Can You Avoid Fillings and Regenerate Your Teeth?
Amanda Beutler and son Olin
Last Thursday night, I spoke to nearly 200 of my friends in Boise. Afterwards, signing books and talking with people, a beautiful woman named Amanda Beutler got to the front of the line and was crying before she even started speaking. At first, all she could say was, "Thank you." She gave me a hug, took a few breaths, and told me this story that has had me jumping out of my skin with excitement, wanting to share it, ever since.
18 months before we met, she had taken her 6-year old son, Olin, to his first-ever dentist visit, to find that he had 6 cavities! The dentist insisted that she make an appointment at a hospital to put Olin under anesthesia for the surgery! She was uncomfortable with this and asked the dentist to wait.
She had the thought: "If the human body can heal, why can't teeth?" What a genius question. An important question. As with cancer (where virtually everyone we know just follows Standard of Care, chemo / radiation), we don't really KNOW what regeneration the teeth can experience, because nearly 100% of us just get the filling in our teeth. As someone who has recently been paying the price for the tons of sugar I ate in the earlier decades of my life, I have studied this issue in-depth, as I've paid a steep price for my metal fillings, later removed and replaced, and eventual failure of those teeth and materials. A filling is not the same thing as natural tooth dentin, no matter what material you use.
Biological dentists use non-toxic, or more accurately, less-toxic materials. (Traditional dentists use amalgam fillings with heavy metals, root canals that are possibly the scariest and most toxic medical procedure in modern Standard of Care, and toxic crown and implant materials containing heavy metals known to cause auto-immune conditions.) Biological dentists use different procedures and materials.
But every time we drill and fill teeth, we take those teeth closer to inevitable death. I have always wondered, is there another way? If so, how would we know? It would take someone opting out of that accepted system and doing something radically different. It would take a hero. Or heroine.
Amanda is an amazing mother. She spent three months researching intensively. She found GreenSmoothieGIrl.com, started feeding Olin green smoothies daily, and began implementing my 12 Steps to Whole Foods program in earnest. She wasn't dabbling in it--she was implementing it in a very committed way.
As I have done, Amanda studied the voluminous, compelling work of Dr. Weston A. Price, DMD. He believed that cavities could be healed after researching indigenous people, all over the world, who displayed no tooth decay. He compared these results to people in developed nations eating a processed diet.
Six months after implementing her self-designed protocol after studying the work of Dr. Price and GreenSmoothieGirl, Amanda and Olin returned to the dentist. He examined Olin's mouth and turned to Amanda, completely baffled, and asked her how his cavities could be gone--filled in with hard, healthy dentin, in no need of fillings. He called his colleague in to see. All six of them were healed.
Dr.Weston Price
Amanda's answer was, "Green smoothies!" She wrote me later to share this photo I'd asked for, and said, "Thank you so much, Robyn, for everything! You have helped to significantly change my family's well-being!"
Amanda, let me thank you. I have wondered the same thing, myself: "If the human body can heal, can't teeth repair themselves?" I think you are a heroine--going against the grain, and doing hard things, making sacrifices, to bless your little son's life.
Little did you know you have now helped many others. I am ecstatic to share this story and try these things myself, with new confidence and hope. Very frankly, I want essential oil producers to share your story too, and I plan to share this with them!
Thank you for being brave and being a pioneer. Thank you for telling me what you did--I am so inspired!
Posted in: Dental Health, Green Smoothies
Robyn, do you have a personal opinion concerning Young Living Essential oils as compared to doTerra. I have used YL for over 20 years with great success. I have never heard of doTerra before your newsletter concerning the young boy and getting rid of cavities. Just curious if there’s a better product out there.
Thanks
Claudia, I hesitate to give a public comparison of the two companies. My mother was a YL distributor, and that company was actually my introduction to essential oils. For a variety of reasons, I have chosen to align with doTERRA and never could bring myself to work with YL. I could write a short book on my investigation of both companies, which has been extensive. If I get into detail, I will set off yet another maelstrom of controversy, and we’ve got a big enough one going on, here, with this dentistry thing!
But one company is in decline, and the other is thriving and exploding. One resorts to annually threatening and suing the other, and it is distasteful to me (the other keeps prevailing, because they keep doing what they do well—proving 100% pure oils, nothing added, and proving it over and over).
I do think that YL and Gary Young sparked the public consciousness about essential oils and helped the whole concept arrive at “critical mass.” I do like some YL oil blends! As a business, it is not something I am interested in. The GSG coaches have loved their experience sharing doTERRA oils with thousands in the past 18 months.
