Has anyone healed a cavity naturally? Please share your experiences!

[Melanie Mayo]

I am putting together an article to help parents who are interested in naturally healing their own or their children's teeth and I need your input. 

I know this is a topic that has been discussed on the forums before and something a lot of us have thought about--especially concerning babies and toddlers who have faced cavities since many of us don't feel comfortable with dental intervention at that age. 

So, if you have healed a cavity naturally please share your experience. If you tried and failed we want to hear about that too. Please post specific products and dosage you used, if any. 

I will pull information and quotes from this thread for an article to be featured next week. 

Thanks everyone!

[gabbymarie]

Yes!! Baking Soda mixed with a little water or mouthwash to make a paste brush the affected area a few times a day and floss really well. The key is not to use flouride it actually is worse for you than we have been led to believe. Please look it up dont take my word for it. I had a cavitiy as well as my son and I found this online and it worked for us but I guess it depends on how bad your cavitiy is.

[esenbee2]

I would be very interested in this.  My daughter, 4 1/2 years old went to the dentist and had 3 cavities in her front bottom teeth.  We went for a filling for 2 on one side and then the other was set for a 2nd appointment.  Her first appointment went so awful, they were only able to do 1.  It broke my heart, besides having numbing and laughing gas, she completely freaked out.  She normally takes things like this in stride.  Her appointment is in 3 weeks and I don't know if I can do another appointment like that.  Not to mention paying 50% for the filling and procedure, plus 100% of the laughing gas.  Total was $350 for 3 baby teeth.  I like the dentist, but it left me thinking that there must be a better way, especially for such a young age.  The dentist said they are very small cavities.

[crunchy_mommy]

For very small cavities I would get a second opinion.

I never had a cavity in my life and my former dentist said I had one. I refused to have it filled. Six months later I went to a new dentist and they said my teeth were perfect. So I don't know if there was never a cavity (I was never able to find it, neither could DH) or if it healed on its own, but either way I'm still cavity-free. In those 6mos, I did not use toothpaste (didn't use it before or since then either actually) and focused on lots of grass-fed dairy & meat (was vegan before that) plus a calcium/magnesium supplement.

The one thing DH & I have discovered after several weird dental visits is that a second opinion is almost always worth it. Half the dentists we've been to have recommended unnecessary, expensive, invasive procedures. I also did a lot of reading about remineralizing, which seems to be possible as long as it's only a surface cavity. One of the things that is supposed to help with remineralizing is keeping the teeth clean & avoiding things like glycerine (in most toothpastes) because they coat the teeth and prevent them from absorbing minerals. I used a homemade paste/rinse that was baking soda, sea salt, xylitol, coconut oil, and mint essential oil. The baking soda is supposed to help restore the proper pH in your mouth. Salt is for cleaning power & minerals, and xylitol also helps with pH and has anti-bacterial properties. Coconut oil is also antibacterial. (The essential oil is just for flavor.)

[jill the pill]

I make my own toothpaste out of baking soda, calcium carbonate, benonite clay, xylitol, coconut oil, and essential oils for taste. It works better than any other toothpaste I have ever used. My dentist had a watch on a tooth a couple years ago.  I went to the same dentist 6 months ago and he said I had no signs of a cavity.   I had been using my toothpaste for about 3 months when I went to my appointment.  My 3 year old also uses this toothpaste and the hygenist said she had NO plaque on her teeth at all.  Make your own toothpaste and heal your teeth!

[kristinebrown]

My son is 6 and has a mouthful of cavities. He's the only one of my 4 kids that has cavities. I do not have any either and I am 41. My son is different than all my other kids in what he can handle food wise. He cannot tolerate food dyes, preservatives, PASTEURIZED milk, gluten/wheat and I'm beginning to suspect other foods such as oranges as well. 

I am concerned with getting his cavities filled as studies are now showing that the BPA in the composite fillings can cause depression and behavioral disorders. I already suspect my son is somewhere on the spectrum, removing the above foods from his diet has improved the symptoms significantly but there is still something I'm missing. I'm curious to know if others have children that may be on the spectrum who have major sensitivities to food and have cavities. 

I am having a dentist monitor the cavities but I have started on an even more strict diet as outlined in the book "Cure Tooth Decay" by Ramiel Magel. It is based on a diet filled with proteins, raw milk/butter, cod liver oil, organ meats, vegetables, etc. and restricting all grains, sweets (including most fruit). It is really hard telling him he can no longer have the gluten free bread or fruit that he enjoys eating but he understands that it needs to be done to heal his teeth.

