Plaque & Tartar

Do you feel a slimy, ‘fuzzy’ or rough sensation around the insides of your teeth and around the gum line? Do you feel uninspired by the idea of visiting your dental hygienist for a teeth cleaning? Do you feel annoyed by this rather irritating sensation in your mouth?

We all know that feeling! Most of us, at some point in our lives, have dealt with plaque or tartar, usually when we’ve been a little bit lazy with our oral health, which, let’s face it, it happens! It takes as little as 24 hours for plaque to form into hard calcified tartar, so those unpleasant sensations in the mouth are bound to sneak up on us sooner or later.

Don’t worry! Good-Gums is here to help!

The ingredients in Good-Gums are specifically designed to help your body heal itself naturally. After using Good-Gums, you’ll have greatly reduced plaque and tartar formation, your teeth will feel cleaner after each use with no scummy feeling, and your dental appointments will be quicker and easier. Hooray!

What does it mean to have plaque and tartar?

Dental plaque is central player in oral health problems that range from gingivitis to periodontal disease to dental caries (cavities).  It’s a type of biofilm that’s formed by bacteria that are naturally-occurring in the mouth.  As individual, free-floating (planktonic) bacteria, they are quite harmless, as are the other 200 or so strains of oral bacteria that live in the mouth, mostly to help digestion and to ward off outside pathogenic bacteria.  But when the plaque-forming strains of bacteria get organized, they cause problems.

Here’s how they get going: Teeth naturally acquire a soft layer of saliva-protein (dental pellicle) within seconds after chewing or cleaning, which helps protect tooth enamel from acids in food.  Over several hours, planktonic bacteria float against dental pellicle and loosely attach to it, and then multiply and form micro-colonies of bacteria.  The micro-colonies secrete a slimy layer that protects the bacteria, and that also captures yeasts and other organic materials to form a soft transparent biofilm mat known as of plaque.  As the plaque develops and expands, the biofilm prevents oxygen from penetrating, and then anaerobic bacteria (that can thrive only in the absence of oxygen) colonize and eventually dominate the plaque.

Within a day or so, the plaque starts absorbing minerals from saliva, and the plaque transforms from a soft biofilm into a calcified mineral deposit that’s harder than bone and that’s cemented tightly to teeth, usually at or just below the gum line.  The calcified plaque is called tarter (or dental calculus).  Tartar is acid-soaked from the ongoing fermentation process of bacterial feeding, and the acid can dissolve tooth enamel and cause lesions in gum tissue, allowing pathways for bacteria to enter and infect both.

For bacteria to thrive, they need to eat, and the bacteria closest to the tooth surface (especially the anaerobic kind) obtain their food by fermenting sucrose, which is found in the food we humans eat.  It’s during fermentation that they produce acids.  When humans eat a diet of food that rapidly converts to sucrose (such as refined grains or sugars that are in the vast majority of modern foods), the population of plaque-bacteria proliferates.  That’s why primitive societies who didn’t eat grains or sugars had little tooth decay or tooth loss (as shown by isolated hunters and gatherers and by skulls dug up by archeologists), while advanced societies are plagued by gum and tooth problems.

People in primitive societies didn’t have to practice oral hygiene to have healthy mouths.  We do, and some of us even have a genetic predisposition to greater plaque and tartar formation.  Studies are currently underway to identify the genetic markers of people who are more susceptible.

Let’s see how Good-Gums can help!

How our combination of ingredients help:

Whether you use it as an aid to flossing, when brushing or as a mouthwash, Good-Gums is particularly formulated to help the gums.  It works with your body’s natural processes, whose predisposition is to heal and nurture.  Good-Gums takes advantage of two facts about your gums: their cells have some of the fastest replacement rates in your body, and they are comprised almost entirely of connective tissue.  In most of the body a cell lives for weeks, months or even years before being replaced, while a new gum cell is replaced after only 5 to 7 days.  Healthier gum cells can start taking the place of less-healthy cells quickly, if they are given what they need.  Particularly for connective tissue cells, what they need during their formation is a large amount of vitamin C.  Good-Gums provides a healthy amount of vitamin C, plus citrus bioflavonoids that help the body utilize the vitamin C.  The Good-Gums formula dissolves right in the mouth to be absorbed directly by the gums, where it’s needed the most.

