QUESTIONS:
IN LIGHT OF RECENTLY DISCOVERED VITAL AND HEALTH-GIVING BENEFITS OF NITRIC OXIDE, WHAT ARE THE BEST DENTAL CARE PRACTICES NOW? WHAT EXACTLY IS NITRIC OXIDE? WHERE AND HOW IS IT CREATED? HOW DO YOU BEST BALANCE DENTAL CARE PRACTICES WHILE PRESERVING ORAL AND NASSAL NITRIC OXIDE CREATION?
SUMMARY:
Best dental practices without disrupting/destroying the nasal and oral creation of life-giving nitric oxide is the 21st century “Tale of Two Cities.” It is the story of the pull and tug, dental care on one end and creation of a life sustaining molecule, comprising nitrate and oxygen, on the other end. Examining best dental practices to preserve teeth first (PART I) and preservation of the mouth, tongue, throat, and nasal passages to produce life-generating nitric oxide (“NO”) second (PART II), I conclude, (PART III), that both can harmonically exist side-by-side guided by a simple, non-invasive, and inexpensive home-test administered by you, at your convenience.
DISCUSSION:
PART I
In https://youtu.be/tXZbmz6kBUU?si=VpLDmfYThlCpzeQG Dr. Ellie Phillips, DDS, recommends forward-thinking guidance about how to best manage/care for your dental health.
First, she urges you to take xylitol after eating to breakdown tooth-decaying oral bacteria called Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria most responsible for plaque. some plaque on your teeth is normal, but excess plaque encourages your immune system to attack the bacteria in it. This can lead to inflammatory gum diseases like gingivitis. Food sugars in your mouth feed bacteria, but these bacteria cannot use xylitol (a 5-carbon sugar) for fuel, even though they still ingest it. After absorbing xylitol, they are unable to take up glucose — meaning that their energy-producing pathway is clogged, and they end up dying. In other words, when you chew gum, swoosh a mint with xylitol or use it as a sweetener, the harmful bacteria in your mouth starve to death. www.healthline.com Dr. Phillips recommends her brand – Zellie’s Xylitol gum or mints – two after every meal, up two five a day, chewing for no more than five minutes.
Xylitol chewing gum or mints in various flavors are available at www.zellies.com
Second, she urges the following oral health care day-to-day regime:
After eating and taking your Xylitol treatment, take a swig of Closys mouth wash for 30 seconds:
Closys Mouth Wash Ultra-Sensative neutralizes acidity after eating. Bathe mouth for 30 seconds, the time it takes to release oxygen neutralizing your mouth and destroying bad bacteria.
Brush daily at times you will not be eating for several hours using:
It’s more important to Apply the paste to the Teeth than it is to hard brush or brush too long.
Following brushing don’t rinse with water, but take a swig of Listerine Original or Listerine CoolMint squishing, swooshing for as long as you can stand it. This takes the place of floss.
Like Xylitol, Listerine kills tooth-decaying oral bacteria called Streptococcus mutans which are resilient, hard-shelled bacteria most responsible for plaque. In the absence of plaque, teeth become smooth and shiny (re-mineralization) by restoring surface biofilm (defensive outer barrier) stripped off by abrasives (citric acid, coffee, etc.), dental cleanings, mouth breathing, grinding, etc. With elimination of plaque (Listerine prevents immature plaque), flossing becomes unnecessary.
BEST
Occasional flossing to remove food particles between teeth should be done with toothpaste and gently. Dr. Tung’s floss, widely available, is the best product out there. Dr. Phillips does not recommend use of water flossing as it can damage gums.
Immediately after spitting out Listerine (when it starts to burn) take a swig of ACT and swoosh it around for no more than one minute:
Listerine’s active ingredients (thus, its effectiveness in killing oral bacteria) are acidic with a pH of 4, the same as that of a tomato (vinegar has a pH of 2). Acidity wears away tooth enamel, a process known as tooth erosion, increasing the likelihood of bacteria-causing cavities and/or infection. By swooshing with ACT, after spitting out Listerine, neutralizes mouth acidity. In fact, as Dr. Phillips points out, ACT, a fluoride treatment, works best in a slightly acid environment! Moreover, Dr. Phillips also states that ACT (the entire regimen) prevents mouth dryness at nigh as saliva movement slows.
An appropriate Segway here: throughout, I have used the verbiage SWOOSH, TAKE A SWIG, SQUISHING, SWOOSHING, but not “gargling” or any other kind of deep throat invasion. In a nutshell, the reason for this caveat is the recent state-of-the-art medical findings from about 1996 about a miracle gas – NITRIC OXIDE (“NO”) and what it does – VASSAL DILATION of blood flow into every cell in the body. NO is generated in the oral (mouth, tongue, throat) and nasal cavities utilizing “commensal” (good) bacteria organisms. Onto PART II.