I’ve been talking back and forth all day with PJ Hanks, my resident rockstar aromatherapist out of Bastyr University’s program. We have been discussing the work of both Robert Tisserand and also David Stewart. In his book The Chemistry of Essential Oils, Stewart says,
“The bottom line is that synthetic methyl salicylate is not isomerically or functionally the same as natural methyl salicylate. Synthetic methyl salicylate does not fit our receptor sites in a therapeutic manner, as does the natural version. Hence, synthetic wintergreen oil is toxic, which is why many aromatherapists are afraid of this oil and refuse to use it. They don’t realize that natural wintergreen does no harm and has healing powers.”
That said, Tisserand, whom PJ values more for his knowledge on the safety of oils (his landmark book is updated periodically and is called Essential Oil Safety), is more cautious. I get the sense no one knows whether high doses of the natural wintergreen could be a problem. doTERRA will always err on the side of caution, and so they put child-proof caps on wintergreen and blends containing it.
doTERRA IPC’s boast the efficacy and potency of essential oils. It stands to reason, then, that while they have incredible healing powers (drugs leverage the same compounds, slightly chemically altered, after all—example, methyl salicylate), of course there are times when caution is required!
Dr. David Hill, chief medical advisor at doTERRA, recommends changing your oils methods every few weeks. This is what herbologists have told us forever. We can build up too much if we use the same thing, daily, for a long time. Give yourself a break from them.
(This is easy for me, since I can’t remember to do the same thing, every day consistently, forever, anyway.)
I’ve learned some things from this discussion and research. I’ve been putting Deep Blue (main ingredient: wintergreen) about 6x a day since I got a rotator cuff injury in February, swing dancing. It’s affecting my ability to serve, in tennis, and to lift my arm without pain. My arm feels GREAT for an hour after using it. I’m probably maxing it and should lay off on my trip to TX next week.
Be educated. That’s a great lesson here.
thanks so much for answering me and yes I do value being educated on any given subject. I will look into doTerra myself. This is all very intereting. I would value the purity as well as maybe lower prices too. I’m not interested in business ventures just healing practices.
Thanks for the info you put out there !
Claudia, where do you live?
By Dr. Wendell Robertson, DDS, Spanish Fork Utah:
Fillings can and should be avoided and teeth can regenerate. In fact, there is no dental material or process in dentistry that is as sound as natural tooth structure. A living tooth is a miracle of nature, a demonstration of creation’s greatest accomplishments.
(Am I a bit prejudiced?) Engineers marvel that a tooth can withstand up to 2,000 PSI! For a hollow, non-metal structure, this is a true marvel. How does it do this? First, the DENTIN: Dentin is stronger than bone. The dentin is a structure that is 15 to 25 percent calcified structure and the balance is living tissue such as extensions of the cells inside the tooth (called odontoblasts), collagen—the body’s structural fiber, and there is constant flow, not of water but of serum—this is blood without the cells, full of nutrients (and toxins depending on the patient).
The DENTIN is flexible and can withstand extreme flexural force, like a palm tree in a hurricane. The outer layer of ENAMEL is the hardest material, yet one of the most brittle; it’s hard like glass or porcelain and unsupported it can and does chip away. The little secret is the development center of the tooth which is referred to as the DEJ OR DENTINOENAMEL JUNCTION. This is a layer about 250 microns (1/100th of an inch) thick. This is the growth center of the tooth.
The tooth starts at the DEJ and forms enamel and dentin in layers by specialized cells. This is an epigenetic process that depends on many outside (epi) factors. The nerve tissue actually fills in after the tooth develops. This layer is known as the SOFT ZONE and is like a foam liner in a helmet.
From an engineering perspective the tooth functions like a helmet. The hard outer shell ENAMEL has extreme hardness and is not extremely flexible. It is supported by a flexible SOFT ZONE that is between the enamel and the DENTIN. Again, life giving SERUM “flows” through this structure in a healthy tooth from the inside out. The concept of FLOW is absolutely critical. I could go to the morgue, take x-rays of skulls, take them to 10 radiologists and ask them what is wrong with the patient and they could not be able to tell me that the patient is dead!
