Did you know that your gut microbiome starts in your mouth? We’re told that the key to good oral health is to follow the recommendations set out by the ADA, but is this the best way? Trina Felber, the creator of Primal Life Organics, joins me today to discuss natural oral health.
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About Trina Felber
Born in 1968, the second of five daughters in Toledo, Ohio, Trina grew up amongst a house full of skin and beauty products. As a youth, Trina was always health conscious and science-driven. In 1992 Trina obtained her RN diploma from St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. Over the next decade, she worked as a Registered Nurse in specialty areas including Burn ICU, Neuro ICU, Medical ICU, and Surgical ICU. Trina spent a year as a traveling nurse before committing to furthering her education.
Trina studied and obtained her BSN in 2004 from The University of Akron. She continued her studies and received her Masters of Science in Nursing with a specialty in Nurse Anesthesia in 2007.
In 2010, Trina was introduced to Crossfit and the Paleo lifestyle by her husband, box owner Josh Felber. True to her “Type A” personality, Trina researched and perfected her Paleo lifestyle. She and her husband easily adapted to the Paleo diet and raise their three young children Paleo.
Living proof that Paleo equals health, Trina takes the Paleo world beyond the diet and applies it to the food for the skin. After all, to truly reap the benefits, all aspects - including skincare, must be as nutrient-dense as possible. Trina is committed to providing nutrient-dense, 100% Paleo Skin-Food that is made from fresh, organic ingredients.
Each Creation is extensively researched for specific skin types and conditions. No product is made until it is ordered ensuring the freshest, most nutrient-dense Paleo Skin-Food is delivered. Trina continues to work as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, as well as Paleo Advocate, Educator, and Skincare Expert.
On this episode of The Girlfriend Doctor, Trina shares how the dental products recommended by the ADA might actually be creating more disease in your mouth than they’re solving. When these products contain triclosan, SLS, fluoride, and other harsh chemicals, they disrupt your mouth’s natural pH balance.
Trina explains how your mouth, specifically your saliva, is the first line of defense against infections, diseases, and harmful bacteria that exists in our modern world. This is especially prevalent in our American soil is lacking so many of the vitamins and minerals due to factory farming and harmful chemical treatments.
By changing your dental products to natural, chemical-free ones, Trina says that you can help create a more alkaline environment for your mouth. An alkaline mouth has a direct impact on your gut health and microbiome.
Trina gives us the information we need to make informed choices about the dental products we choose. She tells us what the problem with most ADA recommended dental products is. And finally, Trina gives us a definite answer to why we should be scraping our tongue every day.
How confident are you in your dental hygiene? Do you scrape your tongue every day? As always, you can ask me anything and let me hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you have questions, email team@drannacabeca.com.
In This Episode:
- Where a good, healthy microbiome starts
- How dental products could be creating more disease in your mouth
- How American soil is impacting our overall health, starting with our dental hygiene
- What happens when your mouth is an alkaline environment
- What the problem with most dental products is
- Why it’s so important to scrape your tongue
Subscribe to The Girlfriend Doctor Podcast w/ Dr. Anna Cabeca on Youtube
Quotes:
“One of the best ways that you can protect yourself is by keeping your mouth healthy. But if you’re using harsh ingredients or triclosan, SLS, or even fluoride, inside your mouth and body, you’re destroying your body’s first line of defense against all bacteria and all bad viruses.” (5:59)
“I think that the ADA really has us all brainwashed into believing that we are supposed to brush our teeth to clean them when in reality, your saliva is meant to do that as you eat.” (10:03)
“I know a lot of people that have not gotten the flu or a cold since they switched their oral care products because it’s such a drastic change when you use what’s good for you and something that allows your saliva, your body’s natural way to defend you, to actually work the way it’s supposed to. It’s a powerful thing.” (21:43)
Resources Mentioned
Buy The Gemstone Face Collection
Find Trina Felber and Primal Life Organics Online
Find Primal Life organics on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest | Instagram
Transcript:
Trina:
The ADA really has us all brainwashed into believing that we are supposed to brush our teeth to clean them. When in reality your saliva is meant to do that as you eat. Your saliva is really meant to just wash away all the food and then your brushing to help just clean them a little bit more. But when you stop and realize that when your body is really meant to do that, if you think about why you should brush your teeth, it really should be to alkalize your mouth because if you alkalize your mouth you are going to support a good microbiome. That's the second, thing you want to support a good healthy microbiome.
