Teeth...

[DandelionPuff]

I've been slowly getting more into raw these past few weeks. It's hard to say what percentage it is, since it varies everyday, but I've been juicing more and having only fruit for breakfast a lot. I still don't feel much of a difference, but I really want to up with the raw, it's just hard to do when you have a family who still doesn't support vegetarianism, friends who don't understand veganism, and an expensive grocery bill that you feel guilty about because your parents have to pay it...
My family also eats pretty poorly. I look back on my younger days, and, oh, how I ate terribly. My family will rarely eat raw dishes I make, but they will eat the cooked, so I feel like I should cook for them to keep them away from the S.A.D. When I do cook for them, I have a hard time not enjoying the food myself (of course, always vegan, and I keep grains to minimum- haven't had bread in a couple of months). The granola bars I make for my mom are often my downfall, and, because I try so hard to avoid eating them and being post-orthorexic (hardly ate anything for a little while, and now my body is afraid it'll happen again), I will chew and spit them whenever I make them.. :(
All the sugar in them is ruining my teeth too. I'm a little lazy about brushing, too...
I had a dentist appointment today, like I do every 6 months. I hate them, they make me take pre-meds (the only conventional pills I take) for a heart condition I have, and drink out of polystyrene cups for rinsing.. And apprently I have 3 cavities (I know, I know!!)

I use Tom's fluoride-free toothpaste, and sometimes use baking soda. I will admit that I am very neglectful when it comes to flossing, and use no mouthwash...
I was told that the enamel on my teeth is corroding, and I need to use fluoride toothpaste, but I don't know. I wouldn't be consuming it, but fluroide seems so controversial.

What do you all use? Any recipes for homemade toothpaste? Fluoride vs. Sans fluoride?

And any tips for staying strong with the granola bars? I wouldn't mind losing 10 pounds, and they make it hard. I can't not make them, or else my mom will buy icky store bought stuff.

Thanks for any help!

[snoops]

If they are making you take antibiotics for mitral valve prolapse - I have it and the dental association has taken away that recommendation. You have probably had the prolapse all your life and just because they find it they make you take antibiotics - not necessary. Just say no. That is if it a prolapse. I took them for a couple years and then apparently they decided it was not necessary.

[Steven]

I really love Eco Dent (http://www.eco-dent.com/)tooth powder.

Also here is an article (http://health101.org/art_blog_dental_issues) and video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJBuPwk_kBQ&feature=player_embedded) by Don Bennett on teeth.

Hope this helps. :)

[kurt28]

I have done some research in this area. Google a guy by the name of Rami Nagel. He also has videos on Youtube. He has a book called cure tooth decay. His research is based upon the work of Winston Price. I believe Winston Price went all around the world studying peoples teeth and the foods they consumed. He learned that the real cause of tooth decay was from nutritional deficencies. Specifically the fat soluable vitamins. I think the fat soluble vitamins are vitamin D, E, A, K. Apparently these days we are getting like ten times less fat soluable vitamins then people use to get. Seems like there was a few minerals too. I think phosphurs was one.

He advises people to eat more foods with these vitamins and minerals in them. I don't personally think his food recommendations are the best sources. He said he did try raw foods at one time but it didn't provide the necessary nutrients. Others have claimed to have healed their teeth on a raw food diet. Maybe he just wasn't consumming the right living raw foods.

He does say the same thing that Don Bennett said in that video in that tooth paste has glycerin in it which coats the teeth and keeps them from remineralizing. You can buy something called tooth soap to use in place of toothpaste. I have just been using hot water myself and Tom's about once a week. They say you would have to rinse your mouth like twenty some times before you would get all of the glycerin off of your teeth. So when I do use tooth paste once a week, I make sure to brush my teeth right before eatting lunch. I think my salad with apple in it will probably get that glycerin back off. I was using baking soda until I found out that most baking sodas have alluminum in them.

Also Rami said that acids damage the teeth, so when you eat something like lemons, limes, oranges, tomatoes you might want to rinse your mouth out with water after your done or brush your teeth. Don't let the acid sat on your teeth for very long. If we were getting the right nutrients in the first place and not coating our teeth with glycerin these acidic foods probably wouldn't hurt our teeth.

[speltrong]

I use a fluoride rinse that I buy from my dentist's office. It's amazing and it totally stops tooth sensitivity. I know plenty of people on here have issues with it, but I've been using it for years and there is no way I could imagine stopping.

