Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Bone broth is one of the most nutritious foods for oral health because it’s high in collagen for strong, flexible gum tissue and mineral-rich for remineralizing tooth enamel. It’s also inexpensive and easy to make yourself!

Whether you are a habitual bone broth brewer or you’ve never even tried, you can vary your broth to suit your priorities:

FAST? EASY? CHEAP?

It’s all good!

 

Alt oral book review

Choose the bones

The best bones come from organic or wild animals.

For fast bone broth: Fish bones (and fish heads) make the fastest bone broth. The thinner the bones, the quicker they give up rich mineral goodness and fish bones only need up to an hour of simmering for an exceptionally nutritious broth.

(Chicken bone broth takes up to 24 hours of simmering and beef bones can simmer for up to 72 hours.)

For easy bone broth: Save your leftovers. Any time you roast a whole chicken, grill some T-bone steaks, or roast a leg of lamb you’ll have bones left over at the end.

Don’t throw them out! If you don’t want to make your broth immediately, store the bones in the freezer until you are ready.

For cheap bone broth: If you know someone who hunts or fishes, ask them if you can have the bones whenever they are successful. Otherwise look out for inexpensive bags of beef bones, fish heads, or chicken carcasses in the freezer section of your butcher or meat counter.

Choose the cooking container

The bigger your cooking container, the easier it is to make therapeutic quantities of broth on a regular basis.

For fast bone broth: If you have an instant pot (pressure cooker) you can make bone broth much more quickly than any other method!

For easy bone broth: If you have a slow cooker (crock pot) bone broth can be a set-and-forget cooking project.

For cheap bone broth: Use your biggest cooking pot and simmer on the lowest heat.

Choose the additions

Add a splash of vinegar to any broth to help draw out more of the nutrients.

For fast bone broth:  Make a bland broth with nothing but bones and water. Bland broth makes a good base for smoothies and any kind of cooking where you don’t want the broth flavor to dominate.

For easy bone broth: Use whatever fresh vegetables or herbs you happen to have available.

Onion, carrot, and celery are tried and true. Add bay leaf, thyme, and parsley for a Euro-flavor profile or ginger, garlic, and chilli for a more Asian-flavor profile. Or, even easier, add a stock cube for flavor.

For cheap bone broth: Keep a big sturdy ziplock bag in the freezer to collect vegetable scraps e.g. onion ends, carrot peels, leek leaves, and parsley stalks. Add any vegetables in your kitchen that are starting to get limp but not rotten, or vegetables from your garden that are over- or under-ripe or going to seed.

When you’re ready to cook withdraw a couple of handfuls at a time for a small broth batch or dump the whole bag to make a big broth. No need to thaw first.

Pro tip: chop the scraps into small pieces before you freeze them to release more flavor into the broth.

Alt oral book review

Choose what’s next

Once the broth is cooked, strain out all the solids. You can cook the bones again to simmer for another (less flavorful but still nutritious) broth.

For fast bone broth: make into a soup straight away by following your favorite recipe or adding some fresh vegetables to simmer until soft enough to blend or mash.

For easy bone broth: Transfer cooled broth to a jar in the fridge then heat up one cup at a time with a sachet or spoonful of miso paste for a hearty drink

For cheap bone broth:  Make broth in bulk to store in the freezer. Store in big containers for when you plan to make it into family-sized meals. Freeze in muffin cups for single serves or ice cube trays for when you just need a tablespoon of broth for a recipe. Transfer portions to a sealed bag once frozen so they’ll last longer.

For more simple suggestions for food to help regenerate teeth and gums check out

My delicious liver pate recipe

Cloud bread recipe

Golden milk

Alternatives to raw milk

Anti-cavity candy recipe

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

The Secret Lives of Teeth is a clear and comprehensive guide teaches you a unique, complementary self-help approach to easing toothaches, enhancing enamel and gum remineralization and getting better results with necessary dental treatments. 

Available as a paperback or ebook. 

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Strong Oral Health On a Plant Based Diet

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Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Bone broth is one of the most nutritious foods for oral health because it's high in collagen for strong, flexible gum tissue and mineral-rich for remineralizing tooth enamel. It's also inexpensive and easy to make yourself! Whether you are a habitual bone broth brewer...

Pleasurable eating: Foods that relieve tooth sensitivity

Sensitive and tentative I had just walked for two blissful hours along a beautiful coastline on a hot summer’s day and arrived at a beachside cafe famous for its homemade ice creams. Taking my time to select a scoop each of lemon sorbet and salted caramel, I carried...

