The summer I graduated from college, I went to the dentist because I was having tooth pain and suspected I had my first real cavity. Turned out, I had to get 3 fillings and a few other areas were on their way to being cavities, too. I had them filled, but couldn't keep from wondering what had really caused them after years of perfect oral health. Those that know me well know I am of the camp that issues like that are not just coincidental, but that I believe your body's way of telling you something has changed or is "off." Fast forward to my teeth post-pregnancy Hormones and morning sickness had done their damage despite being exceptionally vigilant with flossing, rinsing and brushing. I was certain I had at LEAST 3 more cavities, all my teeth were even more sensitive than usual and I could even SEE holes in a couple teeth. Even though my teeth were hurting, I couldn't stand the thought of having to get more fillings. Something wasn't right and my teeth were just the vessel my body was showing me through. Not to mention that we simply didn't have the funds for more dental work.
So what did I do?
I started doing what I do best- research. I came across multiple posts about using the ancient method of oil pulling to clean and detoxify one's teeth. It sounded simple & cheap so I bought a jar of organic, unrefined coconut oil and started pulling for 20 minutes after I woke up every morning. There was a noticeable difference- my mouth felt cleaner and my breath smelled better and smelled better longer than with using regular toothpaste (sorry, if that's TMI).
But my teeth still hurt. What next?
More research led me to discover The Weston A. Price Foundation which holds the belief, based on studying secluded, native people groups who lack modern dentistry, that cavities are the result of nutritional deficiencies. Finally. An idea in the right direction. I followed that lead to multiple blog posts about individuals and children whose teeth had been healed simply through eating grass-fed butter and taking a cod liver oil supplement daily. There are far more facets to the nutritional beliefs of the WPF, but the common link I found was the butter & oil combo. More in depth knowledge can be found in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.
I researched from the limited knowledge available on this natural healing method the particulars behind which butter and which cod liver oil were most successful. Then I had to take a step back because there was simply no way I could afford the "best." At the end of August, I purchased this cod liver oil after reading Dr. Mercola's post about balancing the vitamins A and D in the cod liver oil. I was leery about the amounts of these vitamins recommended by the WPF, but decided I would start out with the recommended dose on the bottle and go from there. I also purchased Kerrygold Irish butter about this time for the high amounts of vitamin K (Activator X) found in the butter from the animals being on rapidly growing, green grass. (I should also note that since January I had been dairy-free due to breast feeding and still currently do not consume milk).
Every morning I take just 1 tsp of cod liver oil and eat about 1 TBS of butter with my breakfast. It's important that the two are consumed together. At this time I also stopped using conventional toothpaste to brush my teeth because it contains glycerine which prevents your teeth from remineralizing. I switched to a small bit of baking soda and sometimes just water to clean off the teeth, but continued the oil pulling, too. (Again, I should note that I also read Nourishing Traditions at this time and started baking our own bread and eventually stopped eating bread for about a month mostly because I got lazy baking it. I doubt this affected my teeth much, but the belief is that unsoaked grains can have negative effects for the teeth. I also stopped consuming caffeinated beverages).
Today I can honestly tell you that my teeth that were hurting like they had cavities do NOT hurt in the least, my teeth which were naturally very sensitive before are no longer sensitive to hot or cold or certain foods, I even noticed that my gums which I felt were thin and receding in many areas feel thick and healthy now and even seem to have grown back inward to the teeth. A small hole that I've had in a back molar for years is growing closed and is almost completely gone! My bottom front tooth which was chipped during childhood and was too sensitive to run my tongue across has regrown where it had been chipped and no longer hurts! Last night I wore my retainers for the first time in at least 4 months because I had started teeth grinding again. I expected them not to fit well and to be extremely painful for the first day or two until my teeth moved back in to place to fit them- per usual. However that was not the case. My teeth ached minimally and nothing like I'd experienced in the past. My assumption is that this nutritional change has strengthened the periodontal tendons, too, keeping my teeth in their straighter position. It is also worth noting that both my teeth and my fingernails, which have always been longer and thick, feel thicker and stronger.
I'm no doctor and this is not medical advice. I can't explain this phenomenon in any other way than to say for ME the reason my oral health was becoming so poor was because of an extreme deficiency in vitamins A, D and K. Considering the changes in my eating habits through college it made sense to me. I ate well, but not compared to my childhood of grass-fed beef on the farm I grew up on. I am a firm believer. It leads me to wonder... What else could we heal through what we're eating?