So x-rays don’t tell all and certainly don’t tell about FLOW. The difference between dead and alive is flow, flow of electrons, flow of water, flow of photons, the flow of life giving energy. Dr. Jerry Tennent speaks to this using the example of a leaf on a tree. In the spring it emerges from the branches as a bud and becomes a light absorbing living structure. This living leaf can be covered with bacteria, with fungal spores, with everything nature needs to completely break it down and convert it to mulch, but as long as there is FLOW of electrons, and flow of fluids through its veins has a high (non-acidic) pH. In the fall, the FLOW stops, the pH drops, the leaf falls to the ground, and the process of decay begins, the next step in the life cycle. This is nature: the life and death cycle.
Why am I saying all of this? The most important material in dentistry is the tooth itself, hence NO DENTISTRY is the best dentistry. My understanding of all natural and holistic dental healing modalities such as oil pulling, fermented skate and cod liver oil, minimizing sugar, maximizing healthy vegetables and fruits with teeth is that all of these approaches involve creating and stimulating the healthy flow of energy, of fluids, of nutrients thus disabling the natural bacteria, like the inactive fungal spores and bacteria resting on the green leaf. This keeps the flow of life.
So does this mean that dentists are not needed? Unfortunately teeth wear down, fracture, and in today’s toxic world they decay. They need help. How to help them is a very important choice.
Dental schools, whose curriculum is totally controlled by the American Dental Association, the trade association of the dental establishment, still teach that mercury is totally safe in fillings and that cutting the enamel off of a tooth to do a crown is a good way to restore the tooth. There is little in nature that can damage a tooth as much as a dentist doing a crown on a tooth. So what can we do?
I would like to introduce another term. BIOMIMETIC DENTISTRY is the study of how this natural tooth flexes, lives and breathes, how life flows through it, and how to imitate the tooth in restorative processes while conserving as much tooth structure as possible. It is scientifically based using research from 20 countries. Using tooth saving engineering (developed by engineers), reliable and effective bonding to dentin, concentric layering minimizing the stresses caused by the shrinkage of the polymers, fiber reinforcement, using materials that have the same flexibility of the dentin, and many other processes, the tooth is restored to its maximum strength with minimum leakage. Do I sound like I’m on my soap box? I definitely am; in fact, I have invested part of my retirement and am a partner in the Alleman Center for Biomimetic Dentistry, a company that trains dentists to do biomimetic dentistry.
Interestingly enough dentists having training and approaches to dentistry using terms such as: holistic, biological, tooth conserving, minimally invasive, and so on. . . does not mean that the dentist will not do a crown or that a root canal will be prevented. Machines and devices are marketed and advertised, but the bottom line is the willingness of a dentist to go against the grain of established dentistry and save teeth!
This is my passion and purpose in life and I believe I am saving lives through my work.
So what can you do to help teeth regenerate dentin or enamel if you have fillings and how do you get rid of the fillings?
Now that it is 2019, there seems to be more advancement in dental technology when it comes to repairing teeth. We should be nearing a time when it will become possible to provide an alternative to both new and existing synthetic tooth fillings. From what I have read and researched, there is a drug (Tyglubacin)? that can get the tooth to heal from the inside out. There are also stem cells that can regenerate the inner layer of dentin inside the tooth. They are trying to use lasers to heal teeth by stimulating the stem cells to heal the teeth. And I even heard that they are trying to inject stem cells into teeth in order to get them to heal. Although it seems strange that you could inject something into the strong surface of a tooth, I am trusting that what I have been told is correct.
Anyway, I am trying to get an opinion and some feedback from anybody on what your opinions are concerning our hope for tooth repair, and what you have heard about concerning "Stem Cell Generated Tooth Fillings". Do you think that we are close to a cure for artificial tooth fillings?
Hi!
I just wanted to add that we have prevented cavities with nutrition as well. My son had cavities every time we went to the dentist’s office even though he’d always have the highest scores for his dental hygiene. We were using fluoride toothpaste and everything they tell you to do. Frustrated, I bought the book, “How to Cure Tooth Decay” on amazon. This summarized the findings of Dr. Weston A. Price and I began to implement what I found the most palatable of his suggestions – whole, raw milk and fermented cod liver oil with high vitamin butter oil. We buy the fermented cod liver oil already premixed with the high-vitamin butter oil in capsule form from live super foods .com . Oh, I switched to xylitol toothpaste and I started to buy grass-fed beef. Long story short, my son hasn’t had a cavity in 3 years!!! Our old pediatric dentist thought I was crazy, so I stopped going to him and now we go to a holistic dentist who doesn’t think I’m crazy. 😉 We have to drive an hour each way, but it is totally worth it. Good luck to everyone struggling with these issues.
