Can I stop cavities without an extreme diet?

I went to the dentist and had a quite deep cavity fixed. Is it possible to stop cavities - especially rot under existing crowns and fillings without following an extreme diet?
I don't eat lots of sugar, but I like some dessert. And I like my carbs too.

No

But to elucidate further:
The best bet is a water pik, the enemy of enamel is acid, since acid is an integral part of digestion, it's self defeating to try to eliminate it, plaque and tartar hold the acid in intimate contact with the enamel. An area that cannot be brushed holds the acid without relief.
While it cannot clean under a cap a water pik may flood the area and move some of the acid out.
Best bet is to bite the bullet and get er done. If you put it off it can poison you to death.....far easier than you think.
FWIW the Ayurvedic practice of  "pulling" (creating a vacuum in the mouth while swishing oil in the mouth!) may help via moving oil in to displace acid and coating the decaying surface.

That's an interesting question, Angelika. My first reaction is no, that you have to remove the deteriorating tooth material that the bacteria causing it are living in.

However, I have yet to get a good answer on the topic of dental/oral probiotics. I was reading an article that suggested that mouthwashes were too nuclear an option because they killed beneficial as well as detrimental bacteria and thought that the logical answer would be a post-mouthwash probiotic mouthwash featuring good tooth, gum, and mouth bacteria.

I don't know if anything will reverse decay, although there's apparently an Alzheimer's drug that, when applied to teeth prompts the production of the dentine coating. I would love to find a natural substance that does the same.

-CK

From what I understand once a cavity occurs it's better to get it gone a la dentist.  

I have heard people say that xylitol (one of those calorie free sugars) in gum or candy can starve out the bacteria in your mouth on nutritionless fake food.   I have also heard that xylitol isn't good for your digestive tract though, perhaps for the same reason.  For me I avoid it.

To prevent cavities it seems the main thing is to get the sticky bits of food out and away before the sugars are turned to acid by the mouth bacteria.  I imagine that if you feed your mouth bacteria a steady diet of sugar the ones that eat it and poop out acid multiply and literally turn your mouth sour.

The problem is if you eat, let your food bits turn to acid, then brush while the dental enamel is bathed in acid solution your toothbrush will scour off enamel.
Dentists have suggested to me that a good strategy is to drink water after your meal.  Gargling water and water pics seem to match that strategy.  For me this has worked.

On a side note teeth are formed in childhood.  Archeologists can tell if people have had stresses in childhood by how the developing layers of enamel are affected as they are laid down.  I know severe lack of carbs will lay down horizontal lines and congenital infection of syphilis will leave vertical notches in the incisors.  So perhaps having a good childhood is helpful in having good teeth?

You could try oil pulling.  I also learned from Hilde Larsen about adding turmeric to the oil if you want extra benefits.  She put out a video last year talking about it, I can pretty much guarantee that she'll talk about her diet, but I'm sure there's useful information in there that anyone could use.  How to heal your mouth with Oil pulling, essential oils, and more. FULL RECIPE!  I found a page on her website with the tooth cleaning formula she uses.   How To Heal Your Mouth

You could also look into herbs and essential oils.  If I'm recalling correctly, tea tree oil would probably be quite beneficial to brush with.    There are herbal tooth formulas that you can brush with to get the "nutrition" from the herbs directly to the tooth.  I think Dr. Christopher has one worth looking into.  You can find the "recipe" online if you prefer to make your own.

You can eat herbs such as horsetail, alfalfa, and nettles to replenish the building blocks your body needs to produce calcium tissue.

Baking soda is said to be too abrasive when used everyday as a tooth scrub, but it's quite alkalizing and makes a good mouth wash.  I've been brushing with baking soda for years, yet I only use it a couple times a week.  I use the Bob's Red Mill brand because it's said to be aluminum free.

If you're consistent with it all, I imagine you'll see effects without needing to change your diet.

Hey Angelika, I think it's absolutely possible. In my twenties, I was at the dentist for regular hygiene checkup and my hygienist found a sticky spot on one of my molars, and said I had a cavity developing and I'd need to schedule an appointment to have that filled. Me, being the guy that I am, procrastinated and never scheduled the appointment. 6 months later, I'm back for my regular checkup and the sticky spot is gone. This happened to me twice and she was intrigued as she had noted the sticky spots in my chart which she was unable to find again.

