Treating receding gum lines
This Week In The HSI Healthier Talk Community
“You don’t need to floss all your teeth – just the ones you want to keep.” A sign with that message posted in a dentist’s office provided a strong motivation to floss regularly, writes HSI member Bgbetty in a Dental forum thread titled “Receding Gums.”
A member who goes by the initials EAP starts off the thread with a request for information on how to treat receding gums. EAP says he brushes and flosses, but his gums still recede.
“CoQ10 is supposed to be good for gum health,” writes a member named Sally, who adds: “I had receding gums when I was younger because I used a hard toothbrush and brushed too hard. After I stopped brushing so hard and switched to a soft brush, the receding stopped.”
Several other members have had good results using Coenzyme Q10. A member amed Michael writes: “My wife got her gums under control by taking CoQ10 supplements and by using some spray-type-tooth-and-gum thingy to which she adds tea tree oil.”
And a member named Joe suggests using a multitasking vitamin: “For receding gums or loose teeth, just take 3 grams of niacin a day. Your gums will tighten and also teeth, side effect; lowers cholesterol.” (Three grams of niacin is a high dose. Talk to your doctor or healthcare professional before beginning a high daily intake of niacin.)
Bgbetty says the calculus build up around her teeth is “as hard as cement.” Her hygienist tells her that people who have a high mineral content in their saliva tend to have calculus problems. Her solution: “I applied some ‘Black Salve’ on my teeth, at the gum line, and let it sit there for about 5 minutes. Yuk! It’s definitely not the most pleasant stuff in the world, but, boy oh boy, it does the job. I apply it with a tooth-brush. When I do my final brushing, I use my Sonicare to finish up the job.”
A member who goes by MKW writes: “What I found that helps the gums is Grapefruit Seed Extract.” Coincidentally, grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is featured in an e-Alert this week (see Monday’s “Fantastic Four” below).
When a member named Ani UK says she tried GSE in water and found it to be “disgusting,” HSI Healthier Talk regular Leppert offers this guideline: “Ani, the dose for the Nutribiotic retail version of GSE is one drop in water or juice per 10 lbs body weight. I buy the Citricidal and that takes only one drop per 30 lbs. body weight 3-4 times a day.
For the teeth one drop on the tooth brush is fine. There is no reason one cannot take GSE internally. Just make sure you have it in 4-6 ounces of water.”
Leppert is correct about using GSE internally. In Monday’s e-Alert HSI Panelist Jon Barron writes: “Internally grapefruit seed extract can help with gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhea, food poisoning, parasites (single and multi-celled), candida yeast infections, thrush, oral infections, colds and flu, sore throats, strep throat, and sinusitis.”
But Jon adds that GSE may increase the effect of some medications, so it should be taken with care.
Leppert also suggests using vitamin C for gum problems; another good call. A 2000 study in the Journal of Periodontology confirmed earlier research showing that people who have an inadequate vitamin C intake tend to have higher rates of periodontal disease. Vitamin C is believed to help repair and maintain healthy connective tissue.
Other topics being discussed this week in the Healthier Talk community forums include:
- Vision: Macular degeneration
- Cancer: Skin cancer story
- Memory: Sage oil capsules
- Hormones: Peri-menopause
- Depression: Chromium picolinate
- General Health Topics: Glyconutrients
