cavities! why!

[flea]

hey everyone,

my teeth have always been perfect - dentists have loved me my whole life.

couple months ago i got an electric toothbrush and noticed that my teeth got even whiter after that, and i attributed it to the toothbrush and going raw. ive been 100% raw about 8 months now.

i just noticed my teeth looking a bit yellower than usual, and did a proper inspection today. some of them are yellow and have brownish stuff i cant scrape off, some are a bit translucent, and i have A CAVITY! im 21 and ive never had ANYTHING done to my teeth, never had any cavities, nothing. It's small and full of brown stuff but is a cavity nonetheless.

i eat a balanced diet, lots of greens, not too much agave. i do eat a lot of dates though, and am gonna cut them out now. i dont eat heaps of nuts and seeds either, nor dried fruit (i was eating all of these when i was cooked vegan anyway).

what the hell is going on! why has raw given me cavities? im so upset :(

im beginning to feel like the benefits of raw are being outweighed by the bad side effects...my skin is terrible and my teeth are bad for the first time in my life :(

[green jeanie]

my teeth are not happy either

citrus fruits and pitted fruits will contribute but i have a hard time keeping them out of my diet.

my teeth are not happy right now!

not cool

[Green_Woman]

Just a thought for the OP:

You're 21 years-old and you've been RAW for 8 months... that means you have been raw for only a fraction of your lifetime. Is it possible RAW is not responsible for your cavities? :)

And on the other hand, I've also noticed an increasing translucent appearance to my front teeth. I, however, have struggled with bad teeth my whole life (genetic in my family) and am going to be investing ways to heal my "bad teeth" WITH Raw...

If I discover something useful, I'll share it here to help out. :)

P.S. Bad skin could be a result of too much Fats/Oils in your diet... and lastly, I would hesitate to label bad skin or teeth issues as "Side Effects". Your body is telling you to find ways to heal these issues along with the rest. You can do it - and there ARE great solutions in RAW... better than the SAD options. :D

[DebB]

I brush my teeth throughout the day. If I eat some fruit, I'll brush my teeth. Even if it's brushing with just water.

I haven't had a cavity in over 8 years, but my last checkup after about a year raw, I had 2 small cavities starting, so I had them filled. To be honest, I didn't want to mess with trying to heal them.

But it was a good lesson for me. I watched one of Kevin Gianni's YouTube videos on this as he had a less than stellar checkup as well. He said he was making his green smoothie last alllllll morning long; sipping a little here, a little there. Well, all that time it was sitting on his teeth.

So now he drinks it on down and then brushes. That rang true to me, so I followed suit. I'll see how my next checkup goes. *Ü*

[hilarya_m]

It's also my understanding that sipping citrus/acidic fruits for a long time is NOT good for your teeth that teeth cannot handle the constant acid wash over sustained periods of time. Also, NOT to brush your teeth after consuming citric acid or just before as it makes your enamel temporarily weaker and therefore more porous to the acid.

Look up oil pulling, I know people have had really great results on the cavity and whitening front with this ayurvedic practice of swishing sesame oil around your mouth before you brush for 15 mins (sounds annoying, I know).

I think that cavities may indeed be a side effect/issue of raw despite what others may tell you, but maybe not of the lifestyle overall, just of the way you are doing it? Cavities seem to be one of the most commonly complained about issues I have heard so far. It also, like others have said may indicate that you are eating too acidic of a diet. Nuts and seeds can definitely be a problem as bacteria feast on the little bits that are left behind after eating. Swish with water at the very least.

I also heard very good things about eating, literally like a cow, chewing and chewing dark greens and holding them in your mouth over weak, sensitive or cavity ridden spots in the mouth and that they may totally heal up from the alkalinity!

My husband trained as a dentist in France and is totally obsessed with NOT getting cavities so I have amassed a body of this knowledge peripherally ;)

Good Luck!

[MrsJohnnyG]

I also heard very good things about eating, literally like a cow, chewing and chewing dark greens and holding them in your mouth over weak, sensitive or cavity ridden spots in the mouth and that they may totally heal up from the alkalinity!
Wow, that is interesting! I may try that with wheatgrass if I ever have any more dental issues. (Hmm, I wonder if doing that with seaweed would absorb toxins from my mercury fillings??!)

Someone posted recently about brushing their teeth with plain baking soda. Until a couple of weeks ago, one of my teeth had been giving me terrible constant pain (thanks to my one-year stint of falling off the raw bandwagon and eating SAD for a year). I bought some aluminum-free baking soda and within TWO TIMES of brushing with it, that tooth pain is GONE. It's amazing.

