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Garlic: Is it Effective Treatment for Tooth Decay? The Answer May Surprise You

August 9, 2017

Garlic: Is it Effective Treatment for Tooth Decay? The Answer May Surprise You

When most people think of garlic, they either think of delicious Italian food or they think of vampires. Either way, most don’t think of it as a medicine. Would it surprise you to know that it’s been used as medicine for more than 5,000 years? At California Dental Group, we would never recommend that eating garlic take the place of good home oral health care or exams with us, but it actually does have some benefits that you may want to know more about.

Allicin is what makes garlic a potent plant

Garlic has one ingredient that makes it especially potent: allicin. When you cut or crush garlic and a juice comes out, that’s the allicin. This is what produces all those unpleasant side effects from garlic, such as bad breath. However, it’s also what offers the best benefits. It makes it antifungal, antiviral, antiseptic, and antibacterial.

By now you know what causes tooth decay and gum disease

If you’ve been following the blog of California Dental Group then you know that the root cause of tooth decay and gum disease is bacteria. As you can imagine, the above properties of garlic can be very helpful in preventing and treating several oral health problems.

Did you know that there are upwards of 500 types of bacteria living in your mouth right now? Some actually offer health benefits while some can be bad for your overall health. In order to have good oral health, you’re tasked with finding a way of balancing the good and bad bacteria.

Allicin can inhibit some bacteria from growing

One of the things that’s so exciting about allicin is that it can actually inhibit the growth of only certain bacteria – and it happens that the one it inhibits are the “bad” bacteria. It can actually also encourage the “good” bacteria to further develop. As a result, it can actually be better for your mouth that certain other products that kill all bacteria in your mouth.

Is garlic better than antibiotics?

If your doctor tells you to take an antibiotic than you should. That said, in some cases the natural antibiotic nature of garlic could be very helpful. It’s what’s known as a broad spectrum antibiotic, which means it works against many different bacteria strains. While it’s possible for you to develop an immunity to pharmaceutical antibiotics, this isn’t possible with garlic.

How to use garlic for your health

There are many ways you can get the health benefits of garlic. Some people take it and apply it directly to the areas of their mouth that are in need of it. You can crush it, mix it into a salt paste, and apply it right to an infection. The allicin can help reduce the infection and reduce pain. If you don’t like the taste, consider mixing it with peanut butter. You can also simply eat more garlic for more general benefits.

At California Dental Group we think this is an interesting option to improve oral health. That said, it does not take the place of brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist regularly. Call us at (800) 407-0161 to set up your appointment.

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