Hello Dr. Ellie,
Your blog is a great resource.
Thank you for bringing your system to light for the world to see. I always felt that my dentists (and the dental community at large) fail to address the actual mechanism of tooth decay and arresting it. For a lifetime, brushing, flossing cleanings etc. have not been enough to prevent the slow march of decay into my teeth. I had always felt that after all these years and research, there should be a more proactive solution to decay. I too, always thought of the decay as an infection no different from an infection or deterioration of any other part of the body. It must be treated as such, not as an inevitable patch job down the road. I attempted to thwart the bacteria using various gargles and oral disinfectants, not realizing the pH nexus that you exposed to me. My treatments helped but came up short. I have been on you system religiously for almost two months and cannot believe how great things are working out. I have also started my young children on the modified version you outline. They have no cavities and I am looking to keep it that way. Thank you and keep up the great work!
I do have two questions: I use an Oral-B 3-D rechargeable toothbrush instead of a traditional brush. I find it cleans better.What are your thoughts on mechanical brushes? And can they be too good (enamel abrasion)?
Thanks, S
Dear S,
If you were the only person I had ever helped this letter today would have made the journey worth while for me! Thank you so much for your interest and appreciation.
I think that there are several well designed brushes in the marketplace but also a number of ones that are sold purely to make money and not for their effectiveness. This can easily be seen with the oral care products and tooth brushes are the same. My favorite is (of course) my own Zellies design toothbrush but I also like Mentadent brushes and GUM have some good designs also.
Until you have experienced a really “clean” mouth from a bacterial point of view, it is difficult to judge the quality of a toothbrush. I took all the toothbrushes that as a dentist I had been given, and we used them one by one to figure out the two that we liked the best. I say “we” because I recruited the 50+ staff from my husband’s restaurant to help with this experiment!
This is how we collectively decided on the Zellies design a blend of the features that we liked.
I know several other dentists (who have closets full of free give-away brushes of all kinds manual and electric) that like Zellies brush best of all.
On the other hand, I know people who swear that their teeth and oral health are improved by using an electric brush. I think it does not matter too much providing you like the feel of brushing that you use a good technique (I am making a short video to show this!) and it is most important to keep your brush spotlessly clean and away from the toilet area.
http://www.zellies.com/store.asp?pid=17185
Thanks again for your great vote of confidence and please let me know if I can help in any other way,
Best Wishes,
Ellie
Ellie Phillips DDS
Dental Health for Everyone!
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