Dr. Anna:
Hello everyone. Welcome to the girlfriend doctor podcast. It is Dr. Anna Cabeca and it is my mission and my passion to help women live better lives before, during, and after menopause.
Dr. Anna:
So today we are going to be talking about how Keto-Green meets dental hygiene and I bring in my dear friend and founder of primal life organics, Trina Felber, who is a nurse and has specialized in dental care products from her own personal story and her journey. And which I want to emphasize how important dental care is to our overall health and why the alkaline component is key. So yes, the alkaline pH of your saliva is beneficial for healthy bacteria in your mouth as the first line of defense for our overall physiology. So enjoy our podcast and remember that I'm here for you and I love receiving your questions and your comments. And again, I thank you for being here. Let me introduce you to Trina.
Dr. Anna:
Well, hello Trina. Thank you for joining me and my community and talking about how Keto-Green meets dental hygiene. I'm just loving the rhyme.
Trina:
I know, I love it. I love it when things come together like they're supposed to.
Dr. Anna:
Yes, yes. And I was commenting, you were asking about my bandana. For those who are listening, you can't see it, but I am wearing a bandana and I was just out with my daughter and she barrel races, she does horseback riding and we have a horse named faith. And so for social distancing, I have my good cowgirl bandana and I use it as a face mask.
Trina:
I was going to ask you if you use it. I've seen people out and about with bandanas that they're using as face masks. So people are getting creative, which is awesome.
Dr. Anna:
Well we've known each other for a long time and I love you and I admire your work. And really just the concept of dental hygiene, really because as an obstetrician, understanding that poor oral health is associated with more miscarriages and preterm births. And that's an important thing that most people don't realize. But yet it's true and it's critically important and there's something we can do about it. And there's a healthy way to get a healthy mouth. Right?
Dr. Anna:
And then there's the unhealthy way. And even talking right now, I was reading an article talking about frequent mouthwash users, like standard mouthwash is a risk factor. So let's go into this. Let's talk about dental hygiene and our immunity. Let's start with that. And a little bit of your backstory and how you became so passionate in this field.
Trina:
Well, there was a study, I'm glad you mentioned that there was a study that I saw just recently about chlorhexidine in mouthwashes. The study showed that because it destroys your good microbiome, which is what produces health for you, your microbiome keeps you healthy in your mouth and in your body and it destroys that. So the study actually linked the use of chlorhexidine mouthwash, but you can say alcohol is probably very similar and anything that has those really harsh ingredients in it that's destroying the good microbiome leads to cavities.
Trina:
And really when you understand it, that's no surprise. And even high blood pressure, which when you understand it, that's no surprise either. Right? And like you mentioned preterm labor, miscarriages. When you understand why that connection, that mouth, body connection, then you understand why those things actually happen as a result of, I don't even want to say poor oral health because a lot of people are brushing their teeth, they're just using the wrong product. So you know it's nobody's fault. We were kind of brainwashed into believing that the things on the shelf are healthy for us and good for us and we should do this twice a day. When you stop and look at the ingredients and discover like I did, that what they're putting in there is actually creating more disease. And then when you follow that through your gum tissue and into your mouth, it's not just causing cavities and gum disease. It's actually causing disease.
