The Curious Introvert
A weekly podcast covering societal taboos & cultural blind spots. Join host Meredith Hackwith Edwards as she deep dives with curiosity & nuance into philosophy, society & culture with expert guests.
Episodes frequently feature philosophers, researchers, historians & journalists.
The Curious Introvert
Ep. 346: Could your spit predict CANCER? Testing & Warning Signs with an Oral Microbiome Expert!
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Could your mouthwash be causing high blood pressure? Can your spit predict cancer?
Dr. Staci Whitman is a Functional Dentist board-certified in pediatrics with additional certifications in functional medicine, integrative and naturopathic dentistry.
In this episode, she unpacks why common dental complaints like cavities & bleeding gums shouldn’t be interpreted as normal, which at-home saliva tests can help you predict genetic diseases, the difference between functional, holistic and biological dentists & how your foamy toothpaste might be fooling your brain.
If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 290: ALLERGIES OR AEROSOLS? THE IGNORED REASON YOU’RE TIRED & SICK
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00:00 — Could your spit predict disease?
04:08 — Why “leaky gums” might matter more than you think
05:38 — The shocking fertility connection nobody talks about
12:28 — “If you lose your spit, your teeth fall apart”
14:04 — Cavities aren’t normal?
15:36 — The real meaning of bleeding gums
17:22 — The awkward truth about chronic bad breath
26:02 — The difference between holistic, biological & functional dentistry
28:11 — The undercover questions to ask your dentist
32:47 — The toothpaste aisle is a psychological experiment
34:22 — Fluoride vs hydroxyapatite
36:10 — The ingredient dentists want you to stop using
40:51 — The oral microbiome test that changed everything
42:34 — What do you actually DO with microbiome data?
46:58 — Why podcasters should scrape their tongues
50:02 — How mouthwash may affect blood pressure
54:41 — The postnasal drip question nobody asks dentists
56:13 — Mold, allergies & the hidden oral microbiome chaos
59:52 — Air quality, dust & the stuff you breathe all day
1:01:21 — Perimenopause… but for your teeth
1:07:38 — The top 3 things helping your oral microbiome
1:20:21 — Building the future of functional dentistry
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Leaky gut, IBS, Crohn's. By now we all recognize that these are serious conditions. But what about bad breath, bleeding gums, and chronic cavities? We tend to shrug these off as less serious, part of the nagging list of reminders given by our dentist. But what if our oral microbiome was quietly shaping critical aspects of our whole body health? My next guest is a functional dentist, board certified in pediatrics, with additional certifications in functional medicine, integrative, and naturopathic dentistry. Today she's going to help us understand how what happens in your mouth doesn't really stay in your mouth. As we ask the question, could the secret to optimum health start with our spit? This is the Curious Introvert Podcast with me, Meredith. Around here, we explore taboo questions and societal blind spots. My mission and yours, if you choose to accept it, is to inspire curiosity by exploring the nuance and paradox of our world. Please help me welcome the dentist Doing More, advocating from gums to gut for airways to bacterial good guys, Dr. Stacey Whitman. Thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_01Hi, Merida. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to talk all things oral health.
SPEAKER_00You know, it's funny because I always thought of flossing and brushing for like the full three minutes as the extra credit of health. And then I started learning about all this stuff and realized how poor oral microbiome health can lead to things like heart disease and Alzheimer's. But then when I heard your story about your family member who found out she was at risk for cancer just from like a spit test, that's when I really started to pay attention. So would you mind sharing that story?
SPEAKER_01Yes, of course. Yeah, you know, I think many of us know about the gut microbiome. It's been front and center for almost 20 years now. And the thing is, these microbes in our mouth, they don't just stay in our mouth. I mean, you think about we swallow, we swallow 2,000 times a day. And if you have bleeding gums, I want people now to think of that like leaky gums. We've heard of leaky gut or intestinal permeability. I want you to embrace the phrases leaky gums or gingival permeability. So now the bacteria in our mouth can get into our circulatory system and end up places they shouldn't and cause inflammatory cascades, inflammation, and then they also release toxins, endotoxins that can further create issues. And so this was my mother-in-law, incredibly healthy. She's 83 years old. She still farms. She walks 10 to 15,000 steps a day. She plays pickleball every day. She does yoga. She sweats, I mean, she is so healthy. She can plank longer than anyone I know. But I just said, let's test your microbiome. Why not? Because she has a family history of colon cancer specifically. So it's a spit test that you can take. This was a direct-to-consumer test that I'm a big fan of that I can speak of later. But we got the results back, and she was very high in a bacteria called F nucleatum, which the data shows is strongly correlated to colon cancer. Now she goes to the dentist every six months. She has cleanings, you know, she has a lot of dental work, but she's healthy and stable. She flosses, she brushes, she eats super clean, but she still had this bacteria, and she never would have known had we not tested. And so who's to know? You know, so we we instilled a protocol in her and then we retested in three months, and now that F nucleatum load is lower, significantly reducing her potential for colon cancer and also pancreatic cancer and other issues too. So I love data and tests don't gas, but this is just a new area where I think people aren't aware that some of their health issues can be coming from.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. Total disconnect between the head and the rest of the body, which is kind of like a whole podcast episode in itself, the history of the divorce of dental health with the rest of the body. But I wanted to also ask you of all of the unhealthy side effects of having a poor oral microbiome, which of those do you feel like people find the hardest to believe?