Living teeth need living food

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Cure Tooth Decay with Cloud Bread

How does Cloud Bread cure tooth decay? (Scroll down for the recipe) Cloud Bread is a godsend for people seeking to find out how to avoid phytic acid in their diet.  In Cure Tooth Decay, the foundational book about nutrition and teeth health, Ramiel Nagel recommends...

Stabilize Receding Gums with Whole Foods

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Sexy, sacred teeth healing diet

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Yummy Gummies: The Anti-Cavity Candy

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Cure Tooth Decay- The Bible of nutritional teeth healing

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Chicken liver pâté

Chicken liver pâté

If you eat meat but feel squeamish about liver, please keep reading.

If you strictly exclude meat from your diet, you might prefer to read my post about How to Cure Cavities on a Vegan Diet instead.

Liver is a teeth healing superfood

Liver is one of the best superfood-shortcuts to nutritional oral health. It’s inexpensive, it’s effective and..  it’s hated by so many people.

Liver was first equal on on my list of most disgusting foods when I was a child (along with squash and closely followed by bananas).

 When I first started following a teeth healing protocol in order to (successfully) prevent my 7th root canal,  I asked my mother to show me how to cook liver.

Liver worked so well at healing my teeth that I started eating it regularly, first by screwing up my face and washing it down with lots of water.

Eventually I stopped hating liver, and now I’ve learned to love it, at least in the form of chicken liver pâté.

Since then, I have successfully won over many other liver-haters with this recipe.

 

Make your own chicken liver pâté

This particular pâté is so likable because it includes a lot of mushrooms which both complement and moderate the earthy liver flavor.

Butter is an important ingredient in liver pâté, not only because it tastes so good, but because the Vitamin D in the butter helps the body to digest the Vitamin A in the liver.

It also helps to use very fresh chicken livers as they have a milder taste. Livers that have been frozen don’t taste as good, and using fresh liver to make the liver pâté means you can freeze a portion of the finished product because you should never freeze liver twice. Making liver pâté with frozen livers means you need to eat the whole batch within 2-3 days. 

Most liver pâté recipes include brandy or wine but I’m not much of a drinker so I don’t have bottle sitting around my house. Lemon juice works just as well (in my opinion) to add a bit of acidic zest to the unctious rich combination of liver, mushrooms and butter. 

Teeth Healing Chicken liver pâté

Ingredients

  • 220g/8oz butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 cup of finely sliced mushrooms
  • 450g/1lb fresh chicken livers, cut in half
  • 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • fresh parsley or sprouts to garnish

Method

Melt half the butter in a skillet over low heat then add the onion and saute until soft and translucent but not colored.

Turn up the heat to medium and add the mushrooms, crushed garlic and thyme.

When the mushrooms are soft put the cooked mixture into a food processor bowl with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Put the skillet back on the medium heat without wiping, and melt the rest of the butter, then add the livers.

Cook until the livers are brown on the inside and still slightly pink in the centre.

Add the cooked livers to the food processor bowl and whizz everything together until its as smooth as you like (I like a little bit of texture).

Serve with sourdough toast or crackers, carrot and cucumber slices and/or pickled gherkins. Garnish with fresh parsley or sprouts.

Store in the refridgerator for up to 3 days.

A therapeutic serving of liver is about 50g a day, 3-4 days a week. Because this pâté includes a generous amount of mushrooms you can eat more at a time. 

If only one or two people will be eating the pâté, I recommend diving the batch in half and freeze for up to 2 months.

 

Meliors Simms headshot

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free

.

 

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Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Bone broth is one of the most nutritious foods for oral health because it's high in collagen for strong, flexible gum tissue and mineral-rich for remineralizing tooth enamel. It's also inexpensive and easy to make yourself! Whether you are a habitual bone broth brewer...

Why is oral health so confusing?

Why is oral health so confusing?

Do you ever feel confused or overwhelmed about what actions to take, which daily habits you should practice, or even what to believe when it comes to your teeth and gums?

There are the mainstream dentists pressuring you with their fluoride treatments and surgical solutions.

Then there are are the biological dentists urging you to remove amalgam fillings and root canals.

Not to mention the infinite variety of toothpaste brands that claim to be remineralizing, whitening, desensitizing, or non-toxic.

There is hype and debate over Ayurvedic oil pulling vs wheat grass swishing.   

There are social media comments advising you to dab on 2% iodine or essential oils

And of course endless questions around whether lasers or stem cells or peptides are going to be the next miracle cure (and when?)!

Over there Ramiel Nagel followers swear by raw milk, but not far away Medical Medium followers swear by celery juice and eschew all dairy.

And what’s up with fermented cod liver oil?

I could go on – This is just the beginning!