Dr. Anna:
Right. Absolutely. Exactly. And we think we're doing the right thing for ourselves. And so okay, let's talk about what is the right thing. And you're a big fan. So just not to spoil the surprises, but I'm just going to show we have deer tooth powder, this is a toothpaste powder and my kids love it. Like they just can't stand regular toothpaste anymore because you can really taste the chemicals in the toothpaste once you've gone to just a clean tooth powder for awhile. But we're also going to talk about your dental detox kit, which is really big right now because of empowering our oral microbiome to support our gut microbiome to support our immunity.
Trina:
Yeah, so I like to say shut your front door because that's a good saying. Shut the front door. So I say shut your front door. Your front door is your mouth. It's your gatekeeper. When your mouth is open and when it's exposed to bacteria and viruses, which it is all day long and especially right now with what's going on in the universe with the COVID-19, one of the best ways that you can protect yourself is keeping your mouth healthy. But if you're using harsh ingredients or triclosan, SLS, fluoride is even what I would consider a toxin inside your mouth and your body and alcohols and things like that, you're destroying your body's first line of defense against. And it's not just the COVID-19, it's against all bacteria and all bad viruses. So when you stop and think about your mouth...
Trina:
So the whole reason I created my dental line, let me start there because a lot of people are confused by why a nurse has a dental line and how she became such an expert in dental care and it's because my daughter, Mia, at the age of two, Mia had a little molar in the back of her mouth popped in. We were brushing her teeth like we're supposed to, good mom and dad, and we looked down and my husband's like, "Doesn't that look like a cavity?" And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, it does." So we took her to the dentist and the dentist took one look at that tooth, for the viewers that are watching, I can show you, I have my little demonstration thing here. So what we saw was a little dark spot in the center of her tooth and what that was was a natural cavity.
Trina:
The dentist looked at that and he said, you know, that was made in utero when that tooth was being developed. There's nothing you could have done about it, but it is a pretty significant defect. So what we'll do is we'll put a temporary filling in it. Chances are pretty good, she's going to lose that tooth within a year. Chances are even better than that temporary filling is going to fall out in a month or two. Every time it falls out, we'll reevaluate. Is now the time to pull the tooth or should we just put another temporary filling in it? Because at the age of two, I didn't want to put her through a real cavity or a real filling. So when we were walking out, she had her little temporary filling in place and the dentist looks at us, he goes, "Okay, we put the temporary filling in it. We'll just hope for the best."
Trina:
And at this point, as a mom and a nurse, and I've been making skincare products for a couple of years now, I said, "No, no. This mama is not going to hope for the best. I'm going to do some research. I'm going to see if there's anything I can do to help that to stay healthy." Because I know that every tooth, they're called the meridians, every tooth is connected to an organ. So if I can get that tooth to last more than a year, every day past that year, I'm going to celebrate because that means that there's still that connection and we didn't break that. She didn't lose that. And it's important for her other teeth coming in for that tooth to stay intact. So I went home, I did my research, I found Dr. Weston Price, and I looked at all of his research about third world countries and why their dental health is so good.
Trina:
When you see pictures in National Geographic photographs, you see these big toothy grins. And by the way, if you stop and look at them, they're pretty healthy too. Like they're not obese, they don't have diabetes, they're not suffering from all the inflammatory diseases that we suffer from here. But during his research, he noticed that as soon as they came to the US and they supersized everything and started eating our classic American diet, high in fats and low in nutritional value, he noticed that the first thing that went was their oral health. As soon as their oral health declined, they started getting diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, which obviously led to everything else. So in the scope of reading all of his research, what I concluded was because they were eating from mineral-rich soil and they were eating good healthy foods, foods that you actually have to chew, like carrots and things like that, their mouth was healthy and they were getting the right type of bacteria.
Trina:
They were getting the right alkaline foods and they were also getting the minerals that were also replacing the minerals in their teeth that their teeth were losing. So I put that all together and came up with clay. Clay is the medium that I use for my dental products. And it's so important because it does everything that when you stop and think about what you really want to do when you brush your teeth, cleaning your teeth is really, it's shouldn't even be on the list. I think that the ADA really has us all brainwashed into believing that we are supposed to brush our teeth to clean them. When in reality, your saliva is meant to do that as you eat. Your saliva is really meant to just wash away all the food and then your brushing to help just clean them a little bit more.
