I really hate going to the dentist, even if it's just for a cleaning. I hate it so much, in fact, that I put a reminder on my calendar a few days before an appointment as a reminder to cancel in case I wimp out. I'm embarrassed, but it's that bad.
Due to my hate for invasive dental work, I'm big on a healthy diet loaded with vitamins and minerals (in food-based form) to help prevent cavities.
In recent years, there have been a lot of articles going around that say food can not only prevent cavities, but it can heal them as well. The skeptic in me wanted an opinion from a trusted holistically-oriented dentist to help sort out fact from fiction. This brings me to today's post from Dr. Paul Rubin, one of Seattle's pioneers in “mercury-free” dentistry. Dr. Rubin has been practicing Mercury-Safe, "biological" Dentistry for over 32 years.
I hope you enjoy Dr. Rubin's responses to some common dental myths!
Myth #1: "Nothing hurts so I must be OK"
Pain is not a reliable indicator of dental problems. Sometimes pain can be a useful, early warning of trouble, but many dental problems can develop with no pain symptoms. A cavity can develop, sometimes getting quite advanced, with no symptoms at all. A deep cavity can develop over time into an abscessed tooth, and even this can happen with no symptoms! Periodontal disease can be there with no symptoms. The point is, regular checkups are your best way of early detection of problems, as well as preventive help. I will repeat: Pain is not a reliable indicator of dental problems.
Myth #2: "I've heard you can heal cavities with [fill in the blank]"
One example here is the Weston A. Price diet. I believe it is a very healthy and health-building way of eating. You can get information from the Weston A. Price Foundation. It may be one of the best diets for preventing cavities and periodontal disease. But some have been claiming it can heal and reverse cavities. What does that really mean? I know that very beginning cavities, that have just started to break down the enamel surface, can be stopped and re-mineralized. But I have not yet seen any reliable evidence that a cavity, once it's beyond the very superficial stage, can be "healed." The tooth just isn't capable of rebuilding the lost tooth structure. The mechanism isn't there.
I have seen some misleading articles and blogs and even photos, claiming to heal cavities. The claims don't hold up to scrutiny. The criteria for being "healed" often include "It doesn't hurt anymore." (see the above Myth #1 about pain). Or, it's claimed that "I can see that the cavity has disappeared." I looked carefully at one blog about this that included before and after photos. I've been a dentist for over forty years, so I'm pretty sure I understand what I'm looking at. The photos showed surface stain (not decay)! The stain visibly reduced or disappeared in the "after" photos. The person thought it was a cavity that disappeared and wrote to tell everybody about it.
If I could see one good example of a real cavity that was documented by a dentist, and evidence from a dental exam and/or X-rays that this cavity "healed" or disappeared, I'd be jumping at the chance to find out what was done and how to advise my patients to duplicate this. Please, if anybody has such evidence, let me know!
Myth #3: "An abscessed tooth can be healed"
Can an infected tooth, where the "nerve" or pulp of the tooth is infected or necrotic (dead) be revived? Alas, the answer is again: No. Why do some people think that it can? Usually it comes down to Myth #1 - lack of pain. A patient uses an antibiotic, or maybe a homeopathic remedy, and the pain fades and disappears. Or, the swelling fades away. The symptoms have stopped, but that doesn't mean the tooth has healed. There is still a chronic, asymptomatic infection going on, and it is still dangerous.
Because of the internal anatomy of a tooth, the live pulp tissue doesn't have the same healing capacity of tissues elsewhere in the body. The pulp tissue may be affected by deep decay and bacterial invasion. It gets inflamed. If caught early enough and treated, this inflammation may be reversible. But there comes a "point of no return" where an inflamed pulp progresses to "irreversible pulpitis" or actual infection or tissue death. At this point, it is not reversible. It cannot regenerate. It is a dead tooth and must be treated.
Unfortunately the only treatment options here are a root canal treatment or extracting the whole tooth. I'm not going to get into the various pros and cons of these treatments in this article. I just want to emphasize that an infected, abscessed tooth cannot heal and become a healthy tooth again.
Note that a gum abscess (which sometimes has a similar appearance to a dental abscess), definitely can be treated and healed. This may confuse some, and may be partly responsible for why I hear stories like "I didn't need to do a root canal after all. I healed my tooth."