Why oral health is so confusing.

Have you ever lost a few hours Googling down an Alt-Oral rabbit hole looking for a simple solution that will solve your teeth problems- just the right toothpaste for example

You probably found lots of conflicting and confusing recommendations waiting to trip you up even though you just wanted something tried and true that works for everyone every time. 

The truth is, although many recommendation have merit for someone, that doesn’t mean every recommendation is appropriate, effective, or even safe for everyone 

That’s because your teeth are part complex system that is influenced by:

  •  your whole physical body, including your posture, your breathing and your gut
  •  your emotional state now and in the past 
  •  your ancestors and your DNA, 
  •  your family history and your past lives
  •  your prenatal experience, infancy and childhood
  •  your energy (in every sense) and the electromagnetic energy in your home
  •  the environment around you and you interact with it 
  •  where you live, when you’ve moved and how you travel
  •  the people who talk to you and people who you kiss
  •  the air that you breathe
  •  the food that you eat and drink 
  •  the supplements you take
  •  the medicines you have taken, now and in the past, whether for oral health or not 
  •  your recreational drugs. including alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine
  •  your attitudes and your beliefs, 
  •  your stress levels
  •  your hopes and aspirations 
  •  what you’re angry about 
  •  what you’re frustrated with
  •  your disappointment and grief 
  •  your fear and anxiety 
  •  the secrets that you’re keeping
  •  what you do every day
  •  and what you don’t do every day.

 All these diverse factors influence your teeth and gums.

If the influences  on your oral health are complex, then the remedy is likely to be complex too.

Even folks who get good results from simple solutions are not necessarily going have that last for their whole lifetime.

 There is no simple solution that will work for everyone- not a toothpaste, not oil pulling, not root canals.

Often our needs change over time. So if you had great results with the oil pulling when you did five years ago but it’s no longer stopping gum inflammation… you need to try something else now.

Why is oral health so confusing

Navigating oral health’s complexities

You are unique and you need a unique approach to healing your teeth and gums. 

No-one else has teeth and gums influenced by exactly the same combination of factors.

What works for your teeth may be quite different from what works for mine, or your brother’s or your neighbour’s teeth. 

You need a personal protocol that includes only those products or strategies that meet your needs and circumstances.

Your effective combination of remedies and strategies will be as unique as you.

 Finding, fine-tuning and implementing the right personal protocol to heal your teeth and gum issues takes time, attention, and persistence.

You have to balance consistency with flexibility.

And I recommend that you include strategies drawn from all four realms of the Holistic Tooth Fairy Way:

Get started now!

I have a couple of free resources to help you find the best signals for your needs, among the static and noise online. 

Holistic Oral Health at Home

This  is a practical workshop to help you

  • Do your own oral health self-assessments to identify any issues
  • Manage issues with holistic home remedies 
  • Prevent dental emergencies with teeth & gum nourishing foods, herbs, and supplements
  • Protect your gums by fine-tuning your oral hygiene habits 
  • Relieve jaw tension to avoid breaking enamel or fillings. 

Listen to Your Teeth

Your intuition can be a helpful guide through the confusing conflicting recommendations about oral helath. My free Masterclass Listen to Your Teeth Masterclass which explains the metaphysical influences on your oral health, and includes a guided meditation to tune into your own intuitive wisdom about what your teeth need.

The meditation is a great resource to help you get intuitive guidance about conflicting or confusing recommendations. 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

The Secret Lives of Teeth is a clear and comprehensive guide teaches you a unique, complementary self-help approach to easing toothaches, enhancing enamel and gum remineralization and getting better results with necessary dental treatments. 

Available as a paperback or ebook. 

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

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Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

Asking your intuition about your toothache meaning can put you in touch with the subconscious feelings and thoughts that influence your oral health. Is there something you're not talking about in your life? What are your stress levels day-to-day at the moment? Are you...

How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

How long does it take to remineralise cavities?    How long it takes to remineralise cavities, reverse decay or regrow receding gums depends on three factors. Your symptoms, how severe they are and how long you've had them for How wholeheartedly you are able to...

Political Teeth

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Your Own Oral Unawareness

Your Own Oral Unawareness

What’s your level of oral unawareness?

Are you someone who rarely looks inside your mouth, at least not further than the front teeth that show when you smile?

Do you pay attention to how your teeth and gums feel when there’s no discomfort?

When your teeth feel sensitive, do you buy a numbing toothpaste?

When your teeth hurt, does your dentist offer drilling and filling as the only real solution.

You probably know that you have to scrub away bacteria from your teeth, but you probably weren’t taught to nurture the complex, and mostly helpful microbiome, that makes up your oral environment.

