Are you taking probiotics, but not prebiotics?

Welcome to this week’s edition of Mondays with Mark. Here’s what’s new this week…

1. Prebiotics vs. Probiotics: which is more important? 🍌

Prebiotics aren’t talked about nearly enough, even though they are “make or break” when it comes to oral microbiome and gut health.

Prebiotics are to probiotics what fertilizer is to a garden—without prebiotics, those beneficial bacteria cannot thrive.

If I was forced to choose only probiotics or prebiotics, I’d probably choose prebiotics, specifically this prebiotic powder.

All the probiotics in the world aren’t going to make a difference if the environment to which they’ve been added doesn’t allow those friendly bacteria to thrive.

Not to mention, it can be hard to get prebiotics into our diet from food sources alone.

2. Watch last week’s sleep apnea Q&A 💤

You can watch the whole thing by going to my Instagram stories and tapping the highlight titled “Sleep.”

Next up for the month of March, we have Instagram Q&As coming from experts on topics including airway health, myofunctional therapy, facial development, and pediatric holistic and functional dentistry. Stay tuned and make sure you’re following along on Instagram.

3. Submit your question for my new podcast 🎙

Instagram not your thing? To be honest, it’s not really my thing either. Something that’s frustrated me about the platform is that Instagram Stories video length limit is 15 seconds—not nearly enough time to dig in.

Next week, I’m launching my brand new podcast, which allows me to actually go in-depth with some of this Q&A. Make sure to submit your question by recording a voice memo to be included on the show at speakpipe.com/askthedentist. I would love to hear from you.

As always, you can reply to this email and it will come to me and my team. Even if I can’t reply to every email I get, I use these replies to formulate what to write about next on the blog and this newsletter. So, hit reply and ask away.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.

P.S. In honor of International Women’s Day, I’d like to spotlight my all-time favorite manual toothbrush, the Radius Source, which is produced by an entirely women-owned and led company, and is ideal for gum recession, sensitivity, or gingivitis. Plus, the design reduces toothbrush waste by 93%! 🌍 Highly recommend checking out this toothbrush.