All the best,
Kendra
P.S. I drink green smoothies, but I can’t seem to get my kids to. 🙁
What about teeth that need a crown… is it possible to “heal” a “crack” in the tooth so you wouldn’t have to have a crown or root canal. I find all of this information about the oil swishing very interesting and have just started using and learning how to use the doTerra oils… On Guard toothpaste ROCKS! I’m addicted to brushing my teeth even more! ;D. So, back to crowns/root canals … Thoughts? Or perhaps that is for another blog for another time :). I do wish I could get some Birch oil, though 🙂 Thank you!
Birch oil is NOT hard to get and DoTerra is not the only reputalbe eo company. Especially here in Utah Valley. Check out BeYoung in Nephi, or Cecilia’s Products in Provo just to name a couple I personally use and are “100% pure”.
Birch has the ability to regrow bone, so that’s probably why it works on teeth.
My daughter face planted on her front teeth on the big fat metal bar on the trampoline a few years ago. I thought she was going to lose both teeth, but I used birch on them and we have not had a problem.
Tracy, I said that birch oil is hard to get from doTERRA, with their standards. Not that it is hard to get anywhere. I think the company you are referring to may be Young Living, not BeYoung.
I’m sorry to say this but it’s sad that you are using this story to promote yourself and sell oils. Anyone that knows anything about nutrition would know that it’s the cod liver/butter oil that healed her son’s teeth. Green smoothies do NOT re-mineralize teeth!
Beg to differ on all points, Jane. Not selling oils since, as the story mentions, *we cannot get Birch oil from doTERRA at this time.* I am not promoting anything except that it’s a great story I believe will thinking and possibilities for many of us. I don’t think you have any evidence that greens, high in minerals, cannot remineralize teeth. We cannot isolate any factor that Amanda used, although I think increasing leafy green consumption seems a logical part of Amanda’s son’s teeth regenerating.
Jane, I think you are being a bit hard on Robyn. I have never met Robyn, nor was I familiar with her books, website, etc. A friend knew I was doing research on healing tooth decay and sent me this article an hour ago. I’ve already ordered Blue Ice’s Fermented Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil Blend and today I had planned on finding a very good mineral supplement. My son is 16 with 4 moderate cavities. I’ve tried for years to get our family eating more healthy, but my husband is a soda addict and we all have to pick our battles. I doubt I can get my 16 year old to drink green smoothies, my hope is to at least get him off the soda. (We have been raw milk drinkers for at least 5 years.)
Anyway, I found this article and the comments very interesting. Interesting enough that I will be passing it along. As I read the article I thought that it underplays the importance of the fish and butter oil – which I plan on reminding my friends to whom I forward it. The green smoothie connection is (I believe) the mineral piece of the puzzle. Anytime we can get our nutrients from whole food (difficult these days) it is better than a supplement.
Hopefully, anyone doing research on tooth restoration will quickly find Weston Price’s research and know the oils (butter and fish) are very important! I do wish the article expressed it more and gave a more complete picture. But to accuse Robyn of promoting herself and sell oils (implying no benefit of such) is mean spirited and inaccurate. She is in the business of helping people heal.
Aw, well thanks, Jane! And you a newbie here. 🙂 Welcome.
Wow, love to hear these kinds of testimonials. I am a health coach, but the teeth and gums seem to be the last frontier in terms of how to regenerate, as you said. I have bone loss, and I am a new rep for doTerra, so I’m going to try your suggestions here and see what I can do! Thanks for all you do…..
So, since I have had my wisdom teeth pulled years ago. Does that mean there isn’t any chance of my other teeth healing and cavities gone using the oil pulling method and Butter/codliver oil?
Can anyone suggest a plan of action for me? I am a 60 year old female and have spent the last 5 years making changes in my diet – moving to a vegan, high raw, whole foods lifestyle (with lots of green smoothies). I have seen big improvements in my health … previously was diabetic, with hypothyroidism, morbid obesity, arthritic, etc. I have lost 80# and my glucose and thyroid numbers are normal. My area of concern is that my dentist wanted to do a root canal on a tooth that was cracked. I did not want the root canal and opted to have my dentist pull the tooth. But, I have 2 other molars that are cracked and my dentist has given me the option of crowns or a filling over the cracks. I do not want crowns, but am scheduled for the fillings. I would rather go with a natural approach.
