You’ve probably heard about all the amazing benefits and uses of essential oils in aromatherapy, your home, and in personal care products. Maybe you’ve even used them yourself. Essential oils can help you (or your kids) relax after a hectic day, enhance the potency of your homemade cleaners, and improve your skin through DIY beauty products. These concentrated plant extracts offer a natural way to harness the health benefits of plants. 

But did you know that adding essential oils to your natural mouth care routine can also have a positive impact on your oral health? These simple, yet powerful, oils can be the missing link in your oral hygiene regimen.

Essential oils are concentrated liquids derived from various plants and herbs, each with unique characteristics and benefits. They have been used for centuries for their therapeutic and medicinal properties.

When added to your oral care routine, essential oils can help balance the oral microbiome and protect against harmful bacteria due to their natural antimicrobial properties.

What Is the Oral Microbiome?

Our oral microbiome is a diverse community of microorganisms that live in our mouths and play a critical role in maintaining the health of our teeth and gums.

Maintaining a healthy oral microbiome is vital for good dental health. Factors such as poor dental hygiene, a diet high in sugar and processed foods, and certain medical conditions can disrupt this balance.

When the balance of good and bad bacteria is disrupted, harmful bacteria can thrive and cause issues such as plaque buildup and cavities. This can lead to bigger oral health issues such as tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath. Moreover, an imbalance in the oral microbiome can affect overall health, as it is connected to other parts of the body.

Essential Oils for the Mouth?

Conventional oral care products, such as toothpaste and mouthwash, often contain harsh chemicals that can disrupt the balance of our oral microbiome. Many also contain artificial flavors and sweeteners, which can promote the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth.

It’s important to find oral care products that do not use such harsh ingredients that can often do more harm than good. One way to do this is to choose natural oral care products and avoid the harmful side effects of conventional products. 

Often, natural oral care products use essential oils because of their powerful properties. Studies show that certain essential oils can effectively reduce plaque, freshen breath, and balance our oral microbiome.

Essential oils are chosen for their antibacterial, antiviral, or antimicrobial properties. This helps balance your oral microbiome and keep bad bacteria out. In addition, you’ll get other amazing benefits to your mouth from essential oils, such as:

• Reduce plaque buildup - Certain essential oils have been found to effectively reduce plaque buildup and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in the mouth.
• Freshen breath - Essential oils have natural antibacterial properties that can help combat bad breath by eliminating odor-causing bacteria.
• Soothe inflammation - Some essential oils have anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce swelling and irritation in the gums, promoting healing and preventing gum disease.
• Prevent and treat infections - Studies have shown that essential oils can effectively help with oral infections, such as gum disease and candida overgrowth.

These are just a few of the many benefits that essential oils offer for oral health. 

Commonly Used Essential Oils in Oral Health

Here are some commonly used essential oils in oral health, each with unique properties that contribute to a balanced oral microbiome and overall good oral health. These oils are antibacterial, antiviral, antimicrobial, or antiseptic, meaning they discourage or inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, viruses, microbes, and microorganisms. Additionally, these oils offer important benefits:

• Clove - Reduces dental pain, improves bad breath, prevents gum disease
• Tea tree - Helps alleviate bleeding gums, decreases tooth decay
• Thyme - Prevents growth of bacteria, can help with HSV1 virus (cold sores)
• Cinnamon - Reduces inflammation, helps prevent fungus growth 
• Citrus - Decreases tooth decay, reduces plaque adherence
• Lavender - Reduces dental pain, produces calming effect
• Peppermint - Reduces plaque adherence, helps with fresh breath

These oils are important for their unique benefits and properties, making natural oral care products a great way to keep your mouth clean and your oral microbiome balanced.

How to Use Essential Oils for Oral Health

Knowing the benefits of essential oils to your oral health, you might wonder how you can use these concentrated oils in your daily routine to promote a cleaner mouth. There are several ways to use essential oils for oral health, including:

• Oil pulling - This traditional Ayurvedic practice involves swishing a tablespoon of oil (such as coconut or sesame oil) around in your mouth for 10-20 minutes. Adding a few drops of essential oils to the oil can enhance the benefits. Read more about oil pulling here.
• Toothpaste - You can make your own natural toothpaste by mixing essential oils with baking soda, coconut oil, and other natural ingredients. Don’t have time to make your own? Check out Wellnesse’s natural toothpastes.
• Mouthwash - Diluting a few drops of essential oil in water and using it as a mouth rinse can help freshen your breath and promote a healthy oral microbiome. Or try out Wellnesse’s Balanced Mouth Blend. The Mouth Blend contains a multitude of essential oils such as cinnamon, peppermint, spearmint, clove bud, and more! These essential oils work together to reduce inflammation, freshen your breath, and replace your toxic mouthwash.

Replace Your Conventional Oral Care Products with Natural Alternatives (with Essential Oils)

Wellnesse offers a variety of natural oral care products that include essential oils for their boosting properties. Swapping out your conventional toothpaste and mouthwash for these products will not only work to rebalance your microbiome but also give you the benefits of these powerful oils, like combating bacteria that can lead to gum disease and bad breath. 

Wellnesse offers three natural toothpastes that harness the properties of peppermint. Try the Whitening Toothpaste alone or in combination with our Charcoal Toothpaste 2-3 times a week for cleaner, healthier, whiter teeth. 

Wellnesse’s Balanced Mouth Blend is a unique combination of essential oils specifically selected for their benefits to oral health. It contains a blend of peppermint, spearmint, clove bud, myrrh, oregano, and cinnamon leaf oils to freshen breath, fight bacteria, and promote a healthy oral microbiome. This blend is safe for the whole family!

You can use the Mouth Blend as a mouthwash by adding 3-4 drops to a small glass of water, add a drop to your toothpaste, or mix it with your oil for oil pulling.

All of our products are free from harmful chemicals such as sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, triclosan, and artificial flavors and sweeteners. In addition, our products are packaged in sustainable packaging like glass jars or sugarcane bioplastic (a renewable alternative to plastic). So not only are you getting better products for you and your family, but you’re helping out the environment too!

Essential oils are a powerful tool in your natural oral care toolkit. Making simple swaps to natural products that include these concentrated plant compounds will help you and your family balance your oral microbiome, fight harmful bacteria, and build stronger teeth and gums.