Dental Health

Dr. Mercola:

 
Your teeth are a powerful predictor of your overall health. When I have seen chronically ill patients with nearly cavity-free teeth, I am encouraged that they will likely get well quickly. If, on the other hand, their mouths are full of fillings and root canals, the prognosis is not nearly as good.

Ironically, though, many people who see a regular dentist to fix a cavity or other tooth problem end up creating even more problems. Most dentists try to fix a damaged tooth by using metal fillings (as has been done for over 150 years!) or root canals, and these processes are like plugging a leak in your kitchen sink with superglue; they’re not likely to hold up over time, and they completely ignore the underlying problems. Plus, they can be downright dangerous.

Tooth Decay is no Trivial Matter

Yet, most people regard a cavity, or even a root canal, as a minor inconvenience. Yet, if your tooth has begun to decay to the point that a cavity is evident, this is a major sign that disease-causing bacteria has begun to overpower your immune system, and your body.

And although conventional dentists are quite adept at filling in such cavities with neat little ceramic or, worse, mercury fillings, this is only a superficial patch.

You see, your teeth are actually not solid. They’re filled with microscopic tubules that, in healthy teeth, serve to carry nourishing fluids to the inside. A single front tooth, for instance, has over three miles of tubules inside of it.

In the case of teeth that have had root canals, the fluid disappears and in its place, bacteria colonize and can cause major illnesses in your body. Even antibiotics won’t help in these cases, because the bacteria are protected inside of your dead tooth. And when these bacteria migrate, via your bloodstream, to other areas of your body, they can cause:
 
  • Heart and circulatory diseases
  • Arthritis and rheumatism
  • Brain and nervous system diseases
“Dental caries reflect systemic illness,” says Dr. George Meinig, D.D.S. “Once a tooth gets infected and the cavity gets into the nerve and blood vessels, bacteria find their way into those tiny tubules of the dentin. Then no matter what we do by way of treatment, we're never going to completely eradicate the bacteria hiding in the miles of tubules.”

So the next time you have a toothache, which can become a cavity and which may lead to a root canal, don’t downplay its significance. This is a major clue that your body is not optimally healthy.

You’ve heard the saying that your eyes are a “window to your soul”? Well …
 

 

Your Teeth are a Window to Your Body

Dr. Weston A. Price, who was one of the major nutritional pioneers of all time, completed some of the most incredible research on this topic back in the 1900s, and it is still very much relevant today.

What he found, and documented in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, is that native tribes who were eating their traditional diet had nearly perfect teeth, and were almost 100 percent free of tooth decay. They were also almost entirely free of chronic diseases of the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, joints, and skin.

And they did not have toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, or root canals and fillings.

But when these tribal populations were introduced to sugar and white flour, guess what happened. Their health, and their perfect teeth, rapidly deteriorated.

So while brushing and flossing -- modern dentistry’s mantra for healthy teeth -- is important, it is not even close to the most important factor for healthy teeth. What is most important is your diet.

“Hygiene practices are preventive, and help minimize the destructive effect of our "civilized", refined diet,” Dr. Meinig says. “But the real issue is still diet. The natives Dr. Price tracked down and studied weren't free of cavities, inflamed gums, and degenerative diseases because they had better tooth brushes!”
 

 

When Dr. Price studied the native diets, he noticed some similarities in the foods that were keeping them so healthy. Among them:
 
  • The foods were natural, unprocessed, and organic (and contained no sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or maple syrup).
  • The people ate foods that grew in their native environment. In other words, they ate locally grown, seasonal foods.
  • Many of the cultures ate unpasteurized dairy products, and all of them ate fermented foods.
  • The people ate a significant portion of their food raw.
  • All of the cultures ate animal products, including animal fat and, often, full-fat butter and organ meats.
When Dr. Price analyzed his findings, he found that the native diets contained 10 times the amount of fat-soluble vitamins, and at least four times the amount of calcium, other minerals, and water-soluble vitamins as that of Western diets at that time. Their diets were also rich in enzymes because they ate fermented and raw foods (enzymes help you to digest cooked foods).

The native diets also had at least 10 times more omega-3 fat than modern diets and FAR less omega-6 fats. And as some of you may know, a diet that is lacking in omega-3 fats, and heavy on omega-6 fats from vegetable oils (which are consumed so heavily today) is a recipe for disaster.

 

 

How to PREVENT Cavities and Other Dental Problems

The only scientific way to prevent tooth decay is through diet and nutrition.

In one landmark study, Dr. Ralph Steinman at Loma Linda University injected a glucose solution into the bodies of mice, so the glucose didn't even touch their teeth.

What happened?

The glucose reversed the normal flow of fluid in the dentin, resulting in all of the test animals developing severe tooth decay!

So yes, dental cavities reflect systemic illness, and its cure is in your diet.

Dr. Price studied the diets of natives and its impact on their teeth very carefully. He found that what they ate varied greatly from region to region, but the one thing they had in common was that they ate whole, unrefined foods, and NO sugar or white flour.

Remarkably, with absolutely no access to tooth brushes, floss, fluoridated water or tooth paste, the primitive people he studied were almost 100 percent free of tooth decay. Further - and not unrelated - they were also almost 100 percent free of all the degenerative diseases we suffer from, such as problems with the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, joints and skin (allergies).

No one food proved to be magic as a preventive food. However, you can thrive best and maintain optimal health by eating a wide variety of whole foods, customized for your nutritional type.

Additionally, if you still have mercury in your teeth, I highly recommend reviewing my Mercury Detoxification Protocol, which details the things you can do, right now, to help detoxify your body to improve your health.

 

 

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