You probably know that sugar affects your oral health but did you know that grains do too? What about the role your teeth and gums play in your digestion and immunity?

Teeth and gums play a critical role in your overall wellbeing, yet a culture of dental disconnect means most people don’t really understand or prioritise their oral health.

When will the dentist be safe?

Where does oral unawareness come from?

Dental-Medical Divide

Historically the dentistry has been disconnected from medicine.

This disconnection is evident from many angles, from education and training to insurance coverage.  

Dentists aren’t usually trained or encouraged to address environmental or systemic influences on oral health such as nutrition, stress, breathing or sleep.

Their education about prevention is mostly limited to the dangers of sugar and the necessity of flossing.

Instead, dentists are taught to perform surgical repairs and to use industrial chemicals (including neurotoxins such as mercury and fluoride). (2)

Dentists are the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, and yet there is no one telling you not to jump in the first place.

In recent decades medical researchers have found links between teeth and gum problems and many systemic diseases including; 

  • heart disease,(3)
  • diabetes, (4)
  • Alzheimer’s Disease,(5)
  •  rheumatoid arthritis,(6)
  • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (7)
  •  and low birth weight (8)

Although it’s now more common to recommend gum treatment before cardiac surgery, few other disease protocols include addressing oral health.

This mouth-body disconnection is just as apparent in complementary health as in mainstream medicine.

Complementary health modalities rarely include more than cursory attention to oral health in their training. This means that most natural health practitioners don’t feel confident to diagnose or remedy teeth and gum problems.

Cosmetic Focus

Dental disconnect is not just institutionalised at the professional level. Somewhere along the way, oral health products got categorised with cosmetics and beauty rather than health and wellbeing. (1) 

Toothpaste, mouthwash and other oral hygiene products are often regulated with skin cosmetics rather than alongside food, even though both go in your mouth. 

Teeth whitening products marketed to improve the visual appeal of the mouth, are often far too harsh for teeth with discoloration caused by demineralisation and can dangerously unbalance the delicate oral microbiome in your mouth.

Even though the mouth is the gateway to the digestive system and consists mostly of permeable mucus membranes, mainstream toothpaste and mouthwash routinely includes ingredients that are not considered food-safe (9).

Many dentists now routinely recommend cosmetic procedures. They’re up-selling their services to us by making us feel bad about how our teeth look. 

Did you know that a lot of cosmetic dental procedures actually damage the health of our teeth and gums? 

For example:

  • many orthodontic treatments involve extracting healthy teeth,
  • dental (and over-the-counter) whitening treatments weaken tooth enamel,
  • veneers and crowns involve shaving off the enamel surface of our teeth, permanently damaging the structural integrity.

Of all the ways that dental disconnect is harmful, the most insidious may be the deliberate damage to teeth for profit, marketed by preying on our insecurities about appearance.

So what can you do about oral unawareness?

If you stay disconnected from your mouth for too long, your teeth or gums will probably start trying to get to get your attention with uncomfortable or damaging symptoms.

Practicing connection with your body means you can pick up messages from your mouths while they are still quiet and gentle. 

What’s the best way for you to practice connecting with your teeth and gums?

Here are three practical things you can try to help reconnect with your oral health. 

  • Do a bit of research into oral health, going beyond ‘how to get a whiter smile’. As you do, pause to pay attention to a single, slow, gentle breath before and after you read or watch something new.

  • Sit outside on the earth and sink your attention into your root chakra. Feel the minerals in your teeth align with the minerals in the ground below you.

 

  • Look at your teeth lovingly every time you brush and floss. With relaxed curiosity ask, what do you need today? Notice any thoughts, memories, images, or sensations that cross your awareness.

 

Check out Listen to your Teeth, my free Masterclass which explains more about metaphysical influences on oral health, and includes a guided meditation to tune into your own intuitive wisdom.

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

The Secret Lives of Teeth is a clear and comprehensive guide teaches you a unique, complementary self-help approach to easing toothaches, enhancing enamel and gum remineralization and getting better results with necessary dental treatments. 

Available as a paperback or ebook. 

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

How to heal decaying baby teeth

As a parent you want to do whatever is right to keep your baby healthy. You can feel so guilty to see brown spots or cavities developing on your baby's teeth. Yet, discoloration and dental decay can start very young, sometimes within hours of a new tooth erupting!...

How to have a tooth extraction with grace and ease

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A simple guide to online coaching

Any timezone, any place A consultation with the Holistic Tooth Fairy is nothing like going to the dentist! It's easy, empowering and even fun! All our consultations are done in online video calls which means that you can work with us no matter what country or what...

