[JenniferC]

I am trying to remineralize 3 cavities that developed while I was pregnant, 2.5 years ago. I really don't want to drill and fill them. I've read second and third hand stories of people remineralizing their teeth, but I could use some first hand ones! Heck, I'll take some more second and third hand ones too

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[BeeandOwlsMum]

I haven't but I am totally interested! How do you do it?

 

[malamamama]

As I understand it, once decay has gone beyond the enamel, it can't be reversed. The decay can be slowed but not stopped. Remineralization can occur only in the beginning stages of decay......by diet, flouride, xylitol, a strict hygeine regimine.....

 

[tayndrewsmama]

:

 

[applejuice]

I for one would be interested. My favorite old aunt used to talk alot about this, but I know she never did it as she had all of her teeth capped.

 

[Electra375]

Makes me wonder what my dentist meant by the comment I have "mineralization" on my upper wisdom teeth, one chunk fell out (I have a gapping hole at my gum line where the tooth is missing a section exposing the nerves!!!) and now I have to have that tooth pulled and the other will follow at some point he didn't say when or if it actually ever would.

So what did he mean by mineralization verse what you are talking about?

 

[toraji]

Here's some reading to get you started:
http://www.mizar5.com/heal.htm
check out the huge assortment of articles on the parent site:
http://www.mizar5.com/omedia2.htm

Nutrition is a HUGE factor. I mean, seriously. We were able to stop DD's rampant "baby bottle tooth decay" even with the decay past the enamel. The dentist has proclaimed her decay "dead", which means that the color of the decay is black. Looks terrible, but the darker the cavity color, the slower the rate of decay.

We did a major diet change (whole foods omnivore a la Nourishing Traditions, except with huge amounts of vegetables) which slowed it down greatly, and then started doing topical fluoride treatments at the dentist office (yes, I know it's controversial but it was either that or GA) which completely killed it. DH's and my teeth have also made a radical shift, previously we had bleeding/receding gums and the teeth were somwhat wobbly, but now they are quite solid and have whitened.

The first article I linked to above has some good pointers, you may (if you are serious about this) want to get nutritional analysis done and see where you are deficient.

HTH!

 

[applejuice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electra375 So what did he mean by mineralization verse what you are talking about?

I do not know what your dentist is talking about.

Speaking for myself, I know that my Aunt said that remineralization of the teeth was the way teeth could heal, much like a broken bone.

 

[twinkletoes]

Thank you for those links toraji!

our son's 4 front teeth re-mineralized. I was just looking at my poor tandem-breastfeeding fool's teeth and thinking I needed some help too - your post was just what I needed to read!!

we were feeding my son bananas in the middle of the night

: I was so pregnant and so desperate for sleep I would have given him an ice cream cone (he wasn't impressed with the night weaning) with chocolate fudge if that made him happy... but all he would accept was bananas. when I noticed brown decay starting on the top of his front teeth I felt so guilty, started brushing mornings and nights with the toms of maine flouride toothpaste, and gave him those cell salts too (dr schuessler's 12 in 1). I think I stopped the bananas?? I can't remember. He STILL drinks smoothies in the middle of the night. We went to a dentist maybe 4 months later (new baby, moved cities, no money) and he said our son's teeth are solid, just stained from the beginning decay. It seems to be darkening but we go back to the dentist every 6mo and he keeps saying the enamel is stronger and stronger - that we got lucky.. this is a dentist who is filling many of our friend's children's teeth, so I don't think it's that he's so casual or anything.

I've got to go read those links,

bless our teeth.

Sarah

 

[fraya]

Great thread!

My research yielded two possibilities:

--Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil [which we tried and did seem to help with my son's teeth]

--colloidal minerals and, specifically, ionic boron [just started trying this]

And then I found some sort of tooth powder, but I haven't tried it.

I'm intrigued by this notion that darkening means the decay is slower, because my son's decay is brown. It seems to have stalled over the last year, but we have yet to try a dentist (he can't stand the idea of the chairs that go up and down). I'd rather remineralize and avoid the dentist until he feels comfortable with it. I'd like him to have a positive feeling about visiting the dentist to create a lifelong habit of healthy dental care. But we'll probably give the dentist a try; I'll be curious what she says ...

