How to prevent cavities?

I had a terrible toothache last night and, I had to make an appointment with a dental care here in Brampton to remove my infected teeth. While asking about how to prevent dental cavity, the dentist told me that sugar and unhealthy food is the major reason for cavities. He also told me, our genes have a major influence on our dental health. I had to agree with him. I drink a lot of coffee in a day and even my mother had cavities when she was young.
But, I like to know what are the other reason for cavities? How can we prevent it? I thought brushing twice a day was enough to protect our teeth.

A nutrient-dense diet, with lots of vitamin D, K2 and retinol will help the teeth to remineralise, and to prevent cavities in the first place.

The phytic acid in unsoaked wholegrains and some other foods will cause cavities, so yeast breads and pretty much any commercial grain product, nuts, legumes that haven't been soaked overnight have lots of phytic acid.

Jeffrey - in my experience, a lot of it is genetics. I have good teeth. I got through my whole childhood with no cavities. I've had a couple since an adult, but not many. My brother has terrible teeth, as does my mother, but our diets have been largely the same. I've never really understood the obsession with teeth. The best advice I can give you is to not use meth, or become bulimic, those things will ruin your teeth.

I agree with the advice about the Vitamin D and K2.  I would also suggest brushing after every meal or at least swishing with water to clean the mouth.

Clove oil is great for relieving tooth aches.


We have some threads that would be helpful to read:

https://permies.com/wiki/47734/personal-care/purity/Alternatives-Dentists-Marjory-Wildcraft

https://permies.com/t/76252/kitchen/stop-cavities-extreme-diet

https://permies.com/t/399/kitchen/toothpaste-alternatives

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

An excessive amount of vitamin D and not eating as much sugar.

Malic acid in apples can cause cavities, it's not just sugar and junk food you have to be cautious with.

Silica helps repair or keep them strong. Which is why people drink diatomaceous earth https://permies.com/t/2249 and eat things like horsetail. Here is a few threads that might help. https://permies.com/t/45249/personal-care/purity/Natural-ways-regrow-teeth-save https://permies.com/t/49172/wild-foods-remineralize-teeth https://permies.com/t/76252/kitchen/stop-cavities-extreme-diet https://permies.com/t/6122/kitchen/Tooth-decay-reversal-diet
I have also heard that ozone reverses damage and even can make a "dead" tooth not have to be pulled. I know someone who has done it to prevent losing teeth. I think we should really think about things hard before committing to pulling teeth or even fixing small cavities by the most commonly used ways by modern dentistry.

People on here may not appreciate it, but mineralized water in childhood is a good source of flourine in modest levels. Absent flourine the enamel takes up hydroxyl groups which do not form hard enamel. It can be reversed (maybe) with flourine/flouride application but not very well, and likely at a higher dose than advisable because it is trying to replace a formed element in the enamel.

I grew up in the west on well water with tons of flouride (well above the recommended), and I have chisels for teeth (along with other minerals which may have played a role too). Between three sibs we had a total of four cavities to date (all in our 40s). My mom and dad grew up on well water in the east and they have had tons of cavities. So probably like everything else, some genetic, some environmental. The scientific evidence for brushing and flossing is mostly that it makes us all easier to be around!

Natural calcium flouride in the water and other minerals taste bad, but they can help the teeth.

That is completely different than adding sodium flouride to the water system so we ingest it.  Fluoride in toothpaste, and bromide in bread displace iodine, a necessary element, especially for our thyroid.  Why do we have so many thyroid problems now in our society?  Our soils have greatly decreased minerals, and so do our foods, and so do our bodies.  One of the greatest reasons to grow your own foods is to grow it in nutrient dense soils.  I agree that desserts based on flour are harmful to teeth, and modern wheat has been screwed around so badly, along with corn and some other foods, but intact and especially sprouted other grains are a different source of minerals and health.  Also, if you go to places where people are healthy, they tend to balance vegetables, intact whole grains, healthy fats, nuts, and sauces in a way that works.
John S
PDX OR

That's fair, John. Flouride is extremely ionic, so it's not likely to make much difference in the biochemistry what its anion is. I do think your point about mineral deficiency in general is spot on. Things like mag deficiency and boron and so many others. Those are lost intentionally during municipal "softening". And depleted in our foods.

Yuck. Sorry thumb typing.

Genetics is old science...  look into epigenetics,  "epi", meaning above.  

I'm sure you're aware that sugar and bad food are the worst culprits.  Fruit can be tough as well.  I don't believe flouride is the answer either.  Indigenous people today will show you that with perfect teeth.  Also, Weston A. Price is a great source to research.

Water picks are great. Chew zylitol gum.

I've read that tea stains your teeth yellow but also hardens the enamel and helps prevent cavities. I've been drinking tea since my early teens, my teeth are slightly yellow and I haven't had a cavity in my adult life. Seems to be true.