[kaleboy]

After you juice or have a green smoothy just rinse your mouth out with water until the water you are spitting out becomes clear.

[DandelionPuff]

Thanks for all the help, everyone.
Snoops- that sounds right... it's a small hole between an artery and vein, allowing oxiginated and unoxiginated blood to mix. The meds are "to be safe rather than sorry", but all my cardiologist, doctor, and dentist say it isn't necessary. But I'm a minor, so legally, it isn't my choice :( I plan on stopping as soon as I can, and plan on hiding some in my pockets when the hygenist isn't looking ( I would've this recent appointment, but the hygenist watched me swallow them..)

Steven- That article is really interesting. He mentioned something about clove oil cleaning teeth? I wonder if that's something I should try. I have a small bottle. I never blame fresh fruit for tooth problems, I love fruit! But dried fruit is definitely a culprit.. :p

Nagel's book seems interesting enough. I may see if the library has it tomorrow, but I'm doubtful. I would love to be able to cure these cavities for when I get them filled (two weeks) to mess with the dentist's head and advocate a raw diet.

I wonder... does fluoride really weaken enamel like was said in the article? I wish nutrition wasn't so controversial and experts could agree..

[Arky]

...clove oil cleaning teeth? I wonder if that's something I should try. I have a small bottle.


Just be sure not to use it neat, and no more than a single drop at a time - seriously, clove oil is extremely strong stuff and not good for the delicate membranous tissues of the mouth if used neat in excessive amounts.




I never blame fresh fruit for tooth problems


Don't be too sure. It's a matter of degree. Too much fruit and it can mess with the phosphorous and calcium levels in the blood, which will have a knock-on effect on dental health. I know it's tempting to dismiss that little nugget of info, but it's truer than most people care to accept, particularly in the raw vegan community.



I would love to be able to cure these cavities for when I get them filled (two weeks) to mess with the dentist's head and advocate a raw diet.


You're not going to heal cavities within 2 weeks.

More pressingly, PLEASE, please, PLEASE don't allow your dentist to put mercury amalgam in your teeth.

Absolutely INSIST he/she only uses a non-metal filling material. I'm telling you this as someone who is mercury-intoxicated and who chats DAILY to people across the world with horrendous mercury intoxication issues (including neurological damage), many of whom were exposed to mercury as a consequence of having mercury dental amalgams from either childhood or adulthood.

If you need any more info on this, I'll be happy to point you in the right direction.

[maggiesdaddy]

This thread is totally awesome. I use Tom's of Main. I like to use fluoride free, but my wife likes anti cavity so that is usually what we buy. I have to say though that neither one of us are happy with them right now though. Their ingredients have gotten more unusual (or usual depending on how you look at it) ever since they were bought by Colgate a few years ago.

[DandelionPuff]

Arky- I'd imagine it would be used by dropping a drop (a little redundant?) of clove oil in water and dipping the tooth brush in it?
And how much fruit is too much, exactly? I feel like eating a banane is a lot less acidic than drinking green juice, but I guess juice has a lot of calcium and phosphorous in it.
I'll inquire what they use for fillings, but what should I do if it is metal? My mom would be so pissed at me if I refused to get a filling.. I don't even know if I could...

Maggiesdaddy- Eh, yeah, I always think Tom's is all natural and then I'll see sodium laurel sulfate on the ingredients list... I hate it when companies sell out like that. Shame on them...

[DawnD]

I use Tom's Flouride Free because I can get it at Wal-Mart with the bulk of my groceries. I don't think we need flouride. I am not real careful with my teeth. I brush mid day usually after fruit and my green smoothies because those little sweaters just knit right on them if you know what I mean. A few weeks ago I ate quacamole and salsa with real sour lime and my teeth started hurting an hour or so later. I took some tylenol in the middle of the night because I could not get my teeth to quit hurting. Sooo strange. Now I will be more careful with the lime! I have been raw for 2 years and eat lots of fruit and green smoothies til noon and have never had any trouble like that before that episode.

[EscapeArtist]

Arky- I'd imagine it would be used by dropping a drop (a little redundant?) of clove oil in water and dipping the tooth brush in it?
And how much fruit is too much, exactly? I feel like eating a banane is a lot less acidic than drinking green juice, but I guess juice has a lot of calcium and phosphorous in it.
I'll inquire what they use for fillings, but what should I do if it is metal? My mom would be so pissed at me if I refused to get a filling.. I don't even know if I could...

