When I wrote the post How I Healed My Child’s Cavity last month, I had no idea that the post would end up being circulated around dental forums or that it would be the target of ridicule and even anger from a number disbelieving dentists.
The fact is that teeth can and do heal, whether conventional dentists choose to acknowledge this or not. Dr. Weston A. Price DDS documented many cases of cavities resolving when nutritional deficiencies were corrected in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Just because the book was written back in the 1930′s doesn’t make this research any less valuable.
While I received many negative emails and comments from dentists (I also received a few positive emails from dentists, I might add), I was also delighted and amazed by stories from Moms just like me who had experiences very similar to my own – tooth problems resolving with nutrition or natural medicine alone!
One of the most interesting emails I received was from a homeopath named Kay, who lives in Australia, coincidentally right near where my husband was raised! Kay wrote me the following story which I thought so fascinating that it absolutely needed to be a guest post:
Homeopathy Instead of a Root Canal
Dear Sarah,
My sister who lives in Hong Kong sent me the link to your site after you wrote an article about butter oil and how it reversed tooth decay when taken along with with cod liver oil.
I am a homeopath and teach workshops to parents on how to use natural medicine to raise healthy children, so I was fascinated by this piece of information and it prompted me to share another tooth story with you and your readers about how my son was saved from a root canal at the age of 14 years old by using natural medicine.
Jack had been playing golf with his brother over the school holidays and while hot tired and emotional ( a normal state of affairs for my son at the time), his golf club got stuck in the bag. So, with sheer brute force he ripped it out of the bag straight into his mouth and broke off the bottom of his front tooth!
We went straight to the dentist who did tests and declared the root was dying and that he needed to do a root canal before the tooth discolored. I told him to remove his drill from my son’s mouth and said I would try and save the tooth with homeopathy. A not very happy dentist told me there was a time and place for homeopathy and this wasn’t it and if there was any remote chance I could save this tooth he would send me all his clients.
I took Jack home and gave him homeopathic Arnica for shock, trauma and bruising. Then, I used homeopathic hypericum, a great remedy every parent should know about as it repairs nerve damage. I gave it to Jack every few hours and then reduced it to 2 x day for the next week . In America I believe you can buy homeopathics in health food stores quite easily, so always have arnica and hypericum in your cupboard for “teeth” accidents .
Today Jack still has his original front tooth with a little cosmetic dentistry to build up the bottom half and the dentist still has not sent me one client!
Thanks for letting me share this story Sarah. Just knowing these small pieces of information can create such better health outcomes for our children and families.
Kay Watts is a classical Homeopath in Victoria, Australia who lectures at the Southern School of Naturopathy. She teaches workshops on how to provide first-aid using Homeopathic and natural medicines. To reserve your spot in her monthly workshops or find out about her upcoming online first-aid class, contact her at kay@childrensnaturalmedicine.com.au
www.childrensnaturalmedicine.com.au
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{ 118 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, what a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it.
Love, love, love hearing stories like this!! Thank you!
I read through all the comments on the posts you are referring too (left one myself about a mysterious pain in my molar disappearing with a real food diet), and was shocked at how people pretty much insinuated you were lying. I mean, honestly, it doesn’t take a dental degree to know you’ve seen a hole in a tooth one day and another day it’s gone. I recently read “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and there was a quote that has stuck with me since then: “But you perceive, my boy, that it is not so, and that facts, as usual, are very stubborn things, overruling all theories.” These dentists can open their mouths and cry “foul” all they want with their “science” but the fact is that the hole in your son’s tooth is gone, and the pain in my molar that my dentist couldn’t identify after multiple exams is gone. If I get flamed from dentists for this comment, then so be it. Facts are facts.
great post, i will certaintly have these two homeopathic remedies in my cupboard! my daughter fell 2 summers ago and her front baby tooth started dying, so they removed it after a while. hopefully her new one growns in perfect!
also, i was wondering what you Sarah or other readers hear think about bridges? i am getting my molar tooth extracted soon, because it was root canaled (before I knew about natural medicine!!) but now it broke off. my dentist wants to put in a bridge with new artifical tooth after the extraction, but i just got an estimate and our insurance will only cover half of the enormous amount for the bridge. so i am at loss here…are bridges really nesessary? can i just have the tooth extracted and leave it at that? is there cheaper alternatives? any help will be appreciated! thank you!
Marina,
My bridge experience was terrible. I lost a lower molar when I was in my twenties. 10 years later a dentist told me he wanted to put in a bridge because having a missing tooth would make my other teeth loose, and possibly fall out. (Never mind that 10 years had passed, and my other teeth were fine.) Getting that bridge is something I definitely regret. The bridge was fitted over the two teeth on either side of the missing one, so now I have three fake teeth instead of one. Those two teeth were almost completely sawed/ drilled away, leaving only two little nubs — so that the bridge could fit onto them. Those teeth were perfect before the procedure. Also, the bridge is a bit too big for my mouth, and it has pushed my lower front teeth out of place. Now they are crooked. (After all those years wearing braces.)
Scroll down to see a reply from Frances who had a good experience with her bridge. My experience, however, is one of the few things in my life that I wish I could undo!
I had to have a molar removed from a baaaaaaad filling I got as a child. It came apart, and eventually the pain was just unbearable. Since it is in the back, and not visible, I chose not to replace it. The only problem I have had is that occasionally a sharp piece of food will poke me, and it isn’t particularly comfortable. It has been five years and two pregnancies (my teeth tend to shift while pregnant) and I have had no other difficulties.
