Dropping Toothpaste

[PsychedelicEagle]

I've dropped using toothpaste for several months now. Nothing happened to my teeth. My girlfriend sometimes complains I smell like garlic, but she hasn't left me.

What do you know about the actual need to use toothpaste? I see it as something that emerged by a combination of the industry creating a product to make money and the freshness of breath it provides and people having the impression it makes your mouth "cleaner" (which is not necessarily the same as healthier).

I'd like to know if you guys know something about this topic. I'm open to being proven wrong.

Edited August 19 by PsychedelicEagle

[aurum]

@PsychedelicEagle

I’d be careful. You could easily have oral health problems but just not notice any obvious symptoms.

Have you checked for gingivitis?

[PsychedelicEagle]

@aurum Thanks for your advice. I go to the dentist every 6 months; let's see what she'll say next time. I can't see any difference myself but I'll keep an eye open. I do have receding gums but I've had this for more than 5 years (when I still used toothpaste). I think it was due to too much tartar I had at some point in my life. Then it stopped, maybe due to me starting to maintain optimal levels of Vitamin D, or perhaps when I moved from Brazil to Europe (?)

I just don't understand what the benefits of toothpaste are. For my point of view, the major factor is eliminating sugar as quickly as possible after a meal, and for this flossing/brushing is the solution. I don't see the chemicals in the toothpaste helping get rid of it. Happy to hear different perspectives.

Btw, it seems that a sea salt solution can be useful to treat/prevent gengivitis. I'll consider doing it every now and then, or perhaps the last time I brush my teeth (before sleep).

Edited August 20 by PsychedelicEagle

[Javfly33]

Flour full of chemicals toothpaste kill bateria short term but also kill the natural defenses of your mouth, what worked for me is changing to organic natural products based toothpastes.

Anyways you should at least floss your teeth, this is done even by animals with tree branches and that stuff 

[PsychedelicEagle]

Thanks @Javfly33. I'll experiment with a natural toothpaste.

[Princess Arabia]

Saying toothpaste alone is like saying soap, drinks, food, clothes, lotion, oil.....there are many varieties made from different ingredients. Oral care is very important as many illnesses can stem from poor oral health. Smelling like garlic without eating garlic is just odor from bacteria build-up which can get in the gut and cause stomach issues from the bad bacteria and can cause halitosis.

It's not about dropping toothpaste but what are you using to cleanse your overall mouth, gums, teeth Jaws, tongue. I dropped conventional toothpaste a long time ago and only use natural ones like neem, dr bronner's or one's from reputable company's I trust and where the ingredients doesn't contain fluoride or other ones not suitable for the mouth. Fluoride is arguable and some insist it's necessary and will want to debate the topic. I don't and I choose not to use toothpastes that contains it. Who knows if the water I drink has it so i try to minimize when I can.

Most toothpastes out there are toxic to the point and most people will end up at the dentist requiring dental surgeries in the long run because of them. Very few people I've seen that consistently use toothpastes like Colgate and Crest for a period of time that didn't have dental issues in the long run, but their diet didn't help either so it wasn't just the toothpaste. I needed the dentist once years ago; but ever since I changed from conventional to more natural I haven't needed, haven't had a toothache, never bad breath (even after waking up). 

[Keryo Koffa]

I wonder, what did humans use before toothpaste was invented, it's super recent after all

[Princess Arabia]

1 hour ago, Keryo Koffa said:

I wonder, what did humans use before toothpaste was invented, it's super recent after all

There are barks from trees that they use to use and other things I'd have to do a Google search for to get the details. 

[Jannes]

On 19.8.2024 at 8:00 PM, PsychedelicEagle said:

My girlfriend sometimes complains I smell like garlic, but she hasn't left me.

Legendary. I guess there is nothing to worry about then. 

[Javfly33]

4 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

 

Most toothpastes out there are toxic to the point and most people will end up at the dentist requiring dental surgeries in the long run because of them. Very few people I've seen that consistently use toothpastes like Colgate and Crest for a period of time that didn't have dental issues in the long run, but their diet didn't help either so it wasn't just the toothpaste. I needed the dentist once years ago; but ever since I changed from conventional to more natural I haven't needed, haven't had a toothache, never bad breath (even after waking up). 

@Princess Arabia exactly my experience too.

Neem overall is great btw, can you share the neem toothpaste you use? Or is just one of the ingredients of your toothpaste?

Edited August 21 by Javfly33

[Princess Arabia]

3 hours ago, Javfly33 said:

@Princess Arabia exactly my experience too.

Neem overall is great btw, can you share the neem toothpaste you use? Or is just one of the ingredients of your toothpaste?

Edited August 22 by Princess Arabia

[integral]

Right after eating you're supposed to rinse your mouth with water, move your tongue around to clean, then scrape with your fingernails anything else, if you don't want to use fingernail use a stick but that might not be cleaner. With this technique you need to have teeth mindfulness, you should intuitively know when your mouth is dirty or not, if it is you do the routine. 

I haven't brushed by teeth in 6 years, I have 0 smell in my breath even in the morning, white teeth and no teeth issue of any kind.

Something (might not be plaque) does naturally build on teeth depending on what you eat, so you got to scrape it off, and the nail likely evolved for this purpose. Because humans with nails had better teeth hygiene and are more likely to survive. 

Edited August 22 by integral

[PsychedelicEagle]

Thanks everyone for the answers! I have decided to try out this natural toothpaste, without fluoride, produced by Ben&Anna.

I deliberately chose this one because it comes in a glass container. Trying to avoid plastic as much as possible.

I've also adopted salty water as a way to further hygienize the mouth, but using it only sparringly. Let's see how it goes.