The only reason to use toothpaste is for the fluoride, to strengthen your enamel. So the other purposes have not been investigated. The claims for Neem are exaggerated as people in India where they chew The twigs, don't have any better teeth than else where. The head dentist at my office was the keynote speaker at the Indian Society of Oral Implantology in Mumbai, India, this January. He found the dentist there were fighting the same bacteria and far worse cases of Yaws, carries, and gum disease.
2. Any reason I couldn’t mix my toothpaste with the baking soda at each brushing instead of using straight baking soda?
3. My gums don’t ever bleed while brushing, but when I go for my cleanings they always tell me that my gums bleed “excessively”. Do you know if there’s a difference between the two as far as possible damage from spirochetes?
Mixing the baking soda with toothpaste is not a good Idea. The baking soda needs to be packed into the gum line. Mixing with toothpaste would not do that. read my answer just before this reply as to how it kills the bacteria.
If your hygienist is telling you have bleeding gums, it is most important that you do this. Just because you don't see blood when you brush does not mean your gums are not bleeding. The area of your gums being raw and oozing is the equivalent to the palm of your hand being a raw open wound! Think about that. That's how much potential area is exposed to allowing these bacteria into your bloodstream!
Thank you for the info. I will not use fluoride; I think in general people are getting too much of it between toothpaste and water supply. I stopped using fluoridated tooth paste about a year ago and also have a filter that I use with the tap water at work that removes fluoride.
The taste of the baking soda makes me gag, probably because I’m pregnant. So I’ve been putting a thin line of toothpaste on the brush and then piling on the baking soda, work in to one area and then repeat. The little bit of mint flavor really helps.