Dentists love root canals, and why wouldn’t they? Root canals are triple money-makers in my book. First you go in for an appointment and he assesses the “damage”. Then another appointment for the actual root canal. Then a few years down the road, another appointment to have the dead tooth pulled because it’s falling out or whatever, because root canals almost always cause other issues, apart from the obvious risk of insidious infections which can affect your way of life years later. I’ve seen this happen with friends and their children I can’t tell you how many times. It’s very sad, but people are hard to convince about natural medicines and they REALLY don’t believe foods can do anything. I am starting to believe the majority of people see food only as a means to filling their stomachs and they don’t understand it has anything at all to do with health. How strange! Such disconnect in our world today.
Next question then is: Can tooth enamel be built back up with proper diet? I asked my dentist and did research on the web and found that all reported that once enamel is gone, it will never come back. But after two years of regularly taking fermented cod liver oil with butter oil, eating a much healthier diet, and using pascalite clay to brush my teeth, I could swear my teeth look stronger and more “enameled”! And they are also whiter naturally. I won’t use commercial whitener. Since I have no way of proving it, I sometimes think it might be my imagination. Either way, I am happy with my teeth!
Does anyone know if enamel can truly be built back up with proper nutrition?
I am with you. I also make my own tooth paste with clay, sea salt, olive oil, and high quality therapeutic grade essential oils.
I also got a mouth retainer from my holistic dentist to re-align my teeth and to prevent grinding them at night. I got one for my son too fix his overbite and open up his nasal cavity..
I wish I had heard all of this before having 5 root canals. Now I have to live with that, but I know staying healthy through a WAP diet will hopefully keep me from having any serious issues.
I have also found a dentist in town who believes in WAP and tries to do anything to prevent root canals. I just wish I had met him 5 years ago because there really doesn’t seem to be anything to do with a tooth that already has a root canal.
I think it’s great that you are giving out this information. Keep up the good work! (Isn’t it cool that your posts are so popular that they are circulating around dentist forums!!!)
Around 10 years ago (this was before I began our holistic lifestyle), my daughter had a cavity. I took her to the dentist and the dentist DID NOT fill the cavity. My daughter (a teenager) said that the dentist told her that it looked like the tooth was “recalcifying” itself, and that there was no need. Go figure, a real dentist said that.
Great article. Does anyone object to my suggesting that people who post negatively charged comments might have some kind of profit motive? My friend who was born in the 20′s had a dentist who made the (honest) remark: “Cavities? They come and they go.” In the 1970′s, another friend had a dentist say that he had a cavity because his prober found a “sticky place” on the tooth. The next time, he said the boy had no cavities. So the boy reminded him, “last time you said I had a cavity and now I don’t. Does that mean cavities can heal themselves?” The dentist replied, “cavities never heal themselves!” ” “Well, if cavities don’t heal, where did my “sticky place” go, that you were going to drill and fill?” The dentist replied, “I don’t have time for such ridiculous questions, now please go away you’re crazy! “
I love these posts on taking care of our teeth. I have so many mercury fillings in my mouth it is unreal. Thankfully I did manage to avoid root canals. I am in the process of getting rid of all the mercury, but it takes a lot of money and time. I just had 2 crowns put on yesterday to replace 2 fillings.
My question is I have a receded gum line that is very low (close to the bone. My dentist wants me to have surgery to have the gum graphed and replaced. Because i am a diabetic they are suggesting I have the new piece come from a cadaver (?). Is there a way for me to get my gum to heal itself. I am eating a full GAPS diet at the moment and will be doing the intro to GAPS in September. I really do not want to have surgery because that is such a big expense and I do not like something from someone else being entered into my mouth. I am currently only taking the FCLO, but my husband and I both are going to start on the Butter Oil FCLO combination Capsules as soon as we are finished with the FCLO. I am looking for any advice that will heal my gums.
Thank you for all your hard work and posts. They have been so helpful to me.
Pray for help from Yahshua and Things ToTry= hyperbaric treatments as given to diabetics. Next try Dr Schuessler’s cellular Salts the Bio Plasm ones. They are or were made in ST Louis Mi. Also get a Sonafon it creates sound vibrations and massage your gums head and whole body. Massage your gums the direction you want new growth many times gently. Faith to see your gums capillaries grow to cover the empty place takes persistance and faith and it could fail of you dont love enough to do it consistantly with observation and tender regard for the Gums. The advice I give you is free and Im not responsible for your desisions and final outcome. You must not go so far as to hurt yourself but you must have faith to win this promise of divine health. Remember Yahshua loves you !~ I;ll be praying for you. Rick
It just seems like a ridiculous sentiment to think that teeth CAN’T heal themselves. If any other part of our body gets damaged, we know it will heal if given the proper care – why would our teeth be any different?? That doesn’t make any sense to me, so I will choose to keep believing that cavities can heal with proper nutrition and supplementation. Our bodies are amazing and can do amazing things when we let them! But we have to let them!
A baby in the mothers womb cannot get cavities but has no teeth!!! Isolate the tooth as in a mothers womb!!!!
Marina,
I am no expert except to say that I have a bridge. It’s 2 false teeth, not 1 like you would have. I like my bridge, it has lasted 14 years. They drill a little into the back of adjacent teeth to make a shelf to adhere the tooth to via hardware. These days they often make false teeth which are then implanted into the bone and I may have that done when my bridge wears out at last. I’m sure you could just have the tooth out and leave it like that, I had two missing molars for 4 years prior to the bridge. It’s a cosmetic issue really. I think it’s worth it though. There is a stigma attached to having missing teeth that is very deeply ingrained in society. And molars can be seen (or not if you don’t have them!) when you speak or laugh or smile
Does the glycerin in toothpaste impede tooth remineralization?