The Good-Gums formula contains a lot of alkaline baking soda to buffer the acidity of its vitamin C, thereby protecting your enamel from acid erosion.  To keep the alkaline baking soda from reacting with the acidic vitamin C in the bottle, the entire formula is kept in a dry powder state.  When the powder meets saliva in your mouth, it becomes a liquid solution that starts getting absorbed by the gums immediately before the two ingredients react to weaken the vitamin C.

Good-Gums encourages absorption by forestalling an ion imbalance that would otherwise stop absorption through cell membranes.  Good-Gums contains French grey sea salt, with a mineral balance similar to human-produced fluids (so much so that it was successfully used in place of blood for transfusions to some wounded sailors in WW-II, when blood wasn’t available).  Since more of the Good-Gums solution can be absorbed, it can do its work quicker and better.

Besides supporting the growth of healthier gum cells, Good-Gums also has herbal ingredients that soothe sore gums; myrrh and peppermint are famous for their soothing properties.

To help control the population of the plaque-producing bacteria, peppermint and cinnamon act as mild antimicrobials.  Baking soda buffers the acidity, making the oral environment less favorable for plaque-producing bacteria to multiply.

To help remove plaque from constant contact with the gum margins (where they can re-infect the gums), Good-Gums helps remove plaque, using cranberry, which has the unusual property of loosening the grip of plaque, so that it can more easily be removed during brushing and flossing. Your gums can improve by the combination of these three strategies: active nutritional help for the formation of healthier gum cells, soothing sore tissue, and reducing the numbers of and contact by infectious agents.

Try it and see for yourself…

Healthy teeth and gums – for life!

Good-Gums goes to work straight away. Feel the difference as our unique formula – containing everything teeth and gums need to heal and restore – takes effect.

During the first one or two bottles, you are likely to notice a definite improvement to your gums.  They may feel firmer and tighter.  If your gums had previously been bleeding at times, they probably will have stopped.  Previous sore spots may no longer feel sore…  all encouraging signs that you’re on the right path.

But that’s just the start…

Our goal for you is to have fully restored, healthy gum tissue firmly reattached to your teeth, tight gum pockets and no inflammation or irritation, soreness, infection or bleeding – ever again.

And as thousands of customers already know – with Good-Gums it’s possible!

That’s why we recommend that you keep up the good work and continue with an oral care routine featuring Good-Gums for life, so your teeth and gums continue to benefit from our combination of effective natural ingredients.

So invest today in healthy teeth and gums for life with Good-Gums.

2-in-1 Good-Gums – the 100% natural mouthwash for plaque and tartar

Good-Gums can act as a powdered concentrate that becomes a potent liquid mouthwash when it dissolves in your mouth’s saliva.  As soon as Good-Gums powder dissolves in your saliva, the ingredients activate. Vitamin C (vital for healing) is absorbed by your gum tissue as the other natural ingredients get to work on bad bacteria, nutrifying and cleansing your whole mouth, supporting your body’s natural healing processes. Good-Gums contains no toxic or artificial ingredients that interfere with natural healing so your gums can soothe, strengthen, and heal themselves naturally!

How to use Good-Gums for plaque and tartar:

Tooth brushing

Tooth brushing is an essential practice for breaking up plaque on the front (outer) surfaces and also the back (inner) surfaces of teeth.  Brushing with Good-Gums uses a slightly different technique than brushing with toothpaste.   That’s because toothpaste relies on the abrasives in it to grind away plaque, which is somewhat effective but which also grinds away molecules from the surface of tooth enamel.  Good-Gums doesn’t have any abrasives added, but instead uses an herbal ingredient that relaxes bacteria’s adhesive grip, so that the toothbrush can more easily remove the plaque.  Toothbrushes intended for use with abrasive-laden toothpaste are relatively hard, even when they’re labeled “medium” or “soft; with Good-Gums use an “extra-soft” toothbrush.  Instead of using a toothbrush to grind abrasive paste into where plaque forms, a toothbrush is used to massage a dissolved solution of Good-Gums into the plaque and into the gums as well; then the brush sweeps away the loosened debris.  Electric toothbrushes can be used with Good-Gums; they almost always come with extra soft bristles.

