Research has shown that the use of xylitol helps repair damage to the enamel. Saliva in itself protects the mouth and teeth. Stimulated saliva in particular contains all the components needed to repair early cavities. Saliva that has xylitol is more alkaline than saliva stimulated by other sugar products. After taking xylitol, the concentration of basic amino acids and ammonia in saliva and plaque may rise (becoming less acidic), and plaque pH rises as well. When pH is above 7, calcium and phosphate salts in saliva start to move into those parts of enamel that are weak. Therefore, soft, calcium-deficient enamel sites begin to harden again.
Our teeth should last a lifetime. They are living things that have blood flow and nerve tissue. Cavities and tooth decay can potentially be reversed with diet. Teeth can also re-mineralise and strengthen.
- Fix your diet.
- Always get a second opinion concerning dental work (particularly from a holistic, or biological dentist).
- Never get a root canal. If you have had a root canal then read the section below.
- Don't use toxic fluoride toothpastes.
There are 5 things that ruin our teeth:
- Lack of minerals in the diet (calcium, magnesium and phosphorus). Calcium makes up 25-30% of a tooth. The primary tooth mineral is hydroxyapatite, which is a crystalline calcium phosphate. Phosphorus is quite abundant in the Western diet. Calcium from food is only absorbed with adequate magnesium levels.
- Lack of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K2). Vitamin A helps maintain the structural and functional integrity of mucosal cells. Vitamin A also plays a key role in the normal function of several types of immune cells. Vitamin D is required for calcium absorption, when Vitamin D levels are too low, no Calcium is put back into bones and teeth. Vitamin E, just like vitamin C, helps prevent gum disease by doing two things: reducing inflammation and serving as an antioxidant. Vitamin K2 is especially important at controls where calcium goes in the body, either into teeth and bone, or into soft tissue (Osteocalcin is a noncollagenous protein hormone found in bone and dentin, its synthesis is vitamin K2 dependent).
- Processed sugar consumption. A Western diet is loaded with simple sugars, and worse still, we tend to graze on sugars all day long. Sugar provides food for our harmful mouth bacteria. These produce acids that damage the hard enamel.
- Gum problems. Plaque contains germs which attack the healthy tissue around the teeth. This will cause the gums to become inflamed and irritated, which may cause them to bleed when brushing or flossing. Vitamin C deficiency can also cause bleeding gums (mild scurvy!).
- Over consumption of phytic acid-rich foods. Phytic acid can be bad for teeth because it impairs the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These are all important to your dental health. Zinc is an essential trace element. In the mouth, it is present naturally in plaque, saliva and enamel. Phytates are found in oats, grains, seeds and some nuts (they are the plants natural chemical defence mechanism). Wheat bran contains up to 7.3g of phytates in 100g and rice bran 2.6 to 8.7g. You may think that you are getting enough minerals, but phytates could be consuming them.
Amazing xylitol
Switch your chewing gum, mints, toothpaste and mouthwash now!!!!
Five exposures to xylitol each day will reduce plaque as effectively as brushing your teeth. Xylitol is a natural sugar alcohol and not an artificial sweetener. It looks and tastes like “table sugar,” but contains only 40% fewer calories than other carbohydrates. It has a low glycemic index of 7 with no insulin release. Xylitol reduces the levels of mutans streptococci (MS) in plaque and saliva by disrupting their energy production processes, leading to bacterial cell death. It reduces the adhesion of these microorganisms to the teeth surface and also reduces their acid production potential. Optimal inhibition of S. mutans growth by xylitol occurs with its total daily consumption of 5–6 g at a frequency of three or more times per day. It's the frequency that matters, using a xylitol product (toothpaste, mouthwash, chewing gum or candy) 5-7 times a day is best
When you eat food containing ordinary sugar (sucrose), it feeds the bacteria on your teeth, allowing them to multiply and start making acids that can eat away the enamel on the teeth. This “acid attack” causes tooth decay and cavities to begin to form. The bacteria in the mouth that are causing cavities are unable to digest xylitol, so their growth is greatly reduced. The number of acid-producing bacteria may fall as much as 90%. No acid is formed because the pH of saliva and plaque does not fall. After taking xylitol, the bacteria do not stick well on the surface of the teeth and as a result, the amount of plaque decreases.
Xylitol is a natural sweetener derived from the fibrous parts of plants. It does not break down like sugar and can help keep a neutral pH level in the mouth. Xylitol also prevents bacteria from sticking to the teeth. This is how it protects the teeth from tooth decay. With the dental benefits of Xylitol, the acid attack that would otherwise last for over half an hour is stopped.