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

Metaphysical Meanings of Molars and Premolars The metaphysical meanings of molar and premolar teeth are different for every individual. However, there are some common themes and widely accepted frameworks for interpretation. Molars and premolars are your most powerful...

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth. There’s the obvious of course...

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

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How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

How long does it take to remineralise cavities?    How long it takes to remineralise cavities, reverse decay or regrow receding gums depends on three factors. Your symptoms, how severe they are and how long you've had them for How wholeheartedly you are able to...

Political Teeth

What do Nazis have to do with your teeth? A holistic approach to oral health doesn't stop at the boundaries of our bodies (or even at the edge of our aura).  We exist in communities that are connected globally in real time and our mouths are not separate from what is...

Is your jaw clenched right now?

If you had to stop to evaluate whether or not it was clenched, noticed that it was, and then had to manually un-clench it – this article is for you!We are in an unprecedented moment.  Not only are we adapting to a complete change in daily life, but we are in a time...

Is it safe to go to the dentist yet?

Is it safe to go to the dentist yet?

Is dental treatment safe during the pandemic?

Covid-19 prompted national and regional dental associations to advise dentists to close their practices and/or postpone elective and non-emergency treatment during lockdown periods.

This advice has not been followed consistently, because the dental profession in most countries is dominated by private practices with little regulation. Some dentists have chosen to stay open and offer standard services even in hot spots of high community transmission.

Through the first half of 2020 there’s been a wide range of responses from most dentists closing up shop completely to some dentists urging their patients to continue with non-essential treatments as usual. As restrictions ease in many regions with continued community transmission, there’s ongoing conflicts within the profession about how to practice safely.

These inconsistencies have contributed to public uncertainty about how to manage our oral health during the pandemic, and what to expect from dentistry in the long-term. 

The pressures of Covid-19 on the current dental model has been (sometimes literally) painful for individual patients and dental professionals. However, it’s possible that the pandemic could be a catalyst for transformation.

I hope that we emerge from the pandemic with a more holistic, humane, equitable and prevention-focused version of dentistry.

In this article I’ll explore some immediate and long term questions from a patient’s perspective:

  • the risks of attending the dentist during the pandemic
  • keeping your mouth safe when the dentist isn’t safe
  • what does the future hold for dentistry
 
When will the dentist be safe?

Risks at the Dentist 

Dentists are an intrinsically high risk environment for Covid-19 exposure, in addition to all the usual risks of public spaces where there is community transmission of Covid-19 (such as sharing an enclosed space and close physical contact). 

 The crucial problem is that there are many common dental procedures, including hygienist’s cleanings and drilling cavities, that create an aerosol spray of saliva particles into the air (Aerosol Generating Procedures – AGPs).  There are also procedures (including x-rays) in the dental chair that cause patients to cough, which release a spray of saliva droplets

If a patient has Covid-19, their saliva contains microscopic virus particles. Droplets of their saliva from coughing can travel up to 2 metres (6 feet) before falling almost immediately to the surface below. Aerosol saliva particles generated by AGPs may travel much further (up to 8 metres or 27 feet) and may linger in the air for 2-3 hours before settling on surfaces below [link].

The greatest, and most immediate risk from a patient with Covid-19 are dental workers, especially hygienists whose main task of cleaning generates aerosol saliva spray. However, anyone who enters the dental office within 2-3 hours could be potentially at risk of inhaling virus-contaminated droplets inhaled in the air.  Further exposure could come from exposure to surfaces that were cleaned immediately after the treatment but continued to collect virus contamination from suspended saliva spray for up to three hours.   

Dental safety standards

Dental practices already had very high standards for sterilization and PPE, however Covid-19 and it’s airborne risks requires even greater vigilance.

When you book your next dental appointment, ask what extra measures they are taking to address the serious, life-threatening risks of Covid-19. Are their social distancing, screening, cleaning,  PPE and AGP reduction practices good enough?

Social distancing

It’s become fairly standard for dental practices to ask patients to wait in their cars, wear masks and use hand sanitiser. Empty waiting rooms and contactless payments help to reduce the risk of virus spreading.

Screening

Most dental practices are attempting to screen out patients (and staff) with Covid-19 with questions and temperature tests. These measures are both unreliable, but may catch someone who is symptomatic, has tested positive, or who knows they have been exposed to the contagin. However, the real risk of transmission lies with asympotomatic or presympotomatic patients.

Asymptomatic individuals (who have Covid but never develop symptoms) and presymtomatic individuals (who have contracted the disease up to 14 days ago but not yet developed symptoms) are both highly contagious to anyone who is exposed to their saliva droplets.