Myth #4: "You don't need to take X-rays on me today unless you see a problem."
The point of taking X-rays is that they show things we cannot see visually. They have a tremendous value in early detection. Some X-rays are needed to clearly diagnose the source of a perceived problem. But if you understand my busting of Myth #1, then you see that not all dental problems are obvious or create symptoms. For example, one of the most common areas for decay to start is between the teeth where adjacent teeth contact each other. These will show up on "bitewing" X-rays many months before they are actually visible in the mouth.
The earlier a cavity is detected, the simpler and more conservative is the filling to repair it. If a cavity between the teeth goes undetected until it's visible and obvious, then restoring the tooth may be a more extensive and expensive procedure than it needed to be.
So, we take X-rays periodically. We take them much more conservatively than many dentists. And we take them with a digital system, which is 70-90% less radiation exposure than the traditional dental film X-rays. We are not cavalier about exposing our patients to even this small amount of radiation, but the benefits are definitely worth it.
I hope you enjoyed reading today's guest post! You can read more from Dr. Paul Rubin here or read more about dental nutrition here.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?
PIN IT:
Allyson Turner
I disagree. Any doctor or person is only able to make determinations based on the information and technology available to them. That said, anyone battling teeth issues should definitely get a rife machine. It will quell a zillion dental issues and may very well keep you out of the chair. There is other technology I'm looking into that I'm hoping will be a huge game changer where dentistry is concerned, and if I'm right, I'll consider it absurd that dentistry has not already adopted it. Holistic or not, a dentist's goal is to get you in the chair. This doesn't mean that their Fred Flintstone tactics are the best or the only way of dealing with teeth.
E
Sorry you feel that way. I'm a Dental Hygienist and have been in Dentistry for over 30 years so I've known many good and not so good Dentists over the years. Yes, there are those who are unethical and who will make up or 'stretch'treatment, but I've always seen that type get exposed for what they are and get fired. Most Dentists I know are just doing their best and want to help their patients. The Rife machine is not FDA approved band people have been sued because of it. No Licensed Healthcare professional in their right mind would risk losing their license and their livelihood by using a product that has not even been proven to be effective. I appreciate this article, however, and find it to be very informative. I tend to use MI Paste and MI Paste.Plus for my patients as long as they are not allergic to milk, since it contains Recaldent (Lactose intolerant is OK). The Plus has Fluoride in it as well. Happy Thanksgiving!
Scdental
I totally agree with E. but now is changed and customer are more knowledgeable and sharp that easily know who is better for them..
Brittany
Neither are any vitamins, or most the supplements at GNC and the Vitamin Shoppe. Non of these herb supplements are approved by the FDA yet have tremendous health benefits. A lot of stuff seems to "get past" the FDA. There may be a larger issue here but that's another topic.
Lys
Vitamins and diet supplements can't actually "get past" the FDA. The FDA doesn't regulate them to begin with. They are classified as food, not medication. Besides, vitamins don't work like drugs. When testing new medication, the FDA uses an algorithm to compare the effectiveness of a drug and how lethal the drug is. That is what determines which drugs can be used in medicine. Vitamins don't fall in this category because they are not medicine. Vitamins are a collection of minerals that don't alter the physiology of the body. Because they don't alter the body'shop physiology, they are not considered medication.
-- Lys, paramedic
kim
Fluoride!!!!!!!!!
Tra
Florida is a poison!
Julie
So you know more then the dentist's huh? LMAO...........even I know you can't heal a cavitiy, and the rest of the article made perfect sense. Maybe you should get your head looked at, instead of your teeth.
Hugheson
Your insults make you seems like you need YOUR head checked. He IS right. Stay being a stupid sheep.
Louis
And you would be smart to actually think for yourself. My daughter's teeth with large cavities were about to be removed or have root canals, I said, no, cancelled appointments started with some dietary changes and supplements, her cavities are refilling, and healing up. I have photos of them before and as they have progressed.
Elba Mai
Hi Louis, I'm sure everyone here would love to see the photo's. Everyone wants the idea that teeth can heal themselves to be true.
Perhaps you could share on some kind of cloud service like google docs?
Nikki
How bad where her cavities and what kind of diet changes did you make ?
Selena
Love to know more about diet changes please
Dr. K.
