Can I Brush My Teeth With Essential Oils?
The short answer is yes, you can brush your teeth with essential oils. Essential oils have been prized for their natural health benefits for over 5,000 years. And today, they’re more popular than ever. In fact, the essential oil market in the U.S. is expected to reach $7.3 billion by 2024.
Yet how we use essential oils has changed a lot since ancient times. (Our ancestors weren’t diffusing lavender throughout the cave to cope with the stresses of hunting and Junior’s snarky attitude, after all.)
But what about using essential oils while brushing in your dental routine? Is this effective or just another trend destined to fade into obscurity, like our parachute pants? If you’re wondering if you can brush your teeth with essential oils, keep reading and we’ll tell you “oil” about it.
What Exactly Are Essential Oils … and What Makes Them So Special in Dentistry?
Essential oils are the compounds extracted from plants, which can include the roots, seeds, flowers or bark. Each plant’s “essence” – its flavor or scent – is what makes it unique. Essential oils are super potent, which is why it’s important to know how to use them properly.
One of the reasons essential oils have become so popular in dentistry is because many have antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. If this sounds impressive, it is!
Especially in the arena of plaque fighting, essential oils pack a powerful punch. This is key because plaque – a sticky film of bacteria – is the starting point of gum disease. It’s also a major cause of bad breath.
Why It’s Important to Stop Plaque Early
Left to build up on the teeth, plaque will eventually turn into tartar. (That’s the rock-hard stuff that gets scraped off the teeth during dental appointments.) As tartar begins to inflame the gums, infection occurs, which can lead to many problems, from gum recession and decay to tooth loss and even cardiovascular events. In fact, people with periodontal disease have 2–3x the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Fortunately, plaque is easy to remove each day through good oral care habits and dental hygiene products that will work harder for your smile – like essential oils.
What About Essential Oil in Mouthwash?
Many of us like to pair our brushing with a mouthwash routine. In an antiplaque study, participants who rinsed with essential oil mouthwash for four days versus chlorhexidine mouthwash for four days had similarly great results when it came to plaque-fighting activity. This is significant because chlorhexidine mouthwashes come with a host of unpleasant side effects like teeth staining and bitter taste. They’re also not recommended for long-term use.
An essential oil rinse, on the other hand, can be used long term with confidence, but you’ll want to make sure they’re inside an alcohol-free mouthrinse, as alcohol-based rinses can cause dryness, tissue sloughing, and ironically, even worse breath.
Love to DIY? You can make your own mouthwash by adding 5 drops of essential oil to one cup of water, swishing 1 T at a time. Or for brushing, add 1–2 drops directly to the toothbrush. Just make sure the oils you choose are appropriate for topical use.
Best SLS Free Essential Oil Toothpaste
Oxyfresh Fresh Breath Lemon Mint Toothpaste makes it easy to reap the benefits of brushing with essential oils in your dental routine. It features a totally unique combination of citrus and mint essential oils, which work together to improve oral health, while delivering a refreshing taste unlike any other toothpaste you’ve ever tried. (At last, no more harsh menthol flavors!)
Go “Oil In!”
Oxyfresh Lemon Mint Toothpaste Essential Oil Blend
- Lemon Fruit Oil: helps prevent tooth decay & supports healthy gums
- Orange Oil: helps to whiten & brighten the teeth
- Grapefruit Peel Oil: acts as a powerful antioxidant
- Bergamot Fruit Oil: helps prevent cavities & plaque buildup
- Lime Oil: helps strengthen gums & delivers anti-inflammation benefits
- Spearmint Oil: fights bacteria & freshens breath
Oxyfresh Fresh Breath Lemon Mint Toothpaste is also sweetened with xylitol, a natural sweetener shown to inhibit plaque. Plus you get the powerful duo of zinc and Oxygene® to neutralize bad breath-causing bacteria, giving you true fresh breath that lasts all day.
Best of all, it’s great for all kinds of smiles because of what’s NOT inside:
- It’s a Sodium Lauryl Sulfate-Free Toothpaste: SLS is a foaming agent linked to recurrent canker sores. (If you’re one of the many who get these stinging sores, you know they’re not fun!) Making the switch to sls free toothpaste can be a game-changer.
- It’s a Fluoride-Free Toothpaste: Many families choose not to use fluoride, and it can be so frustrating to find a brand you want to try only to see “with fluoride” on the label! This sls fluoride free toothpaste is a great substitute because it’s clinically proven to reduce plaque, which is a must in the fight against tooth decay.
- It’s a Low Abrasion Toothpaste: It’s jaw-dropping to realize just how abrasive many toothpastes on the market really are, especially ones that are whitening formulas. To learn more, check out the top 3 reasons you need a low abrasion toothpaste.
Oxyfresh SLS Free Toothpaste Walks the Talk
All this sounds great, but does Oxyfresh essential oil toothpaste really work?
Yes! In a 12-month double-blind clinical study published in the International Journal of Biomedical and Advance Research 2015, Oxyfresh Fresh Breath Lemon Mint Toothpaste, along with its sidekick mouthwash, alcohol-free Fresh Breath Lemon Mint Mouthwash, went up against a leading store-brand toothpaste and mouthwash to see how they’d benefit the smiles of 50 patients with periodontal disease.
Following a deep cleaning treatment, 25 patients brushed and rinsed with Oxyfresh Fresh Breath Lemon Mint products each day for a year, and 25 patients brushed and rinsed with the store brand products each day for a year.
And these were the incredible results:
As you can see, Oxyfresh Lemon Mint sls-free toothpaste and mouthwash outperformed the store brands, making them essential, not just for patients with gum disease, but for ANYONE who wants a healthier smile and fresher breath.