Is there any possibility that the high fat butter/cod liver oil combination would heal a cracked tooth?
I would really appreciate a response from anyone with suggestions. THANK YOU so much.
help I have a dear friend that has crones disease and has been forbidden to eat anything green I have done the green smoothies and do tera oils and have copd and have improved my lungs from 20 percent to 35 and am getting better every day so I know that his doctors are wrong . I have worked for over 42 years as lab and exray tech my husband was a dr and I helped to put him through med school.He passed away at a early age of 54 with colon cancer. he would not listen to me and thought pills were the answer. western medicine has lost it ability to cure when it lost its ability to be caring for the the person as a whole and started caring more about the green dollar. I have years of personal research and know that green smoothie girl is a huge step in the right direction I just do not know how to help my friend overcome his head strong doctor.
That’s beyond sad, Charlotte. That someone allows another human being to “forbid” them to eat the entire class of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. 🙁 Good for you for trying. Some people, as you’ve alluded to, put all their faith in guys in white coats. They’re great at dispensing pharmaceuticals and performing surgeries. I am not clear on why we let them tell us what to eat, in most cases, however. Most of them are shockingly unqualified to do so.
Just want to add my own recent experience so that others will know that it works. I have been a DIY natural healther for the past 17 years and I am also a registered nurse. I have had a problem with teeth grinding since I went back to work as a nurse a few years ago and it was causing my gums to recede severely to the point that 6 months ago my dentist wanted to put fillings as a preventative measure on almost all my molars where the gums had receded past the “ridge” point.
He was concerned that since there was no enamel on the teeth there it would protect them from getting serious cavities that he felt would end up being root canals. My dentist also told me I had to start wearing the mouth guard he made me that I had not worn because it felt too tight and confining. Instead of scheduling my appointment to have the work done, I politely thanked them for their help and told them I would reschedule later.
I bought a soft and pliable BPA free mouth guard from Walgreens and started wearing it every night. I already knew that modern dentistry is of the opinion that gums and teeth cannot regenerate, but being a DIY natural healther, I just couldn’t believe it.
I immediately went home and did my research including looking at Weston Price’s work and also Ramiel Nigel’s summary of that work. Of course, I am too independent and had to do it my own way –raw vegan/live food. It makes sense to me that if horses and cows and other grazers can make healthy bones and teeth on grass and herbs then why can’t I? I was basically a 99% raw vegan already, but knew that my nutrition was still too focused on fruit, dehydrated crackers and raw treats to be effective enough.
I already had immaculate oral health with my flossing and brushing with doterra toothpaste and had not had a cavity in over 30 years. But after doing my homework, I cut out the doterra toothpaste because of the xylitol and started brushing with Dr. Christopher’s tooth and gum powder (stevia herb) and sometimes Redmond clay (plain not their toothpaste that also has xylitol).
I also started doing pulling with coconut oil, peppermint essential oil or wheat grass juice. I started to see slow but slightly visible improvement over the first 5 months. But then I did juice fasting with lots of greens, herb classification veges and root veges only for several weeks.
Amazing results — in 4 weeks of juice fasting I watched my gums visibly regenerate. I used herbs to support the detoxing process. I had my 6 month check up at the 4 week juice fast mark and my dentist said my gums looked really healthy. He still recommended fillings on two molars which had been my worst ones, which I politely told them I would call back for my appointment. I didn’t explain anything and they didn’t even look at any of my previous xrays so there was no explanation necessary. The only other problem I have now is that one of my fillings had come loose and another has come loose since the appointment two weeks ago.
From reading about raw food diets this seems to be normal, which makes sense because if the tooth is regenerating from the inside, it would push the filling loose. So I have decided to go to a natural dentist and have him remove my mercury fillings as they come loose and not refill them and just let my teeth regenerate naturally.
I’m not interested in diets that simply improve health anymore. I work as a hospice nurse with dying people and it has been heartbreaking. It has made me personally interested in diets that HEAL health problems including dental problems because they affect health so much. I’m learning three things are important.
First, start with diet –always diet. Second, apply cleanse and detox principles appropriately and use plant medicines to support the process. Your bowel has to be eliminating multiple times daily and your skin and other organs of elimination have to be healthy to detox or your will overload your body with toxins during the process and make yourself sick. Third, use judgment and skill in using plant medicine such as herbs, essential oils and homeopathics. If you do it according to true principles then it will work if you are consistent and give it time. The body has power to regenerate itself with the right conditions. Unfortunately, there are not enough dentists or doctors who are trained in healthy diets or any of these natural methods and so you will get little support from that end. You will have have to do it yourself and you will have to do your homework unless you have a good natural health practitioner close and even then, some of them really don’t know what they are doing and aren’t well trained.