Ciao, Pavil
Yes that is what I’ve read. I do not use even healthfood store toothpaste for this reason.
What toothpaste would you recommend, Sarah? And do you use the same thing for yourself and your children?
Would you mind sharing what you use for brushing teeth? My brother uses a concentrated oil – I can’t remember the name – but I’m curious about what are good options? Thanks! P.S. I starting taking the butter oil (along with my cod liver oil) a week or so ago in an attempt to heal a couple of small (and one large) cavities. I’m anxious to see the results! How long was it before you noticed a difference in your son’s tooth? Thanks!
We love Tooth Soaps. My kids hate regular toothpaste, always have, but they love the Groovy Grape flavor the best.
http://purpledancingdahlias.blogspot.com/2011/05/great-new-way-to-brush-your-teeth.html
I chipped a bottom front tooth while drinking a soda out of a bottle. The top of the tooth was jagged. A couple of years later I adopted a nutrient dense diet, but still wasn’t using fermented cod liver oil or high vitamin butter oil (I am now), and was still using regular toothpaste. Yet, I was still able to remineralize the tooth. It’s completely restored. I’m not recommending forgoing fclo or using drugstore toothpaste, but the body can do amazing things with a modicum of support!
Okay, good to know. I read this too and wasn’t sure. I know there are brands at Health food stores without glycerine, you just have to search to find them. My girlfriend finally found some but that was after much searching. Thanks for these awesome posts on teeth!! My eldest damaged his front tooth when he was 2.5, told he needed a root canal, we said no way (for the cost, this was before we learned about WAP) – the tooth turned grey – we were told it was dead, but then over time lightened up to the point that it almost looked normal – so, clearly not dead after all. It was a baby tooth, and now the adult tooth has come in, in it’s place (he’s 8) and it looks great, nice and straight, no harm done to it. We’ve been drinking raw milk for 1.5 years now. The dentist tried to tell us that if we didn’t ‘fix’ the baby tooth it would damage the permanent one coming in. We thought, man, that sounds like a money grab. Turns out it defintely was, his adult teeth look great! And also, have to add, that none of our other kids have had a cavity at all – ever!
by the smiley face it should’ve said he’s now 8
These are great posts and it’s wonderful that Sara has stirred up such controversy!
Years ago 4 of my children and I were in a horrible motor vehicle accident (hit by an 18 wheeler from behind) two front teeth knocked out my daughters mouth. Divine intervention: hiking on the road was med student who instantly came to us, found my daughters teeth, wrapped them and gave to us to bring to hospital… out dentist reluctantly
re-inserted them (very disbelieving). Her face was severely damaged, mouth wired shut with just an opening for a straw so I immediately went to work preparing the most healthy, vitamin rich foods I could, blending them smooth and for 8 weeks that was her diet… I also
squeezed hundreds of fresh oranges and made a vit C drink for her…. At that point I was onto
Adelle Davis and just learning about Weston Price. Well, my daughter healed, she still
has the two front teeth, and is beautiful young woman….. Believing in what you are doing is also a bonus !
One more caveat: because I am so in touch with my physical body,, over the years I have made notes of signs or symptoms. One them, THIN TEETH! My teeth have fluctuated from feeling thin and brittle to full and thick…. Well, I just discovered on Alice Bast’s Celiac blog that she also suffered from this phenomonon ! It’s a red flag… one I feel everyone
should be aware of…
Wishes for a healthy planet !
Weston Price wasn’t the only dentist studying cavities and how to prevent and heal them. Another site that’s well-referenced is
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/search?q=dental
He’s pulled together research from other researchers to flesh out the story of minerals and fat-soluble vitamins, both for caries and for good formation of dental arches.
Besides Weston Price, Britain’s May Mellanby performed remarkable trials on nutrition and cavity prevention and recovery. Great articles on preventing and healing cavities, here, too.
http://thedentalessentials.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/can-cavities-really-be-healed/
Do you have xrays to prove the cavities healed up?
So glad you’re standing strong against the naysayers! Keep up the great work.
Homeopathy is WONDERFUL! We’ve had great success treating, pleurisy, mono, strep throat, postpartum depression, ear aches, body aches, injuries all kinds of things. A book we love for self help is Vinton McCabe’s Practical Homeopathy. It goes pretty in depth as far as first aid and remedies for flus and colds and bumps and bruises!
Thanks so much Sarah for sharing about natural dentistry it always encourages me to keep up with the CLO and BO!
so awesome that you posted this today. My husband literally broke one of his teeth this morning and I’m having him take the Arnica and Hypericum homeopathic remedies so hopefully he can make it until Monday when he can see our regular dentist.
We have used Young Living thieves and/or clove essential oils (I wouldn’t recommend anything but THERAPEUTIC GRADE) to heal infection in the mouth. When one of us has a tender spot or pain, we apply it directly to the area several times, and sometimes by the end of the day, the pain is gone and the teeth are fine.
My husband has several “cavities” in his mouth that have been there for 10-15 years that have never required fillings. You can still see the small holes, but they aren’t sticky or painful. I believe the holes have recalcified and are no longer deteriorating. I think our traditional whole food diet change and supplementation has allowed him to keep from root canals and multiple fillings.
