Teeth

[DeborahB]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum.

I've been raw (about 90%) for 18 months.

Most of my teeth that contain fillings have hurt at some point over the last year. Even my two front teeth, that had the nerves taken out 9 years ago, have given me agonising pain.

I have a bottom back tooth, containing a filling, that has been painful for 5 days. At first the pain was in the root and the gum. Today the pain has changed and it feels exactly like teething pain (I have wisdom teeth that sometimes push to get through the gum and the pain is the same).

Has anyone had a similar experience with their teeth?
Can anyone offer any information?

I've heard that eating lots of greens can help remineralise teeth. I eat a lot of greens every day.


Many thank yous.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

Teeth can only remineralize when they are clean. Unfortunately, most toothpastes - even the natural ones - contain glycerin which coat the teeth and prevent remineralization. I've been using a homemade tooth soap the last few weeks. I have to say, my bottom front teeth have been sensitive and painful to cold all my life. We're talking agonizing. Three days into using tooth soap, there is no pain. I can hold a frozen blueberry over them, rinse with freezing cold water, etc.

I go to a new dentist tomorrow, mercury-free, holistic, etc. We'll see what he says about the tooth soap, and I will let you know.

Yes, greens can definitely help remineralize teeth!! But they need to be clean to do it. :)

[DeborahB]

Thank you for your reply.

I use Perfect Prescription Tooth Soap and have done so for around 2 months.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

Gee... I don't know then.

Do you have a good dentist that you can speak with?? (I say good dentist because I have discovered there are a lot of lies. Ah... so many unnecessary fillings. They even convinced me I needed my wisdom teeth taken out for "precaution" when it was totally unnecessary! I hope this new guy is good!)

Are you getting enough calcium? Green smoothies are great. (Oh my word... Every post in the last week, I've recommended green smoothies. Argh! lol)

One thing I have done is make a mouth-rinse to use occasionally. I ground up a calcium pill with a half a vitamin pill, and will swish this around for a good five minutes.

Also, have you tried oil pulling?

[DeborahB]

The last time I went to my dentist he told me that a black mark on my tooth would be removed by the hygienist. It wasn't removed and was, in fact, a hole! He didn't mention this, even after an X Ray had been taken which would have shown the hole. I was shocked, but soon realised he would make more money off me if I had to revisit to get it checked out.

That was almost 2 years ago.

I couldn't eat on that side of my mouth as the tooth hurt. But now eating there is okay and when I probe with a dental stick I can feel a smooth coating inside the tooth covering the bottom, which wasn't there previously.

I've tried oil pulling, but with the wrong oil, so stopped. I need to find some unrefined sesame oil and I will have another go.

I have a green smoothie most days and the last week have been having them daily.

I bought some MSM powder earlier and put some in my smoothie. When the liquid touched my sore tooth the pain went.

[snoops]

I was at my dentist the other day (getting fitted for a mouth guard to sleep with as apparently I am so stressed out, I am grinding my teeth down to nothing at night:o). Anyway I asked him about the raw diet and how it affects teeth and he had done some reading on it and said he was intrigued by it and didn't see how it would adversely affect teeth at all.

We had a thread going some weeks ago where there was some discussion about the live enzymes being hard on teeth so I was glad to hear him say that.

[HolyGuacamole]

Veering slightly off topic here, but did your dentist give any other advice for tooth grinding, snoops? I have a terrible problem with it, and I have a mouth guard for it but I always spit it out in my sleep and wake up with a headache and sore jaw, not to mention the havoc it's wreaking on my teeth. :(

[snoops]

Well he said I should try to relax:rolleyes: Very funny, I said. The thing is I don't think I have a stressful life. He says he sees so many more people coming in for this reason than he ever has before. Just the state of the world getting us down I guess.

Back to your problem! My mouth guard is quite fitted. I could not get it out with just my tongue. I have to reach in at the back and kind of break a seal so to speak to get it out. Perhaps yours is not fitting correctly. Did you have it made from a cast they took of your mouth? I have to put it in hot water for 30 seconds before I insert it and it softens the gel/plastic material and my teeth sink into it and it is very firm.

