5 Reasons Eczema Keeps Flaring — And Your Dentist Never Talks About Them

Introduction to Oral Health and Eczema 0:00

Hey friends, welcome back to the Extimate Kids podcast. If you've been working so hard to heal your child's skin and you're cleaning up their diet and you're fixing their gut and switching to low-tox everything but still feel like something's missing, this episode might be the missing link because today we're talking about the mouth. My guest today is Dr. Debbie Osment. She's a dentist and host of the Vitality Made Simple podcast. She's made it her mission to take stress out of being healthy and show how true vitality starts with the basics, including the oral microbiome.

In her work, Dr. Osmond shows that gum disease and oral bacteria and inflammation in the mouth, they don't just stay there. They travel through the body and they feel the systemic inflammation that impacts everything from their gut. And then eventually we see that throughout their skin, right? So if you're ready to go deeper to understand how to heal your child's eczema at the root, check out the eczema elimination method at eczemakids.com. It's your step-by-step plan, and one-on-one guidance to restore your child's gut, calm inflammation, and rebuild their skin naturally.

All right, let's get into it. Is your child struggling with itchy nights and endless flare-ups? I'm Andrea McHugh, mom of four and host of eczema kids. Here, you'll find natural solutions that actually work so you can heal your child's eczema without steroids, without the overwhelm, and finally see calm, healthy skin again. Let's get into it. Hey team, welcome back to the eczema kids podcast. You know how we're always talking about healing from the inside out through the gut and the liver and the skin barrier.

And today we're adding one more piece to that puzzle and that's the mouth. So today I'm joined by Dr. Debbie Osment, a dentist and host of the Vitality Made Simple podcast, who has such a refreshing take on health. Her whole mission is to take the stress out of being healthy and help people build real vitality, not just live longer but feel good while they do it. And Dr. Osment had this big aha moment that completely changed the way that she looked at the mouth and the body. And as it turns out, what's happening in our mouths play a huge role in inflammation and energy and definitely skin health.

So Dr. Osment, I'm so glad that you're here. And let's start there. What was the moment that you realized that the mouth was doing so much more than just housing teeth? Andrea, thank you for having me and thank you for that generous introduction. I've been a dentist since 1985 and, you know, we're just naturally trained as carpenters. I remember when our daughter was just like six years old and her kindergarten teacher had said, you know, what does your daddy do? What does your mama do? And she says, well, my mama is a laundry lady and she fixes teeth.

And it was just so accurate in that order. And you know, with some of the four children, you know. And so we are excellent at fixing teeth. We are excellent at working in these teeny tiny spaces with people attached. But I started noticing that people's med lists were getting longer.

Dr. Osment's Dental Background and Early Observations 2:51

And I started seeing that correlated with what was actually happening in their mouth. So, for example, one of the first things I saw was a woman who came in like clockwork. She has a very powerful position in Oklahoma City, and she came in every three months, sat in the same chair in the reception area, you know, just very regimented. She also did everything I told her, but her tissue, her gum tissue, did not ever looked healthy. And that's always been important to me. And so she comes in one day and it's like, her tissue looks beautiful and healthy and vibrant.

And so I said, tell me what you're doing differently. And she says, nothing, I'm doing what you told me. I'm using this and this and this like you told me. And I said, no, something's different. And Andrea, this was probably about 25 years ago. And so I'd been in practice say 15 already. And so she couldn't think of it. I asked all these questions, everything I could think of. She got ready to leave and I said, when you think of it, call me. You know, that's before text me, call me. And she leaves and comes back and she says, I, well, could this matter?

I'm getting a vitamin D injection once a month. 50,000, I use a vitamin D. And I said, well, I don't know, you know, that was a new thing in terms of oral health. So, Andrew, I started looking it up and it was astounding. It absolutely, that was a moment that changed my trajectory. Shortly after that, this young man, say 30-ish comes in and he has excellent home care, but his tissue bleeds. Bleeding is never normal, period, never normal. And even in those days, I knew that, but I thought it was more about the teeth.