SPEAKER_01Interesting. Probably cancer risk, I guess. That seems like such a jump, but also fertility. So a dysbio Yeah, a dysbiotic oral microbiome can impact fertility in a couple's ability to conceive. There's studies to show that women with periodontal disease or gum disease take longer to get pregnant and also takes two to tango. So with the men, it can impact sperm mobility and sperm motility. It's all inflammation. So these bacteria create inflammation in the body, whether directly themselves as the bacterial species or the byproducts that they release, which are endotoxins. What happens in the mouth doesn't stay in the mouth. So not only are you swallowing and breathing, but the bacteria can get through unhealthy gum tissue into the circulatory system. They can cross the blood-brain barrier. We're seeing them in patients who have Alzheimer's. So we're finding them in amyloid plaques, these bacteria. You know, there's studies that where they're doing biopsies and they're finding oral bacteria in places in the body they shouldn't be, including the uterine lining and the joints, like arthritis and autoimmune diseases, um, cardiovascular disease. I will say the heart surgeons out there were the first to jump on board with this concept. And in if anyone's had heart surgery, you know you have to get cleared by your dentist before you go in for surgery. And then you have to take antibiotics after, before your cleanings or procedures to avoid bacterial endocarditis. That's when the bacteria can end up in valves or surgical sites that it shouldn't be, and they they will cling there and conglomerate and cause inflammation and release toxins too. So um, we now have 57 crosslinked systemic diseases that can be tied back to a dysbiotic or unhealthy mouth.
SPEAKER_00That is a lot. Oh my gosh. You mentioned antibiotics. Last year I got sick and took antibiotics and ended up with thrush. So gross. I hate even like saying that out loud. It's so disgusting. Is that pretty common for medications to affect your oral microbiome?
SPEAKER_01Definitely. I mean, I wouldn't say getting thrush secondarily is common, but it absolutely happens. But medications definitely influence everything in our body, including antibiotics. So an antibiotic, it isn't just targeting the microbes in your tonsils, let's say, will affect microbes in your gut and microbes in your mouth. A lot of patients who take antibiotics, they'll notice changes in their mouth. They might notice they have dry mouth or they get like a staining on their teeth almost. This is because of shifts in the microbiome. A lot of medications that we take will dry the mouth out. So it can decrease salivary flow and that can have a detrimental impact on oral health. I would say if I had to pick one thing that is most negatively impacting your oral health, it's your salivary content. So if you lose your spit, your teeth will just fall apart. Our saliva is there to buffer and maintain minerals and maintain the pH. I don't think it's a fluid in our body we give any thought to, but it is profoundly important for health, not only for dental health, but think about chewing food. Imagine if you didn't have saliva and you were trying to chew. I mean, you wouldn't be able to chew or swallow. So it's lubricating everything in the body, priming the gut for digestion. We also have immune cells in our mouth. So this is our first line of defense. You know, things come in through this orifice and they're opening, this huge opening into our body. There's immune cells everywhere that are fighting constantly with foreign invaders, if you will, trying to decide is this friend or foe.
SPEAKER_00What would be some outward signs that your oral microbiome is off, or is it always invisible?