This is relatively new with the cavity situation, it started with a front tooth that he damaged when he was about 2. He fell down the concrete steps and chipped the tooth and eventually, it started to darken up. A few weeks back, the tooth was hurting him really badly and there was a pimple with a white head above it that started to swell. I started him on high doses of Echinacea and Usnea tinctures (1 dropperful of each several times a day, about 3 - 4) and did packs of fresh Aloe (removed the skin from the fresh leaf) on the gum twice a day which stopped the pain w/in 24 hours and healed up the infection within a week. 

I am giving him 500 - 1000 mg vitamin C daily (I give him 1000 until he starts getting loose stools then back down to 500), 5000 IU vitamin D3, 2 acidophilus tablets and a dose of Blue Ice Royal Fermented Cod Liver Oil/Butter Oil blend. He also eats lots of butter, eggs, meat, fish. We brush with Earthpaste toothpaste after meals and oil pull every night before bed. 

I have a source for raw cream and milk that we are going to start picking up at the beginning of February. We also raise our own dairy goats (they are dry right now), chickens for eggs and meat as well as sheep, turkeys and ducks. I have a friend who raises grass fed longhorns so between all that, we have a good supply of pasture fed meat/eggs/milk. Our biggest weaknesses are the grains and fruits but it will be worth it to heal his teeth as I cannot fathom putting fillings in and having his behavioral issues come back for the next 6 - 7 years until the teeth fall out. 

I'm not sure what the outcome is yet, we just started this routine about 2 weeks ago. We go back to the dentist in a few days.  

[mathmom07]

Yes, I noticed brown spots on my daughter's front teeth. I did some research and found that cavities are a sign of poor nutrition and can be reversed with proper nutrition. We have been eating lots of pastured eggs, grass fed butter and meat, raw milk and yogurt, grass fed cheese, fish and cod liver oil and her teeth look a lot less brown and the brown spots are smaller. Also, we have not been eating any sugar and no white flour.

[DeeplyRooted]

I just got back from the dentist a few minutes ago, coincidentally.  Last time I was there, she noticed a very small cavity and suggested that I might want to make an appointment to get it filled.  I didn't.   Instead, I embarked on a "heal that cavity" crusade.  I took into account advice she had given me in the past, recent peer-reviewed research on tooth enamel and tooth decay, and natural health recommendations.  Today at my appointment, she DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE the spot that she'd found before!  I mentioned it, she found it in my records, and she looked for it -- and found a brown spot there, but nothing requiring work. Success!

Here's all I did:

* Xylitol gum, once a day except on days I forgot about it.  This particular gum also has calcium and B12 supplementation, and I found it at Whole Foods.  Pretty easy.

* Vitamin supplements and D drops.  Not every day, either, but enough to cover whatever I'm missing in my diet. Tooth remineralization requires available nutrients!

* Maintain a non-acidic environment in my mouth. This meant rinsing my mouth with water after drinking coffee or tea, for instance; I also brush sometimes in the middle of the day, and I use the aforementioned xylitol gum (which, like toothpaste, has the effect of creating a slightly alkaline environment). This is important because tooth enamel demineralizes much more easily in acid.

* Less refined sugar, but that was something I was doing anyway.   My diet is generally less awful than the standard American diet, but it's not super healthy either.  We eat a lot of greens, we try to eat nutritionally dense foods in general, and our eggs and meat are pastured. But we definitely eat grains and sweet stuff. That being said, I'm more conscious now of when I'm feeding the bacteria on my teeth, so I try to clean 'em off when I can -- swishing warm water, brushing teeth, eating apples, chewing xylitol gum.

[mamasee]

For those who are making their own toothpaste, would you rank the ingredients you use in order of what you think are most essential to remineralizing?  And, if you know, what each ingredient's function is?  

Thank you.

[Jen Zahorchak]

This is a terrific and timely thread. My son is three and has SEVEN cavities and pre cavities  (to the tune of $700, and that is at a 50% discount!). I hesitate to subject him to potentially invasive procedures, but also hesitate to let them get worse. I did not know there was such a thing as "healing" cavitites, only maintaining the hole left from the decay.

We eat well, brush and floss when we can, as many of these spots are between his wee teeth.

Love the idea of xylitol gum- is it safe for little ones?

