Are you feeling comfortable going back to your dentist?
COVID-19 advice suggests masks limit the spread of droplet infection as we talk, sing or cough. In dental offices, droplets splatter in the air as teeth are drilled or cleaned with ultra sonic sprays. Bacteria and debris travel at speeds up to 50 mph from a patient’s mouth and they can hang in the air for hours.
Do you worry about lying in the dental chair with your mouth wide open? I discuss this valid concern in detail in my 2019 book Mouth Care Comes Clean (p 180-183).
My suggestions are basically:
- Schedule your appointment as early as possible in the day – ideally after a long weekend.
- Boost your immune system with diet, supplements, rest and sun exposure prior to your visit.
- Those with adult teeth should use my Complete Mouth Care System routine one-hour prior to the appointment.
- Everyone should keep Zellie’s xylitol mints handy and consume a few immediately before and after the appointment.
- Avoid “pre-procedural” rinses offered by your dentist. Most contain bleach, peroxide, iodine, triclosan or chlorhexidine. These rinses kill important/protective bacteria in your mouth, leaving you at an INCREASED risk for infection.
- Consider taking a bottle of CloSYS* rinse to your appointment and use it “pre-procedurally” if necessary.
Want to learn more? I dive deeper into this topic with the short audio recording below...
Comments or questions? Please leave them below.
*Recent lab tests showed CloSYS Ultra Sensitive Rinse Reduced COVID-19 virus up to 98.4% in 30 seconds. Here is a link for more information on these tests and the results.
Dear Dr Ellie, I am from Singapore. I just read your first book and is keen to implement your complete mouth care system. However, some of the products are very US-centric. Unfortunately, I am having trouble finding similar ones here in Asia, especially for the mouth rinses. Would u be able to talk more about the ingredients and any substitutes for them? Thank you.
It is very hard to find good substitutes and we have struggled to do this for many years. I do recommend, however, a company called MYUS.com. This company will give you a locker address here in the US and you can do shopping at any US stores – including Zellies.com! This way you can buy the best products for your oral health and they will ship them to your home in any country. Our clients have been very satisfied with the service and we highly recommend this as an option for repeated ordering of US products. Here is a link:
Dear Dr. Ellie,
After an eight month pandemic wait, I finally got in for my regular dental cleaning. And using your system, it was the first time in year I have not needed the hated Cavitron to buzz away the plaque on my lower front teeth. And my dentist’s verdict when he did the exam was “picture of health”! Thank you for all your wonderful work! I’m a devotee.
Margaret
(mid-70s with lots of restorations)
Congratulations Margaret. I am so happy for you. Now you know you can wait 8 months between visits – and I suggest you do that again….maybe you can wait a year and still get great results! The longer the interval between cleanings ( providing you get an excellent report) the healthier it will be for your mouth!