And just on a whim, I said, I think you need to get a glucose tolerance test. I wonder if you're diabetic. And sure enough, he was diabetic. And so what we know now is that it all works together. And it's really a two-way street between type 2 diabetes and the oral microbiome. And some of the bugs in the oral microbiome that don't do a lot of damage to the mouth do huge damage to other parts of the body. Yeah, yeah. So that is clearly a warning sign for any parents listening. If your child's gums are bleeding, I mean, you're kind of saying that that's the tip of the iceberg.

Like, what else should parents be looking out for for early signs if they're noticing these type of symptoms? Well, you know, bleeding gums are really the canary in the coal mine, Andrea. They are early warning signs. Also with, you know, with children, when they have only primary baby teeth, that's a different microbiome than when they start to lose some of those teeth. and get more permanent teeth coming in that's called the transitional dentition and then of course there's you know all permanent teeth but I would say to look out for breath bad breath you know that could indicate not only things out of whack with the oral microbiome, but it could also indicate tonsillar stones.

It could indicate breathing, airway problems, which I know you cover all of this so well on your podcast. But I think the airway issue was something that's really come to light to me in the last 10 years, something we overlooked. And it's just a huge factor. I was really excited for our conversation today for a lot of different reasons. One, I have a dental background. I used to be a dental assistant and then I helped a dental hygienist with OSHA seminars for dental professionals. And you know, I remember like during my training, I was just thinking, there was maybe half hour of the training that was dedicated to like nutrition and just like things that you could do to help the oral microbiome and they didn't even use that word like oral microbiome and I know you call the mouth like the forgotten orifice and I love that because we check everything else but rarely what's happening under the gums and why do you think that the mouth has been so undervalued in healthcare?

Oh, Andrea, I think that's the million dollar question because it has such an impact on every single area of health. My patient population now is limited to physician referrals. So I see sick people and I see lots of cancer, lots of cognitive decline. I see people trying to get pregnant and I mean literally with some very simple things we can increase pregnancy success, not just infertility but also miscarriage rates and low birth weight by balancing the oral microbiome. I think it's underrated because generally dentists think it's the dental hygienist job and often and please you know for your audience I'm not a skeptic but I have been a dentist a long time and it is the part of the practice that is not a moneymaker when it's just done by insurance guidelines.

So in other words, the hygiene department, you know, the cleaning girls as I just, you know, just about rip somebody apart when they say that, that's really the most important seat in the house. I say that dental hygiene is the most important seat in the house and it is the most underrated, but it's often used as a sales office to get people to do say things like cosmetic dentistry and to my chagrin, It's also a place now where Botox is being pushed. That's the newest thing in dentistry that I think is just terrible for so many reasons.

So therefore, you know, just like with your podcast, you're really going grassroots to help people understand what to ask, what kind of doctors to look for. That was such the impetus for my podcast to help people just grassroots know here's what to look for, for Vitality. I mean, you know, obviously Vitality Made Simple is not a dental podcast in the least. There's only a handful of dental interviews out of, you know, over 200. But nevertheless, people have to actually assert their patient autonomy to know what to look for and to, you know, what to expect at the dental office.

Warning Signs in the Mouth and Why It Matters 9:15

So, I hope I answered your question. I think also, I mean, this is not super new research, Andrea. I graduated in 1985, and in the early 80s, we were already finding out beyond a shadow of a doubt that what was the bugs in the mouth, the bacteria in the mouth, the bad bacteria were affecting stroke and heart attack. And so we could tell for sure that when the mouth got healthier, then blood pressure normalized. When the mouth got healthier, you know, arrhythmias got better. I mean, it was amazing.