Allyson Turner, you made some interesting comments about alternate methods to combat dental issues.
You posted this comment in 2014. Hopefully, you will see this post and respond back
I'm researching different ways of resolving dental problems too since my elderly mom and dad cannot afford dental care.
The dentist's solution for them at this point in their lives is to pull out their teeth and give them false teeth. That's not what they want to do. Their teeth are not that bad. They just need quality dental care to ensure optimal health.
If you have found more info and would be willing to share it, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
Mary
All you have to do it tell your self every day " my teeth are healing themselves" . It's called affirminatiom. Don't believe me, try it. Why not give it a whirl. I had a huge cavity filling that fell out and I hate the dentist so I bought temporary fillings from the store for a very long time. I read about affirminatiom and thought why not. So after a few weeks I noticed when I out my tongue on it it was feeling flush with my gums. I started to tell everyone , I was convinced. A couple days later I decided to brush my teeth as I normally would ( had been pretty gentle on that spot ) and it fell out like a piece of food would. I was completely bummer and was not looking fwrd to telling everybody. The hole looked so clean though and it was as if I just disturbed it, kind of like picking off a scab when it wasn't ready. At the time I had another filling on the top that was actually a little bigger than this one where is had fallen out years earlier and I had been doing the same thing, filling it with temporary fillings from the store. But I had not in a loooooong time. I pretty much forgot about it. Something was telling me to look at that tooth. Well I did and it was completely healed. The reason I did not know is because it still felt the same when my tongue touched it'. Like a hole. But it had healed inverted. This one on the bottom healed nice and flush. Now I truly know the meaning "'you can do anything you set your mind to" . Tell your self every day even if you feel/know your lying to yourself . Just keep doing it. It will happen
Dane
Did you mean to say "affirmation"?
Melanie
I blame the dentists for the state of my teeth. The first time I ever had my teeth cleaned by a German dentis, and from then on my enamel started crumbling and then my teeth just crumbled. People should never have their teeth cleaned, its very invasive! Now it will cost me any thing from AUS$12000 to have new dentures. Who is going to help me do that? No one!
Brenda
I agree TOTALLY, it seems that the dentist ways ARE NOT pain free or stressors for people like me, who can not stand even the smells and sounds associated with going to sit in the dentist CHAIR!
Charlotte Windley
What is a rife machine?
Kelly
Charlotte, have you heard of something called GOOGLE? Sheesh...
Alicia G
I had a great conversation with my dentist about this just a few weeks ago. I had been reading about Fermented Cod LIver Oil etc helping remineralize tooth decay and read through The Tooth Decay book. The dentist had wanted to fill a small cavity and I asked for extra time to try to heal it. He said that if it had not gone into the dentin layer, he would have said remineralizing may have been possible. But since it was in the dentin, it was not possible to heal naturally & it would be worse the next visit. I opted for the small filling.
We were at the dentist today for my daughter and I am so happy to report no cavities. She had already had 4 cavities filled by age 5. We started her on xylitol toothpaste & gum, Sonicare kids toothbrush, and FCLO off & on. Low sugar diet but still occasional treats. And we had a great dentist checkup!
Alicia G
I mean after her last cavity 6 months ago, we made these changes & I feel like they have helped!
Rebecca
Thank you for clearing up some misinformation that has been floating around. Please do a follow-up on the pros and cons of root canals vs. pulling. I'm facing that decision right now.
Rita Bridges
They put you to sleep and you don't feel a thing.
Rebecca
One more thought... have you ever worked with ozone therapy in your practice? What is your opinion of its use ?
briana
I would like to know how often x-rays should be taken for children and adults. Are the recommendations different for more cavity prone people? Thanks!
Kiaya DAII
No, xrays until the age of 4 normally unless there has been trauma. At age 4 and up there should be 2 to 4 xrays depending on the size of the child''s mouth taken once a year and a panorex which is a xray machine that goes around the head once every 3 to 7 years depending on insurance. Xrays may also be taken when there is something bothering the child.
Victoria
Can cavities be cured by fermented cod liver oil?
Erik
Prevented and small ones possibly reversed. Anything that is decently progressed, likely not. I believe that was the point of the article.
Donna Arrington
Very well written and thought out. Gives informationwithout belittling other views.