A few dental practices are require everyone to take a Covid-19 test immediately before their appointment. However Covid-19 tests are of limited use because results are not available instantly and are not 100% reliable.

Cleaning

Dental practices should allow a sufficient break between an AGP and entering the room to clean it (a ‘fallow period’), to allow droplets to fall to surfaces so they can be cleaned. The recommended fallow period is one hour, however arguably may take 2-3 hours for aerosol particles to fall out of the air.  [link]

This fallow period is reduced for negative pressure rooms with powerful extractor fans, vacuum units or filtration units. These types of air cleaning systems are necessesary for the safe removal of amalgam fillings, so biological and holistic dentists are more likely to already have them in place.

PPE

Dental workers have been using personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and surgical masks since the AIDS epidemicIn the early weeks of the pandemic, many dental practices donated their stocks of PPE to frontline staff working with Covid-19 patients due to global shortages. 

The Covid-19 epidemic brings a new safety standard that layers a face shield over an N95type respirator masks covered by a disposable mask, ie three layers of face protection. Washable or disposable caps and knee length gowns complete the dental PPE needed for safer (but not completely safe) work with AGPs [link].

Ideally, dental workers should change their PPE gear between every new patient they treat, especially after AGPs. 

However, due to the cost and sometimes ongoing difficulties of aquiring PPE, not every practice is supplying adequate PPE to meet recommended safety standards.

Dental workers in large practices such as dental schools and hospitals have voiced their complaints about inadequate PPE publically. It seems likely that it is even more a problem in small, private practices where staff feel unable to speak out. 

Reducing aerosols (AGPs)

Some dental practices are working with alternative techniques and tools that reduce the saliva spray from aerosol generating procedures (AGPs).

Hygienists can clean teeth manually instead of with an ultra-sonic scaler, but hand cleaning is much slower, and more uncomfortable for both patients and hygienists [link].

Low speed drills produce less aerosol than high speed drill but take longer and are more uncomfortable for most patients.  Using dental dams, high tech suction devices or intra-oral negative vacuum can all reduce the spread of saliva.

Immunity and your gums

In addition to these risks in the dental office, there is another risk which you may want to consider when deciding whether its safe to go back to your dentist yet. 

Any procedure that cuts into the gum might lower your body’s immunity. This includes standard hygienist cleanings, periodontal deep cleanings and tooth extractions. If you go ahead with one of these procedures, take extra precautions to build up immune resistance and avoid exposure to Covid-19.

If you are in severe or ongoing pain, or have swelling in your mouth, you should seek emergency treatment even where there is a risk of Covid-19 transmission. 

When will the dental hygienist be safe?

At home oral health

If you weigh up your personal risks vs benefits and decide that going to the dentist isn’t worth it for you right now, there is actually quite a lot you can do at home to prevent teeth and gum problems from developing or getting worse.

Nutrition

Nourish your teeth and gums with the best quality fresh vegetables and protein you can access. 

Good oral health comes with a nutrient dense diet that is rich in minerals and fat-soluble Vitamins A, D and K2 consumed as fresh, local, inseason, minimally processed food rather than in capsules or powders. 

You probably know that sugar is not good for teeth. If you are craving sweets, try to avoid sticky, chewy candies and soda drinks of any kind.

Even kombucha may be harmful for teeth because the phosphorus in the bubbles can draw out calcium from your enamel making them vulnerable to harmful bacteria.

Avoid popcorn as well, because it can break weak teeth, knock out fillings and cut your gums.  

Hygiene

The mouth plays an important role in the body’s immune system. Poor oral hygiene can increase your risk of Covid-19 infection [link].

Brush your teeth twice a day, floss at least once a day, and rinse your mouth out after eating to help maintain a clean healthy oral cavity.

Brush and floss gently to avoid damaging your gums. Bleeding gums can potentially compromise your immunity.

Rather than brushing straight after you eat, when your enamel is soft and vulnerable, try rinsing with a salt water solution after every meal or snack.

These simple habits can help prevent or stabilize decay or gingivitis until it’s safe to visit the dentist.

For more oral health habits for prevention and healing, watch Holistic Oral Health at Home, my free online workshop.

What can we anticipate for dental services going forward?

 Like pretty much everything else right now, it’s difficult to predict what the future holds for dentistry.

My speculations below are based on current information from the industry, which assumes a 1-2 year minimum before returning to ‘normal,’ along with my own analysis of opportunities for long overdue changes to the way we think about oral health.

Regular services limited

Almost everywhere that’s been locked down, dentists were closed to all but emergency treatments.