I also did a paleo diet for a while and my mouth felt constantly fresh, hardly felt the need to brush my teeth. I suspect that avoiding grains and sugar is the important part and that I could include potatoes and sweet potatoes and feel the same. Buuuuuut I sure like bread products alot so I'll stick with brushing and flossing.

Fruit juice, especially the commercial stuff, that has been, by law, pasteurized, which destroys much of the antioxidants and vitamin C, with the pulp removed, is problematic for diabetes, cavities, blood sugar, alzheimers.  Especially with sugar added, artificial colors and flavors added.

That is very different than eating a raw, whole fruit, ripened on the tree/vine.  Many studies have shown that fruit juice causes problems and whole fruit, even enormous quantities, fights cancer, gives you antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.  These are important distinctions.  How often did our caveman ancestors refuse to eat raw whole wild fruit?

John S
PDX OR

I'll mention diet again as vitamins are extremely important. I was surprised that nobody mentioned oil pulling--lots of hype around it but I have found it very effective. Even if the benefits are small, it is cheap and easy to do an a regular basis.

oil pulling

This is interesting. I had never seen it as a named practice, but it makes sense. Toothpaste is just a detergent with flavoring, and no one used to soap their mouth intentionally. Certainly this seems at worst harmless, and more natural than detergent.

I would think saltwater gargle/swish for a similar duration might be effective, but really what you are trying to do is to promote one bacterial culture over a different one. Most of the caries bacteria I believe are strep, and they don't like fat or have the enzymes to metabolize it.

That is quite interesting.

I have been rinsing with a saltwater/baking soda rinse after brushing, figuring that acids in the mouth promote the right environment for cariogenic bacteria, and I have no issues. My dental hygenist suggested that we could probably skip the fluoride treatment my last cleaning because I generally don't get cavities.

I think the whole mineral deficiency theory has merit. I encourage a perusal of the abovementioned threads.

-CK

Hi all,

I am a nutritional therapist and have lots of notes on various topics so thought I'd share a brief version of my notes on this topic:

Healthy teeth guide:
1) healthy and varied diet (minimal processed foods)
2) Vitamin D supplement
3) rinse or gargle water after eating sweet/acidic foods (including fruit)
4) chew xylitol gum after meals
5) brush teeth morning/evening (but especially before bedtime)
6) stop smoking

Optional:
green tea mouthwash, or baking soda /bicarbonate of soda/ sea salt mouthwash
at first signs of tooth ache: gargle with colloidal silver, 2mins, 3 times daily until symptoms stop, and/or, topical application of clove oil on affected tooth with cotton bud. If tooth ache does not stop see your dentist.
oil pulling (e.g. virgin coconut oil), 5mins, twice weekly


It is always recommended to do your own research however :)

To stop the worsening of your teeth is both simple and not.
I havent visited a dentist for more than a dacade, and as a kid I was a regular visitor. What I did was pretty radical for some, I just brush my teeth after every meal(I eat 3 times per day), and I dont eat anything in between.
If you follow this you will be accustomed to feeling your mout very clean and brushing after a meal will be a relief and not a torture.
Also you should floss, use a soft brush and brush in a right way, its what worked for me.
The hygiene of your mouth is the most important type of hygiene there is.

I've seen a couple of folks in this and other threads on similar topics mention xylitol in comments. And there have been alarmed responses saying that it can kill a dog or that it might be bad for your digestive health.

I personally began looking into it a few months ago. I went to the dentist for a checkup and was told that my oral health was wretched and that it would be necessary for me to have a very deep cleaning to get rid of tartar or plaque so I would need the cleaning today and very soon another one which would be much more intensive. That did not sound good to me.

I decided to continue looking on the internet for other options. I wanted healing. What I found was information about how use of a small amount of xylitol several times a day would change the bacteria in my mouth from what it was, harmful creatures who were busily building colonies similar to barnacles on ships. To a different sort which would coat my mouth with a film of good guys and make my saliva increase so that my oral health in general would go up. I found drellie.com who also explains that flossing often and thoroughly can rip around your teeth causing more problems

So I have followed her idea and only flossed where and when I've had something lodged in my teeth or gums which I could only remove that way. I stopped using the electric toothbrush which she says harbors bad bacteria as an electric brush. I use toothpaste with xylitol in it now, my fav is made by Remond Salt and I chew xylitol gum and the hard candies after meals sometimes or put a small bit of the xylitol crystals in my mouth and swish them. The plaque in my mouth is down considerably!! I don't feed xylitol to any of my animals. I keep it away from them. Honestly, it's not the only thing I have around the homestead that it toxic.
My digestion is just fine. I say do a little research on it. She's not the only dentist out there recommending it. I'm glad I did.

https://youtube.com/shorts/RxnPU1DlPrU?si=KaV1itdrYTBIOYbg  Here is a good quick bit of teaching by Dr. Ellie. I've benefited this year from her information. As some have said and she explains elsewhere many foods can heal our mouths especially if they are the last ones we eat at a meal. Some of these include cheddar cheese, raspberries, strawberries and apples.