Dear Dr. Ellie:
I know I saw somewhere on your website alternative products (for those not living in US) but I cannot find it again. I live in Australia and was going to order several products from your website but the shipping was $350!!
I have been using xylitol for my 4yo daughter for a little over a week, but her molars look like they are getting worse! I need to start her on a rinse what can I buy in Australia? She brushes twice a day with Colgate Kids toothpaste. With the mouthrinse, I put one drop on her toothbrush is that correct? Should she brush with the children’s low fluoride toothpaste first and then brush over the mouthrinse?- or does she stop the toothpaste altogether?
With many thanks
SS
Hi SS,
I don’t know what those shipping charges are about I will ask my Operations Manager to look into this with you.
As for your child’s tooth:
Don’t panic! Cavities take about a year to form and sometimes 6 months to reverse them.
I don’t know why this “looks worse” but sometimes bacteria die off in the “cavity” and make it look darker.
Tooth remineralization happens beneath the surface of the tooth and works outward like the healing would happen to a gash in your knee. First the blood clots and the wound looks worse, maybe darker. Then new skin forms from underneath and eventually pushes the scab off.
It is similar with teeth as they heal from underneath outward so you cannot really “watch” !!
The usefulness of xylitol is to eradicate bad cavity-forming bacteria from teeth and also promote minerals to start healing this tooth.
It takes at least 5 exposures to xylitol each day for five weeks for this to work. You need to either give xylitol as a drink at least 5 times a day, or wipe/brush some xylitol dissolved in water on her teeth after every meal and drink.
Before naps or sleeping, either use some toothpaste if your daughter likes the taste (but I would only recommend Crest Regular paste many of the kids paste contain products that interfere with healing. I know that Crest works and you only need a tiny amount.) or get a dilute sodium fluoride rinse, use a drop in place of toothpaste on the brush.
Make sure you and the rest of the family are following a “get rid of mouth bacteria” program otherwise you will be the ones that reinfecting her!
Clean all toothbrushes in Listerine EVERY day rinse them off and store so they dry out completely before the next use.
Let me know if you have any other questions,
Best Wishes,
Ellie
26 Corporate Woods
Rochester, NY 14623
Categories: Uncategorized