I have a dentist. His name is Dr. Ron Ehrlich from the Sydney Holistic Dental Centre. He gets it. He doesn’t eat sugar. He does exercise in the same way I do. He is actively engaged in the wholefood movement and shares more than just a fill-in with his patients. Over the years he’s shared some fabulously open-minded tips for wellness. I figured all my friends here would benefit from hearing them, too. It’s definitely stuff a dentist generally only shares with their friends…Over to Ronald…
1. Grind your teeth? Try to correct your breathing.
Ninety-five per cent of us don’t have enough room for the 32 teeth we have in our mouths. Not having enough room for your teeth means your airway is not as big as it could be and it’s now recognised that grinding is most often linked to “sleep disordered breathing” including snoring and sleep apnoea. So working on breathing through the nose helps for lots of reasons – including reducing the incidence and effect of tooth grinding, which results in premature wearing or cracking of teeth, broken fillings, headaches, neck aches or a sore jaw.
Which brings me too…
2. Forget mouthguards: tape your mouth shut at night. Serious!
Try using Micropore (3M) tape over your mouth….yes, I’m serious. You’ll be amazed how something so simple can make a difference. Using the 7-8 hours of sleep to practice breathing through your nose evens out your breathing and stabilises your body chemistry. And because it improves sleep and evens out your breathing, by that same reasoning it also helps reduce the grinding of teeth. [I tried four different – expensive – mouth guards, all of which didn’t stop me from grinding, before trying this tape method. It’s the ONLY thing that’s ever worked and costs a few dollars a month! – Sarah.].
3. Getting mouth ulcers? Avoid grains.
Mouth ulcers (aphthous ulcers) are a common problem. They are an autoimmune response. Try avoiding all grains for a few months. Grains produce a protein called zonulin (…look it up), that causes leaky gut that results in a whole range of autoimmune conditions.