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Natural Dental Care

February is Dental Health Month!

I am so grateful that we receive regular dental checkups very affordably through the military.

It’s super important that we teach our kids about dental health.

Natural Dental Care - Keeping your teeth in good condition. | HipHomeschoolMoms.com

Teeth are necessary for healthy digestion, and if we don’t take care of our mouths, it can lead to all sorts of other health issues.

We’ve had a great year with NO CAVITIES for our family of six. I’m happy to report that we’ve switched to all natural dental care and it’s made a huge difference.

{Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of your toothpaste or mouthwash?!}

How we maintain healthy teeth, gums, and mouths:

1. Regular Dental Care

We receive two checkups each year with X-rays, cleaning, and fluoride treatments. Our kids have gone to dentists since they had their first teeth! It’s really important to keep up with dental health while pregnant. My gums got very sensitive with all those hormones. Teeth care is correlative to full body health, according to acupuncture.
Natural Dental Care - It's super important that we teach our kids about dental health. |HipHomeschoolMoms.com

2. Teaching Good Habits

We brush twice a day. We floss at least once a day. When the kids are young, we supervise and help, modeling the proper way to brush and floss. We learn about teeth and dental care in our homeschool and why it’s important to take care of even our baby teeth so we have strong, healthy adult teeth to last our whole lives. Our kids know we value our health and they look forward to dentist visits to show off their healthy teeth.

3. Oil Pulling

Use a small spoonful of coconut oil and essential oils (I like the Thieves blend.). Swish for about 20 minutes. Spit (probably not in the sink since it might re-solidify and clog drains.) Rinse and brush as usual. Keeps everything clean, bright, and healthy and has lots of health benefits.

Oil Pulling

 4. Healthy Diet

We limit our family’s sugar intake. We make sure we eat lots of fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water. I like to provide lots of variety so our kids are exposed to lots of different flavors and textures. We work those muscles chewing and smiling! We’re aiming for a chemical-free lifestyle, and what we ingest has to be all natural and good for us! We’re teaching healthy habits. Our usual snacks are fruit, cheese, nuts, yogurt, and granola.

5. What’s in Your Cabinet?

Have you read the labels on your commercial toothpaste? Why does it have a poison control warning? Why are there unnecessary chemicals, additives, and dyes?

We use natural toothpaste. We make our own mouthwash.  We use baking soda and essential oils (I like Thieves, Peppermint, and Citrus) for stain and tartar removal. For really tough stains, we use activated charcoal capsules! We don’t have fluoride added to our water, so we don’t have to worry about ingesting it! It’s such a blessing.

How do you teach your children to take good care of their teeth? Do you have any healthy tips to share with us? We’d love to hear from you! 

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8 Comments

  1. Completely agree with you that we must teach our kids about the importance of good dental health. Great post and tips!!

  2. I didn’t know that coconut oil could help oral health. That is actually something I should try doing. I am really impressed that you have been able to get your kids to be healthy and practice good oral hygiene. There are a lot of children that struggle with that because they do not know the benefits or understand really well. That is extra brownie points for teaching your children something that will help them out in the future.

  3. I have never heard about using coconut oil and essential oils for dental care, however, I am interested! I am on board for any natural remedy using essential oils, so it makes me excited to hear about how doing this helps keep your teeth clean, bright, and healthy. I will definitely be using this. Thanks for the tip!

  4. I really liked your dental care article! It’s great when kids learn young good hygiene skills, and i think teaching them in your home school is a great idea. Also I found the oil pulling idea pretty interesting we’ll have to try that!

  5. I’ve heard a little about oil pulling, but don’t know much about it. I’m interested to know more about the benefits you mentioned it having. My husband needs to change up his oral health routine and also wants to whiten his teeth. Are these things that could be a result of oil pulling?

    1. Coconut oil is great for both of those benefits. It contains antibacterial compounds that kill mouth bacteria and coats the teeth in a protective layer that can help prevent stains. However, if your husband’s teeth are heavily stained, oil may not be enough to make a big whitening difference.

  6. These are some good tips for natural dental care. It is definitely important to teach your kids good habits while they are young. If you can have kids that look forward to dental visits, just to show off their pearly whites, you are doing something right!

  7. I love the dental health tips you have, especially for the kids. I agree that teaching good habits as early as possible is vital to helping your kids! I probably need to do a better job of leading by example with some of those habits.

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