But yet, there are only a handful of dental schools that are even addressing this. And it's all over the research. I think I have 10,000 articles in our house, seriously. Our adult children can never move home because there's not a bedroom for them. It's all space. That's the best. We're bursting at the seams with books as well. It's the way to be. Unfortunately, that's not just limited to dentistry, right? The headphone and the neck phone, which is connected to the sternum, none of that is talked about, right?

I just had an accident and broke my I shattered my leg seven weeks ago. And so I've been going to the doctors and all the things. And I asked for some bone-specific labs from a primary care physician. And she's like, if something comes back on these, you're going to have to see an endocrinologist. This is not something that we can do. And I had a DEXA scan because I was like, I shouldn't have hurt myself this badly. And they're like, well, we're not able to read this. We're going to have to put this over here.

And then my hygienist. Bless her heart, like I had an appointment last week because I just booked it like six months ago and she's like, oh my goodness, you had surgeries just seven weeks ago. We're going to have to call them and make sure that you're cleared for this hygiene treatment because obviously it stirs up the bacteria and it is self-connected, but it's just, it makes it really hard as a parent. then knowing like the body is this just one living breathing being but the way that the medical system is set up is just it's so separated and you know I find a lot of you know the dental treatments specifically are really caustic and the same goes for any really any branch of medicine you know parents when they go to the pediatrician and they say oh man my kid has eczema you know they're prescribed Steroid treatments like corticosteroids and that's put on the skin and then that thins out the skin barrier even more and then they're in like a worse place than they were before and I know the same goes for a lot of a lot of dental to Treatments and you know a lot of people right like we know eczema and and so many diseases.

They're just That's showing very clearly that there's a dysbiosis going on right and so that's what you can smell in good bit when you when you're smelling that halitosis and like that really really bad breath it just for parents listening can you explain how like the oral pathogens and gum disease they don't just stay there how do they they travel through the body and how do they influence your overall health it's so interesting there's there's a specific bacteria that i've been so interested in called fusobacterium nucleotum And that is a common resident of the mouth, Andra.

But it's a bacteria that, you know, when it's small, when it's in very healthy ranges, it's a beneficial bacteria.

Why Oral Health Is Undervalued in Medicine 12:54

It's called a commensal because when it's small, it helps people. But when it overgrows, it's very harmful and it does some harm in the mouth. It causes, actually causes bad breath, but it doesn't do the the super destructive bone loss that a lot of other bacteria do. I like to call fusing bacterium nucleotum the mother-in-law bacteria because, you know, very much like a mother-in-law, if kind of, you know, mind their own business, stay in their place. I mean, I'm a mother-in-law. If I don't go to my daughter and son-in-law's house and give a bunch of advice or move their things around or, you know, if I'm there to help, that's a good thing and know when to go home.

So that's very much like Fusibacterium nucleotum. It is a bacteria that starts in the mouth. It only starts in the mouth, Andra, but it moves to other parts of the body. two primary ways that it moves. Number one, it can be swallowed in the saliva. And I just read a research article last week that it can actually get through a lot of stomach acid. I think for years, and I still wonder, the jury's out for me, if low stomach acid is a reason that Fusil bacterium is moving to the gut. It likes to colonize in the gut.

It actually translocates in the gut and we can test for it in the gut via a stool test called GIMAP, which I use pretty much on most of my patients because we want to know if it's in the gut. In the gut, when it colonizes at certain levels, then it's a big, big, big problem. So it also triggers a local inflammatory response. So that inflammatory response, you know, just causes that chronic inflammation throughout the body that hijacks everything else. But in the gut, in the gut, of course, it can increase endotoxemia and that, and that affects leaky gut.

So that's where I think In your world, you're just covering that so well on your podcast that leaky gut is such a huge part of eczema. Years ago, probably about 15 years ago, once I was already saliva testing, a woman came in who was very athletic and very health conscious. And we did her therapy. We tested her and cleaned her mouth up. And she came back and she says, you know, Dr. Debbie, I've had this rash on my inner thigh for 20 years and only on one area and may sit us because of my running, but it's absolutely gone.