Every root canal I’ve ever had has been a failure. What a mistake, which I’d known then what I know now. Have you ever heard of “oil pulling” ? I swear that saved at least two of my fractured molars. I also use non-fluoride toothpaste with Xylitol which arrests decay and promotes recalcification of tooth enamel…AND I add a bit of grapefruitseed extract too. Changing my diet to one that is organic and has lots of live, whole foods helped as well.
I tagged a dentist friend when I shared this. He seemed to readily accept that teeth can heal. He stopped way short of endorsing your cause/effect premise but didn’t seem you find you a complete whack job either
Wow! I had my doubts but enough testimonies from folks has made me into a believer!!!
Thank you for sharing! A remaining bridge from an “emergency” root canal is the only remaining unnatural thing in my body – wish I would have known then what I know now. It was actually my body’s reaction to an IUD I had placed after having my second child. There is also a great book out there about remineralizing cavities and repairing your teeth naturally with good food: http://tinyurl.com/65fxd7j
Hi Anita, I did take my son to the dentist and had him examined and there were no cavities at all. I didn’t do xrays (I don’t do them unless there is an obvious need – I don’t buy doing them every 6 months or a year as most dentists want you to do) as the examination by the dentist did not show any hole in the tooth as was there before the tooth healed up. The tooth was also hard with no soft or sticky parts to it.
There’s a nice discussion on another site too, Weston Price wasn’t the only one doing research on healing (and thus preventing) caries… http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/search?q=dental
Tanya, thank you for this comment. it helped me find the answer to my question about gum disease. Looks like I will be making sure to take the butter oil and Fermented Cod Liver Oil on a more consistent basis. As soon as I get the butter oil anyway.
Hi Kati, the black does not necessarily go away according to Rami Nagel, author of Cure Tooth Decay
I’m still finishing both articles. But amazing! This has happened to me before. I’ve had a cavity, set up the appointment to get it filled and when I get there it’s gone. I’ve never deliberately tried to heal my tooth, but it HAS happened.
I still don’t understand why you were so ridiculed for your first post on your son’s cavity. You made an appt with the dentist, but MEANWHILE worked on nutrition. And that was irresponsible? Or wrong? I JUST DON’T GET IT!!!!!
I just wanted to point out that there are root canals for different reasons. The kind this woman talks about are the easiest to heal and sometime can heal spontaneously. This is very different from a root canal needed for an abscessed tooth or a decayed pulp. Pulpal injury from trauma is not the same thing as pulpal injury from decay…
just fyi, a root canal for trauma is a very different situation from a root canal for an abscessed tooth. The traumatic injury is much more likely to heal on its own. It would be a mistake to see them as the same thing…
I have had dentists tell me that small cavities will heal themselves, but the ones caught that are large won’t. your article was the first I’m hearing of this.
Hasn’t anyone ever noticed how a toothache can come and go? Ever notice it’s related to your DIET? Since reading your original post, Sarah, it’s become so obvious to me; refuting it seems absolutely silly!
Ah ridicule & anger – the result of fear of the unknown… (IMHO). Anyone read The Tooth Truth (Jermone). Root canals are nasty.
About the connection between root canals and cancer: http://www.new-cancer-treatments.org/Articles/RootCanals.html
“”Dr. Thomas Rau, who runs the Paracelsus Clinic (cancer clinic since 1958) in Switzerland recently checked the records of the last 150 breast cancer patients treated in his clinic. He found that 147 of them (98%) had one or more root canal teeth on the same meridian as the original breast cancer tumor. “
as always sarah, we’ve got your back!! so amazing the people who believe the answer to proper nutrition and good health is achieved through cans, pills, supplements, vaccinations and lets not forget the cholesterol and fat free diet!! were left with weird colorless drones filling our society whose only satisfaction comes from association with other weird colorless drones joining to point and laugh at the dietary errors of the healthy happy colorful people..it brings to my mind an old saying…how many people have to jump off of the cliff in front of you before you decide to step out of line?? keep up the fight, sarah!!
-jason and lisa-
what I find amusing is the reaction to this story. I do not have enough information about this case to determine if this tooth really needed a RCT (Root Canal Treatment). It is true that the dentin can repair and rebuild itself to an extent. It is true that the outter hard enamel shell also can remineralize and repair itself. It is NOT TRUE that a cavity completely trough the enamel can or will repair. If a cavity is just in the enamel it is called an incipient caries and it can repair if it is less than halfway through. The small cavities that break through the enamel are the worst because once the bacteria breaks through the hard enamel the bacteria are protected from the saliva and from the re-mineralization process and a filling is necessary. As far as this tooth not needing a RCT, call me in a couple of years when there is an infection in the bone. These teeth are usually asymmptomatic for a while then they hurt and swell. I see this all the time. If the nerve re-attaches then the tooth may be fine. We can now get the nerve to grow back in teeth that have had RCT. However, if you were foolish enough to not have a RCT and have a tooth extracted because you follow some silly suggestions on these boards then you are screwed. Remember that when you choose to extract an infected tooth that needs an RCT, you are compromising all your other teeth. This foolishness was suggested over 100 years ago. Dentist suggested that any infected or tooth with a cavity be extracted because it infects your whole body. How would you like dentures at 25? Ask your grandmother
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Hahahahaha.
lol
so why did my root canaled tooth broke off and now i need to extract it? my dentist said that the root canal was improperly done or something, and there is infection there now. she said the best way to get rid of the infection is too extract the tooth now, clean the root canal, and put it an artifical tooth.
I doubt this will get read by Lynn but what the heck. I had a molar pulled when I was 15yo. I’m 43yo and other than some shifting of teeth all is well.
or a crown?
@ Linda: Whoa.
what do you use for cleaning teeth?