Trina:
But when you stop and realize that when your body is really meant to do that, if you think about why you should brush your teeth, it really should be to alkalize your mouth because if you alkalize your mouth, you are going to support a good microbiome. That's the second thing. You want to support a good healthy microbiome and you also want to detox the tissues inside your mouth. So you want something that's going to detox the tissues of your mouth because your mouth is exposed to everything in the environment all day long, including heavy metals. That is a great portal of entry for heavy metals is through your gums and all of your mouth, soft mouth tissue. So alkaline has minerals in it and detoxifying. So when I built my dental program, I call it my 21 day oral detox kit, it's a 60 day program.
Trina:
So you get 60 days worth of supplies, but within 21 days you can reset your mouth, you can detox your mouth and reset your microbiome. When you do all of that, you actually remineralized your teeth and make them stronger because during an alkaline environment, what happens is the minerals that are either in your food and what you're brushing with or your saliva can then go back into the enamel on your teeth and actually heal cavities or heal pits in your teeth where you've lost minerals. Does that make sense?
Dr. Anna:
That's beautiful. I mean really that makes a lot of sense. And what's really good is this is where we see how Keto-Green meets dental hygiene.
Trina:
Right? I know.
Dr. Anna:
So that's how that is connected and really how important alkalinization is yet again, right. Alkalinization is very important for our body, for our health, for our oral health, for our microbiome, for the diversity in our microbiome. So maintaining an alkaline environment and people can check their pH of their saliva. I have them check the pH of urine all the time. But you can also check the pH of your saliva and just make sure that it's not terribly acidic because that does eat away at the enamel. And also is saying that we've killed off our primary line of defense.
Trina:
Yeah. And with all this going on, what's really interesting is your saliva, the reason why the mouth is so important and good dental health is extremely important during times when we're stressed out, during times of viral or bacterial infections, is because your saliva actually has proteins in it that are antimicrobial, antiviral and antibacterial and antifungal. And as long as your saliva's healthy and your mouth is healthy, they all work, they're symbiotic and you can actually destroy the things that could invade your body, like the viruses and bacteria, before they actually, like right inside your mouth. That's where your first line of defense really is, is right inside your mouth. Your saliva also has minerals in it and it's supposed to remineralize your teeth. And like Dr. Anna said, the alkalinity is so important in healing the body and keeping it healthy. And the problem with most dental products is that they are not alkaline.
Trina:
They are acidic or they're creating more acid. In fact, that study actually showed that when you're using those harsh ingredients, they're actually causing more acid in your mouth. And when we stop and think about most of the foods that we're eating besides Keto-Green, most of the foods that we're eating, including our morning cup of Java or coffee, most of them are acidic by nature. And that's okay as long as your mouth is prepared to alkalize it so it's not going to destroy your health or your microbiome. And that's where good dental products come in. And when I created my dental products, I actually created it with three different clays, which is completely different than anything else that's out there. And the reason I did three different clays is because they all contain the minerals that your teeth need, but they're a little unique in little caveats.
Trina:
One is a little bit better at detoxing your tissues of your mouth, but the French green clay is from the French sea, so it has the properties from LJ and other plant phytonutrients in it, which is really good for your gum tissue. It supports gum health. It also has anti-inflammatory and analgesic. And I'm a nurse anesthetist, so I know that anytime I can reduce inflammation and reduce pain, you can speed healing very quickly, speed it up. So that's the reason I put the French green in there. And then I blended a little bit of baking soda in there because, believe it or not, clay is alkaline but it's not alkaline enough to keep your mouth healthy or alkaline enough to remineralize, put the minerals back in. Especially when we're dealing with an environment inside our mouth that typically tends toward acidic. So by putting the baking soda in there, it's doing that shift to the real alkaline environment that's actually going to keep you healthy.
