Root Cause: Gum Disease and Gut Health

Heather the Hygienist is a certified biological dental hygienist and a certified registered dental hygienist for 25 years. She grew up on a farm in Minnesota and Wisconsin but moved to Florida in the '80s.  It wasn't until 2010, however, that Heather started to look into the chemicals in commercial products. On a mission to provide patients with the cleanest, most effective oral care products on the market, Heather created Simply Silver Mouthwash, Toothpaste, and Breath Spray. 

Topics:
 1. Root Causes of Periodontal Disease: Oral Microbiome: Periodontal disease often starts with an imbalance in the oral microbiome. Harmful bacteria, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, can lead to plaque build-up and inflammation in the gums. 

Poor Oral Hygiene: Inadequate oral hygiene practices, including infrequent brushing and flossing, can contribute to the accumulation of plaque and the progression of gum disease. 

2. Connection Between Oral and Gut Microbiomes: Oral-Gut Axis: There is growing evidence of a bidirectional relationship between the oral and gut microbiomes, known as the oral-gut axis. Changes in one microbiome can affect the other. 

Inflammatory Response: Gum disease can lead to chronic inflammation in the mouth, which may contribute to systemic inflammation. This inflammation could impact the gut microbiome and overall gut health. 

3. Treatment and Prevention: Oral Care: Maintaining good oral hygiene practices is crucial for preventing and managing gum disease.

4. Signs of Gum Disease: Gingivitis: Early signs include red, swollen gums and bleeding when brushing or flossing. Periodontitis: Advanced gum disease can lead to receding gums, pockets between teeth and gums, and even tooth loss. It may also be associated with chronic bad breath.

 5. Importance of Regular Dental Check-ups: Routine dental check-ups are essential for early detection and management of gum disease. 

6. Role of Mouthwash Products: Simply Silver Mouthwash products may contain colloidal silver, which is believed to have antibacterial properties. Some people use colloidal silver mouthwash to help control harmful bacteria in the mouth. 

Commercial Mouthwash: While some mouthwash products may be beneficial, it's important to use them with caution. Commercial mouthwashes often contain alcohol and other ingredients that can have adverse effects on the oral microbiome.

7. Mouthwash: Alcohol-Free Options: If you decide to use a mouthwash, consider alcohol-free options.

Balanced Approach: While mouthwash can be a part of oral care, it should not replace essential practices like regular brushing, flossing, and dental check-ups.

LINKS TO OTHER SPEAKER RELATED INFORMATION
www.simplysilvermouthwash.com
https://www.instagram.com/simplysilvermouthwash/
https://www.tiktok.com/@heatherthehygienist1

Author: The Holistic Health Show
Guest Speaker: Heather the Hygienist
Category: Health and Wellness
Publish date: 2024-03-19
Duration: [00:31:40]
Transcript www.bodymindki.com/podcast

Transcript

[00:00:14] Amy: Hello, everyone. Welcome back again this week. I'm so excited to have you here. We have another brand new topic for you today, and we are talking with Heather, the hygienist. The topic today is gum disease and gut health. So thank you, Heather, so much for joining me on the show.

[00:00:34] Amy: It's an absolute pleasure to have you here. I would love for you to please introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about why you got into what you do, how you got into what you do, and we'll just go from there.

[00:00:48] Heather the Hygienist: Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me, Amy. I really appreciate it. So I've been a dental hygienist now like 28 years and I grew up on a farm. My parents were hippies, so everything was, you know, pretty much natural. But after I had my twins, I really had to start learning how to read a label because one of my little girls had 25 different food allergies.

[00:01:10] Heather the Hygienist: She was very sickly and all kinds of issues. And you know, you just have to be so careful. So you really learn how to read a label. But it really wasn't until 2010 that I started to look at the ingredients in oral care products.

[00:01:24] Heather the Hygienist: And when you're in dental hygiene school, you know, you're taught fluoride, fluoride, fluoride, and [00:01:30] You know, so I just thought I was doing the right thing by promoting this to my patients. But then when I realized that the reason why these chemicals are really allowed in oral care products is because your oral care products actually fall into the category of cosmetics.