Don’t listen to the Medical Industry shills, Sarah! You wrote a great and informative article.
I actually injured one of my front teeth a few years ago and noticed that its much stronger since I switched to a healthier diet.
I’ve also had a number of patients who have developed an abscess after trauma (years after) with no discoloration of the tooth whatsoever. Also, the root can begin to resorb due to previous trauma. There are SO many variables to each situation, and often, the prudent thing for a practitioner to do is monitor the situation. I am a believer in real food and its healing properties. However, I think it’s possible to find a like minded practitioner that is willing to “think outside the box.”
As an aside, I worked in a clinic where a squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed on a 23 year old, non tobacco using male (i.e. no known risk factors.) Knock traditional dentistry if you will, but regular exams/ oral cancer screenings should be important no matter who you are.
Yes it’s true. My dentist referred me more than once over a 2 year period to a specialist for 2 root canals. I had 2 painful molars. Couldn’t even chew soft foods. But with normal xrays, I just couldn’t swallow a $2000 root canal procedure. I finished Dr. Price’s N&PD in November, 2010, and started taking HVBO/CLO from Green Pasture shortly after reading about the increase in dentin density from proper nutrition. Within 3 weeks I was chewing soft foods. After 6 weeks I showed off by chewing nuts. No pain. It’s been 6 months and still no pain. I chew venison, nuts, and other foods with not even an inkling that there was ever anything wrong. When I returned to my dentist a few months ago, my hygienist remarked how 2 chronic areas of gum inflammation were now normal. She was interested in my story. But my dentist changed the subject when, on her prompt, I mentioned I had gone for a second opinion (but not to worry, the dentist is no longer alive). He wasn’t interested.
I find it interesting how Dr. Price wrote a 1000 page tome on the dangers of root canals after doing years of research on the subject. His only son and child died from a root canal he himself put in.
Instead of wallowing in his emotional pain at losing his child, he immersed himself in the study of root canals and produced his epic work on the subject. Of course, dentists ignored it as they did his work on reversing cavities even though he was a well respected dentist and had been the President of the American Dental Association at one point. Why? Most of them would be put out of business if the info went mainstream.
Why? Most of them would be put out of business if the info went mainstream.
I actually find this kind of offensive. Dentists are people, too! Certainly they are subject to biases, like everyone is. But most are truly trying to help people and are trying to make good, safe recommendations. Prevention is HUGE right now in dentistry and is a major focus of the profession. The real problem is that the mainstream public isn’t interested in lifestyle changes or in prevention. They want the “live how I like and then give me a cure me now” pill.
I have first hand experience with healing tooth problems. My son had an abscess under his tooth at the gumline. I treated it with Echinacea tincture, which he’ll agree WAS a treat, and it resolved on its own. No puling the tooth as the dentist advised
I also have had amazing results with coconut oil pulling!!
These “medical” people drive me crazy!!! When my kids were small, they pounded us with prescription fluoride, yet it didn’t help, their cavities got worse. I stopped using toothpaste with fluoride and I use Theives oil at times….my children haven’t had cavities in years!! Yet, when I tell the people at the dentist office that, they act like….”Well, that’s nice….but do you want the fluoride treatment now or what?” They seem totally incapable of using their brains to think any other way than what they have been taught!! I feel like saying, “HELLO!!!! the proof is in the pudding!” So to speak!!! I love these articles and hope and pray that I can continue to grow in this traditional way of living….it is really hard sometimes….I wish I had started before my children could talk…I feel like I fall behind so often…..but I guess as long as I keep getting inspired by all of you…once I have reprogrammed myself it will get easier! Hopefully!! Thank you, Sarah!
Wow! I had NO idea! I think this will make me dread the dentist just a little bit less.
Thanks!!!
Thanks for posting this, Sarah! After reading your first article, I got the FCLO and butter oil blend and I am SO EXCITED to see the difference in my teeth!
i thought it was brilliant!my SIL(who is studying to make dentures)completely disagreed with it but i’m afraid that is probably what they are taught.of course,dentists don’t want to lose their customers do they?we will be started oil pulling this week
I’m very intrigued with all of this. I’ve been doing research on my own and was wondering, and this has been asked here several times, what do you clean your teeth with?’!!!! I’ve scoured the shelves to no avail.
Next, I have VERY sensitive teeth. Does anyone have any ideas as to how to reverse this? Would the butter oil/CLO help here? I really would love a response on this one.
Hi Ann, YES YES YES, butter oil/cod liver oil (particularly the fermented from Green Pasture Products) would help with sensitivity. If I don’t take my daily dose, within a few days my teeth begin to get sensitive.
I personally brush my teeth with just plain water and a Sonicare. It gets them perfectly clean. I use baking soda with the Sonicare once or twice a week.
Thanks Sarah, for the reply. I’ve tried using baking soda but I seem to get a blister on my bottom lip after I’ve used it for a few days. Maybe I’ll try the once a week thing like you do. I love how it works. I do need to invest in a brush like that. I bought one for my son a few weeks ago (he seems to not be able to get the brusing thing down) so I’ll put it on the list for me this coming month along with the supplements. Thanks, again!
Ann, there are a number of different tooth cleaners that you can buy or make yourself. Tooth soap (which is literally little soap threads) is on option. Some people complain that their teeth turn gray. I used it and did have some discoloration but it was also at a time where my health was very poor and my teeth of course seemed to be suffering as well. Something you can make yourself is some combination of clay, such as pascalite or bentonite, coconut oil, and honey or xylitol, perhaps with clove or peppermint oil or some other edible flavoring added. I use EcoDent but I think it’s baking soda-based so that may not work for you. A small bottle lasts forever though.
