Off the wagon due to my teeth hurting

[muse]

Has anyone else experienced extreme tooth sensitivity since going raw? I am so sad about my teeth. I love everything on raw, but when I cannot chew a blueberry, pineapple (those are the worst but my fave food), cucumber, broccoli, forget about nuts...I revert back to drinking soya lattes all day and not chewing anything.

My teeth have been sensitive since my bulimic years as a teen. But they were okay, I could eat anything until going raw. My dentist says the acids from the foods I've been eating raw are wearing away the enamel. But I looove oranges, pineapples, strawberries, etc! Love them!

Any suggestions? It just about brings me to my knees when I bite down on say, an almond and my teeth are screaming in pain. Well, not really the tooth, but the nerve. Even eating bananas and watermelon all day, which are mushy and easier to get by with a few chews (though I hate the thought of undigested food) leave me with hypersensitive teeth. I brush with Senodyne after eating anything but argh, it's still so painful. Even dates or anything is impossible to chew, and my front teeth are sensitive,too.

[Rawkinlocs]

DRINK green smoothies...rinse your mouth after eating, especially citrus and other acidy fruits. There are a lot of scary stories about teeth and raw, but there are also too many success stories as well that cannot be denied or ignored!

Also, consider doing some drinks (shakes, milks, smoothies) with sesame seeds (calcium) and maybe some green powder OH...and wheat grass..even if you just swish it around in your mouth...it's said to be GREAT for teeth!

Just keep in mind that symptoms don't always mean something is wrong...there IS the possibilty that the sensitivity you are feeling is actually a healing process and/or retracing from the time period when you were bulimic and had those same dental issues. Just a thought!

[Revvell]

I second what Rawkinlocs says.

What the heck is a soya latte?

Revvell

[rawbeliever]

yup, Muse, I experience this whenever I switch to a low-fat raw food diet. It usually passes within a few days though, and I third what Rawkinlocs said: Green smoothies. I swear, they solve so many raw problems.

[RawVegan4Health]

I have experienced the exact opposite. My teeth are not sensitive while raw, but were sensitive before raw and also act up whenever I fall off the wagon.

[Pierre]

Brush your teeth with soap. The alkali helps your teeth to remineralize.

Eat some seaweed. It's full of minerals.

Add marañón to your smoothies.

[Linda1970]

Hi Muse,

This happened to me off and on during the first half of the year being raw. I haven't had this pain for a few months already. It must have been a detox symptom for me. I thought for sure I was going to have lots of cavities, since I ate lots of sweet fruits, especially dates. But when I went to my dentist, I had no cavities for the first time in my life. However, I always rinse my mouth after eating, especially when I eat something sweet. I only brushed my teeth with baking soda.

[Raw Mom]

I experience a little of the same problems. I try to not bite down so hard with the hard foods and I chew more on my left side now. Most of us have overdeveloped muscles on the right side of our whole body, which causes a lot of pain (TMJ) on both sides of the face. The muscles of the face are the strongest of the body. Notice if you tend to chew more on the right. Also, after 40, did you know your jaw shifts? Mine just did. Just enough to chip a front tooth. Turns out the accident I had at an early age, caused a little more damage than originally thought. So like so much in our lives. Sometimes the real stuff isn't felt till years later. My sensitive teeth come and go. I do know, my teeth have never been cleaner! Less buildup in between visits to the dentist. Some people just have high acid saliva, no matter what they are eating. For me, stress is a big factor for that. :D
Try wheatgrass poultice on your teeth too. And I agree with the others, swish the juice around in your mouth a couple of times a day.

[muse]

I second what Rawkinlocs says.

What the heck is a soya latte?

Revvell

A latte with soya milk. Preferably vanilla sweetened!

But not good for the body.

[muse]

Thank you for all the suggestions, recommendations. I'm going (or am, should say) back to all raw. I will work through the tooth issues. At least I will have the rest of my body and mind feeling great, instead of those feeling awful and my teeth feeling okay.

I do chew almost exclusively on my right. I'm fascinated by this idea, never knew people tend to be right overused. I'd like to know more about that.

Thanks again.

[trinity082482]

Yes!! And sensitive tooth pastes DON'T help me *sobs*

Popcicles, Oranges, Apples from the fridge, water and even watermelon hurts my teeth! I tried eating fruit at room temp and it helps but doesn't taste as nice lol.

[trinity082482]

Brush your teeth with soap. The alkali helps your teeth to remineralize.


Huh?? :eek: You want me to grab my Irish Spring and scrub my teeth? :p

[Raw Mom]

Hi Muse,

Definitely start chewing exclusively on your left. Your muscle on the left will get tired. Keep doing it...... I rarely have clicking anymore in my jaw. And my headaches have all but disappeard. Raw is a big contributor for softening muscle. Believe it or not, just this weekend, my right rib cage shifted back from a crack that happened over 10 years ago!! Also, do you tend to cross right over left leg or left over right? This is all postural restoration work. I've opened up to many things doing certain exercises every day to bring harmony to both sides of my body. Just start noticing what you do repetitively. Like I used to always start climbing stairs with my right foot. Now I intentionally start with my left. Just releasing the right side of your jaw from all its hard work, should start releasing some other muscles too. :cool:

[StarFire]

Alba and others 'swear' by "OIL PULLING". It is supposed to strengthen weak and sensitive teeth. Making the teeth healtier and firmer in the gums, plus it does a lot of other stuff. If you look in the 'journaling' section, Alba has a blog there of her journey and she talks at length about oil pulling. Or do a google search on oil pulling. Hope you find some relief! ;)

[Pierre]

No, use the Cornish Fall! :p

I wouldn't use any big-name bar soap on my skin, let alone my teeth. I've heard of people using Dr. Bronner's. I use a soap I made (the Marseille recipe from Soap Naturally). I scrape off a few slivers (maybe a milligram) with a scissor.

[Conscious Midwife]

USE DR. BONNERS as a mouth wash through the day and scrub only at night.

Also do ginger root in your water instead of lemon slices, if your water has to be flavored.

[Elsaraw]

There is a product that REALLY has helped my gums, I've had problems since I went raw a few years ago.
I'm new here so I don't know if it's ok to mention products from one of the other raw food people.
???
:rolleyes:

[muse]

Well, I'd like to hear the product which helped!:)

To update: I'm on 5 days raw and my teeth are nearly healed. I still need a dentist to have a proper look at a few back teeth, but as far as the sensitivity, it is 99% better.

I've been very drawn to nuts and virgin coconut oil. So I just went with it until I feel otherwise. And sweet corn, too, as well as the usual (green smoothies, salads, melon alone, etc).

Raw is amazing. So obvious to all of you, but wow, the body def heals on raw. Body breaks down on the other 'food'. My teeth were just the most obvious sign for me.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm still researching oil pulling, too.

[Rawkinlocs]

::applauding::

That's great Muse! Thanks for reporting back with your updated success story! :D