I can’t personally speak to NO because it’s above my pay grade, but I think @Joseph_Lavelle uses fluoride (hello Dr Ellie!) and it has found his NO has not been affected.
Perhaps he will chime in.
Haha, to be honest, it’s a pretty minor point. Fluoride lowers the risk of cavities, so I’m sticking with fluoride toothpaste regardless of whether it affects nitric oxide production. Plus, I never rinse after brushing—my dentist has always told me to leave it. If anyone happens to know the optimal concentration of rapamycin for oral use, that would be great; otherwise, I’m a bit hesitant to dive in.
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This does not address your questions, but if you haven’t seen it yet, check out this thread.
I have been doing the protocol for a few months now and I’m experiencing what others have found…. This + no flossing = no plaque… WITCHCRAFT!
Thanks for the study. The problem is, a lot of expert take something that has a grain of truth in it and completely blow it out of proportion. Yes, the study you link to does show that fluoride can inhibit NO production, but this was seen after exposure of the cells to fluoride for 24 hours! If you use toothpaste and fluoride mouthwash you only expose your oral cavity to fluoride for a matter of minutes. Only tiny amounts of it would be likely to be absorbed into the blood circulation likely after swallowing if you swallow some portion of it.
Importantly, the concentrations of fluoride the cells were exposed to in the study you linked to are far higher than those found in the blood of humans using fluoride toothpaste or mouthwash. The fact that the mechanisms for inhibition of NO production exists is interesting, but it doesn’t mean it has meaningful effects at real world concentrations.
Now if this doctor actually mentions studies that show that people using fluoride toothpaste or mouthwash have lower NO levels, or that concentrations of fluoride as low as those typically found in the blood can inpair NO production, then we might have a reason to be concerned about it (if we actually found those studies). But until then, I think it’s reasonable to assume it’s unlikely that using fluoride toothpaste or mouthwash will significantly influence NO production in the body.
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Six months in, I think the most noticeable “signal” in this kind of experiment is that it’s actually quite hard to separate the effect of the formulation from the effect of consistency.
In my own case, the biggest changes I’ve seen in oral health over a similar period weren’t dramatic enamel changes, but more subtle things like reduced gum inflammation and less bleeding during flossing. That kind of improvement usually tracks more strongly with flossing technique, frequency, and overall plaque control than with any single additive in a paste.
I also had a chat during a routine check-up at Burwood Diamond Dental(google .com/maps/place/?cid=13602516038916111280) about DIY oral care trends, and the general view was pretty cautious. Not dismissive, but the key concern raised was that compounds like rapamycin simply don’t have solid dental-specific evidence for long-term topical use in the mouth, especially regarding microbiome balance and soft tissue response.
From what I’ve observed personally, if there is improvement, it’s likely coming from better mechanical cleaning habits (especially flossing and interdental care) rather than the active ingredient itself. The mouth responds very strongly to small changes in hygiene routine.
So overall, interesting experiment, but I’d still be careful about attributing too much of the benefit to the formulation rather than the fundamentals of oral care.
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