I’ve just bought a bottle of the combo fermented cod liver oil and high-vitamin butter. Last time I bought this I got the capsules, which were great; but this time I accidentally bought the gel… and I really can’t handle the taste. Anyone got any suggestions on eating this? I tried mixing it with salmon salad, but the strong funky taste dominated.
We’ve done a couple of the gels–chocolate and cinnamon. I put it on my tongue then take a quick sip of something (milk, water, smoothie) and swallow everything together. It isn’t too bad. Good luck!
I have the FCLO/Butter oil blend. I leave it in the fridge, scoop some off on a knife, place on tongue and swallow it down like a pill. You can hold your breath if you need to. I don’t eat sugar, so the taste really doesn’t bother me.
Love to get started on your plan… Please see my question on your Wall, and the other folks who’ve left comments as well!
Yes, indeed a wonderful story. Of course doctors will never agree home remedies, otherwise they would be out of jobs. They have to go by the books and tend to not look beyond that. My previous dentist told me I needed a root canal, got one, then a couple of months after I needed another one but on a different tooth. It would’ve been nice to tell me beforehand. I stopped believing them. I love stories like yours!
Hi Tiffany, I’ve checked my wall and all the questions have been answered .. I don’t see one from you?
No mainstream Dr will condone anything alternative as this would mean that they will no longer have employment. But saying that, it really is sad…it keeps the corporate side of things fat and healthy and does not allow for real healing!
I disagree that they would no longer have employment. If they started implementing these ideas in their practices it could still be part of their business. There would still be people who need to have exams/cleanings/emergencys/etc. it could be part of the normal dental practice =)
It’s immediately below this … and has 4 comments …
Hi Sarah,
This is actually way off the topic, but can I use coconut vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar for making bone broth?
Thanks!
Sure. It’s all about adding an acidic medium to draw minerals out of the bones. Should work fine. I’ve not tasted coconut vinegar though so not sure how it would affect the taste.
I think it would affect the taste because coconut vinegar is absolutely discusting! I just forgot to purchase raw apple cider vinegar from the store yesterday and need to make some stock right away since I’m out of it.
i think “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Dr. Price should be required reading for every adult in America. And i can attest firsthand to the power of food to heal. Once i changed my diet, my health problems went away, which included metabolic syndrome, depression, peridontal disease, frequent colds, to name a few. and it cured my daughter’s thyroid condition. bottom line – cod liver oil, raw milk, healthy fats, and REAL food.
I SO wish I’d known about this a few years ago. While we follow a WAPF diet, and do take the CLO/BO combo, it wasn’t enough to “save” my then-8 year old from a root canal. (Or, I guess, I should say that *I* wasn’t enough – I watched the guy, who was supposed to be doing an “evaluation”, sticking the needle into my son’s mouth and literally couldn’t open my mouth to tell him to stop before it was too late).
My son is now 11, and it’s his top front tooth (broke off at the gum-line by a badly aimed disc swing). We were able to wait 6 months before the ill-fated “evaluation” by the oral surgeon. We went in for said “evaluation” because despite the dentist doing a coating to minimize the nerve exposure and doing all we could to help the tooth heal, my son started having shooting pain in that area (no swelling, no heat, no fever, no outward symptoms of infection). I’d give ANYTHING to be able to go back to that day and be the lunatic mom who yells at the doctor and drags her half-numbed child out of the office, threatening to sue! Instead I meekly stumbled to the waiting room in shock so the doctor could permanently alter my son’s health without mom watching.
So, next, Sarah, I need to know what to do with an already-root-canal-treated tooth? If it were *any* tooth besides the very front, I’d probably just pull it and to heck with a perfect mouth full of perfectly straight teeth. My feeling is the root-canal-treated tooth needs to come out ASAP (preferably by a holistic/biological dentist), but then what? Can that be the next article? (or if anyone knows, please chime in here!)
Hi Jennifer, my husband was in a car wreck at age 8 and 3 of his 4 front teeth were knocked out. He had root canals in them and this was the start of his downward spiral in health that only began to be reversed when he began to eat Real Food (that includes LOTS of raw saturated fats from grassfed animals) AND he had those nasty root canals out in his 30′s. He says he feels better now at age 45 than he did at 16. Those root canals are devastating to health. When he had them out, the oral surgeon said that there were absesses way up in there that had been pouring pus into his bloodstream 24/7 for over 20 years! Nice that all those dentists he went to all those years said NOTHING about it.
If it were my son, I would have that root canal out immediately and get a fake tooth put in with a titanium bolt or whatever they call it to hold it in there. I don’t like bridges because they have to destroy the teeth on either side to fit the bridge on. Make sure you see a holistic dentist who uses materials that he tests to see are compatible with your son’s physiology.
I’m only a recent whole-food-eater, and so thankful that I’ll be saving my kids the health and dental issues I’ve had.
In college my diet was really, really poor. I ended up with 11 cavities (filled with mercury,) 3 root canals, and a titanium implant.
I am more than willing to save up for the implants to replace the root canals. My question: if I have the mercury fillings removed, how much can a tooth heal? Some of the teeth had more than one cavity, so they are more filling than tooth (above the gums.)
Hi Tammy, if the tooth was drilled out, not sure it can heal much at all. Drilling for mercury fillings is more damaging than the drilling for composite fillings from what I understand. You will have to have the mercury fillings replaced with composite fillings.