Rob
Check out the study done by a German doctor who found that Xylitol sugar when brushed with three times a day, and swished in the patients mouths allowed their teeth to heal. It healed cavities, peridontal disease, and all other teeth issues. The only side affect was that that plaque was killed and it turned a brown color which was easily cleaned by a regular dental cleaning. I used Xylitol sugar for 4 months and my teeth were healthy, it did leave my teeth with a grey coloring which the dentist easily cleaned off and my teeth were super white after the cleaning. The dentists asked about my stains on my teeth and I told her about the study, she said it sounded interesting.
Theresa
Interesting!
Juliana
where can I find the study?
jimbob
Keep believing all that FDA crap. If you think they are looking out for the common people you have another thing coming. Pharmaceuticals is the only thing that matters.
Brittany
Agreed
kim
I am totally with you. FDA for the big boys club!
Sharky
Fda should be eliminated are useless..
Jeri
Agreed. FDA has no credibility. Have you seen their process of approving vaccines?
Paula
Hopefully, the last 2 1/2 yrs (2020-2022) the light has shined on how corrupt the FDA (and most other alphabet agencies) are and people can see the truth that these organizations are beholden to big (p)harma. Basically, the whole medical system is corrupt, now. The p(l)andemic revealed just how far it is gone.
Melinda Stuhlman
Disagree with drs being exposed. I know of 2 personal stories of mal practice and fraud by an oral sugeon and a medical dr speaclizing in arthritis. Both are still practicing. Pay outs back door deals and gag orders keep them still in practice. One particular dr had a 3 inch thick book he called the NUMB book and it listed patients he experimented on presented during trial. My dad was this person. Gag order was issued and because my dad couldnt afford the lawyers fees anymore he accepted a pay out with a non disclosre agreement. Side note during jury selection their just happened to be a person that was dismissed because this dr hurt her as well. This happened 20 yrs ago and he still has a practice. I 2ont get into the other story but the same. It was reported to the AMA and was gag ordered.
lafe
The head of the corrupt FDA is no less than the head of one of the most corrupt corporations on earth...Monsanto. So ANYTHING and everything they approve is all about the money and has nothing to do with our health. That's a fact. Fluoride is a deadly poison so why mention it? The body can heal itself of many "incurable" deceases if given the right ingredients, so why not cavities. How did it make the teeth in the first place? Dentists, Doctors, Scientists are not Gods and their knowledge is limited, so why believe every word that comes out of their mouth much less the FDA?
It's all about the money, so follow the money.
kim
Excellent response.
prioris
people blaming the corporations and bribery are living in denial. the global power structure runs these corporations as just fronts for their agendas.
monsanto doesn't call any shots. they just exist as a fake private entity. they control tens of thousands of the largest corporations.
some people who get paid off are the little sociopaths in the dental profession who go along with the lies.
ZAYDA SHEER
AGREED , HONESTLY IM DOING THE SELF HEALING FOR TEETH AND ITS WORKING ON ME I BELIEVE GOD LEFT THE GOOD THINGS FOR A REASON AND TEETH CAN HEAL BECAUSE GOD HAS LEFT THE INGREDIENTS FOR IT, BAKCK IN THE DATES THERE WERE NOT DENTIST AND PEOPLE HAD GOOD TEETH
Manjitsingh Bhalla
A trusted holistically oriented dentist is indeed a must! Dental problems getting on may be sometimes without any pain warning too. Enamels can of course be re-mineralized expecting the cavity to be healed apart. Great info!
JL
Dr. Rubin you may want to update your information base. I recently was told by a University of Florida Clinical Dental specialist that I had 2 healed cavities (actually the director came in to confirm also). Xray showed a deep cavity under an old filling, clearly not superficial as you mention. I was shocked at the news because I didn't think it possible. When he got under the filling, it was hard bone. He said healed cavities are like scar tissue and look similar to cavities on xray. He said its common knowledge in dental schools and tons of research will be out in the next couple of years. I believe he mentioned it can be clinically replicated with aggressive fluoride, but also happens naturally.
