# Trying to heal/repair cavities the natural way



## Mazamet (Feb 12, 2014)

More than half a year ago, we heard from the dentist that DS6 has at least 8 cavities. His diet was not bad (mostly unprocessed/organic foods), but I suppose it could have been better. We were shocked and cancelled the operation that was scheduled by the dentist's office a month from this initial visit. We then did lots of research; we visited about 4 more dentists just to make sure that we really needed to crown all his molars. They all said yes. The last dentist suggests to even take out two molars. 

Now, an operation was scheduled to take place in October, but it did not work out as the anestesiologist refused to do it. DS has eaten a tiny piece of vegetable and that is not allowed when a child goes under general. 

Now, since that time, we have upped the ante: 
We cut out most gluten foods (wheat/corn/oats/barley); 
He hardly eats sugar (is deathly scared of it really, since it hurts his molar). 
We are giving him fermented butter/cod liver oil twice daily; 
We are giving him a tsp. spirulina powder twice daily (mixed up in a smoothy); 
We are making him drink real spring water (our tap water stinks); 
We are giving him fermented food/drinks (sauerkraut/kefir); 
And we are giving him raw chocolate paste or neem leaves to chew on when he is in pain. This type of chocolate and neem seem to lessen the 'bad' bacteria.

Surprise: his pain episodes have decreased considerably in the last week and his cavities in between his front teeth are repairing themselves. This is so cool. We have another operation scheduled for the end of December and hope that they do not have to do such drastic measures as they are planning!

I just wanted to post this in case some of you are dealing with these issues and are equally disbelieving, stubborn and determined to try to heal cavities this way.


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## richella (Nov 30, 2004)

Hm, would love to see updates as things change.


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## lauren (Nov 20, 2001)

Interesting. I'm not sure i would mess around with teeth. I"m glad you're staying in touch with the dentists that diagnosed the problems. Best of luck!


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## Katica (Jan 13, 2008)

My heart goes out to your poor son. :crying:How old is he?
My son had 8 cavities when he as just 3 years old and he was in a lot of pain. We went ahead and got his teeth fixed. He needed 4 root canals and 4 other (deep) cavities fixed. It was awful but he was a different kid once he could finally eat without pain. 
Maybe, you can get his teeth fixed now and continue your diet to strengthen his teeth? I would assume all his other (good) teeth will start getting cavities from all the bad ones in his mouth.


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## Ethelpea (Mar 3, 2010)

I agree with a PP, don't mess around with it. I've tried to heal naturally using the principles from the Ramiel Nagel Book, "Cure Tooth Decay" and met with depressing failure. I tried it on myself and one of my children. I also stuck with it for a close to a year. I saw our teeth only getting worse. I continue to do many of the recommendations in the book, but that is more for purposes of maintenance.


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## Mazamet (Feb 12, 2014)

Thank you for your replies. We are not messing around, only biding time, so to speak until DS has his scheduled operation at the end of December. Only doing things to help him since we really cannot do anything else. Due to other reasons, he has to have a general and for some vague reason, they're all booked up. 

His one molar did bother him tremendously for a while. Now, after he cut out all sugar and after we cut out most grains, he is not in pain. The other locations seem to be stable. I am still hoping that the minor cavities healed over. 

I did read Ramiel's book and did not think much of it, other than that it must have to do with malnutrition somehow (possibly a few generations back).


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## t2009 (Sep 1, 2009)

I'm interested in your approach, @Mazamet, & glad you're having some success with your DS! Have you had the surgery? I really hope all is well with your DS.

I have been curious about tooth health as my DS does not have cavities but other tooth issues. I looked into the Ramiel Nagel book but couldn't get past his lack of qualifications. What sources have you relied on in planning the protocol for your DS? Thanks & best of luck to you!


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## jaimezee (May 24, 2008)

I hope to hear an update on your situation as I'm very interested on what you have been doing and the progress you've made for your son. My daughter had 6 cavities at the age of 5. She had one filled, rather traumatically, and we put off doing anything with the others until she was in pain. Luckily we found a great ped dentist and got the rest taken care of when she was 8. She had a total of 8 cavities at that time and also needed a root canal and crown for the tooth that was hurting her. She rarely eats sugar and no juices or drinks besides water, good dental hygiene, etc. She does have a grain heavy diet though and unfortunately is very picky and would not eat the things you have been able to have your son eat. Our dentist told me that her teeth build up tartar extremely fast (something to do with her saliva) and she believes that is what has caused her issues. 

I hope everything went well with your sons procedure. After my daughters root canal, she finally made it to the "No Cavity Club" at the dentist for the first time ever and it was a great feeling for all of us. I'm thankful that she still likes the dentist too after all that she has been through with them.


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## Mazamet (Feb 12, 2014)

DS6 did have the procedure done in December. He had two molars in his upper jaw pulled. The rest of the kid-molars were capped. His front teeth were filled. Boy, now the adult molars are also already showing signs of decay! We find it devastating. The procedure went OK. DS was very scared and in the end we had to hold him down to give him the anaesthetics. This was horrible, but it is perhaps even more horrible to have seen our son suffer from tooth aches for so long. His recovery went well. He did go back to the dentist two weeks later and had braces placed where the molars were pulled. Again, this was difficult and he was scared and thought that he was going to die. I did a lot of coaching to get him through. All in all, it's been pretty traumatizing for us and we are lucky to have had some psychological guidance to deal with this.

Diet: well, DS was not into eating sweets for so long. Now, we've eased into eating sweets here and there. It's not good for his health, but he's a kid. We are staying away from gluten and also, generally, from processed foods. 