And as long as her mouth stayed healthy, I mean, She's been doing great. I haven't seen her in the last couple of years just because of my episodic type practice now because she's doing great. But that was an eczema real life example that was pretty amazing. Parents, are you exhausted from battling your child's eczema? You've tried the prescriptions, the creams, the elimination diets, and the flares keep coming back. I'm Andrea McHugh, mama for and host of the eczema kids podcast. Two of my children suffered with severe eczema and I know the sleepless nights and the nonstop itching and the frustration of feeling like nothing works.

That's why I created this podcast to share what actually does from natural solutions that calm the skin to practical everyday tips that make healing actually possible. You'll find hope, clarity, and a path forward here. Follow eXima Kids wherever you get your podcasts and head to eXimaKids.com for free recipes and resources to start your child's healing journey today. That's so perfect. So for the parents listening, their kids are already experiencing eXima and allergies. How can they help support their child's like their oral microbiome without making things worse and especially when they're already managing gut health.

Like we said before, it's all connected, right? And there's the skin microbiome and the gut microbiome and the oral microbiome and the gut-brain axis is so real and that's what I find too is just like once we go through this work, those behavioral issues. go away, the breathing gets so much better. And we do that too. Like we make coconut yogurt, you know, from home, like as step number one. And we go easy on the fermented foods just initially because of histamine and just the nature of eczema specifically, you know, it's just like this very, you know, temperamental hot type of condition and so you know we wait and we we try and weed out the the pathogenic bacteria and then yes exactly just replace those keystone bacteria and just create a place where where you know those those keystone bacteria can really thrive And the holistic improvements are so monumental.

And it's what keeps you going as a parent, right? Because like you said, the consistency is required. That's really the only thing required. You just have to be consistent with these changes. And then you can set your kid up for this trajectory of lifelong health. It's so exciting. I just love conversations like this. But I wanted to ask you a few things. One, about fluoride. everyone listening here, you know, is naturally minded. They want to do their best and heal their child without pharmaceuticals and things like that.

And then they also want to do right by their teeth. And we've been touted for years that like, of course, fluoride is a part of healthy, strong teeth, and we're going to put it in the water and so forth. And then you read something else that says, oh my goodness, like it's a neurotoxin, you have to filter it out of everything and buy fluoride-free toothpaste. So what are your thoughts on that? Andrea, I, of course, sold lots of fluoride over the years until I started realizing or seeing the increase in thyroid problems.

How Oral Bacteria Affect the Whole Body 18:30

So that was my first red light that triggered some research. And I learned that fluoride is a halogen, like iodine, like, you know, bromine. Fluorine is is a halogen so it can compete for the receptors in the thyroid. So that was my first thing. Then as you start learning more and more you know it blows your mind because you know we are taught that you've got to have fluoride to have healthy teeth. Now, the other side of that equation, Andrea, is that these highly processed, sugary foods are the problem.

Right here on my shelf, if I'd thought to grab it, I have a skull. When I was in dental school, we had to buy a human skull and, you know, who knows how old it is, but there's no decay in these teeth. You know, they are healthy teeth and they're worn down because they're eating a lot of hard things. This guy has this nice big arch and so he probably has a beautiful airway or had a beautiful airway. So it's not that cavities are inevitable at all. It's the food. So your audience is probably so aware that they've thrown out all of these.

sticky foods. I mean, I in my own mouth have had two previously two root canals in first millers, those teeth that come in at age six. And later I had those root canals that when I learned about root canals. And now I have implants, you know, not a good option, but the best option at this time. And those are what I call my my bazooka gum, you know, implants, because in those days, we just chewed sugary gum, had candy. It was like a treat, and it is still the same way, but now parents are much more aware that they don't want their kids having that candy in their mouth all of the time.

