Hi Gretchen,

Commercial yogurt is not the potent probiotic that the manufacturers want you to believe. The reason being is that the various strains of bacteria are highly sensitive to temperature, light and the actual processing of the product. By the time you purchase it in the store, it has little to no valuable bacteria left. Also, any form of sweetener including the added fruit will kill off the good bacteria because it cannot survive in a sweet/sugary environment. Most brands have preservatives, dyes and sweeteners in them. Unsweetened, no fruit added, organic brands are a bit healthier, but still go through the rigorous processing.

The idea of taking a probiotic is to replenish and restore a healthy intestinal flora of good bacteria. So the best bet is to make your own or take a daily supplement that has been processed carefully as to maintain the integrity of the product. An excellent quality probiotic is called Culturelle. It is a patented strain of bacteria called lactobacillis G that is quickly processed in a temperature controlled environment and then is immediately packaged in safety sealed individual packs to help seal in the colonies of bacteria. It can be purchased at most large drug stores, some food stores like whole foods, health food stores or online.

For optimal health reasons, it is best to supplement with a quality probiotic or make your own on a daily basis for life. This gives you the advantage of having an abundance of healthy intestinal flora as a reserve in case you have to take an antibiotic. Because once the reserve is low, it takes time to build it back up again and this can be difficult to do with people who have any chronic medical condition as their immune system is already working harder than in someone who isn't dealing with that.

Glad to hear that you are having those teeth out! It's a good idea to prepare a nutritious soft food diet ahead of time so you will not have to think about what to make to eat at the time. Soft foods means less chewing and easy to digest. Homemade soups are a perfect example of this type of diet..... as well as soft fruits like bananas, mangoes, watermelon.... protein shakes (without the sugar) drunk from a glass (no straw) or eaten with a spoon.... eggs.... mashed potatoes (white or orange) ... things like that.

Please keep us posted.... I'm sure everything will be okay!

Bryanna