Would love to see a piece from you discussing 1) why people are switching to fluoride free toothpaste when most dentists still recommend fluoride and 2) why people rinse with tea tree oil
1) Dentists recommend fluoride as its meant to prevent cavities. However, there is new literature that discusses how fluoride can affect thyroid levels negatively, and perhaps even cause bone cancer (shown in some animal studies). There is definitely more work needed here but our water levels also have too much fluoride than we actually need. In order to both prevent cavities and avoid fluoride, you can use a Xylitol toothpaste, which is shown to be effective in preventing cavities as well.
2) Tea tree oil is mostly to kill bacteria / germs in the mouth and prevent plaque formation. In my opinion, this is less important that brushing + flossing obviosuly.
Hope this is useful, let me know if you have any other questions!
Would love to see a piece from you discussing 1) why people are switching to fluoride free toothpaste when most dentists still recommend fluoride and 2) why people rinse with tea tree oil
Sorry for the delay, April!
1) Dentists recommend fluoride as its meant to prevent cavities. However, there is new literature that discusses how fluoride can affect thyroid levels negatively, and perhaps even cause bone cancer (shown in some animal studies). There is definitely more work needed here but our water levels also have too much fluoride than we actually need. In order to both prevent cavities and avoid fluoride, you can use a Xylitol toothpaste, which is shown to be effective in preventing cavities as well.
See this video ~5:20 for fluoride effects on tap water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2rbkEjjsU
2) Tea tree oil is mostly to kill bacteria / germs in the mouth and prevent plaque formation. In my opinion, this is less important that brushing + flossing obviosuly.
Hope this is useful, let me know if you have any other questions!
Great questions, April! Will discuss soon :)