One major study demonstrated that the intake of xylitol did not cause problems with lipogenesis (fat making), in fact it suppressed high-fat induced visceral fat accumulation. A balance of positive effects suggest that xylitol intake may be useful to control or prevent obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders.
Xylitol can inhibit the growth of harmful oral bacteria, but it has been shown to impact growth of nasopharyngeal bacteria such as S. pneumonia and S. mitis, and hence has a role to play in nasopharyngeal pneumonia.
- Many xylitol products are junk because they contain minimal amounts of xylitol and have added sugars.
- Choose a xylitol toothpaste that is non-fluorinated and 100% xylitol.
- Choose a xylitol mouthwash that is non-fluorinated and 100% xylitol.
- Choose gum and mints that are sweetened with 100% xylitol.
- You can put granulated xylitol into your tea and coffee.
- Use xylitol as a baking substitute for brown sugar simply by adding 1 to 2 tsps of molasses for every cup of xylitol used. Xylitol does not carmelize or reach “hard crack” because it remains stable under high heat.
Don't go overboard with xylitol as it is slow to digest and has to be processed by the liver. If you are going to sweeten coffee and tea with it, go easy as a spoonful weighs around 5g.
Fluoride isn't good
From the 1970s, the US, UK and many Western nations were totally focused on fluoride with water fluoridation, and fluoride toothpastes. Iodine is vitally important for the human body, but iodine chemically similar to fluorine. However, fluorine is way more reactive that iodine and easily dominates. Research shows that fluoride exposure worsens the impact of an iodine deficiency. Iodine is the basic building block of the T3 and T4 hormones and is essential for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland. When iodine intake is inadequate during infancy and early childhood, the child’s brain can suffer permanent damage, including mental retardation. Fluoride has been shown to:-
- Accelerate the ageing process.
- Cause genetic damage.
- Contribute to arthritis and joint pain.
- Increase the incidence of cancer and tumour growth.
- Interrupt DNA repair.
Avoid the use of fluoride toothpastes and fluoride mouthwash. If you live in a fluorinated water area then either filter or drink bottled water that are fluoride free.
Vitamin K2 seems to define where calcium should and shouldn’t go in the body. You need calcium to go to your bones and teeth and not to calcify the arteries (arterial plaque). In nature, vitamin K is found in two forms: vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) in leafy, green vegetables, and vitamin K2 (menaquinone) in organ meats, egg yolks, dairy products and fermented foods. Vitamin K1 is required by the human liver to manufacture blood-clotting proteins. All animals and humans convert vitamin K1 into vitamin K2 MK-4 using gut bacteria, so it is incredibly important to have a healthy gut.
Osteocalcin is a protein hormone found in bone and teeth. Its synthesis is vitamin K2 dependent. Osteocalcin is released by osteoblasts (cells that make bone) and binds with the bone matrix. Studies conclude that a lack of vitamin K2 leads to age-related bone loss. Osteocalcin was the first protein to be identified as bone specific. Osteocalcin also acts like a hormone on many tissues to improve insulin sensitivity and blood glucose.
Weak bones and arterial plaque (arterial plaque is 20% calcium) are a common symptom of vitamin K2 deficiency. If you compare the hip and bone fracture rates of African-American women with Nigerian/Ghanaian women (genetically exact), you find that US rates are 80 times higher. They also had much worse teeth. The African women are eating grass fed animals and milk products, containing high levels of K2.
There is strong evidence that vitamin K2 deficiency is associated with osteoporosis, and some evidence that increasing K2 intake (from supplements and/or diet) can strengthen bones and teeth. Vitamin K2 promotes moving excessive calcium out of the bloodstream and into the bones and teeth. The conventional wisdom regarding osteoporosis (consume more calcium) is now being superseded by raising vitamin D levels, which increases calcium absorption up to fourfold, making the diet more alkaline so that less calcium is leeched from the bones to balance blood pH.
Foods rich in Vitamin K2:
Women should consume 90 micrograms (mcg) a day, and men should have 120 mcg.
- Nattō (fermented soy MK7). This is the highest dietary source of vitamin K2 with a huge 850 micrograms per 100 gram serving (1000%+ of your RDA). It is widely eaten in Japan which has the highest longevity rate in the world. There is an exact Thai equivalent of Natto, it’s called Thua nao. Available all over northern Thailand.
- Foie gras has a high concentration of vitamin K2.
