Raw Food Forums

Hi, new here. I'm interested in becoming raw, based on fruits, like what Harley is doing. The biggest concern I have is teeth because I've read about many raw foodists getting cavities and other dental problems. While most problems are reversible, teeth usually are not, so it's worrying for sure.

Why is that you are worry?

Still believe in what they teach in primary school "sugar rots you teeth away?"

Welcome Spinfusor, Good question. I too worried about my teeth. These days if, after a meal, my teeth are not feeling smooth and clean I will munch on an apple or celery to clean them. Or I'll brush.

I floss more now than I ever did. why? Because once I went to a raw diet I didn't think I would have to anymore and then one day I did and what came out from between my toothie pegs was disgusting. I hadn't had oranges in months and there was orange in there and celery threads as well.

David Wolfe says that the teeth are a sign of mineralisation. If we are low in minerals then our teeth will show it. I firmly believe that the teeth can be regenerated. Victoria Boutenko wrote about this too in her book Green for Life. She promotes loads of wild greens, as does David Wolfe. Doug Graham apparently has excellent teeth as well. He advocates high greens.

Hope this helps.

xoxoxo

My dentist credits and congratulates me with flossing everyday even though i rarely do it because of the immaculate health of my teeth and gums.  They can't see that I could keep such cleaniness and no gum inflammation going without such a routine based on all the inflamed cooked fooder gums they deal with.

The cause of cavities is food getting stuck in teeth for considerable lengths of time.
The biggest cause of cavities is sticky cooked carbohydrates not fruit carbohydrates.  Things like bread and rice tend to stick all over and in between teeth and stay there for a considerable amount of time allowing the bacteria that actually causes the cavities to thrive.   Fruit - generally - clears fast and doees not stick to teeth like cooked carbs do.   When it does stick around it just clean your teeth and you'll be fine.

All I do is brush once a day without toothpaste when I notice I need it and occasionally floss when I notice food stuck between my teeth.    I have perfectly healthy teeth and gums and no cavities.

Fruit is again the innocent victim, just like it is in relation to blood sugar metabolism issues like Diabetes.

My hygienist back in Adelaide, a while ago, had noticed how dramatically my gums have improved since me going raw (and feasting on fruit). Last time I had a cavity was long time ago, definitely not this or last year! I read about some major studies linking eating more fruit and better bones in kids and adults. Teeth are bones, aren't they?

By the way, teeth problems on raw may occur if one eats unripe foods or lots of dried fruit, I don't think the teeth like that. But they do, as gums do, a hydrating diet. High-fruit diet is the most hydrating diet, the water from fruit and other juicy raw foods is the best quality water one could get. There is more to water than just H20.

Gosia

I too am interested to hear others' exsperiences about teeth and high-fruit. I trust natural hygiene in just about every other way but have so drilled into me how precious my teeth are that I do still occasionally use some organic vegan toothpaste. But, it is generally only after eating unripe bananas that they feel unclean. I have noticed otherwise my teeth feel a lot cleaner since eating high-fruit and greens. When I finish an evening meal with greens they feel amazingly clean.

My teeth and gums on high fruit are awesome.  The only way my previously, partially receded gums get sensitive is if I'd eat extra dates and pounds of cherries a few days in a row, which I do not do anymore. 

A concern I've had with teeth has been the coloring, actually.  I've noticed long-time raw-foodists, especially lower-fat ones due to the larger amount of colored fruits, having yellow teeth.  When mine would start to get stained, I would immediately use a natural toothpaste or tooth oil with mint, and it would get white.  They get even whiter this way than when I was eating cooked.  However, I have wondered if the teeth are so strong, is the yellow their more natural coloring, or is it a porous bone that absorbs the stain?  I rather think it is the second since bone is permeable.  Why, then, would these raw foodists not care about glaring, yellow teeth?

Hey everyone

primates seem to have yellow teeth and they never brush, i am also starting to wander whether our bones are supposed to be so bright white. lemmon juice can be used as a whitening agent but the acid might not be so good unless salt is also added to neutralise the acidity.

more importantly i am just dying to take out my very old amlagum (mercury) fillings which eminate mercury constantly into the body. i can't imagine the cost of removal and replacement....