I loved your post. Thank you. Do you mind explaining why you don’t want to use Xylitol in toothpaste? Could you elaborate/educate on that aspect please? I just ordered toothpaste with birch, Xylitol and a few other essential oils in light of all of the posts here. Now I am wondering what is wrong with Xylitol. Thank you for your time.
Lois, I applaud you for your health choices and for the lengthy measures you have taken to regain your health. I’m thrilled for you. I read your story right after learning that a long time patient and dear friend just had her leg amputated because of the devastating effects of diabetes. She called my office because she had a tooth snap off right at the gumline. This is the second tooth to do this in as many years for her. And these are front teeth – she’s having a difficult time keeping her spirits up when she can’t even smile. Why are her teeth breaking off? Why did she lose her leg? Why has she had chronic gum inflammation every time I’ve seen her in the past few years? I know the answer, and am very helpless to do anything about it. Welcome to the frustrating world of a health care provider.
In all of the stories that have been shared on this thread, there is a very common denominator. All of the success stories have included the person making significant changes to their diet and lifestyle. They have all done extensive research, they have used alternative medicines and therapies. They are committed to the change, and it works. Their bodies respond and HEAL. Incredible! That’s what our bodies were designed to do. So why am I still doing fillings, crowns, taking teeth out and scraping crusty tartar off??
Two simple words- diet and lifestyle. I have patients come to the office with their 48 oz. mug of Mountain Dew in hand. Some people open and it’s evident their teeth have not seen a toothbrush in years. They fill out their medical history and hand me a preprinted list of the 15 medications they take on a daily basis. They are sick. I have a perfect window to their health – what I see in the mouth is a reflection of what’s going on everywhere. They are sick.
I know what I want to share with these people. Dump out the soda, throw away the processed foods, start eating foods that will bring your body back to life. I know how to help them – I am a very experienced gardener and my nearly vegetarian family lives off of what I grow and store. I know who to send them to – Green Smoothie Girl, DoTerra – they are all in my backyard. Unfortunately, I can tell them all of this, but I am powerless to make them do it.
A nasty little word called compliance pops up all the time. Lois, I bet you can count on one hand all of the people you know that live as clean of a life as you do. It is not the easy way – and easy is very popular in our world right now. It’s much easier to drive through MacDonalds and take a pill to counteract the damage that choice made.
This thread has touched a nerve with me and this is why. There has been a lot of talk about unnecessary dentistry and dentists that are providing care that is not healthy. Talk of avoiding dentists at all costs. I agree that my profession is slow to convert to alternative therapies, and I personally have a lot of learning still to do. But I think it’s bigger than that. I think diet is to blame, not dentists.
Lois, if you had never had tooth decay in the past, you would not be dealing with loose fillings now. Is the dentist that placed those fillings the entire problem, or did the diet that caused the decay have a part to play? For the original post and story, there were dietary choices that led to the little boy’s cavities, and dietary choices healed them. The dentist has been necessary because diet and lifestyle have led to decay. It’s not isolated to teeth. “Decay” in the body led to my patient’s leg amputation too.
Think what you will of dentists – we have to have thick skin, but we are here to repair what life’s choices have created. If everyone adopted Lois’ diet and lifestyle and tooth decay went away, I would happily pack up my instruments and start gardening full time. Let’s work together to make changes. Lois – share what you’ve been doing with your dentist. It doesn’t have to be a secret. If you can help someone else through your journey, your reward will be all the better for it. I would love to be able to heal my patient’s teeth. We are not the enemy! I’ll repeat it one more time – blame the diet, not the dentist!
Lois, I find your story inspiring. So many people are recommending animal secretions/ingredients to heal their teeth and I just kept saying to myself, there’s GOT to be a way to do this with plants alone! THANK YOU for sharing. This blog and the many, many comments has been so educational.
Thank you so much Lois for your experience. The thoughts of drinking raw cows milk makes me gag. And cod oil and butter scare me with my family history of heart disease. I don’t want to do those thing.