In regions where a second wave of Covid-19 is emerging regular dental services may be restricted even further.

Dental hygienist cleanings are likely to be the last services to return to normal because of the greater risk involved.

However, because dentistry is privatised and minimally regulated in most regions, decisions about who returns to work and when are left up to individual practice owners, who may prioritise financial concerns over the safety of their staff, their patients or even themselves.

This is leading to high levels of stress and anxiety among dental professionals [link].

Reduced demand

Switzerland was one of the first European countries to ease restrictions. Swiss dentists experienced a rush of patients seeking urgent dental treatment after six weeks in lockdown. The backlog of emergency and urgent dental treatment had severe consequences for some people, who have lost teeth that might have been saved under normal circumstances.

Wherever dental services are available, people will go for emergency and urgent treatment. However, it’s likely that widespread economic hardship and unemployment will lead many to postpone elective and non-urgent dental treatments for at least the next couple of years.

More people may start seeking out alternatives for the first time, searching for self-help approaches to manage non-urgent issues and to prevent urgent issues from becoming emergencies.

We can expect to see increasing demand for home remedies and oral health coaches, so it’s important that effective products and services become available for every market, and in every language.

Fewer dental practices

Many dental practices are in such a financially precarious position that they may not be able to reopen after lockdown restrictions are lifted [link] [link].

This is likely to lead to increasingly widespread dental apartheid aka dental deserts ie areas where few, if any, dentists practice, such as in rural and tribal areas of the United States.

Without access to conventional dental services, it’s a matter of social justice to make effective preventative care and home remedies widely available in unconventional ways.

Online coaching, mobile and pop up clinics, community and peer educators are some of the possibilities worth exploring.

Rising Cost

We can expect to see increased charges for professional dental services; primarily to cover the costs of extra PPE, and in some practices Covid-19 diagnostic testing and updated sterilisation equipment.

Rising prices will widen the gap between those who can afford regular dental care and an increasing proportion of people who will go into hardship or debt for urgent or emergency treatment.

Now is the time for communities to invest in preventative systems of food and housing security and grassroots health care to help prevent oral health problems becoming emergencies as well as bolstering our immune systems and increasing resilience to many other illnesses.

Tele-dentistry

Dentists are already experimenting with video and phone consultation services, and some may continue to offer tele-dentistry into the future [link].  

Because dental hygienists are being forced to adapt to so many challenges, I am offering a short course to help dental hygienists get started offering oral health coaching online. 

Dental hygienists already have preventative knowledge and skills that they haven’t always gotten to a chance to share with patients in their chair, due to time pressure.

Now is a wonderful opportunity for hygienists to either add online coaching to their in person services or pivot to be able to work from home in the future. 

I also want to see more online health practitioners integrate effective oral health support into their practices (and I’ll be looking at adding a course for natural health practitioners eventually).

There are genuine opportunities for radical transformation!

Almost every type of industry and organisation is going through a crucible of change this year.

There are intense pressures causing great harm at the same time as creating opportunities for radical change in every aspect of our lives.

It will be fascinating to see how it all unfolds and what the future of dentistry and oral health becomes.

In the meantime, please take good care of your teeth and gums at home with the tools you have available to you. 

When will the dentist be safe?

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

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Horse teeth vs human teeth

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. 

If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth.

There’s the obvious of course – they are much bigger (which I’ll come back to later)!  And, horses are herbivores, not carnivores, which also changes things up.  Since they don’t have opposable thumbs they also use their teeth for things that humans don’t, like grooming each other or attacking each predators.

How horse teeth are different from human teeth

Where humans have a maximum of 32 teeth, horses can have up to 42.  They have more incisors (12) – required for grazing, and nibbling – and more molars (24).  They can also (depending on sex) have canines and wolf teeth.

Unlike humans, horses also have a large gap (the interdental space), top and bottom, between their incisors and molars.  Conveniently for riders, the interdental space is where the bit sits.  (If you’re curious to find out what horses think about wearing a bit, you might be interested in this survey)

The only real similarity with human teeth is that horses also have two sets of teeth in their lifetime.  From two weeks old until they’re about five years old, they’ll have 24 baby teeth.  They have all their permanent/adult teeth by five years old.

Here’s the really different (and slightly freaky) thing that makes horse teeth so different from human teeth.

The adult teeth are 4-5 inches long – but most of that length is hidden away in the jaw.  The teeth grow downwards as the horse ages (and hopefully not slower than they’re getting worn away).  Because, unlike us, they are herbivores, those teeth are constantly getting worn down.

The incisors get worn down from the cutting part of grazing, as the horse snips the vegetation they’re interested in, and more so if the horse is grazing very short grass.