I want to try some yoga before bed and maybe some meditation to see if I can't stop the grinding myself. It's just that I've broken 3 teeth on the one side now and I don't want to break anymore so I got the guard.:(

[Figgy]

Good Morning,

With raw food, dental hygeine is verrrrry important.
Brush a minimum of twice a day and do floss.
Remember with fruits (especially sticky fruits - dates, figs) they stick and the concentrated sugar easily rots teeth.

When I started raw, I had pain for a little while and then it subsided.

I found oil pulling ( with raw sesame oil) to be wonderful and really cleans teeth to their pearly white state.

What was the brand of tooth polish recommended? Is there a link to buy online?

Figgy

[Crazy Healer Lady]

I use sunflower oil for oil pulling. Cheap and just as effective, apparently??

DeborahB, great about the hole filling up!! That's fantastic!!

I'm not grinding, but being stressed lately, I am clenching in my sleep. Try giving yourself a massage before bed. I find it helps. Just the shoulders, the jaw, and anywhere else you're tense. Slow, deep breaths. I also find that if I sleep on my side, it helps (though it doesn't help my back!).

[goobygirl]

Listening to some sleep cds helps. The tooth soap is http://www.perfect-prescription.com. Lavender essential oils on pillowcase may help you relax further (I douse my bed and air purifier, well not douse...)

Bad thing about clenching/grinding is that it can flake off the enamel and create receding gums.

If you use tooth soap you should use a light brushing of baking soda weekly to keep stains at a minimum. I notice with all the darker fruits and green smoothies that the stains want to creep up on me...

[ShantiLove]

Im Just really interestet in knowing, does the toothsoap taste good ? or does it tast soapy ? and most important does it work ?
I have seen that there is a toathpowder aswell, does anyone have any experience with that ? or just using bakingsoda ? salt ? or ....???

[HolyGuacamole]

Snoops, CHL, goobygirl:
Thank you. :)

My guard is not one I was fitted for, it's the boil and bite kind you get at the drug store. I was hoping to avoid the expense of the fitted kind, but if it keeps me from spitting it out...

I am uber stressed, so yes, I will take all of your advice for relaxation. :o


ShantiLove, tooth soap does taste a little bit soapy, but it doesn't taste at all artifically yucky like a mouthful of Dial or anything. It's very mild and you do get used to it. I hate soapy flavor - it took me forever to warm up to cilantro as a kid 'cause it tasted just like soap to me, and once upon a time, I had to leave a restaurant 'cause it smelled like soap to me and I couldn't get the smell out of my nose or the taste out of my mouth - and tooth soap doesn't bother me.
It does work, and it's supposed to contribute to remineralization. I don't use it exclusively - once in a while, I use some natural toothpaste I love, or just some baking soda and water, but not 'cause it doesn't work, more 'cause I like to mix it up and 'cause sometimes I feel like using something a little bit abrasive. I also oil pull and have for years. Oil pulling rocks.

[debilana]

OT question- why not olive oil for pulling?

[Crazy Healer Lady]

Debilana: Apparently sesame and sunlower oil work best. I'm no expert though - this is just what I've learned through a bit of research.

Why not olive oil, for me? I can't stand the taste alone!! Or the smell. I think it's because I'm a bit OCD when it comes to smells, and I always remember cooking with it and smelling like it for days, in my clothes and hair... Doesn't matter if it was only a teaspoon. Ugh! However, a bit added to a green smoothie or other mix, YUM!

[goobygirl]

Cilantro used taste like soap to me too.... I now like it, but hated them for years. I also use dr. bronner's peppermint (liquid) as a tooth soap. It has the same basic properties as the prescription tooth soap, I heard the CEO of Presc. Tooth Soap say that on a teleseminar.

[punpkin]

Veering slightly off topic here, but did your dentist give any other advice for tooth grinding, snoops? I have a terrible problem with it, and I have a mouth guard for it but I always spit it out in my sleep and wake up with a headache and sore jaw, not to mention the havoc it's wreaking on my teeth. :(

I read somewhere (and I do this a lot) that throughout the day, close your mouth and make sure your lips are together but your teeth are apart. I am wondering if the night grinding is replicating a daytime grinding? I know that before I became aware of how relaxing it was to consciously close my lips but unclench my jaw, well, I had no idea how badly I was grinding throughout the day! Good luck and I can't wait to find out what in Goddess' name "oil pulling" could be!!:)

[J A]

Good Morning,
With raw food, dental hygeine is verrrrry important.
Figgy

Could you elaborate please? I'm curious as to why dental hygiene should be so extremely important on raw diet - it should be the other way around, no? Raw giving you better teeth = brushing teeth becomes less important?