Elena
Can you please tell me how you healed the cavity did you take anything for it thanks
Mary
Say this every day " my teeth are healing themselves" I'm not gonna rewrite my story again as I already did above but I promise you, it works. Keep telling your self this every day. Even when you feel silly and think/ know your lying to yourself. I've had huge fillings fall out and they both healed. These were cavities so big would for sure need a root canal if not extraction. Completely healed
V
Have your teeth healed properly
Dr. Judene Benoit
Okay I just have to add a little plug for myself 😉 As a
dentist who has seen hundreds and hundreds of remineralized cavities ranging in
size from small to huge, I wrote a book about how people can go about healing
teeth naturally. It is called, How to Stop Cavities: A Natural Approach to
Prevention and Remineralization.
Healing a cavity (called 'remineralizing' and 'arrested
decay' in dentist terms) does not result in the missing tooth structure growing
back, but does result in a hard surface that functions as normal and is not
susceptible to further decay. It usually does not require a filling! I like to
compare healing a cavity (remineralizing/arrested decay) to accidently cutting
a fingertip off. When the finger heals, the missing fingertip does not grow
back but the skin is hard, functions normally and no longer at risk of
bleeding. Remineralization of cavities is an awesome capability that each and
every one of us possesses!
Happy Teeth, Happy Life!!
nicole
Excellent info! Thanks
kim
Thank you for that info. Will look up your book.
Hannan Ahmad
The healing process majorly depends on the intensity of the damage. Your dentist might be able to fix a minor cavity but a major one will be near impossible. In such a situation, you will most probably need a crown or tooth implant.
http://mybrooklynheightsdentist.com/
Jenifer
Listen I put all this to the TEST on MYSELF! I myself, healed my own abscessed tooth/tooth infection, I am also reminilizing the SAME tooth, and I hoping the cavity will be cleared, and give the AMAZING results I am having I can expect it to. I went to the Cure Tooth Decay website., and I adjusted the suggests to my lifestyle, I pray for my healing always, prayer speed up ANYTHING, believe and it shall be! I don't use standard dental protocols. I have seen IMMENSE improvement after these changes, along with diet though not strict with my food, at all.
Here is what I do:
I oil pull every morning.
I use my HOMEMADE mouthwash
Then I brush my teeth with HOMEMADE toothpaste.
I use some activated charcoal on my teeth
I put some castor oil on my cracked tooth (its healing!!! pretty much 80 % reminerialized to this point!!!)
Healing my infection took work, and a tooth infection hurts really bad, I was going to go to a dentist luckily it all started to reverse after trial, and error!!!! Eating garlic pretty much turned it around, in addition to oil pulling. If you need a dentist go to, if I need a dentist I will go, but I try home remedies first, and let me tell you, after all this working out for me I feel like I can heal ANYTHING in my body. I will in time go to a dentist as I can afford one right now, but ONLY to a holistic dentist that will work with me and my home remedies, anyone who tells you you can't heal is LYING! Healers are suppose to work with their patients not dictate. Leanr form each other!
Mary
This is great but I can almost guarantee you your teeth will heal with out all those steps. All you need is affirmination and truly believing / praying and truly believing.in my opinion to truly believe and do all those extra steps in kind of a contradiction. That's all I Did. In fact i stopped brushing me teeth as much because I didn't want to disrupt anything as I had once in the past. These were holes in teeth from filling falling out. Very visible to the eye.. Completely healed. And my mouth was sure sore during it.
Rowie
Mary, prayer alone is not enough. There are countless examples in scripture where people prayed but also needed something else, Jesus used clay to heal an eye. Or the elderly in the early church were instructed to put olive oil on someone that was ill.
Morpheus
Ive discovered that placing several drops of Lugols Iodine between teeth and gums every day, several times a day has had a huge positive impact on my dental health and sense of taste. My theory as to why it works so well is simple, it kills all known germs and keeps them from creating the acid that attacks your enamel. My gums have become a lot pinker since, I have a better sense of taste and when I eat sugars I no longer feel it is reacting and causing damage.
Note that it is unwise to do this unless you understand the side effects of Iodine i.e detox as well as the need for other minerals such as selenium and magnesium to assist with this. If I had known this earlier, I would have never had any problems with my teeth at all ever. You will also find you get less plaque forming, again it is probably due to the fact that germs cannot set up shop in your mouth so easily.
Rowie
Hi, I use both Iodine and colloidal silver as a mouth wash several times a day. But in addition I use castor oil, it is also very good to reach the pockets and is far better than using coconut oil as oilpulling.
