I thought this book would offer insightful tips about how to improve your dental health, but it should really be a brochure not a book. The information is very repetitive and doesn't offer any new information. ( )

Dr. Ellie Phillips challenges traditional dental thinking in her book Mouth Care Comes Clean. There is a lot of great information in this book, some of which is a bit shocking given the typical recommendations we receive from dentists in our average office visit in the US. Her approach deals with balancing the bacteria in the mouth to control acidity and end gum disease, tooth decay and endless painful trips to the dentist for procedures we may not need. As with any part of our bodies your mouth can heal if given a healthy environment to do so. She recommends a multi-pronged approach of small dietary changes, the use of the correct products that support oral health and continued trips to your dentist to track progress. As I read I constantly Googled many of her ideas and there's a lot of sound science behind them.

I have two issues with this book. First, the book is highly repetitive and the narrative tends to meander. A couple more passes by an editor would've fixed this and kept all the information intact. Second, Dr. Phillips pushes the use of xylitol on almost every page, which I found odd until I discovered she also owns a xylitol company. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, and it appears she's been promoting xylitol long before her company started, but it does come across as more of a sales pitch than it might have otherwise. Xylitol is a controversial artificial sweetener that has potential oral health benefits, more clinical trials are needed, and a lot of drawbacks if you have digestive issues or pets (it's deadly to dogs in small amounts). Do your own research before blindly trying.

I won a copy of this book in a GoodReads giveaway. ( )