Awhile back I had a post about not flossing according to Dr. Ellie Phillips.  Over a year ago, I started doing Dr. Ellie’s protocol of rinsing with Closis, brushing with Crest’s sodium fluoride toothpaste, rinsing with Listerine and then Act twice a day.  My mouth feels great and I stopped thinking about just having all my teeth pulled out in frustration because of dental problems.

I did have some setbacks along the way – a burning sensation on my lips and in my mouth that prevented me from eating spicy (I LOVE spicy) foods and so I subscribed to her $99 Boot Camp for answers.  These were a series of lessons and the only way I could communicate with Dr. Ellie in the comments that followed the lessons.  She did not have answers for my burning lips and mouth but thought it was due to having a dry mouth.  Therapies for that didn’t work and I kept muddling through her lessons.  I was doing the last step wrong – Listerine for seconds (since it burned) and rinsing with Act for a longer time.  Act should be rinsed for the same amount of time as Listerine.

I also learned that the unflavored versions are better than flavored (except for Listerine), and when I switched to Crest’s regular anti cavity toothpaste from the mint flavored gel toothpaste and also to Closis unflavored (Ultra Sensitive) mouth rinse, my burning lips and mouth problem subsided – hurray!

I would only floss between 2 of my back teeth because of a larger gap there which collected bits of food that were irritating and recently decided to floss all my teeth after brushing with toothpaste.  Yeow!  My gums started bleeding and google searching said I need to see a dental professional asap and that gums can never heal on its own.  Being a medical intervention skeptic, I decided to continue flossing gently followed by a Closis rinse and pull, because I really DID need to floss all my teeth to prevent bacteria and little bits of old food from accumulating (and it is stinky).

So, if anyone is actually doing Dr. Ellie’s protocol, just a few tips that I learned to pass along.  My gums are in great shape, I floss every morning and no more stinky teeth or bleeding.

If you are not trying her protocol, please ignore this post.  In any case, have a great teeth and mouth day!