Showing posts with label Dental Care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dental Care. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Salt Water Rinse

I used to use Listerine Mouthwash every evening after brushing & flossing my teeth. It stung, but made my mouth feel fresh.

During my last visit to the dentist, I was told that I still have mild gingivitis (yuck). It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I still have it! I brush twice per day, floss once per day & rinse once per day!

I asked the dental hygenist if she thought that mouthwash was good, & she told me it helps a little. In fact, if you use it too much (I think she meant more than once a day), it can dry out your tooth pockets (or was it sockets?) & cause an environment for bacteria to thrive in. What is better than mouthwash is salt water rinse (ew ew ew). Funnily enough, in the very room that she was telling me this, there was a bottle of Listerine on the table beside us (haha..I guess it's ok to use at the dentist!).

So I looked up salt water rinse recipes (I know, its obvious!) & it turns out that this is all you need to do:

Dissolve 1 Teaspoon Salt in 1 Cup Warm Water (stir if necessary).


I've been doing it daily now for a few days & have gotten used to the taste & my mouth definitely feels cleaner. The water will look a little cloudy / whitish (see picture above with salt water in cup).

So there you are; a very inexpensive (as you can see in the picture, that entire box of salt only costed me $1.29!) & healthy way to rinse your mouth!