Ta make it even more spicy I melt a couple of magnesium phosphorus tablets in my mouth.:)
c
Maybe I missed it but I don't recall anyone stating that there have been any studies that prove or disprove the possibility of healing teeth. Without actual scientific proof everyone, including dentists are arguing opinions not facts. At one point in our history, everyone knew the world was flat, until it was proven that it wasn't. Our knowledge will change and grow and those who refuse to look into new ideas are the ones who hold our entire civilization back. Just remember absence of proof is not proof of absence.
J
Thanks for saying this, it seems this is the missing understanding across all medical/healing ideas at this time.
Sharky
Fda is holding us back.
Tim
That's very far off. No, not everyone thought the world was flat. Greeks figured out the world was round over 22 centuries ago!
vipin kumar
I just hate the dentists...
I had a simple bleeding problem.. I was not aware the term "cavity", I had just heard it and thought that bleeding problem means cavity in teeth.
There was something black in my upper molar, maybe, it was something but it was not cavity for sure.
Out of excitement I told the dentist that i was cavity and I am having bleeding problems due to it.
She then just operated on me and did the filling. Initially I thought things will go normal.
But the bleeding never stopped.
Infact, now every single day I find it difficult to eat.
Filling did more problem to me than good.
I wish I had never visited the dentist.
It was better earlier. I will never recommend any person to go for a filling. There are better techniques out and natural methods which will cure teeth.
Believe it or not, but dentists won't accept these hard facts because it will shut their shops.
The cavity or the black material on the teeth can repair on itself. You need to do few simple things like brushing properly, doing a simple water gargle after eating food, eat lots of fruits, oil pulling etc.
These are simple and natural methods. Apart from it, another very powerful method is Baba Ramdev's Divya Dant Manjan. People may laugh, but that toothpowder is indeed very very powerful. You have to put it on your gums after dinner and just keep your mouth shut for 20 minutes. Your mouth will be filled with water (because of its unique sour taste) and it will do wonders! Just put it on your gums, not on teeth.
And lastly, don't visit any dentist and never for a cap or tooth filling. You will regret it later.
thanks
Celanie
I have successfully healed my own cavities (holes that filled in with light brown enamel once remineralized) and my son's cavities. So I know it's truth. I did not take photos but can speak from experience, God designed ALL our bones to heal themselves and I'm so thankful we tried healing them ourselves instead of seeking invasive invention!
kosal
Hi Celanie,
Can u tell how did you heal your cavities
Dalal
Please can you tell how did you to heal your cavities ?
shade
Please note everyone: healing tooth is real. It won't be the same neither beautiful, but will be healthy.
Why it is not documented? Why not approved by mainstream medicine?
Experts asked.
The answer:
Because medical trails and studies are done to approve or test some medicine or drug, to build a belief and trust. But for such safe natural therapies, you feel and see the results yourself. No need for trial evidence!
prioris
Having a clean bill of health at dental check up isn't worth much. they detect problems thru X-rays. X-rays only see infections that have been there a long time. You need to take action way before that. Take control of your own dental health.
Wesson Price's active X is vitamin K2 MK4.
Phytates (seeds, nuts grain) (white rice and white flour contain no phytates) taken at one meal won't effect absorption of minerals at another meal so don't take calcium supplement with any meal dominated by phytates.
Best calcium supplement out there is Jarrow's Ultra Bone Up formula. It has the MCHA calcium plus cofactors like JarrowSil. Silica is important. I use
nutricology vitamin K complex for K2 MK4.
It is sickening reading dental professionals spouting out the old dental lies.
Val
Hi Catherine,
in the original post you ask for people to point out any evidence based story of cavity healing
Found a tooth decay reversal thru diet changes with X-rays evidence.
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2016/01/02/cavity-reversal-healing/
Seems that in her case the cavities have not penetrated into the dentine but in my experience dentist may recommend a filling with lesions smaller that the ones in those X-rays.
Eva
Egg shell calcium is excellent for remineralising.
Alison
Walnut hull tincture, too. I am feeling a healing from that.