Mouthwash for plaque and tartar

The power of nature in Good-Gums is released as soon as the pure ingredients dissolve in your mouth’s saliva instantly activating to create a potent mouthwash or oral rinse. The vitamin-rich, saline-neutral, pH-neutral formula goes to work straight away bathing your whole mouth in bacteria-fighting, gum-soothing and nutrifying liquid.

Here’s how to use Good-Gums 2-in-1 tooth & gum powder and mouthwash to treat plaque and tartar. Place a portion of the powder in your mouth (the same amount that you’d use on your toothbrush). Feel the powder easily and quickly dissolve in your mouth’s saliva and enjoy the taste! Then gently swoosh the liquid around your whole mouth. You can almost feel the ingredients going to work, softening plaque, soothing irritation, helping your gums heal, nutrifying all of your mouth’s soft tissues and fortifying your gums with a huge dose of Vitamin C (equivalent to eating a whole orange, every time you use it). Take your time, about 2 minutes, then spit or swallow – whichever you prefer. For a little more absorption, we recommend not rinsing your mouth with water afterwards so that any remaining Good-Gums can continue working.

Flossing

If done properly, flossing is a way to disrupt plaque that has formed on the narrow sides of the teeth where a toothbrush can’t reach.  Plaque and tartar that persist on the sides of the teeth infect the gums between the teeth, and when they recede, gaps start to appear between teeth. Flossing with Good-Gums not only helps loosen the plaque while it scrapes the plaque away, the floss carries some Good-Gums solution under the gum line.  The floss should be half-wrapped tightly around one side of a tooth while the floss is moved up and down to scrape away plaque.

Interdental brushes

A way to remove even more plaque is with an interproximal brush (sometimes called an interdental brush or proxabrush).  It’s a small plastic or wire rod with little bristles spiraling around one end of the rod.  Put a small pinch of Good-Gums in your mouth, where it will dissolve, swish it to a section of teeth and move the interproximal brush in and out between teeth where the gums are.

Oral irrigators

Oral irrigation is an additional step you can take to control plaque and thereby prevent the formation of tartar.  Some common brands of oral irrigators are Hydrofloss, Waterpik and Viajet.  These help get to small bits of plaque that are left behind by the above processes.

How to tell that Good-Gums is working:

A reduction in soft plaque is the obvious sign that diligently practicing your oral hygiene practices with Good-Gums is working.  Your tongue won’t feel that fuzzy or slimy sensation that you had been used to, and may have thought was normal.  When there’s less or no soft plaque built up, there won’t be the necessary starting point that develops into tartar.

If you’ve had a dental cleaning that has removed the tartar that has previously formed, then you should notice a reduction in the formation of calcified tartar on your teeth at the gum line.

One way to tell if you’ve been effectively removing plaque is by using disclosure tablets or a disclosing solution. One of the earliest indirect indicators is to look for the absence of plaque and tartar; this can be accomplished by using a chewable disclosing tablet or a liquid disclosing solution after your daily routine of brushing, flossing, interdental brushing, and/or oral irrigation.  A disclosing solution is available at drugstores and it reveals any remaining plaque or tartar by staining it with vegetable dye, and then the dye can easily be brushed away along with any plaque that was missed.  If there is no plaque or tartar, there will be no source of additional infection, and there will be no new occurrences of gum infection, and the underlying cause of most gum recession will be absent.

How long until you can see results:

Many people notice a positive difference from the very first day.  Your mouth typically has that “just back from the dentist” feeling, when the removal of soft plaque is so complete.  With each passing day of diligent use, you can expect a continuation of that feeling, and, if you’ve had chronic bad breath, a reduction of that, as well.

Thank goodness for Good Gums!!