A Palate Cleanser

Grandma has amazingly good teeth. Especially for someone in her 90s.I finally got her to tell me her secret – hydrogen peroxide.

She gargles with it. To be specific, with a 50/50 solution of water and hydrogen peroxide. She said that it bubbled and foamed and killed the bacteria in your mouth. Since it’s the same solution the dentist told #4 to use after her scooter accident, I figured it was fairly safe.

I gave it a try last night. I followed her instructions to the letter. Mix it up. Gargle first. Then brush.

She was right. It bubbles and fizzes in your mouth. It’s not the best tasting thing ever, but it’s not disgusting either. I swished it around for the full minute that Grandma recommended and then spit it out. It took a couple tries because it was still fizzing between my teeth.

When I started to brush, it went crazy. It foamed out of my mouth and kept coming. It was fizzing like crazy and I had no idea why.

Until I checked the toothpaste tube.

Baking soda tooth paste.

Like one of those volcanoes from elementary school science. All that was missing was the red food color and it would have been complete.

We were going to build those volcanoes the first week of school in science class because they’re fun. After last night, I’m thinking that we might have a health lesson instead…and have the kids brush their teeth.