John
I don't brush a lot or floss my wife brushes and flosses daily. The only time I brushed daily I got cavities so I stop again. I have had 6 cavities in my life. My wife has lost teeth 5 teeth and has had hundreds of cavities and mouth pain. I had 1 cavity as a kid and 5 as an adult when I was courting my wife.. The dentist that filled my baby tooth told me (and my mom) that teeth can heal and pointed out 3 marks on my baby teeth of healed cavities. As an adult I have been scolded for not brushing regularly and that my teeth will fall out but I laugh. I'm 50+ and only had 6 cavities or 6 teeth that a dentist has ever touched. I let a dentist talk me into a preventative measure and I broke up his work inside of a year. I eat suckers in 3 or less licks. I strip wire and chew ice. Filling material isn't as strong as my teeth are. General note; sunscreen causes tooth decay and 146 other calcium based diseases.. .
Alison
What do you do for your teeth?
Adam
This is one dentists opinion, based on his experience. It is hardly an ooen minded investigation into the healing of cavities. Not all dentists agree, as it was a dentist that told me it was possible to heal cavities with a change if diet.
prioris
For people with so called autoimmune diseases or leaky gut, this is something YOU need to especially become aware of also.
There are two types of milk protein which are beta A1 casein and beta A2 casein. Many people get negative affects to dairy products due to the A1 milk products because it produces a toxic BCM-7 protein fragment. It increases heart disease, diabetes etc. I get headaches and other symptoms from the A1 protein. I have no reaction from A2 and digests much better. Some of my unsolvable chronic conditions get cured also.
Almost all milk in the US and Europe (except france) are A1 milk. Guernsey cows are 95% A2 cows. Jersey cows are 65% A2. The other cows are A1. Asia and Africa have mostly A2 cows.
For people who want to test the A2 milk for reactions there may be a place that sells it, There are no really A2 cheeses that are labeled as A2 milk derived.
Too bad they force milk producers to pasteurize the milk since it destroys valuable enzymes.
The BCM-7 derived from A1 milk problem is something people need to become aware of.
Mary Cutrara
Milk is an unnecessary part of our diet today and is partly why so many who drink a ton of milk have cavity issues as the bacteria in our mouths loves it. Yes, it is sad that it's so hard to get unpasteurized milk but it's really meant for their calves, not full grown humans. You can easily get these nutrients in your diet elsewhere. It's really not a big deal to cut out milk.
Rita Bridges
Drinking milk has caused my grandson to have cavities and he just turned 3.
Olga
Some people have good teeth, others bad teeth. Genetics plays a huge role in that, however it is true that even siblings may have very different outcomes with dental health, we are all unique. Some people that have a lot of saliva in their mouth and therefore build up tartar very easily usually do not suffer from decay. Also, most of Indians and Chinese have very good strong teeth and bone, however they do suffer from bone loss or Periodontal disease because they do not have pain and do not have their teeth cleaned professionally, allowing tartar to sink under the gums and destroy jaw bone-which does not come back. It is true that teeth may remineralize but it only can happen when decay has not spread to the second layer of the tooth structure. Another point you have to be aware of that the rate of cavity growth is very different for different people. Some may go years with the same cavity, for others a year can be too long. In that case it is usually due to the diet and salivary flow, if you have dry mouth which can be caused by meds, radiation, age or suppressed immune then you are more susceptible to decay and how fast it spreads. Mouth health determined not only by teeth but also by healthy bone and gums. If your gums bleed chances are you have a lot of tartar around your teeth and the gums can not hug the teeth tightly allowing food particles and bacteria to stay in the area. Unfortunately no matter how many times you gargle, swish, brush or eat healthy food you will never be able to remove tartar from your teeth , the bleeding will not stop (true that iodine solution can be helpful somewhat). In that case you have to seek professional help. People that let their dental health go until they have a problem seek advice from a dentist but it is usually costly to follow at that point and they sometimes seek" natural healing" which I have not seen positive results of in my practice. Other times people let their teeth go until pain is unbearable and they have to pull a tooth or a tooth becomes loose and falls out or they have a lot of infection lingering in their mouth which produces foul odor and makes them sick internally. Ultimately he best thing to do is to see dentist at least from age 17 for adult check up and if they tell you do not have a lot of deposits-tartar or calculous and no bleeding and no cavities you may want to see them again in a year. At that appointment also see about your progress or lack off. Some patients can be seen every 5 years and they are doing ok, if your hygienist says you have a lot of bleeding then you have to shorten the time between your visits. Also let them show you and explain where on the x-rays your cavities are, then you can look at them again n 6 mo and see if it has grown more if yes and you can see it on the x-rays then you have to let them place a filling, if it has not grown visibly then reevaluate in 6 more months and so on. Listen to the hygienist they are usually honest.
