Monday, December 17, 2012

How to Fix Cavities Naturally


If I polled 100 random people out on the street… if I asked them “Is it possible to reverse cavities?  No dentist, no fillings, do you think you can heal cavities with food and supplements?”  I’d be willing to bet 99 of out of 100 would say no.  Maybe more.  Maybe 99.5 if there was a little person around.  In fact they’d probably think I was out of my mind for asking.  Many of us haven’t even thought about the prospect of healing cavities; why would we?  It’s been jammed into our heads from birth that when you have a cavity, you get a filling.  And that’s all there is to it.  I had several cavities as a kid.  Actually, “several” may be an understatement.  It was too many to count, but I do remember one specific visit to the dentist that revealed seven cavities.  SEVEN!  And now I’ve got a mouth full of fillings made of mercury and heavy metals... definitely not something I'd prefer to have permanently situated in my mouth.  But as anyone who’s ever had a cavity knows, there’s not typically any pain associated with them.  Sure they can develop into something worse, like an infection, but there’s no pressing reason to get a filling.  I would have appreciated it if someone suggested to me that I could try a more natural approach.

So that’s why I’m writing this article, and that’s why this information is so important.  It IS possible to heal your teeth naturally.  And not only is it possible, it’s surprisingly easy.  I’m not sure exactly why this information has disappeared over time; I assume it has something to do with the fact that it would ruin the dental industry.  But this is something you need to know.  This is something everyone needs to know.  You have options.  You CAN re-mineralize your teeth, and here are the people that proved it...

Drs. Edward and May Mellanby
The first is the work of a husband and wife team, Edward and May Mellanby, who wrote the book Nutrition and Disease.  Their most important bit of research was published in both the British Medical Journal and the British Dental Journal in 1932 (1).  In this study, they recruited 62 children with cavities and placed them on one of three diets for six months... 

Diet 1:  Their normal diet plus oatmeal
Diet 2:  Their normal diet plus vitamin A + D supplement (cod liver oil)
Diet 3:  Grain-free diet plus vitamin D supplement

And here's how each diet affected the childrens' cavities...
Graph courtesy of Stephan at Whole Health Source
A few things of note... First, the regular diet plus oatmeal group did HORRIBLY.  Their diet clearly formed the most cavities, and showed no sign of healing.  This diet was likely deficient in a variety of vitamins and minerals (remember, whole grains are a nutrient-poor food), specifically vitamin D.  Back then foods weren't fortified with D.  Second, taking cod liver oil alone looks to be highly beneficial.  Just look at the dramatic difference between diet 1 and diet 2.  And the best of all was diet 3, the grain-free diet with vitamin D, which prevented the most cavities and promoted the most healing.  Pretty amazing stuff!  It's not the most perfect study (not sure why they didn't just pass the cod liver oil along to the grain-free group), but the results are pretty shocking, especially if you thought a filling was the only way to fix a cavity!

Two take home messages.  Grains promote cavity forming, cod liver oil and vitamin D promote cavity healing

Weston A. Price
I've talked about Dr. Price before, just briefly.  He was a dentist who, in the 1920s, explored the world looking for indigenous cultures who were free of tooth decay.  And he eventually used the information he learned in his own practice back in America.  In his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (pg. 290), he talks about feeding underprivileged children one nutritious meal a day and monitoring their dental health...

"About four ounces of tomato juice or orange juice and a teaspoonful of a mixture of equal parts of a very high vitamin natural cod liver oil [vitamins A + D] and an especially high vitamin butter [vitamin K2] was given at the beginning of the meal. They then received a bowl containing approximately a pint of a very rich vegetable and meat stew, made largely from bone marrow and fine cuts of tender meat: the meat was usually broiled separately to retain its juice and then chopped very fine and added to the bone marrow meat soup which always contained finely chopped vegetables and plenty of very yellow carrots; for the next course they had cooked fruit, with very little sweetening, and rolls made from freshly ground whole wheat, which were spread with the high-vitamin butter. The wheat for the rolls was ground fresh every day in a motor driven coffee mill. Each child was also given two glasses of fresh [raw] whole milk. The menu was varied from day to day by substituting for the meat stew, fish chowder or organs of animals." (Thanks again, Stephan)

Dr. Price provides x-rays before and after his intervention, and clearly shows re-calcification of cavity-filled teeth using this intervention.  Cod liver oil, butter, bone marrow, raw milk... I don't think I've ever seen any of this on My Plate!?  And yes, Dr. Price used grains, but the wheat he used was soaked and fermented, so the minerals were actually absorbed.  Once upon a time, we all prepared grains this way, and we'd be healthier if we still did.

