4
5
Stop washing your mouth out with soap…and other bad stuff. Most toothpastes were developed by “soap makers” over 100 years ago. “While the idea of brushing your teeth with a detergent is distasteful, most people are unaware that they have been doing this for most of the last century”, says Curatola. Even tooth powders to brush with were originally designed as a “mouth soap” to clean your teeth and gums. Once believed to be an extension of body hygiene, since that time, a number of additives have also found their way into the detergent toothpaste bases, including fluoride and other chemicals, such as antimicrobial and whitening agents. The flavoring of toothpaste to make it less bitter and more acceptable has also had many unwanted effects such as swallowing, which was highly toxic to young children. This precipitated the FDA to mandate a “Poison Control Warning” on toothpaste labeling for all toothpaste containing fluoride since 1998. Dr. Curatola adds that many so-called natural toothpastes have jumped on the detergent bandwagon adding charcoal, clay and strong antimicrobial essential oils like peppermint and clove oil. Dr. Curatola explains that “oil pulling” an ancient ayurvedic practice also works as a lipophilic detergent stripping plaque from teeth. He believes that any detergent is disruptive to the natural ecology of the mouth. In fact, the most common toothpaste detergent agent, sodium lauryl sulfate, (even natural sources from coconuts) is a known dermatological irritant and has been linked to an increased incidence of painful ulcer sores in the mouth.
Make peace with your microbes!
Virtually everything we know about health and disease has changed in the last 15 years according to Dr. Curatola. “We began with a Germ Theory, believing that all bacteria were bad, then evolved to the Probiotic Theory, that there were good bugs and bad bugs.” He further explains, “With the emergence of the Human Microbiome Project, we now recognize that bacteria, like humans, live in communities and the health of that community is essential for our individual and collective survival.” Bacteria perform essential functions in the mouth like assisting in remineralizing our teeth, and keeping our gums healthy. Pathogens or bad bugs are disturbed resident bacteria in the mouth’s natural ecology. We continue to try and eradicate bacteria in the mouth with the ongoing use of antimicrobial ingredients like triclosan in the nation’s leading toothpaste brand and natural antimicrobials like tea tree oil. Curatola believes there is chaos in oral care and most consumers do not know what to use and choose products that are harmful to the oral microbiome because of perceived benefits of “fresh breath or whiter teeth.” What we should be doing is “organic gardening in the mouth” fostering a robust balanced natural flora which he refers to as “microbial homeostasis.” This is the aim of his proprietary formulation known as Revitin. According to Dr. Curatola it is the world’s first prebiotic formulation which has shown dramatic results in clinical research. Dr. Curatola hopes that Revitin will usher in a paradigm shift in all oral care products.