You don't need fluoride. And in the dental office, It is the most high profit item there is. When I decided to not use fluoride, probably 25 years ago, it was in my little practice, my little boutique practice, it was a $30,000 decrease in production because we saw about a thousand cleanings a year, about a thousand cleanings a year and it's $30 a person. So I quit using fluoride, but I believe that was the right thing. Now there are instances, Andrea, when you have to choose the best option of two bad options.

So if they have a lot of decay, fluoride works against decay. It is effective in helping decrease decay. So I don't dispute that one bit. It's just that that really is not the way we need to be addressing it but say for example if an older person who has lost a lot of their cognitive ability or even their ability to clean their own teeth then I would say yes fluoride is a better option than not. So I don't have such a straight stance that I would never think there are exceptions to the rule but generally you know God did not design our bodies with a fluoride deficiency period.

So you could say, I mean, small children are kind of like older people with like a little bit of mental decline, right? Like they can't completely clean their teeth. They're not great at letting you clean. I mean, I know to freshing is not my favorite time of the day for my three-year-old. I let my six-year-old do herself. Hopefully she's doing a good job. I got a couple different toothbrushes and things like that. you're still, you're really pressured at the dental office and it's really hard to know what's the right way.

I mean, I know I got a lot of fluoride as a child, that thorough response. So I guess would you recommend if you do have just a healthy, happy five-year-old, would you recommend doing that fluoride brush treatment or would you say just you know, eat a healthy whole food diet and drink water after any sugary substance. I would say if you're a parent like you, you would decline fluoride and you would just say respectfully decline fluoride. If your dental office shames you, find a new dental office.

And then I also just look back at my podcast. I interviewed a woman named Barbara Tritz. who your listeners would love. It's episode 183, a year ago on Vitality Made Simple, episode 183. And she is a dental hygienist who started seeing a whole lot of problems and is really probably one of the world experts in fluoride and what it does systemically to people. And she talked a lot about how it's really a waste product. That's really how it came on to popularity. just to find a way to get rid of it, kind of like Crisco or some of the other things we know about now.

But Barbara Tritz is, boy, she's incredible and she's fearless. I think the biggest thing, Andrea, that bothers me is people being shamed for what they want to do for their own health decisions. Whenever I was in my master's degree, it was in metabolic nutrition and it was through a medical school. So I was sort of the oddball dentist and had to take medical school ethics.

Fluoride, Toothpaste, and Patient Autonomy 24:00

And one of the things that shocked me was that in medical school, they learn a lot about patient autonomy and patient autonomy should be part of medical practice. It should be part of what your physician, your dentist respects about you. So you should be able to say, please tell me the pros and the cons. And then you should be able to make your own informed decision. and should never be shamed. Nobody should get shamed for not using fluoride, for not having a silver mercury filling, for not having a baby root canal, not having a dull root canal, whatever it is, it's your body, it's your life.

So that's just huge to know. You know, God gives us each a brain and I think we're expected to use that soon. You're doing everything right. You've cleaned up the diet. You've swapped out the soaps. You put air filters in every room. Maybe you even live on an organic farm. And still your child is scratching, bleeding, awake all night. The flares won't stop and no one can tell you why. No parent should have to watch their child suffer, especially when you're already doing everything in your power to fix it.

That's why I created the eczema kids podcast. I'm Andrea McHugh, mama for health coach and the founder of eczema kits. Two of my own children battled with relentless eczema and I know firsthand how heartbreaking and exhausting it is. Here we go beyond surface level fixes. You'll learn how to uncover hidden triggers. Prepare your child's gut and calm their skin from the inside out. You'll hear the real stories of families who found freedom and insights from practitioners who are rewriting what's possible.

Because eczema isn't just a skin condition, it's a message from the body. And when you listen, you can heal. So follow eczema kits wherever you get your podcasts and start your child's healing journey today. Yeah. it's a big part of this work is it's something I feel like especially women I mean I like you have to overcome it's really really hard because we didn't go to medical school and then you know somebody in a white coat is telling you like of course you would do this like to not is negligent you know and I got that when I refused steroids for my kids and I've gotten that when I've refused fluoride for my kids and you know it's a really hard hard line to toe.