The molars grind against each other in a sideways motion, across the top and bottom jaws, to process the grass/food before swallowing.

What happens to horse teeth as they age?

Because of this wear and tear, horse teeth have a finite lifespan.

The older a horse gets, the more likely that teeth will start to fall out usually from their late twenties onwards, bearing in mind that horses can live into their forties. 

When this happens to domestic horses it means feeding them soft sloppy feed so they don’t need to chew, but for wild horses it can be a death sentence.

Here’s my horse Sioux. The first photo is of her front teeth in 2012 when she was 22, the second was taken in 2020, just before she turned 29 years old.

When does your horse need an equine dentist?

The fact that horses’ teeth grind against each other and wear down can cause problems.

The type of wear can be dependent on exactly what the horse is eating; for instance, wear patterns from a grass diet are different from a horse that is fed only grain.

Problems can also occur if either the hyoid or the temporomandibular joint are out of balance or tight, affecting how the horse uses his jaw and therefore how he chews.

A common problem is when sharp edges can develop on the outside edges of the upper molars.  This is at least partly because the upper jaw is slightly wider than the lower.

Horse teeth can also have similar issues to human teeth, such as impactions, damage leading to infection, or hereditary issues like having a parrot (overshot) mouth.

Horse can get cavities, although much less frequently than humans. 

Whilst they don’t brush or floss their teeth, most horses aren’t eating same the volume of sugary treats that humans do.  However, many pre-made horse feeds do have a high sugar content, to make them more palatable.

If a horse does get a cavity, the grinding motion of their eating pattern will likely either even things out or cause a piece of tooth to break off, so there is no need to drill and fill the cavity.

The most common result of a cavity for a horse is that food will get stuck in it.  If that food stays there, ie their eating motion doesn’t dislodge it, it may start to decay and can lead to infection.

Owners can recognise when there are issues with their horse’s teeth if any of the following happens:

  • He starts getting fussy about his feed
  • He’s dropping feed out of his mouth
  • He is ‘quidding’ (you’ll see little ‘balls’ of feed falling out of the mouth)
  • He doesn’t want to be bridled
  • He is responding differently to bit contact
  • He is head shy (not wanting his face or head to be touched).

What does an Equine Dentist do

For their comfort and good health, and so that we can bridle and ride them, domestic horses need the attentions of an equine dentist every 6-12 months. 

Most dentists will shine a torch in the horse’s mouth while the gag is on holding the mouth open – see the photo above – as well as feeling with their fingers for irregularities.  And, in the instance of infection, smell can play a part!

The horse dentist uses a large rasp to smooth or float any sharp edges or imbalances.

Natural remedies that help with horses’ teeth

Seaweed is a good natural supplement for supporting horses teeth as it

“contains generous levels of vitamins including A, B1, C, D and E. It is also rich in minerals calcium, potassium, zinc, iodine, magnesium, iron and copper as well as amino acids and trace elements. It contains high levels of calcium to help promote promote healthy skin, strong bones and teeth”  Hilton Herbs

(Note that in here in New Zealand only tiny amounts of seaweed are advised due to the high iodine content.)

Another helpful supplement for equine oral health is Limestone powder which is high in calcium, especially for young/growing animals.

For older horses, increased difficulty in chewing (because of wobbly or fewer teeth for instance) leads to decreased stomach acid production, so a good probiotic can be beneficial to support their overall health.

For nutritional advice for your horse, visit Dale Logan 

Trisha Wren is an Animal Communicator & Healer who specializes in horses.

Read more of her Animal Communication blogs here 

or follow her on Facebook here 

And if you’re curious to know what’s going on with your horse or pet, book an Animal Communication session here

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably...

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As a parent you want to do whatever is right to keep your baby healthy. You can feel so guilty to see brown spots or cavities developing on your baby's teeth. Yet, discoloration and dental decay can start very young, sometimes within hours of a new tooth erupting!...

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Metaphysical Meanings of Molars and Premolars The metaphysical meanings of molar and premolar teeth are different for every individual. However, there are some common themes and widely accepted frameworks for interpretation. Molars and premolars are your most powerful...

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth. There’s the obvious of course...

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

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How long does it take to remineralise cavities?    How long it takes to remineralise cavities, reverse decay or regrow receding gums depends on three factors. Your symptoms, how severe they are and how long you've had them for How wholeheartedly you are able to...

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What do Nazis have to do with your teeth? A holistic approach to oral health doesn't stop at the boundaries of our bodies (or even at the edge of our aura).  We exist in communities that are connected globally in real time and our mouths are not separate from what is...

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