As a dental hygienist of 37 years, I find it interesting that so many people will practice dietary habits that are very unhealthy (destructive) for the body and the teeth and gums (which are part of the body) and then be so concerned about the treatment which they feel is toxic. Of course I hope for healing of dentin and if there is a proven way to do it I applaud that.
Dentin is 70% mineral and 30% organic which means that microorganisms can eat through it quickly once they pierce the enamel which is 97-99% mineralized. Once decay has progressed to the living pulp tissue (nerves and blood vessels) of the tooth, the tooth dies and usually becomes abscessed. In order to rid the body of the infection, the inside of the tooth canal needs to be sterilized with root canal therapy, thereby ridding the body of an infection that causes tooth loss and can affect other systems of the body. Even antibiotics, which I always hope to avoid if possible, work only temporarily. Most abscesses are caused by the insult of tooth decay to the pulp of the tooth and very well could have been prevented. A smaller percentage of abscesses are caused by trauma such as falls, accidents, etc.
Enamel re-mineralization is possible and I know of no dental offices who do not warn patients of insipient decay in the enamel (found early on x-rays before it is too big to heal) and try to encourage or motivate them to brush and floss thoroughly daily as well as limiting acidic drinks, frequent snacking, and high carbohydrate diets. All dentists I have worked for constantly encourage prevention with home care and diets high in fresh fruits and vegetables. How many professionals are trying to talk their customers out of needing their services? Dentists and hygienists ALWAYS teach prevention and this advice is most frequently ignored.
I feel that many people are jumping on a bandwagon to paint the dental profession as promoters of toxic treatments when they are actually the people trying to help patients prevent the need for treatments in the first place. An abscessed tooth is very unhealthy for the body. I have seen people get brain abscesses from abscessed teeth. Time will tell what it really more toxic, the problem or the treatment, but I know that saving teeth is important for proper jaw relationship, mastication of food, and lastly appearance. When a patient leaves a tooth untreated if decay is into the dentin, an abscess is sure to follow … unless a way to stop decay in dentin is proven.
I hope that findings for re-mineralization of dentin is positive but in the mean time I highly encourage people to STOP putting acidic beverages in their bodies and living a life of frequent snacking. Even apple slices every 30 minutes can cause decay because the mouth can not recover from that acid attack before another one starts. The ph of water is neutral at 7 whereas the ph of juices, soda, energy and sports drinks is 2.7-3.1 … closer to battery acid.
Mothers who don’t want their children to undergo traumatic dental treatment or anesthesia need to carefully clean the children’s teeth with brush and floss and NOT allowing sipping drinks or snacking throughout the day. The acid attacks come in 2 ways. First directly from acidic beverages. Second from carbohydrates that break down into acids when they come into contact with the bacterial plaque (biofilm) stuck on the teeth. Biofilm begins with a protein matrix that sticks on the teeth and becomes the hotel for microorganisms. It can only be removed mechanically with brush and floss. Even a water pick does not remove all biofilm. Brushing only cleans about 60% of each tooth so the best brushing in the world will not prevent decay between teeth. The enamel of primary teeth is thinner than the enamel of adult or permanent teeth therefore decays more quickly.
When I think of all of the money spent on the consumption of destructive foods and beverages, and the money to treat tooth decay, gum disease and other chronic illnesses that are a result of poor dietary and hygiene habits it makes me very sad. As I go through the grocery store I wonder if even 20% of the foods there would even be worth putting in a body. I am a proponent of Robyn Openshaw’s 12 steps to whole foods and frequently refer my patients to her website.
In closing, I also highly recommend that patients have regular dental check-ups and cleanings so that if they do have decay or gum disease, it can be treated early to avoid more serious treatment and expense. Decay weakens teeth. When it is removed to restore the tooth, the tooth is like a shell, more likely to break, need crowning, root canals, or be lost requiring bridgework and implants or dentures. The original teeth are God’s work and when cared for properly can last very well for a whole lifetime with very little need for the treatments that are causing some so much worry.
As Hippocrates suggested, let thy medicine be thy food and food thy medicine.
Respectfully submitted by Cindy Bower RDH
is there a list of oil and a how to some where I am new to all of this and could use all the help I can get Thanks Charlotte
Here’s a report on a recent patent issued, and at the 4 min mark on a related patent pending, on use of low level DC currents (using 3 volts +/- direct current electricity) to heal dental infections, including ones deep within a tooth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVjZglwufok&list=PL69D8955499DB7605
Bob Beck PhD is considered by many to be the person who discovered electricity and healing (i.e. the 4 devices of the Bob Beck Protocol), but he had been studying Georges Lakhovsiy and his Multiwave Oscillators. A similar device, the Hulda Clark Zapper, apparently also has had some success in curing dental infections.
