Independent health store advice on natural oral healthcare

Looking for advice on natural health and wellbeing? Your local independent health store can offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise. This month we speak to Andrew Lowe, a homeopath and owner of Health Emporium, Hitchin

Following a good oral healthcare regime is important in order to maintain healthy teeth and gums, but sometimes we need a little extra help. An independent health store like ours can help with tips and advice and we also stock a wide range of natural dental products.

A success story

We recently had some great success with one particular customer who was suffering with tooth decay and a lot of tooth pain – in fact it was looking like she might have to have a tooth extracted. She followed a specific dietary plan and took various supplements and was pleased to report that her tooth pain decreased from an eight out of 10 to a three or four. The particular diet this lady followed included plenty of meat, fish, eggs, full fat dairy and bone broth, which is good for healing and reducing inflammation. She avoided grains and ate plenty of vegetables and fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi. In terms of supplements, she took collagen, spirulina, vitamin C, cod liver oil and probiotics.

For pain relief, she used salt water gargles, clove oil, hydrogen peroxide solution and oil pulling with coconut oil. We have actually had a lot of good feedback from customers about oil pulling. This protocol worked extremely well for the lady in question. If any readers would like to find out more about this approach, I would recommend reading the book Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition by Ramiel Nagel as it was full of useful advice.

Natural choices

We stock a wide range of natural oral healthcare products at our store. Natural toothpastes tend to be free from fluoride as well as chemicals such as sodium lauryl sulfate and triclosan. They tend to feature natural ingredients like aloe vera, tea tree, baking soda and fennel. Toothpastes with added co-enzyme Q10 are becoming popular. We recommend co-enzyme Q10 in general for gum health as it can help to slow down gum recession and prevent gingivitis. One particular product that I recommend is A.Vogel’s Echinacea toothpaste as it is anti-viral and helps to support the immune system.

We have a range of natural mouthwashes to choose from as well as dental floss containing tea tree oil. Colloidal silver is another good product as it is a natural alternative to antibiotics and can be sprayed in the mouth or directly on the affected tooth.

We are finding that charcoal toothpastes and tooth powders are very popular at the moment. Although these products are said to help with whitening, a lot of customers like them because they are just good natural products free from chemicals. Bamboo toothbrushes are also incredibly popular both for adults and children. They are just flying off the shelves!

As a homeopath, I recommend certain homeopathic remedies for dental health. I particularly like the calc phos and calc fluor tissue salts as these help the body to absorb calcium and direct it to the teeth and the bones, where it’s supposed to go. Remedies such as chamomilla or belladonna are good for tooth pain, particularly for children who are teething.

There are many ways to support the health of your teeth and gums naturally and we are only too happy to offer help and advice.

Health Emporium

Health Emporium is an independent family run health food store based in High Street Hitchin managed by homeopath Andrew Lowe.

For over 13 years the store has provided natural health solutions to the people of Hitchin and Hertfordshire and their vision is “to offer natural approaches to create greater health for everyone”.

To contact the store, visit
www.health-emporium.co.uk,
call 01462 436881
or go to Facebook healthemporiumhitchin and Twitter @hemporium1