“Brush Better” - Why This Tired Old Advice Has Let You Down

More than 90% of adults in America have had at least one cavity in their permanent teeth.

I’m going to say that once again, for the people in the back - more than 90% of adults in the United States have had permanent dental damage requiring intervention during their lifetime.

If you’re only successful 10% of the time, you might want to reconsider your strategy in the war against tooth decay.

Whether you have a fancy electric toothbrush with 17 settings and the ability to make the jump to lightspeed in under 6 seconds or you’re a fan of the classic brush powered by grit, determination, and a little bit of elbow grease, it’s clear that tooth-brushing all the time isn’t posting up reasonable results in cavity prevention.

To help us better understand how to win the war against cavities, I’m going to be borrowing the wisdom of the most famous general from history and the author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu.

Cavities - It’s about Acid!

In order to beat cavities, you need to understand what causes them in the first place. That means there’s a bit of a science lesson in order, but don’t fall asleep just yet - we’ll have some tools that will combat the true cause of cavities coming right up.

The words “dental caries” or “cavities” are basically just some scary medical words used to describe areas where the minerals that make up your teeth have been dissolved. The cause of this damage is acid, which slowly erodes and removes these essential minerals over time.

One source of cavity-causing acid is the food that we eat. Many otherwise healthy foods are naturally acidic, which can cause tiny amounts of damage whenever we chow down.

However, even if we decided to only eat foods on the alkaline side of the pH scale (which, by the way, would exclude most fruits and vegetables, so, uh, no thank you), most of us still have to contend with another source of tooth-eroding acid - bacteria that live in our mouths.

All people, but especially those who seem to get way more than their share of cavities, have parasitic bacteria living in their mouths. Not all oral bacteria are harmful, but there’s a particularly nasty strain that scientists have named Streptococcus mutans. These S. mutans bacteria convert particles of the carbohydrates we eat into acid, even if it wasn’t acidic to begin with!

Obviously, giving up food completely isn’t an option, so what are we to do about the inevitable acid attacks sloshing around our mouths?

Step 1 - Know When Acid Attacks!

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

The first step to beating back cavities for good is to know when acid plans to attack.

Fortunately for you and me, acid and the bacteria who create it don’t exactly have an elaborate 15-stage battle plan. Whenever there’s food in your mouth, you can expect acid to follow soon after.

As long as you’re prepared to deal with acid immediately after meals, snacks, & sodas, you can rout cavities, every time.

However, you’ll want to be careful about your battle strategy. One of the main reasons that old advice to “brush better” has let you down is that your toothbrush simply can’t directly deal with acid when it attacks. More about that later.

Step 2 - Be Prepared!

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win” -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Neutralizing acid after you eat is actually very, very simple. Your body already has a natural, built-in mechanism for doing just that - saliva!

Your saliva is already calibrated to neutralize acidic conditions in your mouth. What’s more, your saliva contains essential minerals to actually repair the damage dealt to your teeth by acid attacks! So we need to be prepared to get that saliva pumping as soon as possible after every meal.

More and more, dentists are recommending tools like Epic Gum & Mints immediately after meals to combat acid. While it may seem like all you’re doing is freshening your breath, these simple tools actually work to get your salivary glands going. And, unlike some sugar-free gums or mints, Epic doesn’t contain any questionable ingredients nasty oral bacteria can use to generate more acid.

Epic Gum & Mints help you clean up that tooth-eroding acid in mere minutes, dramatically reducing the amount of exposure (and thus the amount of damage) to your teeth.

If you are caught unprepared, though, you should at the very least try to rinse your mouth out with water. While a quick swish and spit can’t do anything to combat cavity-causing bacteria or get your saliva flowing, it can help you rinse out and dilute some of the more potent acidic threats to your smile.

One thing you should most definitely NOT do is brush immediately after introducing acid into your mouth. Your toothbrush is designed to scrub away plaque and other gunk. Taking that tooth-dissolving acid, spreading it around, and slathering it all over your vulnerable teeth will actually do more harm than good.

Step 3 - Fight Back Against Bacteria!

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Once those bacteria are reeling, it’s time to push back! After all, it’s pretty hard for these oral health invaders to harm your teeth once they’ve been evicted from your mouth.

That’s where xylitol comes in.

Xylitol is a sweetener produced naturally by plants, and study after study after study shows that it works wonders against cavity-causing oral bacteria. Xylitol interferes with the metabolic processes of these acid-producing menaces, eventually causing them to die and leave your teeth in peace.

In fact, it’s so effective at combating cavities that the California Dental Association recommends that you and I get at least 6 grams of xylitol every day. Once again, that’s where Epic Gum & Mints come into play. With more xylitol per piece than other brands, Epic makes it easy to get your dentist-recommended daily dose and thwart cavities once and for all.

Test Our Battle Plan, Risk-Free

If you’ve been losing the war against cavities, it’s probably time to shake up your strategy.

However, we don’t blame you if you’re feeling more than a little skeptical of our plan - we’re the ones that stand to make a buck on Epic Gum & Mints, after all.

Whether it’s the great abundance of scientific evidence on xylitol, the praise and adoration of dentists across the world, or the smiling shouts of our satisfied customers, you don’t have to look far to find someone who both loves Epic Gum & Mints and doesn’t stand to profit from saying so.

Of course, we know there’s simply no substitute for first-hand experience, which is why we offer the famous Epic No-Bull Satisfaction Guarantee - we guarantee you’ll feel a difference in just two weeks on Epic’s patented system of cavity-crushing oral health products, or we’ll send you money back, no questions asked.

There’s no fine print and absolutely no funny business - my mother simply wouldn’t stand for it.

Give Epic a try. We promise you won’t be disappointed.