[00:01:45] Heather the Hygienist: So that's why they're allowed to put these like carcinogens in your oral care products. And you know, when you stick something into your mouth, Amy, it goes into your bloodstream. So, you know, that really bothered me. And when patients would ask me, what mouthwash, what toothpaste do you recommend?

[00:02:04] Heather the Hygienist: I would go to the health food store and I was like, there's got to be something that's clean and green and also effective, but there really wasn't. I was actually even shocked when I started looking at some of the ingredients in products at the health food store. And I'm like, why is Poloxamer 407, which is an endocrine disruptor linked to breast cancer, Why is that in this?

[00:02:28] Heather the Hygienist: Natural products so, honestly through a series of I would just say divine revelations, simply silver mouthwash came into , being and now we have three different mouthwashes three different toothpaste, two brush sprays, and everything is really carefully covered.

[00:02:47] Heather the Hygienist: Source is all natural, but it also works because you know, I'm not gonna make something that isn't effective for people But I really wanted everyone to feel comfortable With what they were using to know [00:03:00] that it's not gonna, you know, it doesn't need a poison label Which that's why fluorine has a poison label because it's a mutagen and a label poison But you know, it's it's actually going to be effective So that's kind of a quick little breakdown as to how simply silver came into being.

[00:03:17] Amy: And I think I need to backtrack because I have so many questions all of a sudden. , all of this is news to me. So, okay Let me regroup here. So, I go to the dentist regularly, and I like to think that I take very good care of my teeth, and isn't fluoride the one that they put on afterwards so that you don't hurt, it takes away the sensitivity?

[00:03:40] Heather the Hygienist: Fluoride itself is really not what desensitizes teeth. It's usually the potassium nitrate, but yes, they do tell you it is to desensitize your teeth, but the whole premise behind fluoride is, Oh, you're going to have a cavity if you don't have fluoride. Fluoride is in absolutely everything. If you get a cavity, Amy, I guarantee you, it's not because of a lack of fluoride.

[00:04:01] Heather the Hygienist: It's, it's, It's in your water, it's in tea, it's in, you know, it's been contaminated, it's in everything. All your oral care products. So you don't get a cavity from a lack of fluoride. I mean, our teeth are actually , 89 percent hydroxyapatite crystals. So my products use hydroxyapatite to remineralize teeth because it's bio identical.

[00:04:23] Heather the Hygienist: Your body recognizes it. It's natural. It's non toxic. So you don't need a label poison, , a warning on there. It's [00:04:30] But I wanted to use, again, something that was going to work, but you know, not have any kind of a toxic reaction to your body. And actually NASA is the one that came up with the, Nano form of it because when their astronauts would go out into anti-gravity situations, they would lose bone density and their teeth would be affected.

[00:04:48] Heather the Hygienist: So they created this so that way when their astronauts came back, it was working on their bone. And it's been fantastic. Actually, Japan has been using it since the eighties is their gold standard. And you know, fluoride has been around for what? 65 years. Are you, are you telling me we haven't come up with something better than fluoride in that amount of time?

[00:05:09] Heather the Hygienist: Of course we have, but it's just a matter of getting the awareness out there. And fluoride is a cheap chemical, you know, it's very, very cheap. So of course, you know, you have to watch people's , bottom lines, but it, you know, it's not necessary.

[00:05:24] Amy: It makes sense to use something that's already

[00:05:27] Amy: in our absolutely. Use what your teeth are actually made out of and if you get a cavity, by the way, that means that your saliva has dropped below a 5. 5. So it's really more of an acid issue.

[00:05:38] Heather the Hygienist: So if you're removing the plaque, which plaque is part of everyone's saliva. It's that sticky biofilm. That needs to be brushed off twice a day, morning and night, but with like an electric toothbrush for a full two minutes and flossing in between the teeth. Because a lot of times when the teeth touch, you can get a cavity in between there if you're not removing that plaque.