While I am not a dentist, teeth are alive and do remineralize via saliva. They're not chunks of dead minerals in our mouths that forever slowly decay as we age. Aside from high sugar intake, a big factor in tooth decay is dry mouth. Simply drinking water everyday, keeping your body hydrated will help ones mouth keep teeth bathed in saliva, which helps prevent tooth decay. I think what is also important is eating healthy foods that contain the minerals our body needs for things such as tooth enamel repair.

I have heard that it's a person's silica levels that most contribute to their calcium remineralisation, which works with the species of herb and plant being suggested.

I have also heard of diatomaceous earth being a good abrasive, as well as a good mineral source of silica.

-CK

This is something you might want to consider:

https://www.mommypotamus.com/?s=k12


Also eating foods that are high in K2 is helpful.

Using the info that I found in these threads I have been saving a tooth that the dentist said was too far gone and would need to be pulled in Mar 2017:


https://permies.com/t/6122/kitchen/Tooth-decay-reversal-diet

https://permies.com/t/45086/kitchen/Comfrey-dental-health-suggestions

https://permies.com/t/70797/personal-care/purity/regenerate-decaying-teeth-cure

https://permies.com/t/45249/personal-care/purity/Natural-ways-regrow-teeth-save

I just stopped going to the dentist . I have not had a filling for 35 years I still have all but one of my teeth

David

Thanks for all the answers! I am probably pretty good when it comes to cleaning my teeth, but I still like my cakes. Not that I ate tons of sugar but ceratainly more than 2 teaspoons a day, propbably the double. And fruit is acid too, we have plenty of it at the moment, bl;ackberries peaches, figs.... I do try to eat bone broth.

It would be worth adding.....toothpastes with glycerin will inhibit your body's natural tooth regenerating capabilities.  Something about the glycerin coating the teeth which doesn't allow the mouth biochemistry to regenerate the tooth tissue.  Quite simply, avoid toothpaste with glycerin if you are looking to regenerate your teeth.  And the herbs will work better as well without the glycerin coating.

Fruits are alkaline, and clean the teeth incredibly well.  Fruit that hasn't fully ripened can be acidic though.  Citrus is acidic, but for some reason I've never looked into deeply, it will create an alkaline state within the body.  Around four years ago in the fall I was riding my horse to old homesteads where only the apple trees remained.  I was filling myself on ripe and delicious apple varieties that I've only ever had there.  "I actually don't like store apples, I really only enjoy tree ripened apples anymore that I can pick myself."  On the way home I could feel just how clean my teeth were becoming from the apples, they were squeaky clean.  I noticed everyday that I did this at just how clean my teeth became.  And ever since, I've realized that when I eat lots of fruit that my teeth become very clean.

The process of eating food causes the dentin layer to become soft.  So if you brush you teeth after every meal....you're brushing that softened dentin layer away.  It's better to brush before a meal, or wait at least 20 minutes after your meal so that the saliva flow has stopped and your dentin layer is hardening back up.  I've always theorized that letting tooth herbs sit in the mouth right after a meal would allow the properties of those herbs to absorb more fully into the tooth tissue because of the softened dentin layer.  Though I've never experimented with the idea, it's something I've thought of for quite some time.

Peppermint oil, clove oil are two examples of natural oral antibiotics but there are many.

You could also try oregano oil for overall immune system strength, a very powerful antibiotic!

Since the bacteria hides beneath the gum line, it can be very stubborn to treat topically so hit it from both angles...

We stumbled upon Salvadora persica while back.  It is also known as the toothbrush tree.  It has a chemical makeup that targets Streptococcus mutans.  This is the main bacteria that causes caries (cavities).  It is used quite a bit in Asian countries, but not widely known here.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7076868/

We ordered some (you can get it on amazon) and tried it for a few weeks.  We didn't really like the taste of it.

We then learned about Glycyrrhiza Glabra, (licorice root).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4148569/

We now use licorice root as a tooth brush daily.  We also like the taste (although I hate licorice candies).  We even started growing our own a few days ago.

Marc @ CampDarling