But what's most surprising about Dr. Price's method?  He only fed the children one meal a day!  Other than that, they ate their normal diet.  This is important because for the average person out there trying to implement something like this, just changing their diet for one meal a day is VERY doable.  And this stuff tastes great!  It's not like you have to choke down a low-fat, zero-salt, anorexia-inducing cardiac diet!


What To Do
So both methods, although different, are effective for reversing tooth decay.  Now here's what you can do for your teeth, whether you've got cavities to reverse or if you just want to keep them around for a while...

Things you must do:
  • Get your fat soluble vitamins! That's A, D, and K2.  This may be the single most important factor for healthy teeth.  Try this Fermented Cod Liver Oil / Butter Oil Blend, which is based on the formula Weston A. Price used.  The cinnamon flavor is delightful.
  • Eat nutrient-dense animal foods like bone broth, organ meats, raw milk, butter, and eggs.  And get them from naturally raised animals, ie. grass-fed cows and pastured chickens.  Here you'll get calcium and phosphorous, the raw materials to re-mineralize your teeth, along with lots other good vitamins and minerals.
  • Clean your teeth!  Brush and floss every day.  But believe it or not, toothpaste is NOT important... in fact, this study found that brushing without toothpaste removed more plaque than brushing with it (2).  Plus, I've heard some talk about the ingredients in modern toothpaste preventing re-mineralization... I'd play it safe and stay away if you're really giving this a try.  If you're into it, use baking soda.  Or make your own baking-soda-based toothpaste.
Things you should do (but you may be able to get by without it):
  • Eat plenty of vegetables.  Raw or cooked.  Starchy or non-starchy.  Leafy greens, potatoes, broccoli.  Whatever.  It's all good. 
  • Get plenty of sunlight for some vitamin D.  Of course, don't burn yourself. 
  • Avoid industrially processed foods.  Like anything in a box.  And refined vegetable oils.  This should go without saying. 


When you study dental health in the context of the grain-based, nutrient-poor diet that we all eat, you'd get the impression that cavities are just incurable.  But step outside of that paradigm and do something crazy, like eat the way our ancestors did...  Eat nutrient-dense animal foods.  Get plenty of fat-soluble vitamins.  Minimize grains, or ferment them... and you'd be surprised what you find.  You don't need to cover up your cavities with mercury and silver, you can re-mineralize your teeth all on your own! 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!  Does anybody have any personal experience with this?  Let me know in the comments!

29 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you posted this. Last two times I went to the dentist, I was told I have cavities. I had never had any before. I guess they were from my braces because they're in the same exact spot as the other tooth on the other side of the mouth, just mirrored (if that makes any sense). My family doesn't have the money to get them filled. I had no idea until I started reading your blog that cavities are curable. I was thinking when I was reading this, "'m a poor college student...how do I get the nutrients I need to do all this?" Then of course you answered my question. Thanks for writing these

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad I could help! Thanks for reading as always, and let me know how it goes!

      Delete
  2. I love this! I was just at the dentist where my mom works and the woman that cleaned my teeth was really into natural remedies. She is awesome and told me how to my own toothpaste with coconut oil, a little bit of baking soda, peppermint, and something else I forget. She also told me about this online series called healthy mouth summit at healthymouthsummit.com. She is really into paleo, it was awesome! It is free and starts sometime in January so you should check it out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's so cool! I think I'm gonna try to make my own toothpaste some time soon. What would you put the toothpaste in though? A jar I guess? Idk, I'll mess around with it. And I'll definitely check out the healthy mouth summit, looks great!

      Delete
  3. Any clues on what to do if you have a filling already, and it looks like its got a cavity or something happening underneath?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I had mercury in my mouth from my 20s, and had a couple of them replaced in my 40s (because they naturally crack after a while). Some of the debris went down my throat and I got the beginning signs of MS. (My naturopath friend discovered this.) I used Young Living Essential Oils to remove the mercury, and then I went to a dentist who specializes in removing mercury fillings. (You have to be careful with it.) Now I'm metal free and would dream of letting anyone in my family (or anyone else) put metal in their mouths. Hal Huggins' "It's All in Your Head" makes the case unequivocally.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think i have a cavity, im only 17, and im un sure of how to go about possibly removing this cavity, if it is a cavity without being peculiar to my parents. Especially cause i hate veggies. Im willing to do this diet but i would like to keep it a secret. Any tips? Please help? Btw i was mistakenly diagnosed wiyh a cavity before so im even more afraid of going back to the dentist

    ReplyDelete
  6. how long does it take for a cavity to cure this way?

