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Comment by jcrben | Hacker News Reader

Weird teeth-cleaning trick that I discovered from suffering from interstitial cystitis / painful bladder syndrome (IC / BPS): toss a bit of baking soda in your water, such as 1 teaspoon per liter. It makes it alkaline. My teeth got whiter and felt better (less of a film feeling).

Baking soda is used as a cooking ingredient and shouldn't be too risky, but don't go overboard... bit of discussion on the IC / BPS aspect in the two citations below (including risks):

[Effects of urine alkalinization with sodium bicarbonate orally on lower urinary tract symptoms in female patients: a pilot study](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00192-017-3492-...)

[Urine alkalization improves the problems of pain and sleep in hypersensitive bladder syndrome](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24224617)

UPDATE: Also check edathamil toothpaste as I mentioned in a below comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27329165

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Urine alkalinization will also slow down your kidney's excretion of alkaline drugs and their metabolites. And speed up excretion of acidic drugs.

https://tmedweb.tulane.edu/pharmwiki/doku.php/ph_effect_on_d...

And yes, you definitely don't want to overdo it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk-alkali_syndrome#History

> Urine alkalinization will also slow down your kidney's excretion of alkaline drugs and their metabolites. And speed up excretion of acidic drugs.

So... overall good or bad?

Depends if you took too little or too much.

But even if you took too little, the drug may get broken down in other ways before you get rid of it for good.

A teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a glass of cold water is also the absolute best, instant cure for heartburn. TUMS could never.

I like it too. I do wonder about the health effects; you end up consuming a lot of sodium by drinking baking soda. I see in one of the studies they gave patients 8 grams of baking soda a day, which is more than you'd need to relieve heartburn. But, the study doesn't mention sodium and the effect on blood pressure at all, nor is it a long-term study.

I think that as terrible as chewing chalk is, calcium is better than sodium.

A teaspoon of baking soda has about 1200mg of sodium, which is about half of your daily allowance. If you have heartburn regularly enough that this intake is worrisome, I'd say a prescription would be a better option for you.

I also prefer the baking soda over TUMS because it usually makes me burp, which feels soo good after it works its magic >_<

I was going to mention this too, as well as some of the other warnings. I’ll also add that while it’s extraordinarily effective,

1. It can be counterproductive if you’re experiencing acid reflux, particularly if you’re laying down. The acid neutralization produces a lot of gas (you’ll burp a lot), which can flush acid up your esophagus before it can be neutralized. It’s awful and packaging that discusses its antacid usage explicitly recommend against use with reflux and heartburn caused by overeating for a reason.

2. Excessive usage can also be counterproductive. The more you regulate your internal acidity, the more your body will try to find balance, and you risk over-producing digestive acids even without triggers if you use this regularly.

I’m relating both from painful experience. By all means, keep some bicarb handy! Just don’t overdo it.

> The more you regulate your internal acidity, the more your body will try to find balance...

You seem to be full of bad unsubstantiated health advice, for some reason. This is, of course, not true.

Yes, you’re right, my comments about coffee were obviously health advice and I definitely appreciate you becoming my fact check stalker. Go on.

There is absolutely a rebound effect where suppressing acid production in the stomach over time causes more acid to be produced:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112564...

> Stomach cells that make acid multiply over several weeks of exposure to a PPI in an effort to overcome the drug's effect. When the PPI is stopped, they pour out more acid than ever.

And luckily stepping down reverses the production to "normal" level. PPIs are so potent that you can basically stop the acid production, which is not what you want except for a short period of time.

Which is totally irrelevant as baking soda isn't a PPI.

Back when I used to get heartburn regularly (fortunately, totally recovered now due to diet changes!), the chlorine in tap water was a major trigger... so do this trick with bottled water.

Tums was invented to cause temporary relief, and requires constant use (the perfect product)...since it actually makes the symptoms return in time. Baking soda will also require constant use, as do prescription meds.

Relief in the stomach requires more acid, not less. A shot of ACV (apple cider vinegar) and half teaspoon of honey will alleviate/cure indigestion in a few minutes. Received this advice from a naturopathist, and on the rare occasion that indigestion occurs, it works perfectly.

Isn't baking soda a fairly common ingredient in toothpaste? (See arm and hammer brand toothpaste)

Yep. Altho I've been using LivFresh which contains edathamil [1] and has no baking soda.

The benefit of it being in your water is that you get that constant little flush of it

[1] [Effects of a Novel Dental Gel on Plaque and Gingivitis: A Comparative Study](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2d87n65m)

Yes, very much so -- "natural" types have been known to recommend just using baking soda instead of toothpaste.

FWIW, brushing is the more important part (even without paste it probably does most of the good), but modern toothpastes are better than baking soda because they are more abrasive and because they contain fluoride. Baking soda's main utility for toothbrushing is its abrasiveness, but it's a little too soft to be optimal.

To get the most out of your toothpaste's fluoride, spit out your toothpaste and do not immediately rinse. You don't want to swallow large amounts of toothpaste, of course, but the film does more good than harm -- https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/how-to-keep-your-t... "Don't rinse your mouth immediately after brushing, as it'll wash away the concentrated fluoride in the remaining toothpaste."

I highly recommend everyone to keep in the bathroom cupboard a cup of baking soda submerged in water to make it paste-like. Rub a finger-tip's worth of wet baking soda over your tongue after you've flossed and brushed your teeth and tongue (tongue cleaning is important - I use my toothbrush). Then rinse mouth and teeth with this baking soda and saliva for a minute or so, before spitting out.

This is the most effective addition to a mouth cleansing routine I've found. I may apply this wet baking soda "paste" multiple times a day, especially after eating or when I feel a rise in mouth acidity. Also, when I happen to get acid reflux or know I'm going to throw up I pre-emptively keep baking soda in my mouth to protect my teeth from acidity.

Is the water with baking soda meant for drinking or for brushing your teeth with?

Drinking. In my case I'm trying to alkalize my urine to address IC / BPS... but if you just want the dental benefits you can treat it like a mouthwash

My dentist said that chefs have a lot of problems with tooth decay since they do so much taste testing, so she recommends they keep a glass of water with some baking soda mixed in handy to rinse with after tasting.

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