I mean, all of my kids were born via cesarean cause like I was told that that was the only way that was like how it had to be, you know, given our situation and, you know, like with everything else, like you said, like sometimes like that's life-saving, but in other times it could be avoidable and it's not necessarily in the best interests of, of the baby and, and, and, you know, everyone's health. So yes, just that to, to, reiterate that you are your child's advocate, you are all they have, and a lot of times that means...

not going toe to toe, but just standing up for them. And if you aren't informed, that's okay. I didn't really have the time to do all the research and then go to the doctors. I'm here because I'm in need of answers. But if they're saying something to you that just doesn't sound quite right, you're allowed to take a beat. You're allowed to take a step back. And sometimes it feels like that space isn't available, but I'm just reminding you that it always is. It always is. And, Andrea, the thing that has surprised me since I've been in the mode of practice where most of my patients are physician referrals.

So they're referrals from functional medicine physicians, cardiologists, all kinds of people. And through the increase in cancer, you know, I've learned so much about how these oral microbes, these oral pathogens, affect cancer risk. So consequently, I have sent packets of research articles to oncologists, absolute packets, telling them, you know, if you'll just do these, you know, little things, not meaning to send people to me, but just knowing things that will increase that person's outcomes, things that are from their journals.

things are from their journals, then their patient outcome will be improved and they ignore them. They tell my patients, I send them with my patients now and they tell my patients, I don't have time to read this. It's in their journals. So we trust that the person we're going to has read their journals. That has shocked me. Absolutely shocked me that that's not happening. or they would be seeing all these things you're talking about. They would be seeing the nutritional benefits for eczema. They would be seeing that steroids long-term are dangerous.

They would be seeing so many things that are part of their literature. And that's okay. You just own it and your body, your child's body, and that's okay. That's the best that you can do. And what I love about working, especially with the pediatric population, is they are so resilient. Their cell regeneration is so quick that you can turn things around no matter what has taken place in the past. People that are listening, you know, had like quite a long road medically and then now their child is, you know, dealing with eczema because of all the antibiotics and antibiotics and just all the immune assaults and all the things.

And then now they're dealing with some really aggressive teeth problem as well in a lot of cases. It's just, you know, that's okay. We can absolutely turn it around. I do have to ask you, like, what's the toothpaste that you recommend? There are so many good toothpaste on the market, Andrea. And I am a simpleton and I like to recommend things that people can easily find that are not crazy expensive. There's a brand called Himalayan that is available at Sprouts. It's available at natural grocers.

It may be available at lots of other stores. It's available on Amazon. And it's about $8 a tube. It tastes good. It's got to taste good. And it does not have sodium lauryl sulfate, the foaming agent that's not good. It doesn't have fluoride. The variety that we enjoy at our home is pomegranate neem. so that has some natural antimicrobials. I also like black seed oil, nigella sativa, and there's a lot of incredible research on black seed oil and the oral gut microbiome. The active ingredient in nigella sativa and black seed oil is thymoquinone, and thymoquinone has been heavily studied.

in terms of lots of different things, but in terms of Fusobacterium nucleotum. I bottle it up for my patients, and I label it. So I buy an organic, cold-pressed, hexane-free variety, and I have them use it with these little... This could work for kids, especially for, say, eight years old and up, maybe even younger. But you go to the dentist and it's brush and floss, brush and floss. floss is great, but it doesn't work in a lot of people's hands. And it's, we've got to find things that are sustainable for people.

So I recommend these little brush picks. There's several variations of these brush picks.

Practical Oral Care Tips for Kids 31:00

And so the key to getting a healthier oral microbiome is to scrub off the biofilm. This Fusobacterium, as I said, it's a commensal and it's what's called a bridge builder. So if it's there and if the mother-in-law is saying too long, she's making everything bad. So Fusobacterium, likewise, increases other bad bacteria. It builds a bridge to them. So I recommend that people put a little bit of this Nigella sativa in their hand and dip their brush in it and just scrub between their teeth. Now, this is not simply getting food out.

