[eirual]

DS (3.5yo) has some preety significant decay in his 4 front teeth (they've had a brown line across them since they came in). We're managing to slow the decay somewhat, part of that is using xylitol (I try to give it after eating, though some days I do better than others).

What are my lowering-the-acidity-in-the-mouth options aside from xylitol (starting to get expensive and boring)? Could we do maybe 3g of xylitol in a day and split up a cal:mag suppliment to give at other times? If there isn't xylitol or a toothbrush around I sometimes give him some cheese, and apple, or yogurt to finish off what he ate.

What do you think/What do you do?

 

[tanyalynn]

I would think that a mineral supp would help. I use Perque's Bone Guard Forte 20, I grind them up in a coffee grinder and put them in a bit of juice (or whatever liquid you like), I'm using maybe 3/4 of a tablet for each of my kids.

 

[FluffiB]

You want to increase the pH of his saliva. And I don't think apples or yogurt are good - they're both acidic and contain sugar. Cheese is supposed to be fine.

I agree w/ Tanya about mineral supps. We use reverse osmosis water here (we did bottled), and I add a bit of powder mineral supplement into a gallon of water and check the pH (I have a pH test kit for aquariums). I also make sure my son swishes his mouth after he eats.

I'm using Twin Labs Cell Mins which contains magnesium and potassium. It doesn't dissolve completely, but it doesn't bother my son. You can add a pinch of baking soda too, but I figured I might as well add something that's more usable by the body even though it's a trace amount.

He's addicted to Spry xylitol gums, and yes, it does get a bit expensive. But it's still better than getting cavities that will wind up costing more money in the long run.

 

[eirual]

I was going to question that I want to increase the pH, but I got to reading more about the scale and that a higher pH is more alkaline or less acidic. My bad.

As for an apple, I was honestly just thinking about the catch phrase that an apple is nature's toothbrush (where did that come from?), and yogurt is just plain ol' yogurt: milk and cultures (and maybe sometimes some raw honey but I figured that would be the lesser of evil vs. leaving what he last ate in his mouth), not commercially sweetened yogurt.

 

[FluffiB]

Honey is also very acidic and it is sugar! Sugar + acidic saliva = cavities. My fortunate sister-in-law never gets cavities because of her alkaline saliva. Neither does my hubby, but I'm not sure if he has alkaline saliva. But he only brushes his teeth once a day and never flosses, and his teeth and gums are always healthy. Even some dentists tell him they wish everyone else had a mouth like his!

 

[Nan'sMom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eirual As for an apple, I was honestly just thinking about the catch phrase that an apple is nature's toothbrush (where did that come from?), and yogurt is just plain ol' yogurt: milk and cultures (and maybe sometimes some raw honey but I figured that would be the lesser of evil vs. leaving what he last ate in his mouth), not commercially sweetened yogurt.

I've been wondering about this too. I was doing xylitol gum every time after eating but I worried about the amount she was ingesting so I've been trying to do apple or cheese as well...but unable to locate much about apples.

 

[luv2bamommy2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eirual DS (3.5yo) has some preety significant decay in his 4 front teeth (they've had a brown line across them since they came in). We're managing to slow the decay somewhat, part of that is using xylitol (I try to give it after eating, though some days I do better than others). What are my lowering-the-acidity-in-the-mouth options aside from xylitol (starting to get expensive and boring)? Could we do maybe 3g of xylitol in a day and split up a cal:mag suppliment to give at other times? If there isn't xylitol or a toothbrush around I sometimes give him some cheese, and apple, or yogurt to finish off what he ate. What do you think/What do you do?

I put a tsp of Xylitol crystals in a little cup add a little water and have my DS swish it around in his mouth, fortunately he's able to tolerate a lot of Xylitol [up to 12 grams]and swallows it when he's finished; but it can be spit out.

Or use Spiffie wipes or SPRY "RAIN" spray. Yes, it is expensive, but nothing compared to the $3400 worth of dental work they originally scheduled for my DS.

That was 2 1/2 yrs ago, just recently he had 1 front tooth extracted [he broke the root when he fell and got an abscess that wouldn't go away, instead it started draining], and a halted cavity filled because he kept getting food into. It cost me about $200. So Xylitol and the homeopathics saved me $3200!

 

[MommyDOK]

i put a pinch of xyliitol in dd's mouth----lots cheaper than gum

 

[flowmom]

The best way to take xylitol is by sucking candies or chewing gum. The research shows that ingesting it in food doesn't really have any dental benefit. The point is to keep it in the mouth as long as possible. My kids enjoy the flavours of the Xponent brand of xylitol candies from Globalsweet.com -- those candies are from birch-derived European xylitol so they are safe IMO. The acidity in the mouth goes up after most meals so following meals by xylitol candies/gum or hard cheese (demonstrated to be anticariogenic) is a good idea.

You can alkalinize your saliva by eating "alkalinizing" foods. This does not refer to the pH of the food itself, but to how the body reacts to the food. If you measure the pH of your urine and/or saliva after a meal, you can demonstrate to yourself that foods strongly affect the pH of urine and saliva (of course the body regulates pH in the blood within a much narrower range).

You can also try to avoid having your child snack all the time. Each snack produces an "acid attack" -- the more snacks/meals, the longer the time that the mouth is on the more acidic side.

Definitely avoid sticky/carby foods like dried fruit, crackers, bread, and pasta as much as possible.

 

[flowmom]

The best mineral supplement is bone stocks IMO -- made by boiling bones for a long time with cider vinegar and/or wine to help extract the minerals.

 

[neverdoingitagain]

Have you tried oil-pulling? There is a thread in here about it and it mentioned that it lowers ph in your mouth. I have been trying to do it consistently with not much luck

If I could get my kids to do it, I would be set