[00:05:59] Heather the Hygienist: Because [00:06:00] when you have something that has sugar in it, which even ketchup has sugar in it, sugar plus plaque, forms an acid and that acid is what eats away at your healthy too. So if you're getting a cavity, you have really an acid problem, not a fluoride problem. So you want to watch the acid. So things that have a lot of acids would obviously be soda, which has Basically a pH of 2.

[00:06:23] Heather the Hygienist: 5 to 4, battery acid is a one, so you're drinking phosphoric acid. You got to watch your energy drinks. You got to watch carbonated water. Anything that really drops your saliva into that danger zone is going to kind of open up your teeth to being demineralized and creating that cavity that you don't want to have.

[00:06:44] Heather the Hygienist: So if you're brushing, you're flossing, you're eating healthy because again, you know. You are what you eat. You should not be getting cavities. So it's, again, it's not a lack of fluoride problem. It's, it's either a diet problem is a mouth breathing problem where you're drying out your tissues or it's an acid problem.

[00:07:04] Heather the Hygienist: So, you know, if you give your body what it needs, it's always going to try and heal itself.

[00:07:09] Amy: . I'm hyper conscious of my teeth now. 

[00:07:11] Amy: Cosmetics. So it's in the cosmetic category. That, to me, seems

[00:07:17] Amy: wrong. 

[00:07:17] Heather the Hygienist: Exactly because what you stick into your mouth like I said gets into your bloodstream That's why people that have a heart issue can pop a nitroglycerin tablet to save their life Why is that because the heart is connected [00:07:30] right here to to underneath your tongue? So, you know, what are you sticking into your body twice a day?

[00:07:36] Heather the Hygienist: What kind of chemicals, what, what is that going to do to your body over time as far as toxic overload? And so it's never been researched, but you know that's why I'm very passionate about it because again, that was the last piece of the puzzle for me. I'd been looking at all the food labels, but , for 10 years I was promoting fluoride, never even considering what I was putting into my body.

[00:08:00] Heather the Hygienist: And then when I started learning about it, I'm in the field. 

[00:08:03] Heather the Hygienist: And I was taught honestly in hygiene school that anyone that opposes fluoride is a conspiracy theorist and fluoride is so wonderful for you. Oh, it gets stored in your bones. Oh, it's so great. Yeah. You know, it can cause bone cancer and we are seeing so many young children with fluorosis now and that means like their teeth are brittle.

[00:08:24] Heather the Hygienist: And can you imagine if your teeth are the windows to your bones, what their bones are going to be like? , I mean this is like really scary And it's just not necessary. 

[00:08:34] Heather the Hygienist: That's why I really feel that the nanohydroxyapatite is the future of dentistry. And now too, that the whole purpose of talking about the link between the Alzheimer's and the gum health and gut health is because now we can do testing. of your saliva to determine whether or not you have the markers for Alzheimer's pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, heart attacks, strokes, [00:09:00] diabetes, all from the, all from the bacteria in your mouth.

[00:09:03] Heather the Hygienist: So this is like fantastic preventative medicine that we can do now. And the reason why people that have gum disease have such a high instance of getting Alzheimer's is because if you think about. Your mouth, right? How close is everything to your brain? So the bacteria that rots your bone, eats your bone.

[00:09:24] Heather the Hygienist: What it does is it gets into your brain and it destroys your neurons, and that is actually called GIP pains, believe it or not. So that is why it's linked to Alzheimer's, and you wanna think about your mouth as like a mini immune system because you have this oral microbiome and your gut, right, has a a gut biome.

[00:09:45] Heather the Hygienist: So the two are related. So if your gut health is, is healthy, you know, that's going to help your oral microbiome, but things that disrupt your oral microbiome, your mini immune system would be alcohol based products. Fluoride disrupts it. Acids, Disrupted bacteria infections. If you're not brushing and flossing and you're leaving all that biofilm underneath your gum tissue, it's going to create an inflammatory response.