That's good. But I recommend that they like scrub and scrub. I mean, scrub hard. And little kids can do that. Little kids can get in there and just play around and you're not gonna hurt yourself with these little brushes. They're easy to find. They're plastic, plastic's not optimal. They're mint flavored, mint flavor's not optimal, but they're the best we have right now that I've found because a toothpick, people can get little splinters from a toothpick, but these help. And so even for my littles that I see, this has been a pretty fun way for them to scrub their teeth and kind of see if they can get any chunks of stuff out.

I mean it's surprising you know how things hide especially when those baby teeth start to get loose and the gaps increase. This is effective for young and old. That's so great. I'll put a link to that oil in the show notes for sure and you just use it like a toothpaste. Well, you use toothpaste, too. This is a separate thing, but you use it in your hand. What would be the ideal just oral care sequence for kids? Well, you know, ideally, the ideal sequence would be to brush their teeth after they eat.

You know, we have two children, and I know it's easier said than done. Then say once a day, and it doesn't have to be at bedtime. you know, bedtime for when our kids were at home was just, you know, chaos. We were just lucky to, oh my gosh, just survive it. And so I would just say at some point, maybe before they want to watch their favorite show or something, you know, you need to, let's use your black seed oil. You're like yellow sativa, whatever your special oil. And so I would have them put a couple of drops in their hand and just kind of where that little creases and just dip it in there and.

and put it, you know, scrub between the teeth. It doesn't have to be perfect, Andrea. It's going to be effective. It's going to be very effective. And you know, I just thought I have a free course on my website that's called Upstream Gut Health, free. So I demonstrate it, you know, pretty effectively. You know, here I will spill it everywhere and it'll be a party because I'm good at spilling things. So, but that will also give a lot of tips on ways to enhance oral care in a simple way. You know, it's got to, it's got to be part of your lifestyle.

You know, life is, this is life. Life is wonderful and everything can't be stressful. I really can't because it's already so stressful. Especially the parents that are listening, they're stressed. So that is such a low-tox, great way, like please tune into this video on YouTube or yes, and I will absolutely link that course in the show notes so you can see what Dr. Debbie is talking about because this is This is great. This is like a food as medicine, a sew, everything that we're about, like great way to take care of your own and your child's teeth.

Well, and Andrea, like two years ago, I started seeing, you know, here I am, I'm a 67, and I want to take care of my skin, but in healthier ways. I don't, I'm not going to spend a bunch of money with a bunch of ingredients I can't pronounce. So I started, I used castor oil, then I started seeing that black seed oil, like allicitiva was a component in a lot of skincare. routine. So I did research on that, did a podcast on that. Then I saw, oh my gosh, it's good for oral microbiome. Oh my gosh, it's good for type 2 diabetes.

It's good for so many things. So the brand that I use for oral is Z-H-O-U. I get it from Amazon. And then the brand I recommend for people taking it internally is BioNatal. It has a little higher concentration of Phymoquinone. And there are lots of other good brands. But the key is, like you said, there are so many natural things that we've been given that are so healing and don't have any nasty side effects and don't cost a fortune. I have to ask you one more toothpaste question because, you know, it comes up.