Sarah, I did not know you can have root canals removed! I am a little unsure about what a root canal “is” although I do know about the health risks in getting one. For some reason I though it was a digging and removal of some sorts, which invites infection. However, I did not know it can be removed/reversed and my husband has two from a fall when he was younger. We go to a dentist who is very holistic and I am going to inquire about this! Thank you!
Great info! I have an mercury filling that I’ve been waiting to get taken out because I’m still nursing my son. My biological dentist told me that it’s decaying and I need to get it out before I need a root canal. My son is 18 months and I’ve cut down to nursing him to about 4 times day and night. I hadn’t planned to cut him off until he was 2 but now I’m nervous about my tooth. I am taking butter oil and cod liver oil again and eat no sugar, gluten and eat extremely healthy based on Sally Fallons recipes and Weston A Price. Hopefully my diet will help?!!
as English is not my first language, as I read your article “How I Healed My Child’s Cavity”, I’m not sure what you mean with “butter oil”. Is that ghee? Or something else?
THANK YOU! You are my favorite blog! I have heard of Weston Price’s dental program, but found his book overwhelming. I appreciate how you simplified it for me. I had a root canal and the tooth is now painful. My dentist said it can happen, but I’m concerned and will seek another opinion. In the meantime, I’m taking
Cod LIver Oil (cinnamon) & Butter Oil each morning. I swish them in my mouth, especially around the painful tooth. I also want to try Arnica for swelling and hypericum for NERVE DAMAGE. So here are my questions:
1. Does swishing help or should I just swallow?
2. Do I need the Butter Oil if I drink RAW milk every day?
3. Is Ghee the same as Butter Oil?
4. Arnica is not to be taken internally, so how do people use it in their mouth?
5. Hypericum – how is it used?
I so appreciate you!
Mary
Question:I avoid the dentist at all cost and, so far, we are cavity free, but I am afraid my daughters will have crowded teeth because I did NOT have good nutrition while I was pregnant. I was recently reading about palate expansion in Nutrition and Physical degeneration. When would I take my daughters in to see if they need this procedure? I know that you must do it before puberty – is it “the earlier the better type of thing”? Has anyone else done this?
Age 7 is a good time for a preliminary evaluation from what I understand. The earlier its done the easier it is.
I noticed in the story the author said she gave homeopathic arnica. I broke my foot recently and it has been put in a cast and I’ve been told to keep my weight off of it. A friend of mine mentioned arnica, and now I am looking for a trusted brand to aid my foot in healing. Any suggestions?
I’d say the reason most dentists don’t believe it is because they have never actually seen it in their practice. Patients actually willing to go through major diet changes are pretty uncommon. Heck, many patients aren’t willing to quit smoking or drinking a 6-pack of Mountain Dew every day, let alone start eating heart!
Major lifestyle changes are very difficult and many people simply aren’t willing to change, or they don’t appreciate the benefits enough. Is this a patient education issue on the part of the dentist? Probably in part, but ultimately, it comes down to the patient’s attitude and is their choice.
I think it is largely a “supply and demand” problem. Most patients aren’t interested in this type of therapy, so most dentists don’t provide it and thus most dentists have never seen a tooth be cured from decay. Would you believe it if it was contrary to every experience you had and everything you had ever seen? Most dentists simply have never seen it happen, but have seen small cavities grow and grow and grow when a patient declines treatment…
It’s true, I had cavities, didn’t fill them, went back to the dentist a year later and she couldn’t find them. “It’s a miracle!” I exclaimed. She said “No miracle, they remineralized!”
I am interested In your opinion regarding my particular case in which I was not experiencing any pain in my tooth but it had a crack through it so my dentist felt it should be crowned. After the perminent crown was placed I began to feel electrifying jolts of pain when eating anything on that side other than very soft foods. My dentist had me come back to adjust it, to no avail. Yesterday he gave me an antibiotic and said “if this helps, then your nerve is dying and you can not save it, you will need a root canal, but if it doesn’t help, you may have a bubble under your crown, which will need to be cut off and replaced. My question is what would be your recommended treatment for saving me from a root canal?
i realy liked this article im always looking for new natural ways to help better the health of myself and my children…. anothing thing i have found to work for tooth pain and tooth abses’s is supreme wild oregano oil it also helps with ear aches, joint pain, and all types of infections… i have used it for my 6 year old as she had a tooth absess and it got rid of the absess and when i went back to the detist she no longer needed work on the tooth… i have also used it for my oldest for an ear ache and ear ache was gone with in the hour, he hasnt had ear aches since… its recomended not to be used on children under 2 but for children over 2 it can work wonders for different hings… all you do is one or two drops in a shot of water and shoot it back and thats it….
Hi Sarah and everybody
I am really more and more fascinated about this issue: how to cure teeth naturally. My husband has had a root canal in several teeth (before we found out that nutrition could heal teeth naturally) and today one of the treated teeth cracked on its top and side. I can see an exposed hole but there is no dentine there. My question is: can nutrition (FCLO + BO) reverse and help a cracked tooth cure itself?
My husband has never taken FCLO + BO (today it was his first day on both – 5 ml of FCLO and a big full tsp of BO). His diet is rich in grains and meats, poor in veggies and fruits. We are trying to reverse that starting today. We made meat broth yesterday and are investing in fermenting foods as you teach. For a person who has many problems in his teeth, along with the diet he was used to, what dosage should he take daily of those superfoods?
I am eagerly waiting for your answer, whenever possible.
Thank you so much in advance.
