cozy tooth, you start having fun like a rock star causing cavities. Once plaque builds up under the gum, gum disease can establish it, causing the gums to lose their healthy pink glow and causing pockets or spaces between the gum and teeth.
Once the enamel has been penetrated, the tooth is exposed to infection. Bacteria can multiply, spread through the mouth, and constantly probe for new weak areas. So now we can start to see what is happening in more detail.
Your dentists detect the appearance of a cavity. Caries is thoroughly removed and drilled. A perfect file is laid for you, so well that you can’t even see the filling unless you look very closely. Everything is good. But of course, even the most perfect dental work imaginable won’t stop the little bacteria from crawling and eating.
Streptococcus mutans bacteria are tiny; in fact, they are only 1 micron (one thousandth of a mm in diameter. In perspective, a human hair is 200 microns wide. Bacteria can easily get into gum pockets, enter fillings, slide past your crown , and do your dirty work.
Now that we know how the tooth decay process works, let’s see what we can do to prevent it.
Let’s follow what happens with standard dental advice.
We brush our teeth religiously. This will help reduce plaque. The stronger the motor or the more diligent the brush, the more plaque will be removed. Hopefully we will get rid of food deposits stuck between the teeth and generally make the environment cleaner and more hostile to bacteria. But brushing will not kill bacteria. It will not stop the problem.
So if you brushed 5 times a day for 5 minutes it is likely to cause gum problems just from friction, but it won’t affect your S. Mutans count one jot. To be clear here, brushing will help break down the plaque and prevent it from sticking. An electronic toothbrush like the one in the SonicCare range can help remove plaque from your gums and will certainly do a good job of removing plaque. But the bacteria still live to fight another day.
Toothpaste
Of course we don’t just brush, we brush with toothpaste. The toothpaste is sure to include powerful microbial agents that will soon take over and destroy the harmful ones. mutans bacteria. Well, not really. most toothpastes do not have strong microbial agents that remove s. mutans. However, they do contain fluoride. Fluoride is the active ingredient in almost all toothpastes, so the fluoride should kill the teeth. mutans. Well again. Not quite. Fluoride was discovered by dentists who began actively researching the effects of fluoride on tooth decay prior to the discovery of the bacterium S. Mutans. Fluoride was first added to toothpaste in 1914, and the American Dental Association approved its use in the United States in the 1950s. Scientists didn’t begin to look at the effects of S. Mutans on dental disease until the decade. 1960, although S. Mutans was first discovered in 1924.
Some studies show that fluoride, however, helps lower the S. mutans count, which is good. However, other studies show that there are strains of S. mutans that are not damaged by fluoride. If fluoride is so effective, why do you keep getting cavities?
Flossing
Flossing does a good job of removing plaque, so it will definitely help. As you scrape off the plaque, you will disrupt the bacteria. It’s another great thing to do, but again it won’t affect your bacteria count.
Mouthwash
So the mouthwash has to kill the germs and keep the S. Mutans from getting out of control, right? Well, you would think about it, but think again. Most of the big commercial mouthwash brands for sale contain alcohol, which you guessed it: bacteria can feed on.
So now we can see how you can religiously follow the latest dental advice, floss, eat balanced meals, brush your teeth twice a day and still get cavities.
What works to fight S. Mutans? Let’s go back to our biology.
Remember what happens when bacteria feed on sucrose to create lactic acid. S. Mutans needs sugar and loves carbohydrates. S. Mutans needs an acidic environment to thrive. So we need a lot of bacteria, a lot of sugar, and the right acidic conditions. For optimal dental health we can follow three basic steps.
First, reduce the amount of sugar in our diet and cut down on processed foods. This will prevent the mutans from feeding on the sucrose and creating the plaque.
We can also change the ph of the mouth. particularly right after meals. Other than rinsing your mouth with baking soda after every meal, this seems very difficult to do in practice.
We can also identify agents that will kill S. Mutans. Although you can never completely eliminate all bacteria, by drastically reducing the bacteria count and creating a harsh environment, you will be able to stop the spread of bacteria.
There are actually many things you can do to manage S. Mutans effectively. Turns out, there are actually a lot of options for you. Remember that we are eliminating an infection that can re-colonize at any time. Stopping the dental regimen will result in the bacteria growing back. The recolonization is extremely fast. That’s why dentists often say they see the best improvement in those patients who have the self-discipline and commitment to undertake a daily healthcare self-help program.
One of the simplest and certainly cheapest solutions is to use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Sodium bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide: the effect on the growth of Streptococcus mutans.
Hydrogen peroxide, sodium bicarbonate, and the combination of sodium bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide prevented the bacterial growth of S. mutans. The results show that the products containing these agents have the ability to stop the growth of S. mutans. Products containing sodium bicarbonate and / or hydrogen peroxide may be helpful for patients prone to cavities. More studies are needed to confirm these results in patients.
Authors: Silhacek, Kelly J1; Taake, Kristin R1
Source: Journal of Dental Hygiene, Issue 4, October 1, 2005, pp. 7-7 (1)
Publisher: American Association of Dental Hygienists
The most effective way to use the mixture is in a dental irrigator. Simply mix the hydrogen peroxide and calcium carbonate and drop the mixture into the container of the irrigation machine. Next, it will spray a powerful antimicrobial agent and change the ph in your mouth to help kill bacteria. You can also dip a toothbrush in the mixture and apply it directly. This is particularly useful at night. Prepare the mixture, brush your teeth and leave as much of the mixture as you can tolerate and go to sleep. This will allow the microbial agents to work overnight and change the pH long enough to kill many bad bacteria. Some people also mix sea salt, whose powerful antiseptic and bactericidal qualities help remove plaque. Be sure to thoroughly rinse the irrigator after use.
Diet:
Bacteria need sugar and carbohydrates to feed themselves. Eliminating processed foods and making sure you have enough vitamin C will go a long way toward improving overall gum health.
Herbal antimicrobial mouthwashes:
You can also use a herbal agent in your dental flosser. There are many non-alcoholic herbal mouthwashes that contain herbs such as echinacea, green tea, and olive leaf, essential oils such as peppermint, cloves, oregano, and thyme, which are well known for their antibacterial properties.
Toothpaste:
You can buy baking soda and herbal pastes that will help reduce bacteria. Many people also use tooth soap or even a regular bar of soap to brush their teeth. Soap does a good job again of killing bacteria.
Licorice:
Somewhat unexpectedly, licorice has been shown to be extremely good at reducing s. mutants. Just 15 milligrams of powdered licorice kills 99.9 percent of Streptococcus mutans, according to UCLA research.
Professional dental treatments:
Your dentist will use chlorhexidine or another suitable professional antimicrobial agent to reduce the number of s. mutant before and during treatments.