Go Forth and Thrive
When you’re healthy, your good bacteria are diverse and balanced. The key is maintaining an optimal balance of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria.
The scientific community is being revolutionized by new findings on our microbiome (the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria) that live in and on us and which affects our health in the most fundamental manner.
As discussed in our previous blog, scientific findings confirm the effectiveness of traditional methods of oral care before the introduction of fluoride.
Although we perceive fluoride as being necessary for remineralization of our teeth, studies have shown that fluoride indiscriminately reduces the number of living bacteria in all areas of our oral cavity. We can conclude that although fluoride assists in remineralizing our teeth, the benefit comes at a high cost, namely, it is not a natural source of fluoride, the dose cannot be controlled, excess is toxic and it disrupts our microbiome.
The question is whether it is really necessary to pay the price of the harmful side effects of over-consumption of fluoride or are there other options?
The term human microbiome is slowly becoming a household name. More and more information is seeping from the scientific world that indicates our total dependence on the trillions of invisible co-habitants of our bodies.
There are over 700 species of bacteria in the mouth, some are bad and some are good.
Let us, in the next blog, explore how these bacteria co-exist and how we can protect ourselves by encouraging them to thrive.
In the interim, for those interested in an excellent short talk on further understanding our microbiome….enjoy!