For this post within the home treatment series, I decided to focus on teeth. The British public in the past seem to have got some pretty bad press about our pearly whites, but according to this latest article in the Daily Mail there are a number of little things that we can do to improve that.

Green tea, red wine and cranberry juice contain substances called polyphenols that reduce plaque-formation and stop cavity-causing bacteria from sticking to teeth. Polyphenols can also help prevent oral bacteria from producing acids that dissolve tooth enamel. A study of 25,000 people at the University of Tohoku, Japan, found that just one cup of green tea a day was linked to better dental health and 20 per cent less risk of tooth loss.

You can also limit plaque-formation and strengthen teeth by adding olive oil to salads and cooking.  University of Madrid researchers studied the anti-cavity properties of olive oil after discovering that residents of towns where olive oil is manufactured have uncharacteristically low levels of tooth decay and gum disease. They found that olive oil contains oleuropein, an anti-bacterial compound, which stops  the bacteria  that cause gum disease and bone loss from attaching to teeth. Olive oil also covers the teeth with a film of fat molecules that prevents plaque from forming.

Now a lot of the chewing gum manufacturers would have us believe that chewing (certain types of) gum is good for your teeth, especially after you have eaten but it is not practical to clean your teeth. But there is actually quite a lot of scientific evidence to back up these claims. According to the Daily Mail article, chewing on gums containing sugar substitutes such as Xylitol or Sorbitol can have a plaque-reducing effect. This is because Xylitol cannot be utilised by oral bacteria and they starve. As the bacteria die off, there is a reduction in decay. According to a study in the Journal Of Dental Education, to achieve a significant reduction in dental plaque you should chew Xylitol gum once a day for four weeks.

So these home remedies might be useful and easy things to remember to improve the health of our teeth in our everyday life. But problems with your teeth always seem to crop up when you really don’t want them – for example just before you are about to go on holiday, or worse, when you are already abroad. Unfortunately, I have heard a number of teeth-related horror stories either involving extortionate sums of money spent just before going away to get emergency dental treatment or miserable holidays because of tooth ache meaning all the lovely holiday food has to be replaced with mushy, bland versions!

OK so I hope I haven’t scared you too much, but what are my recommendations? Well if you have any worries about your teeth, make sure you get a checkup in plenty of time before you go abroad. And you also might want to make sure you have comprehensive travel insurance so if you do need emergency dental treatment abroad you are covered.

Other than that, enjoy these little tips to keep your teeth sparkling clean!