PART II
NO is produced continuously by nitric oxide synthase (NOS). That is, by the reduction of dietary nitrate to nitrite and then to NO. When your body breaks down nitrate from vegetables, for example, the nitrate is then reduced in the mouth by commensal bacteria to nitrite and swallowed. A portion of the nitrite entering the digestive system is converted to NO by acidic reduction, which is enhanced by vitamin C and polyphenols. However, the majority of nitrite is absorbed into the circulatory system, where it is reduced to NO by deoxyhemoglobin or reductase enzymes or enters tissues of the body, where it is reduced by deoxy myoglobin, xanthine oxidase, and the electron transport chain, etc. NO can be converted back to nitrite and nitrate via oxidation by ceruloplasmin and oxyhemoglobin microns in two pathways: cells that line blood vessels via the lungs; and bacterial reduction nitrate to nitribe salvia and then to the gut. Nitrates in the first instance come from diet – green leafy and vegetables and beets. Ten percent of these molecules are utilized just by swallowing your salvia.
Don’t be looking, at this time, for supplements that will directly mimic/duplicate NOS for the purposes discussed herein: NOS has an extremely short physiological half-life as a gaseous free-radical, a messaging molecule, whose reaction expires in less than a second! NOS is an ongoing metabolic synthesis, a constantly “re-signaling” and regenerating biological function wholly dependent on nitrate/nitrite availability.
It is becoming clear that commensal bacteria and nitric oxide have important roles re: various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as autism, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). At bottom, NO holistically keeps you healthy every day. This chart outlines NO’s systematic pathways to metabolic functions/systems.
www.rupahealth.com
For a deep dive, go to: www.ncbi.nim.gov and search “John L. Ivy nitric oxide”.
What then is the is the “tug of war” between good dental care and critical NO production? Use of antiseptic mouthwash and fluoride products, as Dr. Phillips recommends, takes a bad rap for destroying both commensal (good) bacteria, nitrates necessary for NOS as well as pathogenic (bad) bacteria (viruses, fungi, parasites) without discrimination. No commensal bacteria = severely reduced nitric oxide!
I propose a way you can enjoy the best of both worlds – excellent dental health recommended by Dr. Phillips AND superior NO-generating production at the same time, PART III.
PART III
Excellent dental health AND superior NO-generating production at the same time is totally achievable by you monitoring your NO-capability production at home, when convenient.
First, monitor your NO bioavailability by using salvia test strips to gauge the quantity of nitrites available in your saliva. Ideally utilized in the morning, 10 to 15 minutes after your last beverage and before a Closys mouth rinse, the color change of the strip corresponds to overall bioavailable nitric oxide in your mouth. This test is an inexpensive, easy, and quick way to test your NO levels. Simply, compare your test strip color vis-à-vis the coded colors:
The darker the indicator color, the better your commensal bacteria and nitrates needed for NOS. They are available at www.zellies.com
In full disclosure, on YouTube at https://youtu.be/_DMmXjxWO9w?si=wcAwJzRT2I9aeBGI Dr. Phillips actually takes the test. Tune in to see her results, knowing that she has used antiseptic mouth washes as part of her dental health system for many years (PART I). If your test results are “depleted” “low” or “threshold” simply cut back on parts of her system until replenishment of bioavailable NO. Low NO scores may also be a warning to double-up on nitric oxide-rich foods. A powerful NO booster is SuperBeets® by humann to be chewed at your convenience, available at Amazon.
As shown in the above chart (page 3 supra.) showing NO’s systematic pathways to metabolic functions/systems, your cardiovascular system requires significant NO bioavailability to properly function. When NO bioavailability is insufficient, high blood pressure can become systematic. This too can be easily monitored periodically with use of a blood pressure monitor. Use it in coordination with your NO test strip readings.
Finally, know that you can dramatically improve NO bioavailability to the lungs by increased production in the nasal passage through slow, deep breathing, inhaling through the nose, holding each intake for a bit and then exhaling in a humming sound through the mouth. I highly recommend your purchasing a Resperate monitor which analyzes your breathing rate and pattern and then interactively guides you through these breathing exercises. Frequent use will greatly improve NOS benefiting your entire cardio vascular system and lower blood pressure:
CONCLUSION:
What began as a “best dental health” practices presentation has necessarily morphed into a consideration of general health and about the number one health risk – cardiovascular and heart disease because of the common remedial link – the nitric oxide molecule and nitric oxide synthase, a metabolic process exclusively generated only in your throat and nasal cavity. Best dental health practices in concert with the use of antiseptic and fluoride mouthwash do not deplete that synthase and process. Moreover, you have the absolute ability to monitor your oxidation of nitrates through saliva test strips and blood pressure readings: high blood pressure will increase when NO production is inadequate. Finally, use of the Resperate monitor through breathing exercises will both increase NO production and lower blood pressure.
For your good health and well-being, Dan
One Response
Dan, I really liked reading your article as it shed great light on what goes on in the mouth and throat that’s vital to overall health. Don