SPEAKER_01Your body gives you signs all of the time if we're paying attention and we know what to look for. So do you have cavities? Cavities are not typical. We've normalized them. Common is not normal. They're the top chronic disease globally in the world in children and adults. Humans are not supposed to be getting cavities. No animal in the wild is getting dental decay, but humans do, and our domesticated pets do. And why is this? It's because of our modern diet, uh, where we're eating a lot of refined flowers, refined sugars, ultra-processed foods, and we're snacking and sipping all day. We're just constantly eating and drinking. This is not typical. So if you're starting to get decay, that is showing there's an imbalance in your body. Whether it's a salivary imbalance, a pH imbalance, it could be a bacterial microbiome imbalance. You might have mineral or vitamin deficiencies, maybe your mouth breathing. Okay, so just decay is telling me things are off. Bleeding gums are not normal, gum disease, periodontal disease. These are the bacteria that are causing the downstream effects, such as cancer and Alzheimer's and heart disease and fertility issues. So your gums need to be healthy. They should not bleed. If you floss your brush and there's pink in the sink, this is a problem. That is a red flag, literally, that you are imbalanced. And it's not all always a hygiene issue. Vitamin C deficiency, I think scurvy can lead to bleeding gums, changes in hormones, BA, perimenopause, menopause, you know, that can impact this. Puberty, pregnancy, uh autoimmune diseases can, and dysbiotic bacteria as well, as we mentioned. So please, that's a big red flag that I don't want you ignoring. Chronic bad breath. So people grab mints, they grab gum, they grab the strong mouthwashes, and they'd think, oh, this is just something within me. Maybe I ate something, but if it's really chronic, like people are stepping away from you daily, like it's it's impacting your daily life. And we all know those people, or you've been on a plane or a bus, or you know, and you're just like, whoa. Well, that's the thing.
SPEAKER_00We know those people, but do they know? Do they I don't know? Dr. Whitman.
SPEAKER_01I think that they well, we need to tell them because that is periodontal disease, and that is chronic, chronic disease. And especially if it's a loved one, you could literally, literally save their life. And they should be oral microbiome testing and working ideally with a functional dentist to come up with a protocol to eradicate the bacteria causing that issue. Periodontal, by the way, it means the tissues around your tooth. So it's generally the bone, is what we're referring to, where your bone just starts disintegrating, you lose bone, your tissue just dissolves essentially, and it's irreversible, but it is you can stabilize it. It's a terrible disease that we need to get a hold of because it's not just coming from the mouth. This is a metabolic disorder. So this can be linked to insulin resistance, you know, blood sugar dysregulation. We see this in patients with diabetes and autoimmune diseases, and so it's very bidirectional, all these conversations, but we can look at the mouth first. And so many issues can be seen in the mouth before we see them systemically. So it really is an opening, a window, a snapshot into a human's health is look in their mouth. Do they have cavities? Do they have a white coating on their tongue? Maybe it's thrush, you know, do they have yeast overgrowth? Do they have a burning red tongue? Do they get chronic ulcerations? Do they get chronic cracks in their lips in the corners of their mouth? Do they have bleeding gums? Do they get tonsil stones? Do they have chronic bad breath? None of these are normal and all of these are signs of imbalances that based on the data, if you let this go on day after day, week after week, decade after decade, can create such a burden on the system, chronic inflammation, that we can start seeing systemic issues from it.
SPEAKER_00You said you should get in touch with a functional dentist and and work with them. Since learning about all of this, I've tried to look for a functional dentist in my area and definitely came up unsuccessful just doing like internet searches. But then I pulled the old Facebook friends and they sent me to uh a dentist in a neighboring city. But when I went to that website, it didn't say anything that was like overtly functional dentist. So if someone was going to call the dentist office to just try to screen them and see are they really functional in the way that you're describing, what would be some good questions to ask them?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this is a great question. This is a problem. Traditional dentistry tends to be very reactive. We tend to put out fires. The joke is drill, fill, bill, like fill the hole and then build a patient and send them on their way. That never felt right to me. And I thought there has to be another way. Like dentists don't get much medicine in dental school. We get a little bit. We don't get much nutrition in dental school, just like physicians don't. It's learning really the medicine of how does the body connect to things that are happening in the mouth and vice versa. And this takes this is a heavy lift. So it is a residency level program. So just, I'm saying this, pin it because we have our first cohort underway right now. There are 50 dentists learning. We have students in France and Italy and a lot from the United States that are learning to practice this way. And then our next cohort will have 200 students. And the next cohort, so this is a small movement that is happening that is coming, I assure you. So I hear you and I see the issue. You're gonna see holistic dentists and biological dentists. So what are the differences? Let me define that quickly. First of all, holistic, unfortunately, I think it's a throwaway. I used to even define myself as a holistic dentist, but it's just so overused. It kind of means nothing now. I mean, it means whole body, so that's great, but you just don't know what you're getting. You could get someone that just says they don't use mercury fillings all the way to someone that believes crystals will, you know, heal everything. Like it's all over the place. So there's no standard of care. And that's what we wanted to create was the standardization. So this program, these dentists will become certified and we're working towards accreditation. So this is a legit institution. That's our goal with this. I have many friends that are biological dentists. I've taken biological dental courses, and they are as close to a functional dentist as you can get. But my feeling is they still tend to focus on end stage disease. So they're just talking about, well, how to address that failing root canal, how to put in a better implant. What do we do with cavitations or wisdom teeth that didn't get extracted appropriately? And they're they're kind of connecting the dots, but they're still very surgical. It's still very like, let's fix the issue. Functional dentists are really like, let's prevent the issue. If there is an issue, yes, let's fix it. But then how do we prevent this? Let's unpack the why. So until we can get more dentist training, what questions do you ask? Well, first of all, get a vibe check on their website, you know, trust your instincts, read reviews. You know, I will say if there's some crazy review out there on Yelp, ignore that because people like to go totally wild on Yelp.
SPEAKER_00I find that medical reviews are just completely a hard to come by and be, in my opinion, useless because they just aren't easily obtained. And then when you obtain them, it's like the people who are, you know, the brother and sister of the owner of the practice who are like, it's great. Or they're like the arch enemy of the owner of the practice when they're like, they suck, you know. So I just find it completely useless. So that's why my go-to is like, I'm gonna call and I have like questions and I'm like a little detective. So, okay, so vibe check website. Yeah, and then what else?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, let's go through your questions. Are they airway trained? So airway and how we're breathing is part of functional dentistry. Are they an airway dentist? What additional coursework have they taken outside of their traditional dental school? That's gonna tell you a lot. Do they use ozone? Do they use lasers? You know, do they go into diet nutrition? Do they kind of take a health coaching approach? Um, what materials do they use? Are they using bioseramics? Is what I would ask, which are the cleanest materials out there, or are they still placing mercury alloy fillings? That's going to tell you a lot about that provider. So those are some questions I would ask, like, you know, training. Do they test the oral microbiome? You know, do they talk about the oral microbiome? Do they have protocols to help reverse and arrest decay? So very early, early decay lesions, cavities can be quote unquote healed. It's absolutely true. You know, if they're caught still in the enamel. So do they talk about that with their patients? So these are some of the things I would talk about. It will instantly tell you that they think and practice differently.
SPEAKER_00Those are really helpful. Okay, so in the meantime, we're being like undercover on the phone with these dentist office, but in the meantime, in our own personal lives, I think it seems like there's some changes that we can make. The tricky part is when we live in a society with so many choices and influencers, it's kind of like the problem isn't too little information. It's that we get overloaded and medically burned out before we even start. And we don't know which choices are legit. So my first question is about toothpaste in this kind of area of thought here. There are a jillion choices with toothpaste. How do you know which one is the right one for you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so toothpaste is a tricky one. There's the fluoride debate, the hydroxyapetite debate, there's theobromine, there's xylitol. So there's all kinds of these active ingredients. This is something that everyone's gonna have to decide for themselves, quite frankly. So I encourage everyone to do their own research. I personally am not an advocate of systemic fluoride. I do not think we need to be ingesting it or swallowing it. The data supports us, it works topically, not systemically. So I tend to recommend hydroxyapatite in my product because I like to work with biomimetic materials. That means very similar to what's already in our body. Our teeth are made of hydroxyapatite crystals, which is calcium and phosphorus. Hydroxyapatite has been used since the early 1980s. It's very prevalent in Japan and South Korea and in Europe. It was approved for safety by the SCCS in the EU. The FDA is probably gonna start reviewing it soon and giving their recommendations too. I've seen nothing in my practice work better for remineralization than hydroxyapetite. That being said, some patients maybe don't have access to that. It is a little bit more expensive. So this is where tropical fluoride could be beneficial. I do like xylitol in products. It does inhibit bacterial overgrowth. It can help modulate and benefit the microbiome. But you really want to avoid the laundry list of ingredients. So just like we check our food labels, I want people reading their toothpaste and oral healthcare products. Or like now we're so we scrutinize what we put on our face and our hair. I mean, this is your body. You're putting this in your body every day. So sodium laurel sulfite, that foaming agent, no, that can disrupt the oral mucosa, create oral ulcerations. You don't want a lot of artificial flavorings and preservatives and ingredients that can disrupt the microbiome. So less is more, you know. So you want your active remineralizing ingredient, but then what are the other ingredients in there too? So there are great products on the market, you know, but but the thing is we're all different. This is true. And so what may work in one patient may not be as beneficial in another patient. And so we do need to be open to trying for what works best for us.
SPEAKER_00I have a question about the the foaming because I was using fig, which isn't that you and Dr. B's brand.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Okay, and it was I I liked it a lot. My husband didn't like it because he's like, I don't get it, you know, and because it's not foaming or whatever. And then so we started using Ollie, and it says there's no foamy stuff in it, the ingredient that you're supposed to avoid. But I'm like, but it's super foamy. Like I have to spit like four times during it. And I'm wondering if like that's causing us to brush at a shorter amount of time because we're like, oh, my mouth's full of spit, spit. I must be done. I don't know. And I'm just suspicious of it.
SPEAKER_01Is there I'd have to look at the ingredients. They may have a co so there's a coconut derived foaming agent that they'll say is more natural, and it is. Um, but it still is disruptive to some people's microbiomes, you know. So I still think it's not optimal. I believe your toothpaste shouldn't foam. But listen, I get it. Like we grew up with bright blue, glittery, foaming, burning mint toothpaste. Like some people, they need their toothpaste to burn. So it hurts their mouth and it has to foam. Oh, okay. And that's that's why some of these toothpaste, they're not for everyone. Like the toothpaste I co-developed, not everyone likes it. I get it. Because so many of these toothpaste, they really are carpet bombing, not only the bad bacteria, but the good. And that's not ideal. And that's why some of these products I believe can do more harm than good. And so, but again, everyone's different. And so what you might like is different than what your husband may like. So, my guess with that product is that it might be the coconut derived foaming agent, but if if it's foaming, there's something in it making it foam, you know?
SPEAKER_00So I like what you're saying about every person is different. Let's mention that direct-to-consumer oral microbiome test. And I would love your recommendations on how to interpret the dang thing because it seems like I could get it. Then there's like a what do I do with this info? Because I've heard that with some of them, there's one in the UK that I'm like, okay, that would be great. Because it comes with a consult, and the consult is like, this is the best toothpaste for you. This is what you should talk to your dentist about. Like, do you know anything good like that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Bristle is here in the US. They do shotgun metagenomics and they do send protocols. I knew they were doing consults too at one point. They have hygienists on staff that help. So that you're right. I mean, that is the problem. What do you do with this data? And then if you have it, are the dentists that you go to even trained in assisting and interpreting the Institute for Functional Dentistry is doing this. We have a whole section on the oral microbiome and oral microbiome testing. But, you know, the brands, I mean, I really like Bristol. It's it's direct to consumer, it uses shotgun metagenomics. I think their interface is really nice. The price point is excellent. They've been doing it for years. They have it pretty figured out and dialed. Now, if you show signs of imbalances, there are more specific tests that your dentist can do. One is called oral DNA. And this is really targeting down even more the specifics of like if you have periodontal or gum disease pathogens, too. So oral DNA, from a provider standpoint, they give us very specific recommendations. Like, does this patient need antibiotics? Because some bacteria they do need antibiotics in different products. But Bristle gives product lists too to help eradicate and reduce oral bacteria. So they do they do the best that they can. And now also, hey you guys, we have AI. So put your data in AI. AI is very smart. There's people like me using it constantly. I'm training it. I am educating AI about protocols about the oral microbiome. So it's in there. So I mean, and what's interesting is it's not always a heavy lift. It's like maybe use this rinse in a water pick, make sure you're flossing, incorporate these foods in, and maybe you need some antibiotic therapy and let's retest you in three months. And that's kind of what I did with my mother-in-law, and it was very successful.
SPEAKER_00What about mouthwash and tongue scraping?
SPEAKER_01I love tongue scraping. You know, we do have a different type and niche of bacteria on our tongue than we do on our teeth, than we do on our gums. There's different ecosystems within the mouth with different bacterial colonies, and they all do different things. The tongue bacteria is generally responsible for reducing nitrate to nitrite that then you swallow and then becomes nitric oxide in the gut. So uh, if we don't have healthy bacteria in our gut, we can have impacted nitric oxide in the body, and that can lead to cardiovascular issues, inflammation, and sexual health issues. So you will find a lot of people have this coating on their tongue, and it can be a sign of yeast, it can be a sign of reflex or gut dysbiosis, it can even just be food particles. So cleaning your tongue every day, I believe should be part of an oral health care routine. Everyone asks, Is can I just use my brush? You can. The studies actually show it does not do as good of a job as a round shape, either copper or stainless steel scraper because the bristles are just kind of polishing and moving the bacteria around. You really want to be, I know. You really want to be scraping it up. And this is one of the things, don't knock it till you try it. Once you start tongue scraping, most people can't stop.
SPEAKER_00Oh, because I love it. Yeah, I do it. I do it probably like three times a week. I have a copper one. And I'm I just feel like it's better than mouthwash, you know. Like I just feel like totally I feel and also, I mean, this is applies only to fellow podcasters, but I my voice sounds better. It sounds clearer when I tongue scrape, and no one else will care about that. Yeah, totally. It totally does. There's less, but so there's like a clicky sound that some people struggle with on mic. And um, some people will say, Well, eat an apple, and that clears it, but it's film. It also can be related to tightness, like if you're just kind of, you know, like it's like a smacking, like your tongue is really glued to the roof of your mouth, and you don't realize part of mic technique is like loosen it up, sister, before you start talking. But it can really help. Yeah, it's it's great.
SPEAKER_01Wow, you just taught me something, and that makes so much sense because there it's a biofilm. I mean, it it's a biofilm on the tongue, so you're disrupting that. Interesting, that's so cool. So that leads into rinses. So I believe most of us don't need a mouthwash, certainly not the commercial ones that we're used to, which are usually they have alcohols and astringents and artificial colors and Lord knows what else in them. And what they're doing is they're carpet bombing the mouth, as I mentioned, and they're killing healthy bacteria too, not just bad bacteria. And there's data to show people who habitually use these products can have cardiovascular issues, including high blood pressure. And you would say, well, why? That doesn't make any sense because of nitric oxide. So if you're disrupting those healthy bacteria that eventually lead to nitric oxide production, nitric oxide is very important for you know our blood chemistry, you know, inflammation in the body, and it can impact our blood pressure too. So if you're reaching for that listerine bottle, I want you to stop and take a moment and say, maybe my body is telling me something. Why do I have this chronic bad breath? I wonder if I have this pathogenic bacteria in my mouth. Maybe I should test. That being said, some people like to rinse. And so I like low-cost, no-cost solutions as much as possible. So I'm a huge fan of just water and baking soda with maybe a sprinkle of high-quality salt. That is an incredible rinse. You know, the baking soda will buffer and neutralize the mouth. The salt is antiseptic. It does have healing properties in it, it can be anti-inflammatory. People always ask me the ratio. I mean, just till you can taste it and tolerate it. There's no exact science here. And you can rinse with that twice a day, whenever you want, you know, and that can help with healing too if you have, you know, oral ulcerations or extractions too. So I will occasionally do that. And then I do oil pull. It's an ancient Aervedic practice. Generally, it was used with sesame oil, but now it's most people use raw organic coconut oil. Just be a little cautious. Coconut oil does have lauri acid in it, which is antimicrobial. It's very, it's gentle, but it could disrupt the oral microbiome, the healthy bacteria also if you're overusing it. So I will do it once or twice a week. The ancient Aervata practice is to do it for 20 minutes, but I like to modernize things to be practical. So I just do it for a few minutes, sometimes in the morning when I'm, you know, making my bed or laying my clothes out for the day or what have you. And then just be cautious not to spit it down your sink, spit it, you know, into a cup, into the trash, because it could clog your pipes.
SPEAKER_00Oh, right, right, right, right. Yeah, that'd be bad. Okay, I also want to ask you about post-nasal drip. What is the impact of that just going on for years unchecked on your oral microbiome?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, great. No one has ever asked me this question before. Really? I've been on so many podcasts. Yeah, this is great. So, first of all, I always like to ask why. Why do you have posthasal drip? So, chronic allergies, environmental, or is it food intolerances, or is it anatomical? Do you have something going on that way? Do you have mold exposure? Mold in the sinus is prevalent and it can be very negatively impactful. So we want to figure out the why. And, you know, generally your functional dentist may educate on this, but this is when you might work with a natural path or functional medicine provider or an auntie, hopefully one that's more whole body focused, not just surgically focused. So, you know, chronic postnasal drip, it's it can irritate your tonsils. You can get that raspy voice, tonsillitis, it can lead to tonsil stones potentially, it can lead to bad breath. But also, you know, if there is an infection up there too, which it could be, or mold, you're swallowing that. And so, what is that doing downstream to the rest of the body? It's definitely negatively impacting the gut and the oral microbiome. Certainly, you know, these bacteria, they don't just stay in one place, they all communicate and translocate around. And we saw this in COVID, you know, we we saw, you know, aerosolized viruses, they get into the system through the sinus cavity or the mouth. They can, you know, inoculate the tonsils. And so you want to get your sinus health under control. And I really do look at sinus hygiene as part of oral hygiene. I think they're much more connected than we talk about. So I do like patients clearing their sinuses, cleansing their sinuses, whether that's a neti pot, you know, whether using saline or xylitol or silver rinses or ozone or oregano. There's so many different protocols out there, but just clearing away, there's so many pollutants that we're breathing in every day and making sure you have high-quality air filters, that you know, the air quality of your home is very important. And some of us live with pretty toxic air, you know, just not great quality air with a lot of dust and dander and chemicals that are coming off our clothes and furniture. So being mindful what you what and how you breathe is profoundly impactful.
SPEAKER_00Hey, you know what's crazy? YouTube told me that only 3% of you who watch are actually subscribed to the channel. If you want to be sure to see me again, consider hitting subscribe and turn on the notifications for new episodes. Okay, back to the show. Another connection that I find surprising is one you mentioned earlier, which is perimenopause and menopause. I've heard you talk about perimenopause and your teeth shifting. Oh my God, what? Like, we got enough problems. What is up with perimenopause teeth shifting?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it can happen in pregnancy too. So in pregnancy, it can happen because of relaxin. So think of relaxing, that hormone that kicks in toward the end to get us ready for childbirth, to like open up the pelvic floor in our hips, and and and it impacts the ligament around your teeth, too. So there's something called the periodontal ligament. It's what keeps your tooth in your jawbone and it's filled with all these fibers, and that's the ligament. And so relaxing can impact that. So a lot of women may notice that their teeth shift or their bite is off towards the end of pregnancy or post-delivery. So that can be typical. But then perimenopause and menopause is the same. So changes in progesterone specifically can impact collagen. So more women might have tempomandibular joint issues, but they also may notice that the ligaments around their teeth shift and change too. We have estrogen and progesterone receptors in our gingival tissue and in our oral tissues. So you will see exaggerated responses to plaque or biofilm. You'll see more gum inflammation potentially. A lot of women may get dry mouth or burning mouth during this time period because your your cortisol can be shifted too, and cortisol impacts salivary flow and salivary health. And so dehydration can lead to this too. So there's just a lot that can go wrong during this time. I myself am headed into this realm of perimenopause, and my teeth have become more sensitive. And at first I thought it was my toothpaste, which some toothpaste, you know, some of us react differently to things. And I switched my toothpaste and it it's continued on for weeks. And then I was like, oh my gosh, I wonder. Let me test my hormones. Because I had been, I had been cruising along just fine. And sure enough, my progesterone had tanked. Wow. And so this creates mineral changes, salivary flow changes, and all of this can impact the flu. We have fluid in our teeth, and that can impact sensitivity and how the nerve is responding within your tooth. So once I started some hormone replacement therapy, really low dose of progesterone, my sensitivity went away in like two weeks instantly.
SPEAKER_00Interesting. Okay. So another reason to check in with a functional doctor. Um I love that you called it a realm, by the way, like painting it as a beautiful kingdom on the horizon versus like the zone of chaos. That's really touching. I'm gonna hold that with me in my heart. Yeah. Here we are. Here we are. Welcome. Buckle up. Buckle up. As we wrap up, if I could guarantee to you that listeners would a hundred percent follow through on three do's and three don'ts for the health of their oral microbiome, which would be the top three do's and top three don'ts that you would want them to do.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Three do's focus on whole foods. It's the ultra-processed foods that have trashed our oral health. Pathogenic bacteria love fermentable carbohydrates. They love chips and crackers and pretzels and frappuccinos and all of those things. The healthy bacteria love prebiotic fiber. So they love vegetables and fruits, and they also love meats and cheese and all of these whole foods. I believe nutrition is foundational for almost everything. So that's number one. Number two, pay attention to how you breathe. So people who breathe through their mouth, they definitely have more oral health issues because you lose your salivary health, as we mentioned earlier. So if you're a mouth breather, if you snore, you know, hold your breath at night, like really pay attention to that and get that corrected. Because not only is that going to help your oral health, that will help your systemic health too. And then I'd say number three is pay attention to your spit. I think spit is so critical. So I want you to start thinking like, how do I optimize my spit every day, my saliva? So hydration, minerals, nasal breathing, fat-soluble vitamins, the terrain, like really think about this glorious fluid in your mouth. I call it the golden elixir of the body. And I want this is my mission. I want spit to be cool. So really prioritize that because if you lose your spit, none of the things I'm talking about are gonna matter. You're gonna have oral health issues, period. And we see this with certain medications. We see this in patients undergoing radiation therapy, cancer therapies. I mean, their teeth just bomb out. People with shogrins will tell you firsthand how their oral health tanks once they lose their salivary integrity. So those are the three do's, the three don'ts. You need to stop sipping and snacking all day. You have to stop the pantry, drive-by, flybys. You have to stop sipping on your coffee drink for hours a day. I mean, drink it in a short session. Less stuff in the mouth is better. So try to eat protein-heavy meals that keep you satiated. I'm a big believer in the kind of the three-meal-a-day structure. If it works for you, I know everyone's different, but we don't need to be snacking and sipping so much. Kids do not need to be constantly fed, you know, they just don't. And it becomes this mindless behavior and really bad habit, and it can take a toll on your oral health, but also your gut and systemic health. Don't underestimate how important flossing is, too, I would say. This is, I'm kind of pulling a fast one in on here on you, but don't underestimate the thing that you think you don't need to be doing, which is flossing. I think flossing is more important than brushing, interdental cleaning. I think dentistry's gotten the message wrong. We do always talk about brushing. I think brushing is much less important than flossing. So my point is if you're eating any sort of modern diet, please don't forget to floss.
