Oral Health Solutions

About the Author

Registered Dental Hygienist

My name is Michelle and I am a Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH). I have practiced dental hygiene in a variety of settings for the past 30 years. I have enjoyed meeting people through the years and helping people learn about their oral health. I am extremely excited about the advances in science and technology. These advances allow for improved oral hygiene with each new discovery. My goal is to make this information available to all who can benefit from it. Our mouth is connected to our body and a healthy mouth will lead to overall health.

What we now know…

In my career I have learned that there are several things that contribute to our overall oral health. Home care habits and risk factors play a part. However, we no know there are other factors involved in our health that may be just as important to consider. One of these things is our oral microbiome. In other words, the type of bacteria present in the mouth. Oral probiotics may be able to change the oral microbiome. Another important factor is how our body reacts to inflammation. By controlling inflammation, we can in turn reduce the unwanted result of oral destruction caused by inflammation.

Some of my patients have done everything they can to keep their mouths healthy but to no avail. Oral probiotics, proper home care and adjunctive therapies can help promote health in the mouth of these people when all other efforts have failed.  Having seen the results first hand, I am committed to helping others and I am sharing the latest information in science and technology to promote oral health. By learning about the latest advances in oral health, you can see how these advances may benefit you.

Michelle Mussehl, RDH     Oralprobiotichealth.com

Please email questions/comments to support@oralprobiotichealth.com

 

8 comments

  1. Mike Adkins

    Hi Michelle.
    I never realized that there were so many issues involved in oral health.

    I always thought – Eat sensibly, floss and clean and away you go – I have noticed as I have gotten older that my teeth seem to need cleaning for longer, but that could be my imagination.

    Questions –
    Are mouth washes worth using? Our TV is swamped with adverts for mouth wash that promise all types of benefits but I never know if it is “marketing” or if there is some truth in what the advertiser claim!

    Teeth whitening toothpastes – Do they work and are they worth the extra money?

    Mike

    1. Michelle

      Hi Mike,
      There are so many reasons to keep up your oral health- not just for cosmetic reasons. More importantly, for your overall health. Mouth rinses do have a place in improving oral health but they are not as important as advertising would have you believe. It is more important to physically remove bacterial plaque with brushing and cleaning between teeth with either an oral irrigator (Waterpik) or floss. Mouth rinses can give you a false sense of clean by making you feel like you have a fresh, clean feeling mouth when in fact the bacterial plaque is still actually hiding between the teeth and below the gum line. However, mouth rinses containing fluoride can be very beneficial to those who have issues with cavities when added to your other home care routine. Whitening toothpaste is more marketing versus actually changing the shade of the enamel. Most whitening toothpastes are designed to help maintain a person’s results after they have bleached their teeth. Most whitening toothpastes “whiten” by surface stain removal which almost all toothpastes do. Some can be very abrasive and damaging to the enamel, so a good thing to avoid.
      Michelle

  2. Sara Poyner

    Hi Michelle, Thank you so much for your great about me, that has informed me so much about my oral health. I have to admit that I had a very healthy mouth until I started juicing (or maybe it is just my age), and then since then I have experience quite a bit of decay?

    I had always looked at probiotics for my gut and take a supplement, but had never thought about my mouth. Of course it makes sense, not only do we have to clean our teeth, but there are so many more aspects to our mouths and it’s health.

    I look forward to reading your future articles, it is so lovely to have a professional advise me, and hope that they will help me improve my mouth health, so that I can stop having to have work done every time I visit the dentist!

    1. Michelle

      Sara,
      It would be a good idea to wait at least 30 minutes after consumption of juice before brushing. After juicing, the enamel is in a softened state due to the the acidic nature of juice. You could rinse with water to neutralize the acids or swish with a fluoride rinse but I would definitely hold off on brushing for 30 minutes to prevent damaging your enamel. I am glad you see the correlation between oral probiotics and oral health. Just like our gut health, it is important to keep a good balance between good and bad bacteria in the mouth as well.
      Thanks for your comment,
      Michelle

    1. Michelle

      Sonny,
      Thank you for your comment and question. Rinsing with salt water is very healing for the mouth. It temporarily raises the pH balance of the mouth which makes the mouth more alkaline. Bacteria thrive in an acidic environment so salt water prevents the bacteria from multiplying. To rinse with salt water you will want to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of warm water. Rinse and swish for 1 minute 2-3 times per day as needed. Spit out after swishing.

      Regards,
      Michelle

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *