teeth now sensitive?

[callmebecca]

I never had sensitive teeth before I went raw (80%ish, for 6-7 months now), but now I'm noticing that icy water really causes me stinging pain in my teeth.

I switched to a fluoride-free toothpaste - Tom's of Maine brand - a couple months ago, and I've been happy with my teeth and tongue still feeling as clean as with a fluoride toothpaste.

Has anyone else had this problem? What do you think caused it? What did you do?

[amyambro1]

I've heard from several sources that Tom's is not so good for your teeth. I haven't had the experience myself b/c I've never tried it. But something in the toothpaste is supposedly actually bad for your teeth. may not be true, it's just what I've heard.

[RawHeaven]

I don't know what causes teeth sensitivity, but oil pulling healed mine. My teeth had been sensitive for most of my life. Eating raw + oil pulling has been my miracle cure. :) And also probably because I'm not eating super hot food (temperature) anymore which I was really sensitive too.

[callmebecca]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that, I do oil pulling with sunflower oil every morning too.

Hmmm, I didn't see anything bad about Tom's of Maine when I googled them with the word "harmful" and "bad" and "unsafe" and "unhealthy" - amyambro1, do you remember where and what you heard about them?

Can you recommend a non-Tom's of Maine fluoride-free toothpaste?

[NoniPixie]

i don't mean to seem unintelligent..... but could someone explain what oil pulling is and why you would do it? my teeth have always been sensitive and any advice would definitely help.

[callmebecca]

No prob - it's swishing oil around in your mouth - supposed to draw out toxins.

Check it out:

http://www.oilpulling.com/

[amyambro1]

becca, it was just sort of one of those 'heard it through the grapevine' things. it may be false. I personally just use Crest, but I read on here about using salt and baking soda instead of toothpaste. I don't remember where or the details, you may want to look into that, though.

[RawHeaven]

Can you recommend a non-Tom's of Maine fluoride-free toothpaste?

I use Nature's Gate Creme de Peppermint

baking soda
peppermint oil

flouride free

[NoniPixie]

baking soda and sea salt and food grade hydrogen peroxide are all supposed to be good alternatives to paste. the baking soda supposed to be good for building enamel. that and water usually work good by themselves. i used to use the peroxide with it but it didn't seem to be too good with my teeth. but others say they like it a lot. make sure it's FOOD GRADE though. i use aromere (SP) toothpaste.... that's the cleanest stuff i've been able to find. not all heath food stores carry it, but most do.

any oil specifically that you use for oil pulling? just olive oil??

[DharmaGirl]

I use xv coconut oil for oil pulling and brush with electric tooth brush using baking soda....... leaves my teeth shining, whitened and feeling fresh and clean :D

[shashibala]

Just a thought- My teeth become more sensitive if I eat too much acid fruit or drink water with lemon juice.

[pamparred]

Isn't it weird how everyones teeth are different. I was using a natural toothpaste and my teeth were giving me fits. Sensitive to hot, cold, warm, sometimes just eating something chewy would set them off. Switched to peroxide and baking soda and started the oil pulling. They are doing much better. Tried the salt but it was too much for my gums.

Nonipixie, the site I went to about oil pulling reccomends sunflower or non toasted sesame oil. I started out with coconut because I could handle it in my mouth. Once I get used to it, will switch to the sunflower. Swishing it around for 15-20 minutes is the hard part, but I have noticed that my gums are tighter and my teeth are whiter.

[NoniPixie]

wow thanks for the advice! i really appreciate it. i think i'll have to start out with the coco oil anyway simply cause the local health stores don't have a good quality raw sunflower oil. i'll have to order online when i get the extra moola.

[theresaann]

I have noticed that the more candida I have in my body, or if I am constipated, my teeth hurt more. Also, I get eczema under those conditions, and when the eczema flairs up my teeth also hurt more. there is definitely some kind of candida connection to probably every health issue, I think.

[Betsy]

Since lowering my fruit sugar consumption due to Candida, my teeth have gotten less sensitive. Not sure what exactly that means, but it's a good sign.

[Clare]

Have you been sick at all in the past few weeks with a cold or flu? Sometimes lingering sinus congestion can cause what feels like tooth pain...just putting it out there because it sent me to the dentist once a few years back and my mom and I are both experiencing it now after having flu last week. Pain from hot/cold beverages as well as tooth pain when I bend over from sinus pressure...

[cayenne]

Too much acid fruits? Too much dried fruits? Not enough greens?

Besides brushing and flossing etc, you may need more greens to protect bones and teeth.

And don't use any tooth paste. You can switch to tooth powder or tooth soap.

[Arky]

If you search my old posts in the archived section, you will see that I did a lot of research on the topic of toothpastes and powders and oils etc.

e.g. http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4986

Nearly 2 years on, I have come to understand that this is, for the most part, a red herring. Yes, they all have their pros and cons, but they are missing far bigger, and far more significant, issues.

The reality is that sensitive teeth, on a raw vegan diet, are often the result of not including necessary fat-soluble activators in your diet. These are fats that facilitate the absorption of certain minerals (e.g. calcium) in the gut. Without them, no matter how much calcium you consume, your body will fail to absorb sufficient levels. This can lead to low levels of calcium ions in the saliva, one common result of which can be proliferation of acid-producing bacteria and associated erosion of tooth enamel (of course, regular exposure of the oral cavity to fructose, as is invariably the case with raw foodists, serves to feed these unwelcome bacteria at regular intervals throughout the day and thus accelerate the process. Dried fruits are even worse, as they stick to the teeth and break down more slowly, providing an almost continuous flow of fructose). This fat-soluble activators issue is an uncomfortable truth (in more ways than one) but it's something very real that I have learned the hard way, first hand, so I suggest you do a little personal research on the subject (do this now - don't allow the problem to drift onwards as it can be difficult to overcome if allowed to progress).

I would also recommend that you check your levels of hydrochloric acid - if you have weak acid during digestion of those foods requiring strong acid for digestion (e.g. greens, nuts, proteins etc.), then that is another way your absorption of minerals can be severely impeded (look for undigested foods in your stools as one indicator of possible acid insufficiency in your digestive system). Note that low stomach acid is not uncommon amongst individuals who focus excessively on fruit as the mainstay of their diet, although please note that I am not saying that excessive fruit consumption always has this effect. Many things can contribute to weakened digestion, including mineral imbalance (perhaps excessive potassium, from high fruit consumption, may lead to sodium depletion, as one possible influence on weakened digestive capacity. Many proponents of Natural Hygeine, for example, recommend consumption of sodium-rich celery whenever fruit is eaten). Inadequate bodily levels of zinc can also severely undermine the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the digestive system.

All of these latter digestive possibilities are worth knowing about, even if you find they do not apply to you, but I do urge you to specifically do some homework regarding the fat-soluble factors I mentioned earlier. This will require you to be open-minded and honest with yourself. I also recommend you read Victoria Boutenko's 'Green For Life'. Although it is not concerned specifically with teeth issues, it contains a lot of pertinent material which any raw foodist would be wise to take on board, and much of which will assist in the maintenance of healthy teeth. It is tempting, in a raw diet, to eat loads of fruit and nuts, with a smaller proportion of greens. The opposite should be very much the case. Greens first, everything else secondary. Maybe not a 'fun' truth, but it is, I assure you, the truth nonetheless, and no amount of resistance or squirming will change this fact! ;)

Lest anyone reads this post and concerns themself that I am implying that raw-foodism is necessarily unhealthy, let me assure you that I mean absolutely nothing of the sort. I myself eat a high-raw diet and I encourage others to do the same. My intended point is that in order to do so successfully (i.e. without unwittingly accruing nutritional deficiencies, as time goes on), it is critical that one look beyond dogma and take the time to educate oneself properly on how to healthily eat a high-raw (or entirely-raw) diet. It can be done but unfortunately too many people fail to look beneath the surface for important answers before they are forced to do so by unexpected problems. I myself made this mistake, and it was an unnecessary one.

If you take the time to look, with an open mind, you will find the answers.

I wish you well.

J.

[trinity082482]

This past week I had to start on a fluoride rinse. Its not Scope but similar, you swish it in your mouth for 60 sec and it protects your teeth and helps keep them strong. My dentist asked me why I started getting more cavities this year. Last year was the first year being cavity free!! And I said I had no idea! And he says "Do you eat a lot of fruit?" :o ha ha. Of course I do. And I told him I drink tons of lemon water and boy was he disappointed in me lol. I can't kick my habit much so I am hoping the fluoride works because for the first time ever in 3 weeks I have to get a cavity fixed in a front tooth and Im so scared! My teeth are so sensitive to cold!!

[Theogirl]

When reading about Igor and Victoria Boutenko Family's experience, they said that after several years 100% raw they started having painful, sensitive, loose teeth. They did a lot of research and started drinking green smoothies several times a day. The problem disappeared again. Leafy greens are very important!

[Aleesha Sattva]

i completely agree.

as for the flouride... i read a study a while back about how ingesting flouride causes brittle bones... can't remember where i saw it. i'll try to find it and post it here.


Skeletal fluorosis is a debilitating condition that occurs when fluoride accumulates in bones, making them extremely weak and brittle

[Linda1970]

Hello,

I had teeth sensitivity on and off during my first year raw(high raw) and it was very bad in the beginning. It got better as I progress further into raw lifestyle. In the 2nd year raw, I hardly ever have teeth sensitivity. For toothpaste, I normally just use baking soda.

[zig_zag]

Hello,

I had teeth sensitivity on and off during my first year raw(high raw) and it was very bad in the beginning. It got better as I progress further into raw lifestyle. In the 2nd year raw, I hardly ever have teeth sensitivity. For toothpaste, I normally just use baking soda.

Have you changed anything in particular in your diet???

[asiableu]

Greetings,

Victoria Boutenko talks about how she went through teeth sensitivity as well as other unexplained health problems after being raw for years. After much research she found that drinking raw green smoothies daily enabled her to essentially eliminate the problems she was having with her teeth.

I also encountered tooth sensitivity shortly after going raw...maybe 3 months or so into it. I was eating alot of nuts, sweet fruits but not enough greens. Once I added green smoothies, the sensitivity wen away.

Victoria Boutenko has several books on this. I would suggest checking them out. I have not read her books but listened to her interview on raw vegan radio and via the raw food summits.

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes

Asiableu.

[Arky]

Green smoothies will, of course, help to increase the consumption of the all-important greens, and the minerals contained therein, but please, everyone, don't believe that this is a complete solution. You could eat a truckload of greens every single day but still experience failing dental health, if you do not ensure you are maintaining an adequate intake of fat-soluble factors. Sooner or later, your body will run into deficit if you ignore this, and you will find yourself unable to absorb many minerals from your foods, even if the foods are very mineral rich. As I mentioned in my previous post, this is an inconvenient truth for many people, who prefer, instead, to ignore it and forge ahead regardless. Well, I simply wish to help a few people avoid this fate. I learned the hard way. You probably will, too, if you put your head in the sand, on this issue. You simply cannot circumvent nature.

Regarding the flouride issue, the original study that found a correlation (nothing more!!!) between the dental health of the inhabitants of a certain town, and the levels of flouride in their water supply has apparently been hijacked by heavy industry as an excuse to conveniently dump a toxic byproduct into the domestic water supply. Flouride is, as I understand it, a by product of the aluminium industry. Presumably, it would be much cheaper for them to lobby senators to enable them to dump it into the domestic water supply than it would be for them to safely deal with this toxic substance themselves.

The naturally high levels of flouride in the water supply of the aforementioned town was just that - NATURALLY- high and of a NATURAL COMPOSITION. That is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, the same as the sodium flouride generated by the aluminium industry. Although one cannot be certain, it is also highly probable that these naturally high levels of natural flouride were accompanied by high levels of other minerals (e.g. magnesium, lime/calcium etc.) in that same water supply, each of which may have contributed to the good dental health of its drinkers - in nature, all elements in a given substance exist as just one portion of a bigger whole of co-factors. Attempting to isolate just one element, when seeking a correlation with an observed effect, can often lead to misleading conclusions.

Whenever you witness the hand of man artificially adding something to (or subtracting something from) what you eat or drink, first focus your attention on where the possible monetary interests may lie. Where flouride is concerned, a toxic byproduct of heavy industry is being forced upon innocent consumers, in what would seem to be a result of cynical misrepresentation of a decades-old study. When heads of the aluminium industry read of this study, all those years ago, I imagine they must have jumped up and down with excitement at the potential it held for slashing their toxic waste management bills, in one fell swoop. Sadly, the public may have been picking up the tab, with related health issues, ever since :(. When you see reports of possible links to brittle bones, is it really surprising that a toxic byproduct of heavy industry might be associated with less than ideal health..??

J.

[Linda1970]

Have you changed anything in particular in your diet???

No, but I made sure that I rinsed my mouth with water after I ate, especially sweet foods.