Have you noticed that people that claim to heal their teeth and cavities on their own never share their secret. It is because they do not have one. Oil pulling does not work, despite of popular believe, I had several patients telling me they have tried. I have not seen results.
Magdeline
I have take one teeth but know I am facing lots of cavities any help
Mariee
Instead of just spewing off what the current scientific theory is on teeth, why not just do a short and long term study to either confirm or debunk the claims once and for all?
People are willing to argue between the two positions all the time but no one is actually willing to do a study on it. My recommendation for the Dentistry industry is to stop being so complacent and lazy and actually figure it out. They'll have no issues finding subjects for a study either.
Joshua
Teeth are not bone. They are enamel. This is proven fact. If any "study" or person tells you their remedy uses calcium to re-grow the bone of your teeth you can immediately dismiss them as a liar / hoax.
prioris
the outside of teeth is enamel. restoring that is more difficult. the rest is MCHA calcium. The best way to restore teeth is use MI Paste. It has to bought from outside US sources. I use mountain medical which comes from canada. There is also product from japan. Takes 2 weeks to get it.
dr mandar navlekar
Cavities causes loss of tooth structure it can not be regenerated.
Brittany
Just like the most common cavity mentioned, is the one I have. Upper left 2nd tooth to the back in between two teeth touching. The cavity is at the point to where it's visible and food gets inside the decay part of my tooth and into the gum area. This becomes difficult and painful to remove food. Its been the four quite a while and when it started to become visible and painful I noticed the black areaof thè tooth over a span of two years. I began immediately relying to natural remedies that would help relief my tooth if pain and make my own home remedies in hopes to stop the pain and from my gums constantly being in pain. So I kept repeating this one home remedy for a few weeks over time thè gum feeling subsided and thè tooth ache with it. However, thè joke remains in my tooth. I wentto the dentist finally after savings to afford to go, and as per usual an X-ray was performed on my whole mouth. The dr. Pointed out all the cavities I have by looking at thè x-ray but not mentioned the obvious one that is visible with the eye. So then the Dr's assistant to confirm my statement that I have cavity on the second to last tooth upper left confirmed it seemed to be decaying but didn't come up as a cavity on the x-ray. So could that mean that my home remedy prevented the tooth from further decay and killed the bacteria that caused it. All I am left with is a partial decayed tooth that needs to be repaired.
gotoothache
Among the most effective home remedies for a toothache is garlic. A clove of garlic with a little rock salt should be placed on the affected tooth. It will relieve the pain and, sometimes, may even cure it. A clove should also be chewed daily in the morning. It will cure the teeth making them strong and healthy.
Deborah Clambers
Rinse with warm salt water, Infection in your mouth can spread quickly. Do not use alcohol as this causes inflammation to your gums making it worse.
Stacy
So what does this article say to try?
tumbleweed
If your gums are bleeding this is a symptom of Scurvy. Vitamin C is necessary for healthy gums, tissue, skin, eyes, lungs etc. Read some articles on Vitamin C. In the meantime I would begin a vitamin c supplement immediately!
Dr. Bharat Katarmal
after reading article, as a dentist, i found myth no. 1 is most important. My personal experience in my private dental practice that most of patient ignore the dental cavities, just thought of that false sense of security that if I don't have toothache, then everything is ok, no need to visit dentist regularly, and no need of any dental treatments. A BIG MISTAKE...
Mighty Mouse
Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Better late than never? Myth #2 has been corroborated empirically enough, but you can't expect to run across everything you're looking for all the time. But it's pretty funny, how you mention the Weston Price Foundation and how good their diet recommendations are, right after bringing up myth 2.
Price documented the very thing you've said you've never seen proven, in chapter 16 of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. In 1939. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/price/price16.html. With X-rays.
But reproducing things is more important than trusting anyone's word, and we usually lack the resources to actually acquire real knowledge. Poverty kills with everything at its disposal. 😛