[00:10:14] Heather the Hygienist: So there's different causes to gum disease. And that's something a good hygienist, a good dentist is going to get to the bottom of is what is the root cause of your issue. But you know, it's just so important to not disassociate your teeth. From the [00:10:30] rest of your body because this is really where true health starts and that's again something I'm really trying to teach people about you need to not just Want to eat clean and exercise you've got to take care of your oral health or I don't care what you're doing You're gonna have disease

[00:10:46] Amy: I'm kind of reevaluating my whole life at this point I'm literally, as you're talking to me, thinking about what I have in my bathroom and I spend a fair amount of time looking at the makeup I wear, 

[00:10:59] Amy: I have autoimmune diseases and I have skin allergies. And so there are a lot of things within products that while maybe we shouldn't be using them, I can't use them anyway. So I, I spend a lot of time trying to use things that are non toxic, you know, that are sustainable, that are not going to poison me.

[00:11:19] Amy: But I've never done that for the products that I put in my mouth. I have never, I've never 

[00:11:24] Amy: questioned my dentist.

[00:11:25] Amy: Well, and you know, and here's the thing too, mainstream dentistry, they're going to think you're crazy. If you say that fluoride is, is bad, 

[00:11:32] Amy: We are taught this in school. And so when you go outside of the box and this is something that, over time I've, I've had to kind of like.

[00:11:41] Amy: Get out of my little putting everything in a box and have more of an open mind And I think that has really helped me grow as an individual in all areas of my life is having an open mind about things I don't know everything, you know, I'm always learning and I love to learn about new things So I think it's important to [00:12:00] not just , kind of say Oh, well, my dentist said this and leave it at that I think everybody needs to be their own health advocate and everyone should look into this for themselves 

[00:12:11] Amy: but holistic dentistry is different than mainstream dentistry. And so just talking to you about your autoimmune issues, my question to you would be, one, have you ever had any root canals and two, have you ever had any teeth extracted? 

[00:12:23] Heather the Hygienist: So when you remove a tooth, when you extract a tooth and you don't extract the ligament around it, you can create what's called a cavitation site. That can make you sick. That can create an autoimmune problem. And this is something, again, that's not ever talked about. It's cavitation sites.

[00:12:41] Heather the Hygienist: Because without removing that, you're sealing that ligament, basically, down inside of that bone. And unfortunately, it may not manifest for years and years later, which is why no one puts two and two together. But a biological or holistic dentist has certain, Techniques that they can determine whether or not you actually have cavitation sites where those were.

[00:13:03] Heather the Hygienist: So I would find a holistic dentist that would check those areas for cavitation sites and see if maybe that could be an underlying root cause for you.

[00:13:11] Amy: You know, I'm almost embarrassed because I advocate for a holistic. healthcare, but I've never thought about it from like the dentist perspective. I've never, it's just never crossed my mind. I brush, I floss, I go to regular, get regular cleanings.

[00:13:28] Amy: I'm conscious that I'm not, you [00:13:30] know, I don't drink soda because I don't want all that on my teeth and in my mouth and in my gut. So I do all those things, but never did I think about like your toothpaste, cause it's kind of all one. Well, I mean, you know, you have Simply silver. 

[00:13:41] Amy: But aside from that, you know, you just go to the grocery store and you get the same toothpaste, just different branding, kind of across the board. 

[00:13:48] Heather the Hygienist: And here's the thing too with, with toothpaste. So I actually put the RDA value on mine and what that means is how abrasive a toothpaste is. So. Basically, right, anything over a 70 is kind of considered abrasive for your enamel. Sensodyne, which I'm sure you guys probably have sensodyne in Australia. 

[00:14:10] Amy: I use. 

[00:14:11] Heather the Hygienist: Okay, well they're between a 72 and a 79, okay, but like your, say your Crust ProHealth, I think that's between 146 and 150.

[00:14:19] Amy: Oh, so I've got a little tick. I've got a tiny tick. I'm going to take that so, little win.