 

[anabelneri]

I've been wondering about this too. My 2yo daughter has a serious cavity in one of her front teeth, and it's clear and white... when it first appeared it just seemed like a hole in her tooth, as though a pocket had formed, or an air bubble, and now it's even bigger. We've been to the dentist, and have done the flouride treatments, we're using xylitol, and she's always eaten nourishing traditions- style, but it's not helping much. We use a good CLO, and eat a lot of butter.

I'm just so worried. I don't want it to get worse, but that's all it seems to be doing. It's not dark or brown or anything. I'd hoped that it could remineralize, but it seems not to be doing that.

Anabel

 

[Homebody04]

Interesting topic! I was looking for something else (not diet-related), and came across this site: http://www.rawpaleodiet.org/dental-regeneration-1.html

"An Overview of Esoteric Methods of Dental Regeneration" An overview of various reputed methods -- from the realms of alternative and esoteric healing -- of regenerating teeth, including regrowth of missing teeth and repair of damaged teeth. (even to the point of popping fillings out! ~me)

Be sure to check out "ormus" also, particularly http://www.subtleenergies.com/ormus/tw/toc.htm
the story, with pictures, of a cat who (at least partially) regrew its TAIL.

I have also read, in relation to ormus, that seawater contains all the minerals humans need, in the correct proportions. Having always been in landlocked states, I know nothing about seawater, but you can google "seawater extracts" also.

I am so DONE with dentists, they (along with Pepsico - anyone want to start a class-action with me?) have ruined my teeth. I won't be getting anymore fillings, root canals, etc. - it's either remineralization or dentures for me! (and I'm not too thrilled about extractions either, they can cause cavitations which can lead to trigeminal neuralgia. Ditto with root canals. www.drshankland.com/nico.html )

Nicole in KY

 

[toraji]

fraya, lucky you to be in Portland. I have a GREAT ped. dentist rec. Check out my post (#4) on this thread:
http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...d.php?t=230454

anabelneri, IMHO the NT diet is not foolproof. I have a few criticisms of it but I do recommend it because I feel that it makes a good base to start with. Once a person absorbs the ideas behind the NT diet, then it is much easier to modify it than to try to explain why things work from the get go.

So I have a few questions for you, how long have you been eating NT (even through pregnancy)? Are you strict with it, or do you do any modifications/allowances? What percentage of your plate at each meal is vegetables? Does your DD eat mostly one type of food over another? How long have you been doing the fluoride treatments for, and what do you brush with/how often do you put toothpaste on? And lastly, do you live on the east coast or perhaps in the Appalachia region?

Hopefully I'll be able to give you some tips!

On the regeneration of teeth (popping out fillings etc) it usually only happens when a person is in a growth phase, like child or adolescent. I've only heard of one instance of popping out fillings, and the circumstances were dubious. But I'm not totally dismissing the possibility of it, though I only have experience with arresting decay and not regeneration of teeth.

 

[AngelBee]

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[kmamma]

Hello.

I was so relieved to see this topic being first on the list. I've just made an appointment to see a dentist (he'll do both me and my son in hte same visit), and I've been feeling so guilty about not going sooner. Last time was a year ago. I thought it was getting worse because a couple of teeth have turned black (the decayed part). Relieved to read that black means slowed rate of decay. But most all of his molars have brown spots. Overall, I just feel so guilty about the whole thing. Especially for not being able to stick to a strict diet. We go through periods of bad allowances. Last week, we said again, no suckers. Life is miserable for people like us when EVERY store, I mean every, hands out free suckers, cookies and what not to children.
Anyways, away with the guilt. So happy to be back here. I thought they had discontinued the dental forum here.

toraji-so glad to see you. You're always such a wealth of information, as well as inspiration. What would you say are the drawbacks of the NT diet? Do you think it relies too heavily on meat?
I struggle so much with getting ds to try everything. He develops a taste for one or two particular foods, and because I don't like to be imposive about what he eats, he ends up eating the same things over and over. Sometimes I stop buying a particular food because of his obsessions.
I wonder about the flouride treatment. Is any flouride swallowed during the procedure?
My friend has taken her son to a dentist who does ozone treatments. Has anyone experience with this? It was done very recently so I don't know if it has actually helped any. I'm considering this. It's a three hour drive though.

What are some nutrients that are especially crucial in slowing decay and remineralizing?
I'm probably going to get some butter oil. What is a good source?

Josefina.

 

[toraji]

josefina, so glad to see you again! Thanks for the compliment.

