What the Tooth Fairy Has Been Trying to Tell You An Ecological Approach to Oral Health
This is a ~70,000-word book exploring oral health from an ecological perspective—treating the mouth as an ecosystem to nurture rather than a battlefield to sterilize. Written in the voice of a weary, ancient Tooth Fairy who has collected far too many teeth and would very much like humans to keep theirs.
The book synthesizes research across:
- Biochemistry — Enamel structure, remineralization, pH dynamics
- Microbiology — The oral microbiome, biofilm ecology, beneficial bacteria
- Botany — Traditional plant remedies with modern evidence (miswak, propolis, sage, etc.)
- History — How we went from chew sticks to chlorhexidine
- Practical application — DIY formulations, daily protocols, evidence evaluation
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/atmarx/keep-your-teeth.git
cd keep-your-teeth
# Set up environment and serve
./mkdocs-build.sh setup # First time only
./mkdocs-build.sh serve # Start dev server
# Open http://127.0.0.1:8000The mkdocs-build.sh script manages its own Python virtual environment:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
./mkdocs-build.sh setup |
Create .venv/ and install dependencies (mkdocs-material and mkdocs-minify-plugin) |
./mkdocs-build.sh serve |
Start dev server at http://127.0.0.1:8000 using --livereload to monitor for changes |
./mkdocs-build.sh build |
Build static site to site/ |
./mkdocs-build.sh clean |
Remove generated files |
./mkdocs-build.sh clean-all |
Also remove .venv/ |
System requirements: Python 3.8+, venv, pip
The MkDocs site uses semantic, SEO-friendly URLs:
| Section | URL Path |
|---|---|
| Foundations | /foundations/ |
| History | /history/ |
| Enemies | /enemies/ |
| Chemistry | /chemistry/ |
| Delivery | /delivery/ |
| Botanicals | /botanicals/ |
| Innovations | /innovations/ |
| Bigger Picture | /bigger-picture/ |
| Living It | /living-it/ |
| Reference | /reference/ |
Individual chapters have descriptive slugs like /botanicals/miswak-salvadora-persica/.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
You are free to share and adapt this material for non-commercial purposes, as long as you provide appropriate attribution.
This book was developed collaboratively with Claude, an AI assistant by Anthropic, who contributed research synthesis across biochemistry, microbiology, botany, and cultural history.
"Your teeth are one of the only problems in your life that will go away if you ignore them."