[00:14:23] Heather the Hygienist: , do you know what like sandpaper starts at? A grit of 248. So some toothpaste is literally almost like liquid sandpaper, and you only have one coating of enamel, so you are not going to make your teeth Whiter by using these really abrasive toothpaste over time You're actually gonna wear through your enamel in that inner part of your tooth is called the dendon Your tooth will actually look more yellow.

[00:14:50] Heather the Hygienist: So you don't want to use abrasive toothpaste You want something low abrasive low abrasive? So like anything preferably under 70 is best [00:15:00] Baking soda is the most mild cleanser that you can use baking soda to 7 stay away from charcoals Stay away from clays Okay, because those are way too abrasive for your, for your enamel, 

[00:15:11] . 

[00:15:11] Heather the Hygienist: Do you know how many patients come to me like in tears because they can't figure out why their teeth are so sensitive? And I, first thing I say, what toothpaste are you using? And it's usually a charcoal toothpaste. It's just creating such horrible sensitivity. 

[00:15:24] Heather the Hygienist: . I mean, it's really fascinating how, again, putting that into your mouth really affects your overall health, but anything alcohol that's going to disrupt your oral microbiome and can even cause throat and mouth cancer. Okay. Alcohol really disrupts your oral microbiome and look for something pH balanced.

[00:15:43] Heather the Hygienist: Because again, remember that magic number for your saliva is 5. 5. If your saliva drops below that, you're going to, you know, potentially get a cavity. Well, most of your commercial mouthwashes are 4. 2 to 5. So you're swishing with acid. 

[00:16:00] Heather the Hygienist: Stop! Don't swish with acid. Use things that are alkalining to your mouth.

[00:16:05] Heather the Hygienist: Coconut oil baking soda, xylitol. Xylitol is fantastic. , these kinds of things are fantastic for your oral microbiome. They're not going to disrupt anything, not going to create a bacterial infection, not going to create a more dry mouth. Which again aids in getting cavities, but I, I just am not a proponent of your commercial crap out there.

[00:16:26] Heather the Hygienist: It's horrible, toxic ingredients. And a lot of them [00:16:30] even are banned in other countries, but they're allowed here in the good old USA, like some of these dyes. Okay. So that's the transcript of the video, I may be able to tone that down a little bit, but I want to cover one of the reasons why you 

[00:16:45] 

[00:16:45] 

[00:16:47] Heather the Hygienist: In World War One, it's been used actually for like a thousand years because it's an all natural antibacterial anti inflammatory antiviral, it aids in wound healing. Here in our hospitals, they use silver nitrate you know, they use silver in diabetic wound centers, so it really does help aid in healing, and it does not disrupt your oral microbiome like the alcohol.

[00:17:12] Heather the Hygienist: So it's perfectly safe. And a lot of people also don't know that if you have a mercury filling in your mouth, you absolutely don't want to use anything with hydrogen peroxide in there because that hydrogen peroxide leaches that mercury into your body. So that's what I like about Coloidal Silver is it's safe for everybody.

[00:17:29] Heather the Hygienist: And it's just a wonderful natural preservative. So you don't need to put like a ton of crap into it because it's naturally stable. And then , I use nature. You know the mint and the cinnamon contain something called raw proton lechlery sap. And that's a sap from the Amazon rainforest, also known as dragon's blood, but it's amazing for bleeding gums.

[00:17:49] Heather the Hygienist: Because if you were to like cut yourself and put this sap right on your wound, it's a liquid bandaid. So I use that. And people that have gum disease are actually, [00:18:00] according to science, lacking Co Q 10. So you want to be supplementing with CoQ10 at least 50 to 100 milligrams a day, because what that does, Amy, is that helps your body fight off bacteria on a micro cellular level and it's fantastic for your heart.

[00:18:19] Heather the Hygienist: Again, the mouth and heart are totally related. 40 percent of the bacteria clogging people's arteries comes from their mouth. So that's why they say if you floss every day, it makes you seven years biologically younger. Take care. This is a great anti aging. But yes, all of my products contain natural ingredients that are really wonderful and especially used in combination.

