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Ramona's Ramblings

Tooth Soap

Ramona Jan
Posted 8/9/22

It started with tooth soap, a soft, long thread of creamy material used for brushing teeth typically made from saponified olive and coconut oils, distilled H2O, and Himalayan salt. The idea came from …

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Ramona's Ramblings

Tooth Soap

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It started with tooth soap, a soft, long thread of creamy material used for brushing teeth typically made from saponified olive and coconut oils, distilled H2O, and Himalayan salt. The idea came from a friend who said, “I have something to tell you,” and then proceeded to giggle uncontrollably to the point of non-speech. Finally, she blurted, “Tooth soap. I’m using tooth soap to brush my teeth.” It’s a product, I later found out, that could be made at home if you know how to saponify something; turn fat into soap. I’ve never made my own. Instead, I bought some. I just had to try it. It wasn’t soapy tasting at all and it did clean teeth better, I thought, than ordinary toothpaste. I only gave it up due to expense.

Then one day, the same friend uttered another phase I had never, ever heard; Mouth Taping. In researching the term, I found the book, Breath by James Nestor. In it, he claims that mouth taping encourages nose breathing and that nose breathing is important to our overall health because the nose filters the air, whereas the mouth does not, therefore letting in lots of unwanted bacteria. He further states that in children, mouth breathing can cause crooked teeth, facial deformities, or poor growth. In adults, chronic mouth breathing can cause bad breath and gum disease. It can also worsen symptoms of other illnesses.

George Catlin, a pioneering anthropologist and painter, agreed. Born 1796 in Pennsylvania, Catlin traveled the country rendering Native American portraits. While spending time with various tribes, he noted how they made conscientious efforts to never breathe through the mouth. He further observed that the Natives trained their offspring from infancy to nose breathe by continually closing the mouths of their babies, and as a result “the adults had better overall health than white people”. After improving his own ill-health by nose breathing, he wrote and published the book, Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life.

Aside from regularly taping my mouth shut at night, I am now constantly monitoring my breathing during the day because women, it’s said, are the foremost mouth breathers. And I guess I’m one of them as I regularly catch myself in the middle of the night trying to breathe through the corners of the tape. Securely taped and breathing solely through the nose has improved my sleep and overall health so much, that I now have to consider the third practice my good friend recently mentioned. Hold on to your seats. It’s called Urine Therapy, and I haven’t tried it, yet, but I’m here to tell you about it. Who else will do that for you?

Urine Therapy dates back to ancient Roman and Egyptian times and is still used today primarily in India and China. It was popularized in the United States by British naturopath John W. Armstrong in the early 20th century. His family’s practice of using urine to treat minor stings and toothaches coupled with his own experience with ill-health (that he treated with a 45-day fast on nothing but urine and tap water) inspired him to start a clinic. Opened in 1918, Armstrong prescribed urine-therapy regimens that he devised to many thousands of patients, and in 1944 he published The Water of Life: A treatise on urine therapy, which became a founding document of the field.

I’m currently reading Armstrong’s book while my friend and many thousands, perhaps millions of people, rub their own urine upon their skin and into their hair and even drink it every day. Yes, drink it! Upon first hearing this, I almost vomited. Now I’m considering it. I survived tooth soap and mouth taping for the better. BTW, I’m not suggesting anyone else try it. I’m just doing my usual rambling. Please feel free to comment online or send a letter or email. I’d be interested in your thoughts.

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