I'd love to learn more.

[HolyGuacamole]

I love the taste of olive oil extremely, but it is so unbelievably yucky to do oil pulling with, or such was my experience. You want a much lighter, cleaner-tasting oil.
In ayurveda, it's traditionally just sesame oil, but sunflower is OK, too, and is what I use.

[DeborahB]

Im Just really interestet in knowing, does the toothsoap taste good ? or does it tast soapy ? and most important does it work ?
I have seen that there is a toathpowder aswell, does anyone have any experience with that ? or just using bakingsoda ? salt ? or ....???

The toothsoap tastes a little soapy and a little like olive oil.
I'm not going to buy anymore, but make my own. It's quite pricey. When I run out I'm going to buy an olive oil soap bar and use a zester to get fine shreds.
It leaves my teeth clean. Not fresh, like minty toothpaste, but I don't need that since eating the way I do doesn't give me bad breath.

[Crazy Healer Lady]

I don't need that since eating the way I do doesn't give me bad breath.

Isn't it great??? I LOVE the life without strange body smells! I love that I can wake up and kiss my boyfriend without fear of morning breath, and that if I hike a huge trail in summer, I smell like the forest, not person.

Gah, sorry, had to gush :p

[HolyGuacamole]

I read somewhere (and I do this a lot) that throughout the day, close your mouth and make sure your lips are together but your teeth are apart. I am wondering if the night grinding is replicating a daytime grinding? I know that before I became aware of how relaxing it was to consciously close my lips but unclench my jaw, well, I had no idea how badly I was grinding throughout the day! Good luck and I can't wait to find out what in Goddess' name "oil pulling" could be!!:)

Thank you, I will try doing that.
I do clench my teeth (at the very least) during the day, I could stand to be more aware of muscle tension in my jaw throughout the day.

I know there is a thread about oil pulling here, I've not read it but seen it bumped up in the new posts time and again.
Also if you Google the term you will find out more information that you know what to do with!
You basically take a small amount of refined sesame oil or sunflower oil and gently pull it through your teeth, from the front of your mouth to the back, around and around, for 20 minutes or so without swallowing the oil.
The oil should change to thin and white and a little foamy when you spit it out. You then brush your teeth in your preferred manner.
It purportedly removes toxins from your body and, to this I can attest, whitens teeth and strengthens gums. People report all manner of miraculous-sounding results from oil pulling. I know it contributes to my oral health, and that's plenty good enough for me. :)

[vhedonist]

I have lost quite some enamel in my teeth, they have become thinner,slightly yellowish( losing enamel seems to make the teeth look yellowish, see under "Systemic conditions affecting enamel" here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_enamel ).

Particularly the bottom of my upper two front-teeth have lost so much enamel they look almost translucent. Besides,the part just near the gums of some teeth have got a slight brown discoloration.

The background of my problem is I had been on lots of acidic fruits(pineapple,sweet lime,grapes,lemon) for almost 3 years.I were on a vegan diet,not even honey and weren't taking many cereals and pulses too. Have you heard about "Mucusless diet,Arnold Ehret and stuff"?. I was experimenting with such a diet. I were just on fruits,vegetables, some rice and wheat bread.

So I must have lost quite some enamel because of the acidic fruits and the discoloration may have to do with nutritional deficiency. (I say nutritional deficiency because I had not much variety in vegetables and were also eating very less of nuts).

Btw its been more than 3 yrs since I gave up vegan diet but haven't got my condition reversed yet. I am wondering if I had crossed a stage that's irreversible. (Arnold Ehret himself in his book claims the transition to a 'fruit and vegetable' diet should be gradual,but seems like the transition I tried was far from being gradual.)

So I am looking for a way to rebuild enamel and get rid of that brown discoloration.(I hear some people say enamel can't be rebuilt but may be one can just harden what is left). Let me know if there is a way please.