Trina:
And what it does then is when you brush with my 21-day oral detox kit, the reason it works so well is because it actually turns on your saliva. It actually allows your saliva, which is the way your body's meant to protect you for 24/7, it actually turns that back on. That's why my customers go to the dentist's office and they have no plaque. They have great gums, their gums have regenerated and our healing and they don't have any dental issues. They don't have any cavities and things like that. It's because you brush for two to four minutes a day, but your saliva is really what you want to protect you because that's 24/7. So that's basically what I did is I just turned your saliva back on.
Dr. Anna:
That's powerful. And I love your 21-day oral detox kit. Again, because many people have never detoxed their oral mucosa and it's the first line of defense, right? We don't want anything to congregate in the back of our throat. Anyone, especially if you've had frequent sinus infections, throat infections, colds, flus, all of that, we definitely want to do this. So we're going to put a link below to Trina's offer for our community, for her 21-day detox. And again is something that I use. I love for my family. I'm a big fan of, like I was just showing her, I've got the dental powder, I use the whitening, this treatment thing.
Trina:
So let me tell you what comes in the detox kit because it's more than just brushing your teeth for me. It has my dental floss because flossing is really important and when you get the kit it teaches you when to use these things and how do you use them. So in my emails as well, we'll teach you, when do you floss because you floss differently in the morning than at night. So you really want to pay attention to that. And it doesn't matter if you do it wrong, but if you do it right, you'll notice a big difference. But dental floss and my dental floss has activated charcoal right in the bristle or right in the floss itself and it's biodegradable. You get two little tooth powders that are one month supply each. You get a white formula and you also get a black formula. My black one is over here.
Dr. Anna:
The charcoal, right?
Trina:
Yeah. The charcoal one is for the night and this is a little bit better at detoxing. I usually tell people don't rinse your mouth after you brush, just brush and spit, but whatever's remaining is going to actually help pull toxins from deeper tissue. Clay and charcoal are really, really good at pulling toxins from the tissue. And then you also get, most people don't, I love to include the tongue scraper because most people won't buy it themselves. So you get a copper tongue scraper. Scraping the gunk off your tongue is going to do wonders, not just for the taste of your food, but for your overall health. Getting rid of that biofilm of bacteria that just lives and breeds right on your tongue. And I know it's gross, but it's what causes bad breath. And by the way, bad breath is caused by an imbalance between the good and bad bacteria.
Trina:
And if you're brushing with the wrong products, they leave you with bad breath. They don't improve your bad breath, they actually leave you with bad breath including those mouthwashes. That's what the study proved. But if you brush with clay-based tooth powders or toothpaste, you can actually recreate that good microbiome and you don't suffer from bad breath. And then my toothbrush has activated charcoal right in the bristles and it's a bamboo toothbrush. So that's everything. And then you actually get a free, because I'm a nurse and I really believe in health and I believe in detox, I include a free little deodorant of mine. It has activated charcoal in it. So it's a 30 to 45 day supply of deodorant that you get to try for free and the key is to rub it in and you're detoxing, but you're also draining your lymph nodes. And as we all know, lymph nodes are very important and they're a key component of keeping you healthy. But because lymph doesn't drain the way our blood drains, we have to manually express it. So by rubbing your deodorant in, it'll help drain the lymph nodes.
Dr. Anna:
Wow, that makes sense. Actually, I didn't know that. So I mean it makes sense to do that yourself, lymphatic massage, right. To do that yourself and to improve the circulation and to improve the lymph flow as well as to make sure your deodorant's doing the work. All right, so that oral detox kit, you have the charcoal tooth floss, which I have not tried that yet. That's new.
Trina:
I have to send you some. Yeah, I'll send you some.
Dr. Anna:
I know. That's new. I have your charcoal toothbrush and I have the charcoal tooth powder and regular tooth powder. I'm an auto subscription, so I get it every two to three months. Yeah, perfect. Yeah, perfect.