I think NT over-emphasizes the meat and fat and underemphasizes the vegetable aspect of traditional diets. You need lots and lots of minerals in your diet in order to have enough free minerals in your saliva to remineralize your teeth. And especially nowadays, in our modern degenerated soils (even soils organically treated) our modern produce just isn't as nutrient dense as it should and used to be.

Vegetables are where most of the minerals are, so we need to eat loads of them. On top of this, I also take a multi-mineral + trace mineral supplement, called Total Mins by Country Life.

But don't get me wrong, I do feel strongly that the animal product is essential to keeping the body in balance (getting fat soluble vitamins etc) so that remineralization can occur. (I am not knocking veg*n diets here, I only say this because this was my personal and local friends' experience. Gosh, that came out all wrong! If any veg*ns want to speak up about personal tooth remineralization experience, I'd love to hear about it.)

I'm just about to leave for a big weekend trip but will be back to type more about this on Monday. So hold on to your wallet and don't get the butter oil and when I get back I'll explain why.

 

[twinkletoes]

:

I'd love to hear about your modified NT diet, especially since we live in the same rainy corner of the world. There were some persuasive tips in that book, but I just couldn't imagine eating SUCH a meat centered diet (though veg diets left me ill, ill, ill).

 

[fraya]

I have to disagree about the NT being so meat-focused. She says in the early chapters that she espouses a 50% raw diet [which I gathered meant vegetables/fruit, but I can't remember if I made the assumption or if I took that from context]. I'm guessing that she doesn't include a lot of recipes or a lot of focus on that because (a) it's already popularly espoused and (b) it's pretty easy to put together veggies / there are already lots of recipes out there b/c it's so popularly espoused.

 

[kmamma]

Thanks toraji. Please come back soon, I can't wait to hear about the butter oil. It is so expensive, I don't want to buy it until I have heard all about it. We live on a farm where they produce their own spring and fall pastured butter, so maybe that's enough. It's pastureized though, but I suppose I could make a batch of butter myself.
I didn't know that vegetables have more minerals than other foods. I'm always interested in other opinions, and scientific data. Sally on the other hand claims that minerals are not easily absorbed from vegetable sources. Or so I think she writes in her book.

Fraya-I do agree that NT does not outright advocate a high-protein, low-carb diet. She does point out in the allergy section that indivual needs vary greatly, and that folks with weak adrenal glands may be better off with less carbs. However, many people doing NT seem to embrace the more-animal-food-the-better approach, so it almost seems as though the NT diet in itself is very animal oriented. It's true too though that there isn't a whole lot of mention about veggies and what role they played in traditional diets. A problem I see though is that many vegetables are hybrid, and it's difficult to know which ones are even good, or "natural" for humans.

What kind of supplement is total mins?

 

[kmamma]

We just went to the dentist today. We don't like him. Our insurance covers only him in this area. I guess we'll have to start paying out of pocket. We asked him questions that he didn't answer. I asked about white fillings and he said they'll try it but use anything if they have to. Then on my way out I overheard one of the assistants talking to a mom in the waiting room, saying "we do sliver fillings with baby teeth". I felt they were being very decieving and dishonest with me.
He said they have chased kids around the office before!!!! This one totally freaked me out. But on the brighter side, ds LOVED the assistant. He did everything she asked him to do. However, she won't be doing the fillings obviously. He also told us to get flouride supplements. This shows me he's not current on recent (?) findings that flouride supplements aren't helpful at all. He didn't mention anything about flouride treatments in the office.
Turns out, ds has six cavities. And pretty bad too. He doesn't complain about pain though.
I really don't want to do fillings at all. Is there any reason I should even consider it? In my son's case, the problem is obviously systemic, so filling cavities isn't going to "fix" the problem. I feel like our primary focus is going to be to maximize his overall health, and plastic or mercury in the mouth will just counter that.
I still want to work with a dentist. Is there a way to find out about a dentist BEFORE seeing him? With this office, they're not willing to work with us unless we do exactly what they tell us.
I asked him what exactly they would be doing when filling his teeth and he told me I shouldn't worry about, that we should trust them, they know what they're doing!! He was so rude.
When I was seen by (another) assistant, I told her I didn't want x-rays. She said "well if you want us to work on you, you're going to have to have them". This was the first thing that she said to me, no judging first if I needed them for any particular condition.
They also x-rayed my son without asking us first (dh was in the room with him).
I feel so crappy, sorry for ranting...