Baking soda and gum disease

For some time in the early twentieth century sodium bicarbonate was an essential part in the cleaning of the teeth for many people to avoid infections in teeth and gums. These days, many manufacturers of pulp dental pulp market with sodium bicarbonate. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that sodium bicarbonate has no therapeutic value as an agent to combat gum disease.

Gum disease

For years, the dental community promoted the notion that sodium bicarbonate may help combat periodontal disease and gingivitis by reducing the acidity of the mouth besides cleaning. Periodontal disease occurs when plaque bacteria that infects the gums over time cause the gums to recede accumulates. According Health word Online, periodontal disease affects 20 percent of adults in the United States.

Gingivitis is usually given before periodontal disease and occurs when the gums become red, tender and swollen and require intensive cleaning.

Baking soda and peroxide

Toothpaste manufacturers often mix peroxide with sodium bicarbonate and market the idea that clean sodium bicarbonate and peroxide bleaches. Although these two ingredients produce an effervescence when combined, this activity Dentistry.com said bubble has no therapeutic value.

The evidence

American dentists favored the Keyes technique during the late seventies and early eighties, telling patients to brush their teeth with a combination of salt, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. In the late eighties, a study showed that although the mixture of baking soda does a good job in maintaining dental health, is no more effective than standard toothpaste. A second study was conducted at the Research Institute of Oral Health at the University of Indiana in 1997 went further and showed that sodium bicarbonate not work as well as toothpaste with fluoride to control plaque, gingivitis and bleeding that causes the latter disease.

Nostalgic value and feelings

Many people prefer baking soda as a cleaning agent for teeth and gums. According Denstristy.com in an interview with the dentist William van Dye, San Pablo in California, this is because it feels good in the mouth and gives a feeling of “nostalgia”. The director of the American Dental Association Scientific Affairs, Ken Burrell, DDS, says that people buy baking soda just for sentimental issues.

Benefits in the treatment of cancer

Sodium bicarbonate may have therapeutic benefits in oral health of patients who are undergoing cancer treatment. According to the American Dental Association, patients who undergo treatment for cancer should undergo oral side effects that hurt the teeth, gums and saliva glands. The ADA (for short) recommends that patients with cancer mouth rinse several times a day with a mixture composed of a quarter of a teaspoon of baking soda and one-eighth teaspoon of salt and a cup of warm water.