What Has Your Toothbrush Got To Do With
Histamine?
I think it's pretty common knowledge now that gum disease is strongly linked to heart problems, and that the health of the mouth is way more important than people thought, or were even aware of, a generation ago.
But something really raised an eyebrow a few months back when I was doing one of my usual deep dives around histamine issues and the seemingly very varied root causes.
There was a guy who shared his story of histamine issues: poor sleep, increased anxiety, joint pains and IBS-type symptoms. Paying more attention to his mouth hygiene made all the difference. Not just brushing and flossing, but cleaning his retainer, toothbrush and water flosser.
It was a 'Wow!' moment for me, and then, as my brain likes to do, I joined the dots as to why that might be.
Well, I know that leftovers are a histamine party as the bacteria builds up, and I know the mouth can carry some of the greatest levels of bacteria anywhere in the body (yes, including there). So I could well see why that might have helped clear up his histamine symptoms.
So whether you have MCAS/histamine intolerance or allergy-type symptoms, or you just want to make mouth hygiene an important part of your overall health, here's a combined list of both his and my habits:
- First thing out of bed, I use my tongue scraper. This is a great way to remove overnight bacterial growth before you start swallowing anything. I check my tongue at the same time to look for any signs of dysbiosis.
- Next, I do 5 minutes of coconut oil pulling (usually whilst I feed the cats).
Then I immediatly clean my teeth before I eat or drink anything.
- I put my retainer in my Dental Pod with some hydrogen peroxide to give it a good clean DAILY, rather than letting it fester on my bedside table because I've got a busy morning.
- I leave brushing my teeth and using my water flosser and floss sticks until at least half an hour after eating, so I'm not brushing anything sugary or acidic into the enamel.
- On Sundays, my electric toothbrush head, flosser nozzle and Dental Pod all get a deep clean with hydrogen peroxide.
- I change my toothbrush head every month, which is generally more often than the colour change on the toothbrush head would suggest.
- With hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, inflamed gums have been an issue for me for decades, so I see my dental hygienist every 4 months, and I've stopped letting dentists shame me and question me for not having good enough dental hygiene.
- I take liposomal vitamin C every morning to help the health of my gums, and zinc if I'm deficient.
- If I'm going through a stressful period, I notice my gums will get more inflamed and have a tendency to bleed when brushed. On those days I use warm water and Celtic sea salt to do mouth rinses throughout the day, and it really helps.
- I mouth tape every night. Not only does it stop me getting dry lips, mouth breathing has a very direct link to cavities.
- I take vitamin D3/K2 every day (more in the winter) to help me absorb calcium, and the K2 makes sure it gets to my teeth and bones and not my arteries.
What I avoid:
Brushing too hard, which damages the teeth and gums.
Commercial mouthwash, most of which strip the mouth of good bacteria and dry out the mouth, which can contribute to cavities and bad breath when saliva is your teeth's best friend in protecting against mineral loss and therefore decay.
Drinking tap water or 'empty' water. Every home I've owned for the last 20 years has had a reverse osmosis water filtration system that adds minerals back in. Not only does it taste delicious and make me drink more, but I know it's as important for my teeth as my diet.
Commercial toothpastes filled with nasty surfactants and additives.
How many of these are already part of your routine? Anything here that made you go 'Ohhh… I hadn't thought of that'? And if you've got a brilliant mouth health habit I've missed, click here and drop me a message.