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More Flavour, Less Salt, is the theme for Salt Awareness Week, which takes place from 8 – 14 March. 

Under global lockdown, people took to experimental or nostalgic home-cooking like ducks to water – no doubt with more than a pinch of salt providing the flavour factor. 

The Salt Awareness Week organisers want you to tone it down and replace all salt, even the fancy sea, rock and pink salt, with alternatives such as: 

• Chilli, citrus, fresh herbs, garlic, black pepper, spices and nutritional yeast
• Lower salt-stocks or home-made low-salt stock

Salt is bad for the body, right?

The general medical consensus is salt – which rose to fame in bygone eras as a food preservative – is terrible for your overall health. Too much sodium, together with oil and sugar, is at the centre of all the lifestyle conditions such as hypertension, high blood pressure, water retention and bloating stroke risk and heart attack. 

How much sodium is too much? The American Heart Association recommends a meagre amount of 2.300 mg of sodium in your daily diet. And that is no more than a tiny pinch of salt. 

According to Health QLD, it isn’t necessary to remove sodium from the diet completely. Salt is in fact an important nutrient for the human body.

Your body uses sodium to balance fluids in the blood and maintain healthy blood pressure, too. It is also essential for nerve and muscle function. You will die if you never consume salt.

How does salt affect your teeth?

When it comes to teeth and gums, salty snacks pose similar risks to dental hygiene that sugar does. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that salty snacks are usually pre-packaged processed carbohydrates, and all carbs are converted into sugars by the mouth’s digestive enzymes. If not brushed away immediately with fluoride toothpaste, the foods promote oral bacteria and an acidic environment in the mouth. Plaque builds up, allowing bacteria to stick to tooth surfaces and in time, this damages enamel and gums. 

Medical science warns that too much sodium weakens bones and teeth, which rely on calcium to stay healthy. High salt diets increase the loss of calcium through urine. Loss of calcium damages teeth and could eventually lead to osteoporosis. 

What happens to teeth and gums?

Old wives swore by mixing salt in lukewarm water. The solution remains an effective, if not the best anti-bacterial mouth rinse. It is the first go-to ingredient for a throat gargle in coughs, colds and flu because it flushes bacteria out of hard-to-reach hiding places in the mouth and throat. 

However, if the anti-bacterial saltwater solution is not used regularly, gum disease can occur. 

And gums and soft tissue aren’t compatible with salt on their own. It creates a hostile oral environment. 

Here’s what happens:

• Mucous membranes dry out: Soft tissues and gingiva, which depend on mucous for lubrication, can’t maintain a healthy oral environment. 
• Salt strips fluid from soft tissues and creates a dried oral environment. Yes, drinking lots of water will replenish the fluid in the mouth. Still, in the long run, salty snacks will lead to hypertension. This affects teeth because the condition compromises the whole immune system, says Forest & Ray Dental. 
• Gum recession occurs: Gums, which are part of the immune system, diminish in a salty environment. This exposes the cementum of the teeth, leaving teeth vulnerable to decay
• Chronic dryness of the mouth – Xerostomia occurs: This condition leads to gum disease, which causes halitosis (bad breath), problems with the tongue and heightens the risk of tooth decay. 
• Frequent bleeding of the gums: In a dry oral environment, this type of bleeding occurs every time you eat something or brush your teeth, as the dried out gums are frail, thereby causing breaks in the capillaries. 

What the manufacturers say about products

Yes, salt does brighten smiles. But manufacturers of toothpaste warn against making your toothpaste with salt as, although it may be useful in removing stains from the teeth, if used long term, it can cause permanent damage to the teeth.  

They say that home-made salt types of toothpaste are often missing fluoride, which the American Dental Association says is key to “preventing cavities and strengthening enamel”.

If you want to use salt toothpaste for natural or health reasons, choose toothpaste with fluoride. It would also be wise to see your dentist before switching to salt toothpaste, as it may not be the best option for you.  

Affinity Dental

Affinity Dental offers three different levels of dental insurance cover. All the tiers are available at different price points, and each of these options covers specific specialist work – all to varying degrees. 

Kids and grown-ups all need to visit the dentist at least once every six months. 

Dental insurance covers you for any additional treatments such as crowns, root canals or fillings, whether at the dentist or specialist practice.