Another day, another TikTok trend to try for ~journalism~.
Today’s journey involves oral. Not the sexy kind (alas), but the dental health kind. Let’s talk about mouth germs, baby.
In a perfect world, I would go to the dentist every six months. But this is not a perfect world, and my neurospicy brain makes it hard for me to both make and keep appointments. Especially if those appointments are not in the immediate future.
Executive function? I don’t know her.
And if you’ve tried to make a dentist appointment in the past couple of years (or, like, ever), you know that the chances of getting a relatively immediate appointment with an in-network dentist are pretty slim.
Enter: the oral salt rinse.
Of course, I am not saying, or even suggesting, that a salt rinse can replace dental appointments. It defs cannot.
But we’re all out here doing our best to be as healthy as we can and not fall into a pit of existential dread and ennui. (Or maybe that last one is just me.) A saltwater mouth rinse seemed like an accessible, affordable step that could help improve my oral health at home, so I decided to try it for a couple of months.
First, some more context. Our mouths are full of germs—maybe as many as 700 species and that’s just accounting for the bacteria. There could also be fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Yuck. And although eradication is impossible, it’s important to practice good oral hygiene to keep all those germs from causing plaque, decay, and other not-so-pleasant issues.
I know, I know. No duh, good oral hygiene is important!
So how can a saltwater rinse help? For starters, it’s anti-inflammatory and works like an antiseptic, so it can help combat those bacteria that cause gum disease and tooth decay. Using a saltwater rinse may also help promote wound healing and reduce plaque.
But wait, there’s more. Research has also found that gargling with salt water may help protect against the common cold and help reduce the duration of upper respiratory infections. And, of course, it’s an age-old sore throat remedy.
An oral salt rinse is simple and inexpensive to make and use. Boil some water, add some salt, wait for it to cool a bit, and you’re good to go. The recipes typically call for a teaspoon of salt and around eight ounces of warm water.
Not gonna lie—I totally just eyeball it.
Then, I gargle some of it, spit it out, and swish some more around my mouth for about 30 seconds. Easy peasy. If I’m feeling ~fancy~ (read: I remember) I’ll add a little honey or baking soda to the mix.
I don’t do the rinse every day because apparently, using it too much can cause issues. So I stick to it around three to four times a week, at night before I brush my teeth. In general, my mouth feels cleaner, my breath is fresher, and I even noticed that the self-inflicted wounds from anxiously biting the inside of my cheek seemed to heal faster and hurt a lot less.
Next on my oral hygiene to-do list: finally get into tongue scraping.
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