I'm am almost sure that his bacterial 'situation' in his mouth has been permanently damaged due to a heavy dose of long-term anti-biotics during infancy. We're dealing as best as we can with the consequences, while the medical people in our lives shrug their shoulders and do not wish to engage in discussing tooth decay as a possible outcome of antibiotics use.


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## richella (Nov 30, 2004)

So sorry you all had to go through that.


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## Katica (Jan 13, 2008)

I`m so sorry your DS had to endure through all that. However, his teeth are now fixed. DS was a different kid once all his teeth were fixed. 
Interesting that you mention long term antibiotic use as an infant as a possible cause of tooth decay. DS was on antibiotics for a long time as well for recurring UTI`s. He was just a little infant as well. Could that be the problem for us as well?


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## nycmom18 (Dec 9, 2008)

I'm wondering if anyone knows how to eliminate the bad bacteria from the mouth? I've looked into orawellness products for this exact reason, to normalize the mouth bacteria, but don't think it's safe for children. The whole flouride toothpaste versus not is also extremely confusing and overwhelming to me. It would seem as though commercial toothpastes would kill the good bacteria in the mouth and breed bad bacteria over time. But then I wonder if flouride really does prevent cavities?


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## pumabearclan (Nov 14, 2012)

I found the best oral care is healthy saliva. I went to the dentist last month after 5 years & they didn't have any cleaning to do & no cavities. I went 5 years earlier & same thing. Xrays showed I had very dense teeth. I brush only with edible clay, eat low-carb whole foods, and was raised the same way & without fluoridated water (on a farm with well water). My daughter follows the same & she has never had a cavity. My husband was raised on fluoridated city water, processed diet high in carbs with low protein, and using toothpaste & he has many cavities. 

To remineralize teeth you need to eliminate glycerine, which is in toothpaste & tooth powder. Glycerine is a sugar, coats teeth. Minerals and saliva cannot clean and remineralize teeth when coated with glycerine. 

I don't know about repairing a malady, but in terms of prevention of future problems you do have choices.


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## nycmom18 (Dec 9, 2008)

pumabearclan said:


> I found the best oral care is healthy saliva. I went to the dentist last month after 5 years & they didn't have any cleaning to do & no cavities. I went 5 years earlier & same thing. Xrays showed I had very dense teeth. I brush only with edible clay, eat low-carb whole foods, and was raised the same way & without fluoridated water (on a farm with well water). My daughter follows the same & she has never had a cavity. My husband was raised on fluoridated city water, processed diet high in carbs with low protein, and using toothpaste & he has many cavities.
> 
> To remineralize teeth you need to eliminate glycerine, which is in toothpaste & tooth powder. Glycerine is a sugar, coats teeth. Minerals and saliva cannot clean and remineralize teeth when coated with glycerine.
> 
> I don't know about repairing a malady, but in terms of prevention of future problems you do have choices.


Pumabearclan, may I ask what brand of edible clay you use? I've been using earth paste for us but am weary of the lead factor. Is there lead in all clays?


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## nycmom18 (Dec 9, 2008)

nycmom18 said:


> Pumabearsalso, are you guys big raw milk or Dairy eaters? We aren't, and I always wonder if that played a roll.


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## pumabearclan (Nov 14, 2012)

Hi nycmom18, I use various brands of french green clay - only french green. I get it from mountain rose herbs online, also health food stores online & in my area... wherever I find it that it looks nice & soft & seems "reputable." I know that other types of clay are useful but french green is the only type I have experience with. I don't know about the lead content to be honest. Aluminum is another common concern for edible clays but I'm not terribly concerned about that either...

I drank milk when I was young & ate yogurt but since my 20s I do not. I don't know if it played a factor. As Weston Price suspected, I think that health from dairy is about the fats, not the rest of it, so now all the dairy we consume is butter & cream & cheese, and yes, all raw. Many fats are damaged by pasteurization and we do eat raw everything as much as possible. I had raw whole milk as a child, which is serious stuff, very hearty. My daughter has uberfantastic teeth and she got more butter & raw egg & liver than yogurt & milk as a child because I had read Weston Price by then and was also doing raw paleo.

Seeing the comparison between me and my husband I do think that childhood is the window for building teeth since he has been following our oral care plan for decades and he still gets cavities. [He doesn't have plaque any more and has great gum health now, he just has weak teeth.]

My edit is that I don't know if healing can occur. I think it can be halted, depending on how bad it is. Things like sensitivity, plaque, gumline problems, and throat infections are greatly improved or eliminated by avoiding glycerine and silica. But if the diet is high-carb or processed it creates unhealthy saliva that attacks rather than cleans the teeth. Also I didn't mention that swabbing the gumline with essential oil after brushing is excellent for reducing plaque buildup. Drink some water afterward for aromatherapy such as relaxation and stomach tonic. Use an organic pure oil from the GRAS list that is not photosensitive (citrus and some mints cannot be used without irritation). Lavender (true, not spike, which has camphor) is pretty well-tolerated. Also I avoid neem, it's too strong and I'm unsure of quality.


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## lauren (Nov 20, 2001)

Much about dental health, quality of teeth and gums, is hereditary. For some, regardless of exact hygiene procedures, genetics will dictate what happens.


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## pumabearclan (Nov 14, 2012)

lauren said:


> Much about dental health, quality of teeth and gums, is hereditary. For some, regardless of exact hygiene procedures, genetics will dictate what happens.


Dentature affects not just alignment, but causes problems like apnea & reflux which deteriorates the teeth. Also prenatal and postnatal health is probably a big factor too.


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