Maggiesdaddy- Eh, yeah, I always think Tom's is all natural and then I'll see sodium laurel sulfate on the ingredients list... I hate it when companies sell out like that. Shame on them...

I agree on fruit causing tooth decay. When I was eating lots of fruit, my teeth became extremely sensitive and I started to feel like I had cavaties (I still need to get that checked...) so I just cut out all fruit a few days ago and the sensitivity is gone.

And if they are going to use mercury amalgam fillings, it doesn't matter if you cause a scene! That scene could save you a life time of degrading neurological and physical health. Think depression, brain fog, apathy, anger problem and memory loss in the future if you get one, along with dementia if you have it until you're older.. Mercury kills brain cells, in fact mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive substance on the planet! And those filling emit a lot of gasses into your body every day, more than is required that we consume from fish every day, except it stays there and gathers up until you have a gradual downfall of health and enjoyment of life.

[DandelionPuff]

Do they really use mercury amalgam?? That seems really awful, but I guess it shouldn't surprise me. The government and many (not all) doctors don't really care about the health of the public. They just want our money...

I've been maintaining around an 80% raw diet. Some days will be all raw while others will just have a raw breakfast, but I'm getting there. I woke up yesterday feeling a little sick, soar throat, a little achey. I hardly ate raw at all, basically I ate chili and soup all day :p Everything seemed to make my stomach hurt so badly, though. Even the apple with raw almond butter :\

I think sugar makes teeth ache, not surprisingly. Whenever I eat a lot of sugary things, my teeth begin to ache and feel sensitive. But fruit never does this. I guess because I usually will eat fruit for breakfast and then between meals of veggies later on in the day.

[Arky]

Arky- I'd imagine it would be used by dropping a drop (a little redundant?) of clove oil in water and dipping the tooth brush in it?


That would be a reasonable approach. I'd personally still choose to actually mix the clove oil with a carrier oil, such as sunflower oil or olive oil, to moderate how penetrative the clove oil is to the sensitive tissues of the mouth.





And how much fruit is too much, exactly? I feel like eating a banane is a lot less acidic than drinking green juice, but I guess juice has a lot of calcium and phosphorous in it.


Whenever fruit is discussed with regard to teeth, the conversation typically revolves around the action of fruit acids upon tooth enamel and fructose feeding oral bacteria (e.g. acidophilus) which themselves produce lactic acid etc. This facet of the equation is legitimate to a certain extent but it overlooks a deeper mechanism involving how the fructose affects blood sugar levels, which affects phosphorous levels in the blood, which directly affects nourishment of the teeth from inside the teeth.






Do they really use mercury amalgam??


Yes, the dental profession still puts one of the most potent neurotoxins known to mankind into the mouths of children and adults alike.

And the medical profession still uses ethylmercury preservative in many vaccines (have done since the 1930s). I'm a victim of this.



I'll inquire what they use for fillings, but what should I do if it is metal? My mom would be so pissed at me if I refused to get a filling.. I don't even know if I could...


As EscapeArtist mentioned, mercury (which comprises approx. 50% of a 'silver' dental amalgam) is BAD news. I know because I'm mercury intoxicated myself. If you search for 'mercury' here on the forum, you'll find I've discussed this in great depth, and believe me, when it comes to annoying your mum and annoying your dentist, mercury is so toxic and so damaging to the body, that NOBODY, NOT EVEN YOUR OWN MOTHER, has the right to force you to have mercury in your body. Dentists will insist that mercury amalgams are safe, many even denying that 'silver' amalgams even contain mercury, but they most certainly do.


If you visit Aine's site:

http://mercurystories.com/

look along the right-hand side of the webpage, for the links called:


60 Minutes tackles amalgam in 1990 (24:38)

Chief Executive of the British Dental Association Loses It! (2:55)


Also see these Mercola articles (although please note that Mercola's mercury detoxification protocol is, at the time of this posting, flawed and I would not personally recommend it. However, his other articles relating to the dangers of mercury amalgams are worth reading, as follows):

tinyurl.com/3pedbpx

tinyurl.com/3eocwy5

tinyurl.com/3eooc59

[streetsurfer]

Grapefruit seed extract makes a good tooth cleaner

[DandelionPuff]

Thanks for all the info. I have some grapefruit EO, along with clove oil. I will give both a try.
I'm thinking of keeping a toothbrush downstairs so I can brush my teeth with a little refined salt and water after breakfast before school.