I believe these are related to the Essential Oils, which may be nature’s way of storing similar electrical energy in plants.
some interesting research for the file, on use of oils and leaves of
–peppermint –rosemary and –cumin
oils of these plants apparently prevent formation of a biofilm that dental bacteria need
(the bacteria involved in lyme’s disease also require formation of a biofilm to protect them … hmm?)
1. https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/power-peppermint-15-health-benefits-revealed?page=1
quote: “Dental Caries/Bad Breath: Peppermint oil extract has been found to be superior to the mouthwash chemical chlorhexidine inhibiting Streptococus mutans driven biofilm formation associated with dental caries.[xxiv] [xxv] This may explain why powdered peppermint leaves were used in the Middle Ages to combat halitosis and whiten teeth.”
2. Phytotherapeutic prevention of dental biofilm formation. Phytother Res. 2008 Sep;22(9):1162-7.
https://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/peppermint-and-rosemary-extract-are-superior-chemical-chlorhexidine-preventing-dental
3. Phytotherapeutic inhibition of supragingival dental plaque. Nat Prod Res. 2008 Mar 20;22(5):428-39.
https://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/peppermint-and-less-extent-cumin-essential-oil-compare-favorably-chemical-chlorhexidine-anti
There is one critical point I don’t often see in discussions like this one: the power of good news and gratitude.
I have worked and researched SO HARD to avoid health problems. When what I thought was an excellent, whole food diet turned out to be not good enough to build healthy teeth for myself and my growing family, I tried avoiding even MORE “bad” things and giving ever more time and energy to making everything from scratch, stressing about what we couldn’t have, couldn’t afford, couldn’t make time for… we were eating healthy things and we WERE free from most common health problems, but dental weaknesses and a few other issues never seemed to improve.
There can be a case made against almost ANY food out there, depending on what you’re researching. It is so easy to fall into the trap of avoiding everything bad and never seeing the good in anything: even the foods that are SO good for us might be too expensive, inconvenient to prepare or travel with, etc. In our journey towards health and healing, we get our gazes stuck on the muck on our boots and lose sight of the beauties all around us.
Gratitude opens hearts and minds. It also improves digestion, increases blood flow and oxygen intake. Stress and fear do the absolute opposite: they close your mind to possibilities, make your breathing shallower, your step heavier, your lymphatic system stagnant, etc.
Your body is AMAZING. Even if it is in poor shape because of ignorance or poor decisions, it really is amazing that it is doing as well as it is. Start with that thought: feed that thought! The fact that the body is wise enough to sacrifice teeth instead of something more important is reason to rejoice!
If the Devil can’t destroy your body with addictions or malnutrition, he is just as happy to destroy our ability to be thankful for the things that have been created to give us life! If I am eating a delicious red strawberry, I can either acknowledge the gift and the Giver, or I can stress about what might have been sprayed on it, where it was grown, was it washed thoroughly enough? Is it too high in sugars? When I celebrate my child’s birthday with a rare treat, where are my thoughts? Gratitude for the amazing taste and the joy of enjoying it with people I love, or am I allowing myself to be robbed of all that because it has sugar and some lower-quality fats in it?
There is so MUCH great news about your body and about nutrition. But we live surrounded by media-driven campaigns based in fear and bad news. Make the effort to flip all that bad news around and see the wonder of your body and the options around you.
Making sourdough and yogurt and salad because everything else was “bad for me” didn’t help me much. It was such a heavy load and often the keys I was missing looked too terrifying to pursue because I already had too much to do to avoid health problems.
The amazing paradox is that doing those same things because they are amazing and fun and delicious and good for my family has been SO healing!!!
Gratefully seeking health versus fearfully avoiding poor health… they sound like the same thing, don’t they? but there is a world of difference: “I HAVE to drink ____ much water or I will be sick”, versus “Wow, this water is SO refreshing and it is doing _____ and _____ and ____ amazing things in my body!”
Thank you, Robyn, for all your research and for your positive approach in all that you share!
I forgot to mention that it was that attitude change that marked the turning point in our family’s dental health: our teeth aren’t amazingly perfect, but they have stopped getting worse and worse.
Other problems have vanished; we have found big missing pieces (nutrients, techniques, attitudes and more) our family needed, and we are happy.