Re: MMS compared to 'chlorine dioxide' products such as Closys & Durafresh

Hello #109287,

Sodium chlorite is a stable form of chlorine dioxide. In order to release the chlorine dioxide from sodium chlorite, you need to drop the pH of the sodium chlorite. The amount of chlorine dioxide released depends upon how far the pH is lowered.

An activated mixture of Miracle-Mineral-Supplement actually forms chlorous acid. Chlorous acid has some chlorine dioxide released, but the majority of the chlorine dioxide is tied up in the chlorous acid. When you drink Miracle-Mineral-Supplement you are actually drinking chlorous acid that has a little chlorine dioxide in it.

If you mix up some chlorous acid and drive the chlorine dioxide off of it and dissolve that chlorine dioxide gas into water you end up with chlorine dioxide in water. This is what is being done with CDS.

There are a couple of problems.

Chlorine dioxide is not stable. Chlorine dioxide in solution is not stable. Now we need to define stability.

Sodium chlorite will produce the same amount of chlorine dioxide today, and 5 years from now. That is stable.

I have a bottle of 3000 PPM CDS that has been sitting on the shelf at room temperature for 20 days. In that time it has lost about 70% of the concentration of chlorine dioxide. That is not stable.

Knowing that chlorine dioxide is unstable and that chemical reactions slow down at cooler temperatures, you can make CDS degrade slower by storing it in the freezer. Also, some of the chlorine dioxide is lost every time you open the bottle, so if you limit the times you open the bottle, you will lose less.

So, if you measure stability by having CDS survive shipment and last a few months in your freezer, then it is stable. However, if you measure stability by measuring the amount of degradation in 5 years of room temperature storage, it is not stable.

The other problem has to do with pH. Chlorine dioxide has no pH. If you put pure chlorine dioxide into water, the pH of the water will not change. However, the process of generating chlorine dioxide from chlorous acid can also produce some chlorine. When chlorine is dissolved in water it forms hypochlorous acid. Now we have an acid in the water along with the chlorine dioxide. This means that the CDS often ends up being acidic.

You will have to check the pH of your CDS to see if it is acidic or closer to neutral.

CDS is chlorine dioxide (and perhaps some chlorine) in water. Miracle-Mineral-Supplement is chlorous acid. They are two different chemicals.

The advantage of commercial dental products is that you don't have to mix them up and don't have to worry about checking the pH. Closys uses citric acid to activate the sodium chlorite and then uses trisodium phosphate to bring the pH close to neutral.

Keep in mind that stabilized chlorine dioxide = sodium chlorite.

Durafresh and Oxyfresh end up alkaline and rely on the acids in the mouth for activation. This is actually a good way to go for normal care. If you have no acids in your mouth there is no activation. Activation is only done in accordance to the amount of acid in your mouth. This reduces the stress on your teeth if they are already clean.

Closys is a distant relation to MMS, but is not anything like CDS. Durafresh and Oxyfresh are different from both MMS and CDS.

Since these involve different chemicals, let's look at typical oral hygiene uses.

If you decided to use an activated dose of MMS, you are using chlorous acid with a pH of around 3.5. Extended exposure to an acid like this can etch the enamel on your teeth, but most people spit it out before that happens. Since chlorous acid has some chlorine dioxide in it, this would be used to target minor gum disease and eliminating bad breath odor. This would also work well against oral thrush.

Closys is a lower strength solution, and it is nearly pH neutral. It is probably good for general hygiene, and may help with minor gum problems.

Durafresh and Oxyfresh are simply very dilute sodium chlorite solutions. They are alkaline, so there is no problems with etching. They are very good for general hygiene, but lack the oxidizing power of chlorous acid. They become activated according to the amount of acid in the mouth. Once you have a healthy mouth, you can make sure to keep it healthy using these products or making your own that is similar to them.

CDS comes into play with deep infections, and jaw bone infections. Chlorine dioxide can penetrate tissue and deal with jaw bone infections and abscesses. The problem is that it has the potential to etch the teeth, but at lower concentrations it will also bleach the teeth. This is an individual response so experiment carefully. At around 150 - 250 PPM, it works very well with infections but you need to watch the contact time and keep it to around 30 seconds. In addition to the etching capability of CDS you also need to be mindful of its pH. If it is acidic, you will need to make sure to rinse after using it.

Many times a tooth will crack a little. This allows biofilm to form in the crack and infection to start. CDS is great for penetrating the biofilm and eliminating the infection, but unless the crack is repaired it will just get infected again. The problem with CDS is that it gets used up in the saliva of the mouth. This brings us to a little different approach.

If you activate sodium chlorite to produce 200 PPM free chlorine dioxide, you end up with chlorous acid with 1000 PPM available chlorine dioxide and 200 PPM of that as free chlorine dioxide. This solution has a pH of about 3.5. That is about the same pH as Apple Cider Vinegar. This chlorous acid has good penetration power, and will last a little longer when exposed to saliva. It is a good first line attack against gum infections, abscesses, and jaw bone infections. The problem is that it is an acid. To take care of this you follow the acid application with a generous mouthful of a dilute sodium chlorite solution. This will neutralize the acid and prevent damage, and also coat the teeth with some sodium chlorite that will act a little like a time release solution. It can continue to work for 5 - 10 minutes afterward.

With severe bone infection, the approach that seems to work best is a higher concentration CDS solution. It may take several swishes of this, and you need to be mindful of the bleaching capability of chlorine dioxide and what damage it can do to teeth. However, if you stay below those concentrations it seems to penetrate the tissue and attack the jaw bone infection. After using a strong concentration like this, it is a good idea to rinse.

If the solution you use is acidic, it is also a good idea to rinse after using it.

The general instructions for non acidic rinses is to first brush your teeth and clean your mouth as you normally would. Then rinse well. Finally you follow this with the mouthwash and swish for 30 - 60 seconds. Spit it out and do NOT rinse or eat or drink anything for 10 minutes afterward.

As far as using sodium chlorite without activation, this falls in the realm of the various products known as "stabilized oxygen." They have been in use since the mid 1960's and Jim Humble started out using them for malaria. He reported around a 70% success rate using them. When used properly they work great, but if used improperly they have side effects including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

The earliest documented use of activated salts producing chlorine dioxide goes back to 1949. This solution was used as an oral disinfectant. In 1981 activated sodium chlorite was used to treat burns and also orally to treat amoebiasis. In the late 1990's Jim Humble re-discovered this and now we have MMS. In the 1930's there were various solutions that are suspected to be similar, but the documentation is sketchy so we don't know for sure.

At any rate we have a history of about 50 years of using unactivated sodium chlorite and a little more than that using activated sodium chlorite. Both can work if used according to their strengths. Both can fail if you don't know how to use them.

SO MANY ANSWERS... :)

Tom