Doug Graham recommends not having the mercury fillings removed as the outer layers will have oxidised and will not be causing considerable on-going toxicity to you.   During the extraction he believes you are exposed to considerable more mercury than you would get having them remain in during drilling.

Over time the outer layers shrink and there is a small amount of toxicity as the new outer layers oxidise. Eventually the fillings will fall out on their own as they shrink.

There also hasn't been many studies on the toxicity of the fillings they use in place of mercury - something to consider as well.

Yeah I was thinking of getting my mercury fillings out as well Sandy but I think I'll wait now after Jimmy posted, ta Jim :-)
My teeth are better than ever on high fruit, I used to have quite dark yellow stains on my bottom row when I was cooked but that's all dissolved.  Mine are pretty white but I bleached them a couple of years back so not sure if that's a hang over from then.

Hey Free, i'll try and locate the MP3 where dougs talk about it for you. All either transcribe it or put it online somewhere for you to download.  He was pretty convincing in not having them drilled out.

Hey Jim, cool that sounds great! hey thought of you & Brockstar today, check this out....
(http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z183/freelearaw/wangdubsparta.jpg)

YEAH!   SPARTA!!!!!!! :)      :ohyeah:

Haha you boyz are insane! %) Remember on Byron Beach? A little bit too much testosterone flying around for my likings. :nope:

have had mercury fillings extracted..they used a thing called a rubber dam...which prevents you from swallowing the mercury!Tim is more of a holistic dentist..and knows how i choose to eat/live!

my teeth were only bad when i use to eat nuts and dried fruit dessert ball things...it sticks to your teeth like acid rain!

I remembered also that I use to have very sensitive teeth eating cooked food as salt or sugar/sweetened food caused a jabbing pain. Fruit is fine though.

The way I understand it, when the mouth is filled with food that is acidic (not "acid forming in the body" but actually acidic, per se), the body tries to bring the Ph back to normal by releasing minerals from the teeth. If this is the mechanism by which a lot of frugarians get into trouble with their teeth (and there definitely are plenty who will tell you they did), then rinsing with water afterwards is a complete solution (no pun intended.. "solution" lol). That would apply regardless of what you eat.

According to an interview I remember on Raw Vegan Radio, having your amalgams out is not as straight forward an exercise as it might seem. Not for the light hearted, especially if you have a mouthful. They also said that plastic fillings and porcelain are not much better. In fact, some may be even worse, because they're based on aluminium. Pull out your lead and replace it with aluminium? Max Gerson advised against removing amalgam... he says pulling the whole tooth is the way to go (and even then, you have to be careful).. if you end up with a mouth full of gums, then so be it.. just have to live on green smoothies.

Weston Prices remedy to people that had cavities was small amounts of Cod Liver Oil and Raw Butter, This he created Activator X, that healed people of severe bone deformities such as Arthritis and improved their teeth. My own experience, with only Raw Butter and Raw Cream has cured me of sensitive teeth, naturally whitened them, and with one tooth that was on its way out, healed it completely. His book for those that are interested is called NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL DEGENERATION. I believe Harley is on the right track with his 80 10 10 approach. But for a faster option with those of you who are concerned for their teeth, especially those with Pain and want to reverse damage done, this may be for you.

Can you give me an example of a natural toothpaste? Are you talking about those herbal SLS free ones you see in health food shops or are you talking about a home-made one?

Also, what is tooth oil - I have never heard of it.

Thank you

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To answer the original question - my teeth get worse when I eat (or drink the juice of) apples and oranges. My dentist actually told me to limit my apple intake because my teeth had noticeably got worse. So after consuming apples I now just swish my mouth with water to remove any traces. It seems to work well. My teeth also feel better when I use an electric toothbrush. Apples seem to be the main culprit because my teeth feel ok when I consume greens.

I have read of a few cases where a new age mother gives their child a bottle of fresh raw apple or orange juice to suck on and their child’s teeth literally rot away. So as long as you don’t spend hours sucking from a baby bottle :laugh: and you rinse after eating, you should be fine.

I am having some problems with my teeth on this diet i have to admit - I'm raw vegan close to 100% raw most days with the odd bit of cooked vegan fare.  I eat loads of greens and lots of green smoothies and green soups and am low fat (close to 80/10/10).  Is anyone else experiencing these problems?

Yes I feel well, but I'd like to keep my teeth for a while yet.