The whole phosphorous in the blood is reall fascinating... I never would have thought that would be the case of tooth decay!
Also, I have gotten fillings from my dentist before, and as far as I am concerned, I show no signs of mercury poisoning. But nevertheless, I will still ask. I did read somewhere (I think it may have been on a link posted in this thread) that herbal teas help remove mercury from the blood. I guess it's understandable- but to what extent??


I had a nightmare a couple nights ago where 5 of my molars fell out! I was freaking out in the dream... I woke up and felt so much relief. I seriously had to feel my teeth with my fingers to make sure they were all there, lol (I was still half asleep, mind you!) Now I can hardly even eat an apple without scrubbing my teeth! :p

[R'Mila]

I used to have the same dream. My teeth would come out and I would spit them in my hand. My othordontist at the time told me many of his patients have that dream when they are worried about their teeth.

[Arky]

...I have gotten fillings from my dentist before, and as far as I am concerned, I show no signs of mercury poisoning.



One may not feel symptoms of mercury poisoning for a number of reasons:

The fillings may be modern composite, rather than mercury 'silver' amalgams, in which case, there's little to be concerned about, and the following discussion will not apply.

One simply may not realise what a vast array of possible symptoms can stem from mercury intoxication (and conventional doctors are poorly trained to recognise or even acknowledge mercury intoxication. They're not stupid, they're just often unintentionally ignorant of this specialised subject area, since their training doesn't cover it in-depth and since it is generally assumed that mercury intoxication is only the result of acute exposures arising from environmental disasters or industrial accidents. You won't find a dental or medical degree training it's candidates in the dangers of intoxication from products used by their own industry! - e.g. mercury comprising 50% of a dental amalgam, and ethyl-mercury used in vaccines as a preservative).

Different people have differing rates of excretion. This is partially down to genetic variances, but many other factors come into play.

Different people have differing levels of sensitivity to the toxic effects of mercury. As with excretion rates, this is partially down to genetic variances, but many other factors come into play.

Your antioxidant status affects, to some degree, how damaging mercury is to the cells and tissues of the body, although this is only a relative statement, not an absolute one.



I am in daily conversation with mercury-intoxicated individuals, some of whom went years (even decades) without realising that their many niggling health problems, and many niggling neurological/cognitive issues were a result of mercury toxicity. Other individuals have had dental amalgams for decades but had a sudden onset of mercury intoxication symptoms at a specific point in their life, totally out of the blue. Some of these sudden onsets remain unexplained but others can trace it back to having consumed a particular meal with cilantro in it, or to having consumed lots of chlorella, in a misguided attempt at a health kick (chlorella is very high in cysteine, a sulphurous amino acid which can stir up mercury stores within the body and thus bring about an acute exacerbation of mercury toxicity symptoms.

I could go on, but suffice to say dental amalgam is a dangerous thing and one should not be complacent about it if they value their physical and neurological health. If you'd like to learn more, you can read materials by Andrew Hall Cutler and can converse with mercury-intoxicated individuals on the Yahoo! Frequent-Dose Chelation board, and Adult Metal Chelation board:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frequent-dose-chelation/messages
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/adult-metal-chelation/messages

Also, a perfect person to communicate with would be Aine, who was mercury poisoned from her dental amalgams:

www.mercurystories.com (http://www.mercurystories.com)

Aine also posted briefly, here on RFT:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?63346-Candida-is-making-my-life-miserable&p=661917&highlight=#post661917


A very informative interview with Andrew Hall Cutler can also be found here:

www.healthcentersofthefuture.com/DrCutler/ (http://www.healthcentersofthefuture.com/DrCutler/)

and if you do a forum search, here on RFT, you'll find many detailed discussions on the topic.



But nevertheless, I will still ask.

Don't expect your dentist to give you a straight answer on this - dentists will, 9 times out of 10, emphatically deny that dental amalgams are toxic.
Many of them genuinely believe the rhetoric that the ADA has drummed into them for years, that amalgams are completely non-toxic.
Even those who do realise that amalgams are potentially toxic, don't want to admit it because the ADA will strike them off their register for admitting it.
They don't want to admit it because they don't want to admit to themselves that they may have spent their career poisoning people.
They don't want to admit it because if they do, that admits liability to those patients who are experiencing signs of mercury intoxication, and that means potential lawsuits.

