One of the first things I remember from childhood is my mom telling me to stop eating candy because it’ll give me cavities, unless I brush my teeth properly. Because of my love for sweet but also for my own teeth, I took her advice and, thank God (!!!), brushed my teeth every morning evening since then.
As time went by I came to discover new things from my dentist and my own research. Floss and importance of flossing, dental (professional) cleaning and whitening. One of the most common, though, was (and still is) mouthwash. Mouthwash is an inexpensive way to clean the entire mouth of all the harmful bacteria, especially at night before bed. I am not going to talk about your regular alcohol-based or alcohol-free mouthwash but, instead, I will be focusing on a much better substitute…
Introducing: Xylitol
Xylitol, is a naturally occurring sugar found in most plant material, including many fruits and vegetables. Most commonly in the US, we can find it in corn cobs and that’s how it finds its way into many by-products such as sweetener, chewing gum, toothpastes and so forth.
Some science
Xylitol decreases the incidence of dental caries by increasing salivary flow and pH and reducing the number of cariogenic (MS) and periodontopathic (Helicobacter pylori) bacteria, plaque levels, xerostomia, gingival inflammation, and erosion of teeth. Here’s the full study if you want to give it a read
What that means is, basically, xylitol is both a sweetener but also an exceptional oral protecter that fights against bacteria and other causes for cavities.
Make your own xylitol based mouth wash
If you don’t have a mouthwash, don’t panic: once you finish brushing your teeth, grab a cup of 8 oz of water and stir into it a teaspoon of xylitol until it fully dissolve. By the way, I am using this Now Foods Xylitol from Amazon (it’s made in the US and both Keto and Vegan friendly). I pay $14.99 for 2.5 lbs and it lasts me for months, which is great.
Sip a mouthful of the liquid and rinse your mouth as you would normally do and then spit. If you want to repeat, fine, but one rinse should be just fine.
Store the remaining xylitol mouth wash to use for the coming days and smile: not only you’ve saved money but also used a science and dentist-endorsed mouthwash that will keep your mouth PH neutral and bacteria free during the night!