Now I've switched to Dr. Gen toothpaste, which I really like. It's got 10% nano hydrogen. Yeah, that's good. So I really like that one. And I was going to ask you that the Himalayan toothpaste that you recommend, does it have vegetable glycerin in it? I don't know, I really don't. Okay, I'll look into it. Because then I hear that's bad for teeth too, and that's in like every natural toothpaste on the market, like every single thing that you can find at Sprouts. Maybe, yeah, I really don't know. And there again, from my perspective, I want to do the best I can, but I am not going to let it get stressful.

because it's going to undo it. My cortisol is like the worst thing, you know. In fact, I recommend fun for a lot of my patients and humor because, you know, life is tough. It really is. Bring me back, Dr. Debbie. Thank you. I just love, I love it. I love that your work is rooted in this Biblical perspective on health and I can just show how faith and simplicity really influences your approach on

Faith, Mindset, and Trusting Your Gut 36:30

vitality and healing. So that means so much to me. Thank you because I don't think that I've emphasized that enough in my podcast. I want I really feel the calling moving forward to have more information about how areas of biblical faith, eternal perspective, forgiveness, all of those areas that are we would think maybe don't matter, but we know they do matter in terms of vitality. We know they do matter even in terms of very objective things like sleep quality. I mean, God health, it's just so huge.

And I think we as believers have to start talking about that more. So thank you so much for that encouragement. I appreciate it. I mean, we don't talk about this really at all on our, we talk about mindset a lot on our podcast, but because, you know, like you share a nervous system with your children until about the age of seven. It's like so monumental how your feelings and just inside thoughts and just your frequency impacts your child. And everyone who's listening is going through something so very stressful.

It's the worst feeling in the world to watch your child be unwell and not really know what to do about it. And just any form of spirituality is so monumentally impactful for your life and for their life. And I agree with you. I just, I really believe that it's like the hallmark of healing. So thank you for sharing that. If you could leave the parents listening with just one simple mindset shift about their child's health and oral health, what would that be? I would say trust your own gut. You're the person that loves them.

You're the person that knows them. You know what is right for them. And as I said earlier, don't let yourself be talked into things to be shamed to be ridiculed. It doesn't matter what anybody thinks. It's okay to take a pause. Like, you know, Andrew said, it's okay to say, I need to think about this. There are things, I mean, as our children in their thirties, there are so many things that I wish I had taken a pause. So it's okay to do that. Most things are not urgent. You know, broken arm is urgent.

Your broken leg's urgent. But most things we're dealing with, you know, you're in the world of chronic. I'm in the world of chronic problems. So that's fine. Trust yourself. Thanks. Thanks for that. Where can people find you and connect with you and listen in? Oh, thank you. Join me on Instagram, Dr. Debbie Osment. That's O-Z-M-E-N-T. My website has a lot of free research. I have a free course, Upstream Gut Health. I have a YouTube, pretty vibrant YouTube. And join me on Vitality Made Simple.

Where to Find Dr. Debbie and Closing Thoughts 39:30

It's a very complimentary podcast to Andres. I'm talking to world leaders in a variety of areas in things that you can do mostly for yourself without spending a lot of money or having a lot of stress. Perfect. All that will be linked in the show notes. Thank you so much for your time today, Dr. Debbie. It was a pleasure. The pleasure's mine. Thank you, Andrea. What a powerful reminder that the mouth isn't separate from the body. It's the starting line for total health. And as Dr. Osment shared, inflammation that begins under the gums can ripple throughout the body and that fuels immune reactions and gut issues and even skin conditions like eczema.

But the great news is that you can turn that around by so But the great news is that you can turn that around by supporting digestion and the microbiome and the body's natural healing systems. If you're ready to take that next step with a clear proven roadmap, join me inside the eczema elimination method. You'll learn exactly how to reduce inflammation, heal the gut, and bring your child's skin back into balance without steroids, confusion, or restriction. You can get started today at eczemakids.com.

Check out all the Dr. Debbie's stuff. Her link is in the show notes. Those were such excellent oral care recommendations, non-toxic oral recommendations, so all that's linked in the show notes. Take care, friends. I will talk to you next week. Thank you for helping with my eczema. Love you. Thank you for listening today, friend. I know healing your child's skin isn't easy, but you're doing it one smart step at a time. If this episode gave you a little hope or a better night's sleep, leave a quick review so more exhausted parents can find eczema kids and finally rest easy too.

Follow, share, and let's help more kids heal. Take care.