    ReplyDelete
  7. im going to try this out starting today ill post again if i get it to work i have one cavity and a bunch of small brown spots im afraid of so ill post again XD in about 2 months

    ReplyDelete
  8. does this diet help remove cavities that have been formed?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you so much! I'd never even thought about fixing cavities naturally until just a minute ago, and here this article was :) I'll try this and let you know how it works out. Also, do you think drinking a specific type of hot tea would help a lot? And about how long does this method take?

    ReplyDelete
  10. A very informative blog with good advice on how to cure tooth decay naturally. There are many ways of treating tooth decays naturally instead of going to dentists for filling. I became a believer of natural treatment for tooth decay after reading this book “Cure tooth decay” by Ramiel Nagel who is a dental health advocate. In this book he has explained how tooth decay is caused and his reasoning is based on the studies of Dr Weston Price, as mentioned in your blog, who said that tooth decays are caused by deficiency of vital nutrients like vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, calcium and other minerals in diet. If these elements are incorporated in diet then they can help in prevention and treatment of cavities. Ramiel Nagel has given an effective diet plan in his book which involves consumption of nutrient dense food like cod liver oil, raw grass fed milk, cheese, yogurt, fish, bone broth, and butter oil among others. This is a guaranteed protocol for healing and reversing of cavities. Visit this link for more information http://www.curetoothdecay.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. A pinch of dried clay as toothpaste works well. Avoid commercial products.

    ReplyDelete
  12. My dentist will chew me out for almost 20 minutes about being "irresponsible" and "a terrible hygienist" if I have even 1 or 2 cavities (1 usually being the number). I've gotten tired of him acting like he's omnipotent to me, so maybe this will help with the one I think I have.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you thank you!!! The last time I went to the dentisr I cried so hard that I don't want to go there ever again! I'm sick of my cavities! And dentist are too expensive.. And plus the last time I go there he drilled my tooth and even if I can't feel anything I cried because to think that I have that much of a hole is ridonkilous I always brush my teeth everyday and after I know that those toothpaste are bad I'm not going to go there anymore! And now one of my fillings have a hole and it makes me sick because it hurt.... But I will try this! NO MATTER WHAT!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great post! After twenty years, I've finally gotten my first cavity. Likewise, I had no idea what to do about it, so thanks for all of this info. Keep up the good work here!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am a dentist in Boca Raton . For disclosure purposes, I represent teamfrezzor.com/drnewman
    To remineralize enamel I brush and swoosh with a toxin free sea salt that holds 84 naturally occurring minerals. Cows who eat grasses with all the minerals of the earth do not get cavities. Alighning yourself with Nature is the best way to maintain a healthy dentition.
    Donald Newman DDS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My son and I visit a chiropractor and before stretching/adjusting they have you drink 1 oz of water with Himalayan salt. I wonder if that would heal a cavity I have coming?

      My son is 13 and so far has been cavity-free. I give him D3 supplements in his drink, I'm planning on buying D3/K2 drops.

      Delete
  16. If you keep hygiene in your lifestyle then most of the health issues won't even touch you. Talking about the dental problems, as soon as you see any issue with your teeth then you should rush to the dentist who uses top class equipments and has good education in the field. Don't late or the problem becomes worse with time.

    Regards,
    Charlie

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had no idea that cavities could be fixed naturally! Wow, there is a lot you can do, and I had no idea. For example, I didn't know that certain vitamins could help with that. Also, I didn't know that so many different meats could help with reversing cavities.

    http://www.dorsetdental.com/

    ReplyDelete
  18. It is a great thing to know that cavities can be fixed naturally. The dentist is great for cleaning and other things, but cavities have always broke my bank. They cost so much to fix and I have no idea what the dentist is doing. I love that I can just do it at home now. http://www.wadson.ca

    ReplyDelete
  19. Awesome way to display to how to Fix Cavities Naturally but believe me Tooth decay is the destruction of your tooth enamel, the hard, outer layer of your teeth. Need to very cautions.
    Dentist in North Vancouver

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nowadays since we are blessed with some of the options for good dental clinics, then it is always better to consult the best dentist to fix your cavity problem. Seeking a dental clinic will not only give you corrective solutions but permanent treatment as well.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Life is full of many challenges. Challenges that will make you or break you depending on how you handle it. Visit my site for more updates. God Bless to your site.

    n8fan.net

    www.n8fan.net

    ReplyDelete
  22. I know you wrote this post about 3 years ago. Did you ever do a follow up post as to how it worked out? I am VERY interested.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This Article is really amazing. Coconut oil is best choice if we want to heal the cavities naturally
    Remove cavities naturally

    ReplyDelete
  24. Did you know that there’s a host of back and spine-related issues that are more prevalent in women than men? This includes lower back pain, a guide to back care exercises for women and more, and the risks can get higher as females get older, particularly at post-menopausal age.

    ReplyDelete