My entire life I have been prone to cavities. My mom cooked nice meals, but I was also allowed to over-indulge in sugary treats. When I married, I began to change some of my eating habits as I’ve talked about in my post My Clean Food Journey. As I mentioned in that post, I haven’t craved or eaten much in the way of sugary foods in a long, long time. And I’ve eaten whole grains and lots of vegetables for years. Despite that, I still frequently got cavities. At my last dentist appointment two years ago (I always mean to go every year), I had 6 cavities. Yikes! They were each very small, but still. Six cavities! So, I had a dentist appointment recently and I dreaded it. But guess what? No cavities! As the hygienist cleaned my teeth, she kept marveling. “I can’t believe you haven’t had your teeth cleaned in two years. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.” Not only did I not have cavities, I had very little plaque build up. The other difference I found was that I usually experience some sensitivity when my teeth are being cleaned, and I had very little this time.
What could have made the difference? I am now convinced that eating according to Weston A. Price Foundation principles can work wonders. For about three years now, we have been purchasing all of our meat, eggs and raw milk from local farms who raise their animals on pasture without antibiotics and hormones. I didn’t begin immediately, but I now make broth from the bones of these animals, and I eat butter, lots of good quality butter.
It has been just about two years that I have been properly preparing grains, nuts and seeds. I soak my oatmeal overnight in water and lemon juice. I only use sprouted flour. (Sourdough and soaking flour are also acceptable methods). I soak nuts and seeds in a salt water brine and then dehydrate them before eating. All of this preparation helps to assure that I’m getting the minerals my body needs from these otherwise difficult to digest foods.
And for the past year, I have been making yogurt and culturing vegetables as a way of preserving them and a way to add beneficial bacteria to my diet. I’ve also begun to use coconut oil, eat liver and take fermented cod liver oil. (I don’t credit the cod liver oil since I’ve only been taking it a short while). Is it possible that all of this is why my teeth were now in such good condition?
I haven’t changed how I’m caring for my teeth, except that I’ve been either making my own toothpaste, or buying more natural brands.
My dentist is Dr. Blanche Grube and she was a speaker recently at the HealThy Mouth Summit, (she mentions me in her talk when she’s asked about highlights of her career!) along with 20 other amazing speakers. The Summit consists of over 20 hours of expert presentations from the leading biological dentists, doctors, nutritionists and authors from around the world! A few of the speakers are parents who have found that a diet similar to the one I’ve been following has healed cavities in their children. Find out more about the Summit here.
Have you seen a change in your oral health after changing your diet?
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Anjanette says
What a great testimony!! You’ve read on our blog that we faced severe early decay with my daughter and have been able to arrest it as well. My own teeth have been like yours – always lots of small cavities. I really think that the decades of malnutrition (even though I was eating) before I found real food and Dr. Price have left my body at a deficit that I’m passing on to my children in utero. Our best move has been going low-grain. I didn’t do well soaking ahead of time and I’m the world’s worst baker. So now we only eat oats and rice on occasion and soak our nuts and beans. I haven’t been back to the dentist in a while – but all the sensitivity I had before I got pregnant is gone. 🙂
Susan says
I’ve read your posts, Anjanette. This is a long process, I know!
Wendy says
What an inspiring story! It’s what keeps me believing that it is possible to heal cavities, despite what conventional dentists would say. You are so lucky to have Dr. Grube as your dentist!
For your cavities that healed, how long did it take to heal them?
Susan says
Hi Wendy, I apologize because I did not mean to imply that I healed those 6 cavities. I did have them filled. But it seems that I have new cavities each time and this time I did not, even after two years. And the cleaning itself was so much better.
Wendy says
Oh, I see. If you had found the WAP diet back then, do you think you would have held off on filling those cavities? I have a few cavities that I’m debating whether to fill or not. I’m just afraid of having to refill cavities over and over because of fillings falling out, and bigger fillings are put in until eventually a crown is necessary. Have you had to refill any of your old fillings?
Susan says
Well, it’s always hard to say what one would have done. I guess if I went to the dentist last week and she told me that I had one or two small cavities, I would have come home and purchased Cure Tooth Decay and begun the protocol before having them filled. (I have not read that yet).
One of the biggest mistakes of my life was listening to a dentist 30 years ago who told me that ALL of the fillings in my mouth had to be refilled. They were all amalgam fillings and all of that dental work at once w/mercury wreaked havoc on my body and I suffered for years. Finally, Dr. Grube removed and replaced them following proper protocol. So, each of those cavities, in the end, were filled 3 times!
Kristen @ Smithspirations says
This is so true! I had so many cavaties growing up, and I now realize it had much to do with Kool-Aid, sugary cereal, candy, etc I had then. It’s amazing when I talk with the dental staff when we get our teeth clean and they comment on how nice everyone’s teeth look. I’ve mentioned that since my husband and I don’t eat much sugar anymore, we don’t have problems with our teeth like we used to, and our children’s teeth are so far in excellent shape. The staff seems to not know what to say! Nutrition doesn’t seem to be on their radar screen.
Susan says
When in truth, they are the ones that should be preaching nutrition from the rooftops!
Lisa Lynn says
How wonderful! Good for you 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Kristel from Healthy Frugalista says
This post is very inspiring! I had my whole family read it hoping they would be inspired too. I preached low fat eating for so many years that it’s been a slow road convincing my family to up the healthy fats.
Susan says
Thanks, Kristel. I was really anxious sitting in the waiting room but I left the office in a completely different mood. And it inspired me, too, to persevere.
Becca says
Wow. Would love to have you share this, and other inspiring health posts you might have, at my Healthy Tuesday hop! ahumblebumble.blogspot.com
Jenny says
Great post. We read Nourishing Traditions about two years ago and have been making those same adjustments to our diet. Thank you again for linking up to the HomeAcre Hop.
Lori @ Our Heritage of Health says
That’s awesome that you had no cavities! I’ve struggled with oral health since I was a small child, and I really wish I had known everything I know now about nutrition back then! I was the poster child for sugary junk food, and I’m sure that’s a big part of the reason why I’ve had so many cavities over the years. I’m making some improvements now, though, and working toward the goal of having a truly healthy mouth.
Thanks for sharing with Old-Fashioned Friday! 🙂
Gold bee says
We know that food affects the functioning of all parts of the digestive system. However, we do often forget that dental health depends a lot on the food we eat.
Nutritionist says
Wow, your story is truly inspiring! I’ve also struggled with cavities despite eating relatively healthy. It’s amazing to hear that your efforts have paid off so well. I might need to re-evaluate my diet and dental care routine after reading this. Thanks for sharing your journey!