Holistic Dentistry

I have to say, I absolutely hate going to the dentist and anything teeth related. Tooth problems just seem to be such a big deal to me. Maybe I'm being overly dramatic, but I wish it was something I didn't have to deal with. Not to mention, teeth are EXPENSIVE!

I had one cavity growing up. It was in a baby tooth and the dentist wasn't concerned with it since it was going to fall out. It did, and I never had another one my whole childhood and into adulthood. I was always told my teeth were very strong. My mom was really good about taking us every six months for dental checkups and cleanings, and going into being an adult I still kept up. I had a checkup when I was 19, teeth looked great, went on Acutane for 6 months, came back to the dentist and had NINE cavities. Coincidence? Nope. Acutane actually ruins your enamel. One of the lovely side effects of possibly the most toxic chemicals I've ever put into my body. I wish I had known at the time, I would have never gone on it for that and so many other reasons.

I spent that entire summer I turned twenty getting filling after filling. I was able to get white fillings which were fairly new. I'm glad at least that I didn't get a mouth full of mercury! Fast forward about 6 years into my fillings. I went for a cleaning and was told I had some decay under the fillings which were now failing. Another two years went by before I finally went and got x-rays to see how bad everything was and what I needed to do to fix it. At this point I was told I needed a root canal. This was all at the cusp of being very sick and starting to change my lifestyle to a much healthier one.

Within a few months of that appointment I saw a naturopath who greatly encouraged me to look into alternatives because root canals can be toxic to your health. I started researching it and completely agreed that a root canal wasn't an option for me. My naturopath actually had me start taking a supplement called biodent which is a pretty amazing support for your mouth! I decided to drag my feet once again, so along with a healthy diet, I took the biodent and also started oil pulling. If you've never heard of oil pulling, it's pretty amazing. Even if you're not trying to heal tooth decay, it's awesome for getting rid of bad bacteria and promoting overall health for your mouth.

To oil pull you'll start with a tablespoon size amount of coconut oil. Put it in your mouth and start swishing it around. Everything I've read says 20 minutes, but you most likely won't be able to do it for twenty minutes the first few times. I couldn't! Anything to start is good. Work your way up to 20 minutes if you can. I feel like doing it for 7 or 10 is better than nothing! You can do this once a day or numerous times a day.... depends if you've got bad decay or not. Make sure when you're finished you spit it out in the trash instead of the sink or toilet. I talked to a holistic dentist about oil pulling and he's all for it. He gave me one great piece of advise that nobody else told me. When you're finished oil pulling, rinse your mouth out with salt water. It makes such perfect sense since you're literally pulling out all that bacteria and it's technically still just sitting in your mouth even after you spit out the oil. This will eliminate all that nasty bacteria you've worked so hard to get out!

After years of putting it off, I FINALLY saw a holistic dentist. He's very used to people avoiding root canals, even to the point of having teeth pulled out over getting one. He x-rayed my teeth and said I actually have fantastic teeth and some of the filling I have he wouldn't even have done in the first place. The two most decayed teeth (one of which I was told I needed a root canal on) weren't as bad as the other dentist made them sound. The holistic dentist said he's seen much worse that were salvaged and didn't need root canals. We decided to do overlays on both of those teeth. I've had one done so far & am going back for the second one soon. I'm really glad that I found an alternative treatment to something I would have regretted. Our teeth are a very important to our health and to live. It's important to take good care of them and make informed decisions about what we do to them.

Oil Cleansing

My skin issues have been a thorn in my flesh for 17 years. I have used COUNTLESS acne treatments from over the counter to prescription acutane, proactiv, chemical peels, salicylic, benzoyl peroxide and cream after drying cream. At 19 I went to beauty school to become an esthetician because I was so tired of my acne. Nothing I did worked or if it did, it only worked for a little while and then I was back at square one. This was what my skin looked like one year ago. This is the worst I think it's ever been. I definitely believe (for me) it was a combination of health issues, what I was doing topically & food allergies. It's been a whole body thing where I've made changes all around & seen great results.

 These are my most horrifying pictures I want to hide, but I'm so proud of how far my skin has come.

I probably shouldn't be taking selfies in the morning after being up all night with a newborn, but you get the gist of it. I still have a lot of scars, but I'm going to be trying out a product I'm REALLY excited about & will post about soon.

If you told me a couple of year ago that the thing that would help me get my skin under control was oil, I wouldn't have believed it. Let me just say, this was NOT something I learned about in Beauty School. It seems like putting oil on your skin is the last thing you would want to do, right?

In ancient times the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks slathered oils all over their bodies. Olive oil has been long known to produce youthful skin, and women & men have used it in beauty & bathing rituals for ages.  Somehow in our modern day, simplicity has been lost to chemicals and treatments with names I can't even pronounce. We've come to the conclusions that we need to dry our skin out instead of nourishing it. That oil = breaking out and that moisturizing twice daily is "too much." What we fail to realize is how absolutely essential oil is to our skins health and appearance. If we are not putting moisture back into our skin, we  become dry and therefore our bodies produce excess sebum. This natural oil our skin puts out to compensate for the lack of moisture is actually what can clog our pores and cause breakouts.

Oil cleansing is so simple and I encourage you to give up whatever regimen you're doing for just two weeks to try it. Then come back and let me know your results and how your skin feels. I recommend purchasing an organic oil such as Jojoba oil. There are other oils you can use, but for acne prone skin, Jojoba is especially good and you can get an organic high quality one for cheap (This is the one I buy).

How To Oil Cleanse

1. Put a nickel size amount of oil into your palm

2. Rub the oil between your hands and then start gently massaging it into your skin. Continue to massage it in, making sure you're getting into your problem areas and using the same movements as if you were using soap to scrub the dirt away. Do this for about two minutes and then let the oil set for another 30 seconds or so.

3. Get a clean washcloth and soak it in warm/hot water. You want a bit of steam but it doesn't need to be too hot. Place washcloth over face, let it set for a minute and then gently wipe off oil

4. Put on a couple more drops of oil as moisturizer or whatever night cream/moisturizer you use.

For extra benefits, you can add essential oils as well. I recommend melaleuca which is fabulous for acne prone skin because it's antibacterial, anti viral, anti fungal and a natural astringent. Use it very sparingly thought because it's extremely drying. It's great for every once in a while or spot treatments.
 Frankincense oil is amazing for EVERYTHING including its healing properties. This is great for damaged or scarred skin as it can help heal. Lemon oil is amazing for skin as well as it helps to even skin tone as well as balance and brighten skin among other things. You can add a drop of your preferred oil each time you wash, or create your own blend with your Jojoba oil in a separate bottle.

(I use & love DoTerra essential oils! If your interested in purchasing some, my awesome friend Shannon aka @hippymedicine has a website you can check out HERE!)

Another huge recommendation I can make is to create a scrub by adding about 1/8 tsp baking soda in with your oil to form a paste which makes an AMAZING exfoliator. This would be a wonderful thing to add 2-3 times a week. Instead of using a wash cloth to wipe off the paste, use warm water while rubbing it into your skin and rinse off that way. You will have excess oil left on your skin after, but I pat dry with a clean towel and leave the oils as my night time "mask". This keeps my skin feeling so soft and it really gets a deeper clean and keeps blackheads at bay.