Just view those video links I posted in my previous post!



I did read somewhere (I think it may have been on a link posted in this thread) that herbal teas help remove mercury from the blood. I guess it's understandable- but to what extent??


Herbal teas are not a safe way to shift mercury. It's the easiest thing in the world to consume certain natural substances that will stir up mercury. That's a highroad to redistribution of mercury into other areas of the body such as the liver and brain, but because this is so widely and so poorly understood, people assume that because one can measure increased excretion levels of mercury in the stool or the urine, then all is well. Nothing could be further from the truth. One cannot tell how much mercury has been redistributed in the process of stirring it up within the body, and did not make it out of the body but instead 'landed' elsewhere, often in the brain.

Also note that mercury in the blood only relates to mercury exposure within the most recent 3 months - in the case of dental amalgams still in situ, yes, it is entirely to be expected that mercury may be present in the bloodstream. However, what about all the months or years prior to the most recent 3 months? Any molecules of mercury that were not excreted by the body will have distributed themselves around the cells, tissues and organs (liver, brain, thyroid, kidneys etc.) of the body. Mercury is notorious for this. So even if one somehow cleared the bloodstream of mercury, it wouldn't deal with older deposits of mercury in cells, tissues and organs, and it wouldn't take account of ongoing exposure from dental amalgams in the mouth. In fact, it is EXTREMELY dangerous to attempt any kind of chelation whatsoever (even the proper protocols) whilst there is still a source of mercury in the mouth. what I'm trying to say with all of this is that every man and his dog, on the internet, wants to tell you you can use this or that herb, or chlorella or cilantro to remove mercury from the body. Even with the source of exposure having been removed (in the case of dental amalgams, that'd mean having the amalgams professionally removed), these herbal substances are still dangerous for the purposes of mercury removal because:

*They form relatively weak bonds with mercury molecules (whereas di-thiol compounds such as DMSA, DMPS, ALA etc. form a stronger bond which is much less likely to 'let go' of the mercury molecules before they've been successfully excreted out of the body).

*Unlike DMSA, DMPS, ALA etc., natural food/herbal substance 'half-lives' (rate of decay and excretion) within the internal environment of the human body are NOT yet understood by science and thus blood levels cannot be kept even, and this means a profound risk of redistribution of mercury to other parts of the body.






I'm not saying any of this to scare you - I'm saying it because it's true, and because the more you educate yourself on the subject, the less likely you are to agree to your dentist placing more amalgam in your mouth, and the more able you will be to avoid potential pitfalls (consuming cilantro etc.) and recognise potential mercury-related health issues if they should ever arise, rather than suffering in bewilderment for years or decades. Mercury intoxication is treatable, but, in order to not put the brain at risk, it must be done in a certain, very controlled, way, and that does not involve the use of cilantro or chlorella, in spite of what a thousand natural health websites and natural health 'doctors' would have you believe. You may be one of the lucky ones who, in spite of having dental amalgams, lives their entire life without any significant mercury intoxication issues - I very much hope that's the case. But equally, the information I'm pointing you to, here, may just come in handy to you at some point in the future, and at the very least, I hope it'll be sufficient to convince you to not allow anyone to ever place any more mercury in your body.

Take care.



.

[Arky]

I used to have the same dream. My teeth would come out and I would spit them in my hand. My othordontist at the time told me many of his patients have that dream when they are worried about their teeth.

LOL - yep, I've had that dream, too. It's so common.

I also used to dream that someone was bullying me at school and I couldn't move my arms to hit them back - of course, I now know that this dream was directly linked to the fact that when one is dreaming, one is in a state of bodily paralysis (REM sleep - the eyes are moving all over the place, but the rest of the body is absolutely limp and still).

[streetsurfer]

To be clear, I am referring to seed extract, not essential oil of grapefruit. You'll want to check and see first, if the essential oil can be used that way.

[RawnieColeman]

I've read pure baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) diluted in water, so it's not too abrasive on the teeth, along with a few drops of food grade hydrogen peroxide is all you need to remove plaque and keep the mouth kleen and germ free.

I wouldn't trust any store bought toothpaste TBH. Many of the worst pollutants are found in the containers themselves.