[lioness]

Sounds like your teeth are possibly detoxing. Teeth, even though we can't see it, are porous and maybe all of the debris that was in there are coming up now. I would get the book Oil Pulling Therapy by Bruce Fife. He goes into detail about the method and how it can help your overall health. Also, if you do decide to do the oil pulling method it's good to also brush with ayurvedic toothpaste and put some activated charcoal on it to help disinfect and get the bad germs out of your mouth. Also, if you can get some, try rinsing your mouth with a diluted solution of food grade hydrogen peroxide in distilled water. I know it's an adjustment, when I first went raw a lot of mucus was coming out of my system and it was weird at first and I was wondering what was happening, but I just realized that my body was detoxing and getting that stuff out. It can be scary and unusual sometimes when your body goes through detox. Also, you may want to do a colon cleanse too. Maybe that might help.

[Green_Woman]

Sounds like your teeth are possibly detoxing. Teeth, even though we can't see it, are porous and maybe all of the debris that was in there are coming up now.

Now this is something that intrigues me... I will look into this more for myself.

[MrsJohnnyG]

One other thought. I'd stop using the electric toothbrush. Having electrical devices in such close proximity to our bodies is not good, IMO. Plus it may be brushing so rapidly/harshly that it's wearing down the enamel... hence they looked whiter at first, but then became stained and translucent and now you have a cavity.

Try going back to a regular toothbrush and plain baking soda and/or the other good suggestions you've gotten... spend a few weeks eating plenty of crunchy raw veggies that you chew thoroughly... lay off fruit for a while and probably stay stop juicing and drinking smoothies until your teeth stabilize.

[T-Bird]

Try going back to a regular toothbrush and plain baking soda

Baking soda may be too abrasive. I brushed my teeth exclusively with baking soda for several years and my teeth became sensitive.

maybe some of these pro-enamel toothpastes could help?

[T-Bird]

PS - I used enamelon for a while - and my teeth were not sensitive anymore...

[Green_Woman]

lay off fruit for a while and probably stay stop juicing and drinking smoothies until your teeth stabilize.

Or... drink your juice and smoothies through a Straw!!! You still need your Fruit and ESPECIALLY right now you need LOTS of GREENS! :D

[flea]

hey everyone,

thanks for all your suggestions.

i have started oil pulling 2-3x a day with coconut oil, ill tell everyone if i see any results.

ive also started brushing with MSM, as ive heard some people have had good results with this.

i swish water in my mouth after everything i eat and have started drinking my gs with a straw. i dont really juice much.

re chewing like a cow on greens - this makes sense - but then doesnt it also mean i have acidic/food etc in my mouth and on my teeth for a longer period of time, thereby making it a better breeding ground for bacteria etc? what does everyone think?

ive also started putting coconut oil directly on my teeth, as it is anti bacterial, anti fungal, i thought it might help what do people think?

ive also cut bakc on nuts and seeds, youre right, the little buggers get caught in your teeth.

thanks kids!

[klomasius]

Hmm.. not sure about oil pulling with coconut oil, it seems that most people get best results with sesame oil.

I use raw sesame oil in salad dressings and keep meaning to start oil pulling again (only did it for about a week consistently last time).

[hilarya_m]

Dark greens are alkaline not acidic. Here's a list of the only acidic vegetables:

ACIDIFYING VEGETABLES
Corn
Lentils
Olives
Winter Squash


See this link on alkaline and acid foods: http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/acid_alkaline_foods_list.html

[T-Bird]

I've ordered some sesame oil to try the oil pulling....

[solarliving]

hey everyone,

thanks for all your suggestions.

i have started oil pulling 2-3x a day with coconut oil, ill tell everyone if i see any results.


i swish water in my mouth after everything i eat and have started drinking my gs with a straw. i dont really juice much.


ive also started putting coconut oil directly on my teeth, as it is anti bacterial, anti fungal, i thought it might help what do people think?


thanks kids!

I'm also trying Coconut oil for oil pulling. I think it a great oil to use. I have also started brushing my teeth with it. I had found someone talking about it on another forum and how the pastes are fairly abrasive to our gums and they basically just use water and sometimes coconut oil. I have an area of receding gums so we will see if anything changes from this. Swishing water in your mouth is a good idea after eating anyways especially after eating citrus and or dried fruits. Then of course flossing is important.

[mstrish]

try tooth soap for your tooth paste and use a straw so noithing gets on your teeth when drinking smoothies...Hope this helps