[00:18:42] Heather the Hygienist: In fact, my toothpaste is also an oil pull, so you can use it as an oil pull. You can use it as a toothpaste. I just love it, , I really wanted to have something that I could feel Good about, that I could recommend to people that just didn't have any of the, of the junk in there.

[00:18:58] Amy: Do you, so do you ship outside of the States?

[00:19:00] Heather the Hygienist: I do, but you know, shipping is so expensive. I have had some orders from Australia, but it was like really crazy with the shipping costs and maybe someday we can manufacture over there. I'm happy to ship if somebody wants me to, but it's just pretty expensive.

[00:19:17] Heather the Hygienist: , I do have a book that's a digital download where I talk about dentistry for dummies, because I really want to educate people about what good dentistry looks like, what bad dentistry looks like, because This is [00:19:30] something I see on a daily basis is people think that they're okay, or they spent all of this money getting all of this dental work done, and then they come and see me, and it's a train wreck, and they've just spent thousands of dollars on horrible work, or maybe even the decay wasn't even removed.

[00:19:48] Heather the Hygienist: , they're worse off than they were before. So I really wanted people to feel empowered because a hundred million Americans don't go to the dentist every year, pretty much out of fear. And I just wanted people to, to feel confident, to give them some knowledge 

[00:20:03] Heather the Hygienist: how do you really know if you have a cavity? Just because the dentist says or I've taught you what you're looking for and you can actually go to the dentist and say well I didn't feel a stick or show me on the x ray what you're what you're talking about That's really gonna blow them away because nobody really questions, 

[00:20:19] Amy: I mean, when you're at the dentist, it's not like you really have an opportunity to talk to them because you get in, you get in the chair, they stick their hands in your mouth, they ask you a bunch of questions that you kind of grunt to, and then you're out the door, you know, so you're not getting to ask all these questions, and you do, you just put blind faith in them, and I think, you know, knock on wood, I think I've had it.

[00:20:39] Amy: really caring and honest and lovely dentists in my life. So I'm very happy for that, but I can't imagine that, you know, there's in every field, there's someone out there a little bit dodgy who might not be doing the right thing. And how do you know you're right? How do you know? The dentist is already an intimidating place to be, I do have really sensitive [00:21:00] teeth and so I hate going.

[00:21:02] Amy: I love going because I like getting cleaned and knowing I'm doing the right thing, but it's a very uncomfortable situation for

[00:21:09] There are some, some tips and tricks I do give in my book that and especially with women, cause women that have been sexually abused. Specifically have a very hard time with that. So there's some things that I do discuss in my book to kind of help through those situations. And hopefully, you know, people will, will get at least some nugget of helpful information in there.

[00:21:31] Heather the Hygienist: But yeah, I, I really just want people to. And to be an advocate for their own health and, and to not be so fearful of the dentist, because like I said, it's that fear that keeps people out. But what I always try and tell people is like with your vehicle, you know, if you never gave your car an oil change, you never put oil in there.

[00:21:51] Heather the Hygienist: What's going to happen? You're going to blow your engine. That's going to be a very expensive thing. Had you been taking your vehicle in every three months or whatever, you wouldn't be in that situation. Well, in dentistry, teeth don't hurt until it's too late because your enamel has no feeling. So you won't feel a cavity until it's into the nerve of the tooth.

[00:22:17] Heather the Hygienist: So instead of it being 300, 400, it's 600. It's 3, 000 to 5, 000 for one tooth, just one, you know? And pain is not an indicator of health [00:22:30] and with gums, like your gums should never bleed. And most people don't brush properly. They certainly don't floss properly because I'll say, Oh, how many times a day do you floss or you know, whatever?

[00:22:42] Heather the Hygienist: Oh, I floss every day. So I hand them the piece of floss. I'm like, show me what you're doing.

[00:22:47] Heather the Hygienist: Like, you know, they're not doing it right. If you go underneath the gum all the way down and you're not somebody that flosses, you're going to be bleeding. And they're like, Oh, well, I don't floss because I bleed and it hurts.

