Oral hygiene with salt: Recommended or not?

Hildegard von Bingen recommended the use of salt for oral hygiene, but this was forgotten over the centuries and after the invention of toothpaste. Now alternative dental products with natural ingredients are back in vogue. Salt has thus gained importance in the care of teeth. And rightly so?

In principle, salt can have a positive effect on the mucous membranes in the mouth and throat. Salt can act in the following ways:

antibacterial

decongestant

disinfecting

analgesic

anti-inflammatory

You could also say that salt can fight bacteria in the mouth and thus reduce inflammation.

Oral hygiene with salt: Be sure to rinse. Do not rinse.

If you want to use natural salt for oral hygiene, you should gargle with a salt solution called a brine.

Brushing teeth with salt or toothpaste containing salt is not recommended because the abrasiveness of salt can cause permanent damage. According to one study, adding sea salt to conventional abrasives in a toothpaste can lead to high dentin wear without providing any additional dental health benefits. In addition, salt does not replace fluoride. However, fluoride is essential for daily oral hygiene because it makes the outer surface of teeth more resistant to acid attacks.

Gargling with a salt solution can be a useful supplement to daily oral hygiene with toothpaste because the antibacterial properties of salt can help with the following ailments:

Bacteria can be reduced, so incipient gingivitis can be contained.

Bad breath can have numerous causes, including harmful bacteria in the mouth, which can be fought with salt.

One study found that twice-daily rinsing significantly reduced the incidence of alveolitis sicca after tooth extraction. Alveolitis sicca is manifested by constant, throbbing pain.

Pain from aphthae can be relieved by anti-inflammatory salt rinses.

Oral hygiene with salt: Which salt solution should be used?

For gargling to have the desired effect, the solution must be used correctly and also have the right concentration.

On the one hand, you have the option of buying ready-made salt solutions in a drugstore or pharmacy. This is convenient and safe, because the salt concentration is correct in any case. It is also advantageous that the gargles available in stores usually have natural flavors added to them and are therefore more pleasant to the taste. In addition, antiseptic drugs such as dequalinium chloride are often added.

On the other hand, you can simply mix your own saline solution. To do this, dissolve one teaspoon of salt in 250 ml of lukewarm water - and you're done. It doesn't matter whether you use sea or rock salt, because both salts consist of 98 percent sodium chloride. Simple table salt is perfectly adequate for making gargles.

Oral hygiene with salt: How to gargle

Make sure the salt is completely dissolved in the water and gargle with the solution for one to two minutes. Let the salt water sink as deeply as possible into the throat to reach as large an area as possible.

For acute symptoms, gargling can be done every two to three hours, six to eight times a day.

After gargling, spit out the liquid and do not reuse it.