Save your mouth to save yourself from cancer

[RaK]

Save your mouth to save yourself from cancer

Want a quick and easy way to slash your cancer risk? Take better care of your gums.

A new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention found a link between chronic periodontitis -- a common gum disease -- and certain types of cancer. And while it may have been a small study, it's not the first to find a link.

There's enough evidence out there now that you should make healthy teeth and gums a priority -- and the best part is that you can do it on your own, for practically nothing.

Ignore the entire oral hygiene section of your supermarket -- all the pricey pastes and wasteful washes, and forget the floss -- and get yourself some good old-fashioned baking soda and a bottle of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide. You might already have these in your home.

Mix them together to make a paste, and rub it on your teeth and gums three times a day. Your mouth will be cleaner and fresher than ever, and you'll be the most irresistible kisser in town.

But if you prefer to buy your toothpaste (hey, it's not my business if you want to waste your money), just stay as far as you can from anything that contains that powerful poison known as fluoride.

Rinsing my mouth out,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.