Also love the homemade t-paste idea, but he's not so good at spitting yet.

Thank you for sharing!!

[Aplusnumberone]

We are in the early stages of healing a cavity in our toddler. ECC often has nutritional causes, but in our case we found via a naturopathic doctor, she has heavy metal toxicity (probably from me, in utero) causing the problem. We are addressing that, and have adopted a grain free Weston Price type diet, using Spry toothpaste and coconut oil to brush to start to heal the tooth. I think finding the root cause was the big "aha" for us. The dietary changes probably protected her other teeth while we were searching for the cause. I was told by the Pediatrician that it was caused by night nursing (all other drs involved disagree), the holistic dentist said eating grain (which was probably true,too) but we really had to keep digging to find the whole picture. I think it's worth it, because now her overall health will be better, including her adult teeth. I have to remember that ECC is a symptom of a disrupted system, not a disease to be drilled away, like most dentists will have you believe. I'm lucky we caught it early enough that no other intervention (hopefully) will be necessary once the tooth begins to remineralize.

[jill the pill]

Originally Posted by Jen Zahorchak 

Also love the homemade t-paste idea, but he's not so good at spitting yet.

You don't need to spit out the toothpaste since there is nothing dangerous in it.  It is safe to use on toddlers and babies too.  This is where I got my recipehttp://wellnessmama.com/2500/homemade-remineralizing-toothpaste-recipe/

[eliandsand]

Hi! I love this stuff. My 6 year old son has some cavities in his upper front teeth that he has had since he was probably 1 and a half. They have never gotten worse but we never tried to fix them naturally or invasively. We do chew xylitol gum regularly and use non-fluoridated xylitol toothpaste. I also had a couple places where I had pain when eating sugary bread or sweets and I no longer have any sensitivity.

That said I would love the recipe with measurements for the DIY toothpaste and if there is a special place to get the ingredients or brands that would be helpful also. Thanks!

[Mittsy]

Here is what we have done to heal cavities:

cut out almost all refined sugar from our diet

brush with homemade toothpaste

rinse with hydrogen peroxide

brush with activated carbon about twice weekly

take homeopathic calcarea carbonica 6X once monthly

[gratefulmum]

Thanks! I just ordered the few things I needed to make this toothpaste. Can't wait to try it! My 5 yo ds has had over $1,500 in dental work in the past 9 months including a crown. Really hopeful that this combined with diet improvement will see change in his teeth's future health..

[crunchy_mommy]

I would be cautious with xylitol gum in kids. Xylitol can cause diarrhea, so you'd want to limit quantities and pay attention to whether it's causing any digestive issues.

I don't follow a recipe for my homemade toothpaste -- just toss all the ingredients together randomly (I listed the ones we use & some of their functions in my first post). We use whatever brand we can get cheaply & easily.

[lolitaerb]

I have recently tried to limit sugar and grains. I also started taking BLUE ICE Royal Butter Oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend and brushing with Dr. Christophers Formulas Herbal Tooth & Gum Powder upon experiencing some sensitivity in my teeth. My new regimen seems to be working well to decrease the sensitivity I was experiencing but I am not sure of the extent of the damage to my teeth as I have not been to a dentist in quite some time.

[wayfaring]

In her book Be Your Own Doctor, Rachel Weaver suggest black walnut tincture for healing cavities.  We have used this in our family with good success, along with her suggestion to used activated charcoal to whiten teeth.  Drop 4-5 drops of tincture in a little bit of water and swish.  You can spit or swallow.  We live in Mexico so we do this about 7 days out of the month and we swallow, because black walnut tincture kills parasites and worms. Which despite being extremely careful, we still have a problem with.  You can not take black walnut tincture long term, which is why we do it 7 days out of the month generally.  http://www.amazon.com/Your-Doctor-Rachel-Weaver-M-H/dp/0971266905/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358975993&sr=1-1&keywords=be+your+own+doctor+by+rachel+weaver

[svoboda878]

Please check out this lady's blog for an amazing collection of information about oral health.  She knows all about dealing with kids too.  She has 4 little ones and is expecting her 5th.

http://wellnessmama.com/oralhealth/

I am currently working on reversing a cavity and am following a lot of her advice.  I'm also applying info from Ramiel Nagel's "Heal Tooth Decay" book.

[Dee68]

Might you be willing to share the proportions used for this paste? It sounds wonderful!