[00:22:59] Heather the Hygienist: Well, it's infected. And that's why it's hurting. So flossing properly is exercise for your gums. So the more you do it, the easier it gets, the better it feels, the healthier it is. But we don't want to let pain be an indicator of, well, everything feels fine. Well, yeah, okay. Until it doesn't, and then it's too expensive to actually get work done.

[00:23:22] Amy: And I always say, , it's really important to adopt a proactive approach to your health care. And it goes the same for your teeth. And I mean, if your health isn't going to encourage you enough , the, the, the terrifying idea of having to Spend thousands of dollars to have a tooth extracted, not to mention the pain that you're gonna be in before you even get to that situation.

[00:23:42] Heather the Hygienist: And you know, people say, Oh, we'll just pull all my teeth. And I'm like, okay, yeah, we can amputate. We can amputate your limbs. We can give you prosthetics. Do you really want a prosthetic limb? I mean, you know, it's not the same thing. 

[00:23:55] Heather the Hygienist: And you know what? Your teeth are linked to organs.

[00:23:58] Heather the Hygienist: Okay. So we don't just like [00:24:00] cutting out your organs. Your teeth are alive. Like one tooth is linked to your pancreas. And, and so sometimes finding out if you're having a, an issue with an organ, figure out which tooth that is in the Meridian chart, and then go to that and say, Oh, well, I have a filling here, a mercury filling that's might be causing this root cause.

[00:24:20] Heather the Hygienist: So getting to the bottom of what's going on is so important, but we never really put two and two together. It's like the head is some sort of a separate compartment from the rest of you. And it's not, it's the main compartment that needs to be looked at first. And as providers, I can tell you within two minutes, whether or not someone has a massive infection going on in their mouth, whereas when you go to a primary care doctor, they're going to have to run several tests and try and figure it out.

[00:24:49] Heather the Hygienist: I can tell like that we're really what state you're in, what's going on with your x rays. And we take a little it's called a probe. It looks like a little ruler, and we can measure the space between your tooth and your gum and get a good idea of what, you know, level you're at because a healthy gum, a healthy mouth.

[00:25:08] Heather the Hygienist: It's going to have numbers of ones, twos, and threes, gingivitis is fours, periodontal disease, which is where the bone is starting to rot is going to be fives and sixes. And then you're going to have moderate disease,

[00:25:22] Heather the Hygienist: so that's why it's so important. We try and catch things when it's early, when you start to get a four, if you get a [00:25:30] five, you act now. You don't wait. You don't say, Oh, well, just check it next time. It's no big deal. Well, guess what? That bacteria can spread from over here to over here. So instead of having maybe just one five, now you've got three fives, four fives.

[00:25:45] Heather the Hygienist: So it's just going to spread in your mouth. So it's very important that you. Try and catch early just like when you want to find cancer stage one or stage four, you know treat it early So you don't end up with tooth loss and being forced to amputate your teeth and deal with dentures I mean, it's really horrible.

[00:26:06] Amy: And don't your teeth keep the shape of your mouth and your jawline and everything? 

[00:26:11] Heather the Hygienist: Yeah, it really ages you. You don't talk the same, you don't look the same and you certainly don't taste food the same. You're chewing force really goes down and there's actually evidence that suggests that it decreases your lifespan as well. So

[00:26:24] Amy: And then I'm also, now that we're on the topic, you know, I'm also curious about, what are the teeth replacements made of? You know, like what are you then putting in your mouth?

[00:26:33] Heather the Hygienist: there, you can either do dental implants, which personally I have a dental implant. It's a zirconia one because I do not believe in putting titanium into your jawbone. First of all, most women have an allergic reaction to nickel which nickel is actually in titanium So if your skin turns green from wearing chink jewelry, you're gonna have a reaction to that titanium But never put metal into [00:27:00] your your bone so close to your brain.