SPEAKER_00And you say floss before you brush, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the data leans that way. I mean, again, though, I want you doing it, whatever works for you. You know, if you if it's after, great. If it's in the middle of the day, away from brushing, cool. If it's in the car and the commute home, amazing. We just want to create these habits. So I'm a big believer perfect's the enemy of good. But I do floss before and I alternate floss string and then water picking. We will notice the older we get, we do tend to lose a little bone around our teeth no matter what. And so traditional string flush just doesn't get the biofilm disrupted quite enough. So I like to mix it up. I don't think it's as important the younger ages, but I'd say once you hit your late 30s into your 40s, I definitely want people water flossing. And some people prefer it. So, and then I would just say be very cautious with the ingredients in your toothpaste. Don't underestimate the negative impacts some of these bad ingredients can have. So, are they carpet bombing the mouth? You know, strong essential oils and, you know, antibacterials and alcohols and astringents and things just wiping out all the bacteria. I want us to really start reading the ingredients and understanding that some of these products that are marketed OS could be doing more harm than good.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for all of your wisdom today. This has been, this has been fun, actually. Yeah. I really think just being empowered, feeling like you have agency in your health, feeling like you have the right questions to ask, to find the right person to support you is just a really refreshing switch in in the outlook of our health. And you're a part of that. So how can people keep in touch with the work that you're doing?
SPEAKER_01Oh, thank you. I yeah, I just want to say with oral health, it's less is more. I think we tend to oral overthink it a little bit, but really just getting back to the basics, like nutrition, hydration, how you're breathing, a little hygiene thrown in there is you it will have huge benefits for you. I have a website, drstacy.com, doctor is spelled out, and it's SJC I, where I do have a newsletter. So we covered a lot. Uh, I always feel like these oral health podcasts can be about eight hours long. So I do deep dives on all kinds of subjects every week, and I spend a lot of time on this. It's one of my favorite things that I do as an educator. So you can sign up for my free newsletter on my website. I'm also I am on social media. I tend to be on Instagram the most, which is dr underscore stacy. So please follow along. And then also, you know, the Institute for Functional Dentistry is something I really am proud of. We have an esteemed faculty. I can't even believe we recruited the doctors and dentists that we do. And so if you're listening and you're, it doesn't even, you don't even have to be a dentist, a hygienist, an assistant, front desk. It's for all specialties too. You could be a naturopath, you could be a chiropractor, a health coach. We have different tracks for everyone that may be interested in oral health. But also if you know someone, a dentist, maybe your dentist is open-minded and you can tell they they want to think and practice differently, but they're just in the trenches of their practice, which happens. Please share this training institution for them because I will tell you it's not only going to change their practice, but it's going to change them personally too. And there's so much burnout in the medical field right now because I think we just feel like we're not making a difference. We just can't keep up with the demand. When you start making some clinical changes and you see your patients getting healthy, it's so profoundly rewarding clinically. And so I just asked that people could share that too.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. We will be doing all the things. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. This was great. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for listening. Since you've made it this far, I'd like to invite you to be a part of my private Facebook group. And there I post content that I don't share anywhere else. You can talk to me directly about past and future episodes, and I even do occasional giveaways. Search MFR Curious. Insiders on Facebook or click the link in the show notes. Dr. Whitman mentioned the importance of air quality, so if you liked this episode with her, you'll also like the one with the founder of Jasper Air Filters about how air quality could be a hugely overlooked contributor to the reason that you're tired and sick. And that is episode 290. Stay tuned next week for a remastered favorite with a mental health counselor asking if trigger warnings are helping us or making us weak. Until then, keep it curious.