So far we talked about several strategies to help us achieve a much healthier chemistry in our mouths allowing our teeth and gums to heal themselves over time.
But if we are honest about it, it shouldn't merely matter what substances we put on our teeth or how we change our brushing behavior....
We also want to question... TOOTHBRUSHES... THEMSELVES!!!!!
(muhahaha, dramatic!!)
Woah! But wait, I already use an automatic toothbrush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great, but I want to go less for the operation method of your toothbrush or your brushing technique itself, and focus more on the actual thing itself. This weird piece of plastic noone ever questions... I for one never questioned toothbrushes before diving into this natural dental health microcosm but I sure do now. I also feel somewhat stupid for having never even looked there because it's kinda hard to go back after thinking about it.
Here we were making sure that only the most benign and beneficial substances make it into our system. We bar flouride completely because we want to avoid its toxic effects. We use sugar substitutes so that our bodies have an easier time healing themselves than with plain old sugar... And so on.
So what about toothbrushes then?
The answer is Wear and Tear...
Toothbrushes are mostly made from plastic these days. Always have been, all the ones I went through in my life were plastic builds. But if we are honest about it that is a terrible idea! Really. Terrible.
People are worrying that too much plastic is entering our body and ecosystem, that there is "microplastic" everywhere and that the problem is becoming a real health hazard overall. And here we are still brushing our teeth with plastic materials that provably wear out quickly as we can see after mere weeks of use.
The thing though is: These materials are wearing out where? In our mouths!
And we are doing a great job spreading those tiny particles into every last corner of our mouths, every day. Ironically the more devoted we brush with care the more profound this degradation of the brush will become and the more plastic will end up in our body.
Makes sense doesn't it? I know I know it sucks to know it now and worry about yet another thing but wouldn't you much rather know than have your liver fail in 35 years because of aggregate micro plastic overload?
If you have ever allowed the doubt in your mind that anti-stick-coating in your kitchen pan might actually NOT BE HEALTHY for you (considering how much physical strain it has to go through naturally), then you can go right ahead and apply the same idea to toothbrushes. Today.
So what do we do? I already feel terrible about the burshing-prospect tonight!
Realx, another day or week won't kill ya <3 Your body is totally used to microplastic by now, lol.
But jokes aside, you probably already guessed what we can do - there are alternatives out there. Alternatives not based on plastic.
I stumbled upon recommendations for bamboo toothbrushes which I finally ordered a few weeks ago and I'm quite happy with them. If you do a quick search online for "biodegradable / ecological / environment-friendly toothbrush" you will find many, many results. A trend that has gone virtually unnoticed by me. Bamboo toothbrushes are A THING. Wow.
The other cool thing about these eco toothbrushes is that they are not really that expensive considering how seldom we swap them. Yeah you will pay more than for a regular toothbrush but like shoes we don't exactly buy a new one every other week. In other words the benefits of paying a little extra for an awesome toothbrush totally outweigh the costs of them.
Also I admit that it might be quit hard to continue with a plastic toothbrush from now on that you read all this here, sorry ;) Not really sorry ;) Go ditch your toothbrush todayand get a body-friendly one to complement all your natural dental health agents you already use.
Alright, alright... a little late but that's about all I wanted to share for this series for now. I may continue this when I have more data and experiences to draw upon, but as I mentioned in the foreword this series was more about sharing these ideas with you all sooner than later while I am still in the middle of my self-experiments.
If you want to explore a more general view of the notion to not put silly stuff into our mouths you may totally dig another article of mine: "Don't put on your skin what you wouldn't put in your mouth"
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