[00:27:02] Heather the Hygienist: I like zirconia It's a ceramic base and it's just more natural alternative and very strong and then pretty much the materials that they make either dentures or partials out of is like acrylic with plastic teeth.

[00:27:19] Heather the Hygienist: It just depends on really what, what that lab is, is going to make them. But you definitely have options,

[00:27:26] Amy: Okay, great. Yeah. Still not, not my first option, you know, knock on wood that I don't never have to go there, 

[00:27:32] Heather the Hygienist: well, and I think people are just so quick to you know, have that fast mindset, you want it now, but not looking at the long term consequences of something. And I think again, it boils down to educating people 

[00:27:45] Heather the Hygienist: but also going to the dentist and For somebody that is dealing with gum disease, twice a year isn't enough. You need three, four times a year. If you're somebody that builds a lot of plaque of tartar in your mouth, your oral microbiome is changing every 80 to 90 days, which is why you need to get your teeth cleaned more frequently so that bacteria doesn't, like, recolonate in those areas, creating an infection once again.

[00:28:15] Heather the Hygienist: Now, if you're somebody that's, you know, really not gum disease prone, but you maybe you're more cavity prone, you can get your teeth cleaned twice a year. But if you're somebody that is really struggling with gum disease, the bleeding gums and all that, you really need to get your teeth cleaned more [00:28:30] frequent.

[00:28:30] Amy: So anyone with a healthy mouth is twice a year, what's expected?

[00:28:34] Heather the Hygienist: That would be fine if they're healthy. 

[00:28:36] Heather the Hygienist: You know, dental decay is the number one disease in the world, but most people actually lose their teeth from gum disease.

[00:28:43] Amy: Well, I've got a lot to take on board. I'm going to go floss my teeth as soon as we're

[00:28:48] Heather the Hygienist: You're right. Make sure you're doing it properly. Don't use those cheaters. 

[00:28:52] Amy: No, no, I won't use those anyway because of the plastic. 

[00:28:55] Amy: But, I want to, I want you to share with everyone. So you've got your digital download book. And then I know that shipping is expensive outside of the States, but for anyone who is in the United States of America, Definitely hop on and have a look. 

[00:29:09] Amy: So where can everyone find the book, the toothpaste, the spray?

[00:29:15] Heather the Hygienist: They can just go to my website. It's simply silver mouthwash dot com. Simply silver mouthwash dot com. So that's my, my website. I have blog as well. So I have a lot of pretty good topics on there. So feel free to read through the blogs. I actually have written three books. One is a children's book, and then the other one is an information book as well.

[00:29:38] Heather the Hygienist: But the Dentistry for Dummies , is more of a handbook, and that's a digital download that people can get to help them kind of navigate through their own dental journey. 

[00:29:48] Amy: Well, thank you very much for the work you're doing. It is very important. It certainly opened my eyes and anyone who is listening, if you have not been to the dentist this year, we are in November. So make that [00:30:00] appointment and absolutely go and get a checkup. Ask your dentist, these important questions about what it is you're going to do and what you need and dentistry for dummies.

[00:30:10] Amy: Maybe have a little look at that and, and educate yourself on what you can expect and what you should be looking for. I'm very excited to pay more attention to this aspect of my health and, and get on board with that. So thank you for sharing this really valuable information and all of your knowledge with us today, Heather.

[00:30:25] Heather the Hygienist: Well, thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.

[00:30:28] Amy: It's been my absolute pleasure. If you are watching this on YouTube, I would love it if you would like, subscribe and hit the bell so you're notified for upcoming episodes. Comment on the video. You can ask myself or Heather a question. I get all the notifications, so I'll make sure that she gets any of your questions.

[00:30:46] Amy: And if you're on any of the other podcasting platforms like Spotify or Apple, I'd really appreciate if you rated and reviewed the show. It helps me reach more people and they really keep me motivated. I love, I read all of them and I enjoy every single one of them and they help me. Make better content.

[00:31:06] Amy: They help me improve the show every time. So if you could take a couple of minutes and do that I'd really appreciate it. That's all we have for today. Thank you again, Heather 

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