Has anyone done any research on why a lot of raw vegans get these problems while indigeneous societies who had a fair bit of animal offal and dairy never brushed their teeth and did not have any cavities (eg Australian aborigines before white man)

What are others doing that is working for them/ reversing their teeth problems?

My teeth ar ein pain only when i eat nuts. Otheriwse im doing well on high fruits and greens except for a little yellowing off the teeth. Brushing the teeth with seasalt helps to strengthen them and balance sugar decay. Mix seasalt with xylitol which is good for gums and teeth aswell into silica gel or coconut oil and brush.

you can get

 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
Author: Weston A. Price

as a free e book

at

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html

I know a few people who would appreciate this ebook. Thanks Simon.
Nic

My teeth have gone downhill over the last 2 years (I discovered the benefits of raw foods about 2 years ago) but I put it down to the amounts of dried fruit and honey I use.

I have had a tooth extracted last year and really need to get along to the dentist again to check out some other sensitivities going on at the moment.

For my situation, the solution seems fairly simple - cut down the dried fruit and honey (and maybe nuts?), increase the greens...but for some annoying reason (habitual conditioning, emotional eating, etc.) it is HARD!!!  Must become more focussed on this before I have no choice but to have green smoothies all day due to lack of teeth to chew!

I enquired about removing amalam fillings when I visited my holistic dentist a few years ago.  He told me the same as Doug Graham suggests.

Jacki

i was having some teeth problems and was truly perpexed at the situation! I've started brushing every morning, and flossing every night. I've also been chewing on grass and have been having wheatgrass that's been watered with 10% sea water for extra minerals and I'm pleased to say that the sensitivities are going. Woo hoo! I know I'm not in the clear yet but I'll get there.

I have complete faith that my body will take the nutrients from what I feed it to heal on every level.

xoxoxo

Ive had a few probs with my teeth since raw, mostly its just been pain where my wisdom teeth were, but the odd time thats happened a simple tea tree oil mouthwash has fixed it (just a drop in a mouthfull of water). The pain seems to come back if i eat alot of nuts, particularly peanuts (they were blanched, so maybe why).

At first when i was raw and i tried not using toothpaste and just water i got tooth problems, so i thought i must need the toothpaste, but when ive again tried later ive found water is more than enough. I occasionally use a home made toothpaste when they feel a bit yuck but generally it isnt needed. I dont tend to get furry teeth anymore whether i brush or not (well sometimes i do, but no often, and is probs been when have eaten alot of dried fruits or had coffee).

I can actually skip brushing occasionally at night without any problems now (although i tend not to), before if i missed it by the morning my mouth would be awful!

My teeth are much whiter than they used to be and to me look very healthy, at one point they were very discoloured and not so pretty. They look like they did when i was younger now, had great teeth as a child, a few spots of mild discolouration but is probs only noticeable to me.

The raw diet has been fantastic for mouth health, even a decaf coffee doesnt seem to hinder things, however a traditional coffee out tends to leave my mouth pretty yuck. The only time i find problems is with nuts, but usually a drink of water and a run over with my fingers around my gums (yeah im that gross, lol) fixes it.

I get no tooth pain anymore, i did initially but now nothing. Go raw!!!

this would obviously vary for diff people, but i'll make a note that both my brother and i have pretty well ruined our teeth after years of munching on salads with heaps of lemon juice in em. then it was set off by a blueberry eating competition... had really sensitive teeth and burning gums after that so couldn't eat anything sweet/acidic or hard for the next 4-5 days...
rather than the sugar, it was definitely the acid that etched the enamel of our teeth. we also both got receding gums soon after that.
its ok now cause we're eatin heaps more greens and raw milk & eggs anyway, but all it takes is a pink lady apple, some berries or citrus and the sensitivity comes right back and takes 1-2 days to recover.
we've only heard of a few others that have similar problems, and i think it takes a fair bit of abuse to do it... the burning started at around 600 blueberries, and we had to call it even at 1000 each... (and didn't pay a cent for em :laugh:)

From what I can understand speaking to Bee Keepers Honey is not Raw unless you buy it in Honey Comb form. Reason being that it crystallises not long after it is harvested, so it has to be heat treated to allow it to run from the container, not at an extremely high heat, but high enough to damage it. So this may explain why having honey may cause teeth damage.