Accept Mother Nature’s Help With Your Smile

With the economy as it is these days, any chance you can find to save money should be taken advantage of. You may try by purchasing a more fuel efficient vehicle, or getting a programmable thermostat for your home. Anything you can do to put money back into your bank account is a good thing.

One place where saving money should be explored is dental care. Galleria of Smiles is a dental care provider where you are sure to get exactly what you pay for. The value you find in the services that we provide is seen by everyone that has the pleasure of seeing your smile. Dr. Justin and Dr. M. Emami will give a great looking smile, but while you are out of the office, we want to help you take care of your smile as well.

That is why we have this list of natural dental care options that you can use to safeguard your smile. The added bonus is that these recipes will also save you money.

 

Natural Options to Help Your Smile

A strong home dental care regimen is a key part of keeping a great smile. Here are some options that you can look into. Note: You should talk to your dentist at Galleria of Smiles before stopping the use of any prescribed dental care product.

• Homemade Toothpaste – Everyone brushes their teeth, and that means that everyone uses toothpaste. Now, because a tube is about $5 or so, it is a purchase that we don’t think too much about. The point we are all missing is that when we extend that $5 over the course of a year, a family of five may go through as many as 20 tubes of toothpaste in a given year. At $5 a tube, that comes out to $100 before sales tax. Seems like something you should take notice of now, huh? Here is a fast and easy recipe for an effective homemade toothpaste option that will clean your teeth, without cleaning out your checking account.

Get a sealable container (we suggest a mason jar) to store your toothpaste in. Add in ⅔ of a cup of baking soda, a teaspoon of fine sea salt, and a teaspoon of peppermint extract. The peppermint extract is for flavor, so feel free to add more or less to suit your preference. You can also substitute with another extract that you prefer. It is up to you. Once the ingredients are added, it is time to add the filtered water. Add until you reach the desired consistency. You now have yourself the rough equivalent of a normal tube of toothpaste.

This recipe costs $7 for the raw ingredients, but they will make multiple batches of toothpaste. Each batch will cost you roughly $0.65 to $1.50 per batch and can replace a tube of store bought toothpaste. This is a dramatic saving and could lead to a net gain of between $20 and $60 per year.

• Homemade Mouthwash – Besides toothpaste, another important part of a strong home dental care routine is an effective mouthwash. Store-bought mouthwash contains fluoride and/or alcohol to help rid your mouth of harmful, disease-causing bacteria. While store bought mouthwash is great for helping keep this bacteria under control, there are also natural options that can supplement their use, and save you money over the course of time. Here is one such recipe.

Get yourself a mason jar to store your mouthwash. Start with a ½ cup of filtered water, and then add 2 tsp of baking soda, and 2 drops of each of tea tree oil and peppermint oil (flavor). Mix these ingredients together to give yourself a fast and easy homemade mouthwash. Make sure to shake the jar before use, as the baking soda will settle to the bottom.

You can purchase all of the ingredients for about $6 to make several batches. A store bought mouthwash will cost roughly $0.10 per ounce. This recipe has a cost of $0.03 per ounce. That is a 70% savings and will add up to real money over the course of time.

• Homemade Dental Whitening – Dental whitening is something that is a want, not a need when it comes to the health of your teeth. Even with that in mind, There is nothing wrong with having a whiter smile. You can mix up a home whitening aid by grabbing some strawberries and baking soda from the market. Mash up some strawberries and mix with baking soda into a paste. Put this paste on just like toothpaste and let it sit for five or six minutes. Your teeth will benefit from this after a week or so of consistent use. Now, professional treatments from Galleria of Smiles is much more effective and efficient than this method.

Saving money is something that we all are trying to do. Drs. Justin and Mehrdad Emami are here to help you have a great smile, and save you money at the same time. We have the skills needed to help you and your smile be as good as you can be.

Call either of our locations today to find out more.