Trina:
And it's biodegradable, which is really nice. It's made from corn starch, the handle, and then the floss is bamboo and it has activated charcoal. Oh, I didn't mention, the gum serum also comes with the kit and the gum serum replaces mouthwash and it's a simple oil with 11 essential oils that you rub on your gums. But what I like to do is put some of the gum serum right on the floss because getting between your teeth with the gum serum is going to help reduce inflammation between your teeth while you're flossing.
Dr. Anna:
Oh, that's excellent. Well, I think that's a really big deal. Now, what is part of your regimen? I want to ask you this and before we close, what is part of your daily regimen, now especially, to just take our immune-boosting tips and tricks to the next level?
Trina:
Well, and it's what you have in your hand I think, the LED teeth whitener. People don't think about a teeth whitening system and most of them by nature because they're peroxide, are not going to boost your immune system. They're actually going to deplete it. Yeah. My LED teeth whitening system, the blue light actually helps to kill bacteria inside the mouth. The red light helps to increase your blood flow for your gum tissue. So I'll do like a 10 to 15-minute treatment every day with the gel. The gel is going to help increase the bacteria inside your mouth and reduce the inflammation in your gums and any way that you can keep your mouth healthy. I know a lot of people are talking about supplements, which are really important, vitamin C and any of the immune-boosting supplements.
Trina:
But my focus is my mouth and as long as I can keep my mouth healthy, the mucosa of your mouth and the mucosa of your gut and Keto-Green will help with that as well, I know, but keeping the mucosa healthy is really what's going to help prevent you from getting so sick or sick at all even. I know a lot of people that have not gotten the flu or a cold since they switched their oral care products because it's such a drastic change when you use what's good for you and something that allows your saliva, your body's natural way to defend you, to actually work the way it's supposed to. It's a powerful thing.
Dr. Anna:
I love it. Thank you. Thanks for sharing that. Now I know you're a big fan of my products too. What are your favorite products of mine?
Trina:
I love Mighty Maca. I just love it. I love the flavor. It's so easy. So I'll just make, I make myself drinks and I've got the Mighty Maca in here. I make myself drinks every single day. So there it is. I have these all over the place. I have them at work and I have them at home so that I'm never out. But I'll make drinks every day. The green drinks and Keto-Green is another. I love keto. I love being keto. I love the energy that I get, the health benefits. So I love Keto-Green and Julva too. I mean, I have to say that too because as a woman in her fifties, that's a lifesaving cream itself. Of course, I love you. I love everything you do.
Dr. Anna:
Thank you. I love everything you do too. I'm a big fan. So primallifeorganics.com, primallifeorganics.com, @primallifeorganics on Facebook. Where else can people follow you, Trina?
Trina:
On Instagram on primal life org and then YouTube, Trina Felber, believe it or not, I'm Trina Felber on YouTube.
Dr. Anna:
Okay, perfect. Yeah, and you're always giving out great information and I love getting your, I get your text messages so you have the system set up to let us know when you're also having a promotion or sale too, so that's special. Thank you. Thanks for all you do and we will be right back.
Dr. Anna:
That was a great podcast with Trina. She is a fabulous individual, just so knowledgeable in this, in this journey, but emphasizing the importance of dental hygiene is key. Keto-Green meets dental hygiene and I obviously am a big fan and that's why I wanted to share her message and her products with you. And so definitely I stand behind what I create and I also stand behind what I recommend. So please share your results with me.
Dr. Anna:
You know, a big alkalinizing product that we have, that I created that has so many key ingredients, is Mighty Maca and Mighty Maca plus has over 30 superfoods in it to really help with alkalinization of our body and the combination of the antioxidants to decrease the inflammation within us. So between, again, key components, healthy oral health, healthy food, Keto-Green, intermittent fasting is a big component of being Keto-Green so that our body can intelligently do what it's designed to do, given the right resources. And I just am thrilled to be here with you. I look forward to sharing more with you next week on the girlfriend doctor podcast.