- Hard cheese. French and Dutch cheeses especially. Gouda has the highest content of vitamin K2 than any other cheese with approximately 20 mcg per ounce. Brie, Jarlsberg’s and Edam are also good sources. Other aged, hard cheeses have some vitamin K2 as well. Switzerland, with its high grass fed dairy and vitamin k2 cheese consumption, has the 2nd highest longevity rate in the world.
- Soft cheese.
- Grass fed butter.
- Grass-fed ghee.
- Chicken liver & breast (free range birds).
- Salami.
- Ground beef (grass fed meat)
- Grass fed eggs, especially the yolk.
- Fermented foods.
- Goose liver pate (Geese eat grass).
- Duck and goose fat. There’s a huge jump in vitamin K2 values in pastured duck fat. Duck fat has 3 times more vitamin K2 than ghee or egg yolks, 7 times more vitamin K2 than butter or cream, and 13 times more than cheese or chicken liver.
Vitamin K2: The relationship with vitamins A and D and Magnesium
Vitamin K2, as with other vitamins and minerals, is best consumed as part of a nutrient-dense diet. Vitamin K1 and K2 are fat soluble, so they must be eaten with fat for best absorption. Vitamins A and D are both activated by vitamin K2, allowing them to bind calcium to do their jobs. A scientist (Weston A. Price) in the 1940’s was the first to discover the synergy between K, A and D vitamins, although at the time he referred to vitamin K2 as “Activator X,” since its true identity was unknown until 2007. He used a combination of cod liver oil, rich in vitamins A and D, and butter oil, rich in vitamin K2, to treat a variety of modern diseases. Magnesium intake is also important. Vitamins A and D induce gene expression, which is dependent on magnesium. Many people are deficient in magnesium due to a diet of processed foods.
Boron and borax
Boron has many health effects. It normalises the function of cell membranes and signalling across the membranes. Found throughout the body, boron is especially prevalent in the parathyroid glands, bone and teeth enamel and is necessary for bone and joint function. Boron is for the parathyroids as iodine is for the thyroid. Boron deficiency causes the parathyroids to become overactive, releasing too much parathyroid hormone raises the blood level of calcium by releasing calcium from bones and teeth. This then leads to osteoarthritis and other forms of arthritis, osteoporosis and tooth decay. With advancing age high blood levels of calcium lead to calcification of soft tissues causing muscle contractions of stiffness, calcification of endocrine glands especially the pineal gland and ovaries, arteriosclerosis, kidney stones, calcification of the kidneys leading to kidney failure. It also effects the metabolism of steroid hormones, especially the sex hormones and increases low testosterone levels in men and low estrogen levels in post-menopausal women. It also has a role in converting vitamin D to its active form, thus increasing calcium uptake and deposition in bone and teeth rather than causing soft tissue to calcify. Other health benefits have been reported such as improvement of heart problems, vision, psoriasis, balance, memory and cognition.
Many multi-vitamin supplements contain boron in small doses. Boron in food is unpredictable due to depleted soils, but Brazil nuts and raisins have good amounts. The best way to get a theraputic dose of boron daily is to make up a very dilute borax solution. This is a molecule of borax: Na2[B4O5(OH)4]·8H2O It has a boron content of 11.3% by weight.
- Put 1 teaspoon (5g) of borax into 1 litre of water. This will contain 0.56g (560mg) of boron.
- Clearly label the bottle and keep it in a safe place.
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) of this dilute borax solution will have roughly 8mg of boron. 2-3 tablespoons of the diluted solution is a theraputic dose.
Root canals cause thousands of deaths
Root canals can serve as the primary sites of infection which can seep into other tissues in the body causing lowered immunity and chronic disease. A root canal procedure involves drilling into the tooth so that the nerve and dental decay can be removed. The area is sterilised and the tooth is capped and sealed. The theory goes that the tooth is now inert and bacteria free, but the reality is that harmful bacteria still persist in the micro-tubules that are present in the tooth. The tooth now becomes an incubator of dangerous bacteria (and these bacteria can't be reached by antibiotics).
The oxygen free environment is the perfect breeding spot for anaerobic bacteria to thrive when dentist seal off the tooth. These bacteria produce toxins which can leak into surrounding tissue and travel in the blood to other parts of the body. The biggest risk is the constant flow of toxins to the heart. People with root canals are at a much higher risk of heart attack. Root canals can also lead to arthritis and brain diseases.
If you have had root canal work, you should take a regular C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test. This is a good indicator of the level of inflammation in the body.