I have a molar that recieved a cavity filling, years later I find I have another cavity under the previous filling. The cavity under the filling has gotten so deep that it has begin to cause irritation and I think now is affected the nerve in my tooth. will the homeopathic hypericum remody work for this too? please let me know what I can do for this. I am in pain, and cannot afford a root canal. thank you I hope you can help.
my dr. suggested a root canal but i really want to try to repair my nerves from a trauma. any suggestions besides root canal or tooth exraction
I have a similar issue. Went to the dentist with a blister like lump on my front lower gum. The dentist took an x-ray and said no cavity but there is an infection in the gum, most likely from an early trauma (I have no memory of any trauma). They wanted to start a root canal right then. I said I wanted to reschedule and I left with a prescription for antibiotics. Any advice?
trauma can be caused by simply biting down wrong or even grinding your teeth. Most times the nerve recovers and is fine, but sometimes a tooth can be so traumatized that is responds by dying. When the tooth starts to die it causes an infection. This is one reason a person may need a root canal. The source of the infection is the dying, or dead, nerve inside the tooth. When you have a root canal, the nerve within your tooth is taken out and replaced with a waxy substance called gutta percha.
I’ve seen several questions above as to whether or not Ghee is the same as or at least may be used instead of butter oil. Does anyone have the answer to this?
I had a mercury filling in a molar, and the filling eventually caused the tooth to split. I then had a crown put on, and now (4 years later) I have a lot of pain in that tooth. My dentist told me the tooth is dying, and I need a root canal. Is there a way to heal the tooth even though it’s under a crown? Is the root canal my only option? I hate to get a root canal knowing that the tooth will eventually have to be pulled. This is a great post – thank you.
I can’t answer the “healing” question you have, because I’m very new to this idea. But I did want to tell you that most teeth that get root canals do not have to be eventually pulled. I’m not sure where people are getting this idea. I am a certified dental assistant and this is very verrrrrry rare. also, did he test the tooth to be sure it needs a root canal? Sometimes you can have issues or pain with a tooth, and the surrounding gum tissue and bone, because you are allergic to something that they put in or on your tooth. Hope that helps some.
whatWell..Im 14 years old and my dentist said Im in need of a root canal due to a injury in my front tooth.I have been telling my mom that Root Canals arent always the best solution because they can cause internal defectos.so ive had 4 root Canals done,and Im tired of goibg to the dentist and them telling me i need root canal done.what do i need to Cure my infection..please take time to answer my question.thanksc:
I recently was told that I either need to get a root canal and crown ( a procedure that will cost us $1000) or have my teeth pulled. (Two in fact, because they said the roots were connected to the adjacent tooth).
My worried husband agreed to let me try an experiment, treat the infection with oregano oil and clove oil, and start taking fermented cod liver and butter oil every day. I have 30 days to see an improvement (and I actually don’t know I want to live with the pain much longer than that!) or I have to get my teeth pulled.
Here’s hoping my body does a speedy recoery!!!
As for homeopathics ? Which concentration of hypericum to use ? 6x or 30x ? Also, is it Arnica or Arnica Montana… Thank you !
Hey there, I’m a Certified Dental Assistant in Illinois. I must say, I think it’s horrible that people can’t be more open minded. Just because we have been doing dentistry a certain way does not mean it can’t be done another. Though I can admit I personally think it does sound quite strange, that a tooth could some how rebuild itslef……….but hey, how can we ever move forward in this life if we don’t try other things. Right?
For the people that say dentists do root canals for the money, well that’s sad……because I’m sure that some do. The Dentist I work for is amazing and he would never dream of doing that to someone. He always looks for ways of helping someone so they don’t need to have a root canal or other costly treatment. He really cares about his patients. If we do need to treat a patient with a root canal, it is always a great experience for them. Also, we don’t do all the root canals in our office. If a patient has a strange case that he feels he can’t handle, then he will send them to our root canal specialist, because he wants them to have the best care. The only patients I have ever seen that have had problems after a root canal, are patients whose dentist did a hack job on them and seemed to not know what they were doing.
Someone asked earlier if anyone knew if you could grow enamel back. If you have a very small cavity (decay or caries) in your enamel, then there is a great chance that the tooth enamel can remineralize (from the “good things” in your saliva) and the decay can actually go away. But if someone has a huuuuuuuuuuge cavity, literally through their whole tooth, then no, you cannot “grow” that back. What’s lost is lost. I’m sure though, one day, there will be new ideas to be able to do such a thing. Also, just in case people aren’t aware, your teeth are not made just of enamel. There are other layers of a tooth that are a totally different mateial then what enamel is made of.
One more thing, to people who have been told they needed a root canal a long time ago, and have never had it done (and you are still having problems with infections and pain). I feel, that if there was a way to reverse the damage, that it would not work for you because the tooth has been damaged for so long……its just so far gone that it’s to late to be able to revers anything.
=)
Greate article. Keep writing such kind of information on your
site. Im really impressed by your blog.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about arnica.
Regards
project freedom\’s last post: project freedom
My dentist saw I had some de-calcification happening on my front teeth at the gums line, it gave me awful sensitivity so was not happy to hear that was the reason. (it all started a few years ago when I was doing lots of lemmon juice for digestion and not washing out well enough afterwards)
She did know about recalcifying being possible and thought using a toothpaste with fluroide in it was the answer. (I had not used a fluroride toothpaste for some years). I felt it was more to do with putting back what it lacked so dragged a bottle of calcium tablets out of my cabinet and deducted that everything in it was good for bone growth so why not teeth. Boron, silica, magnesium, calcium citrate and hydroxyaptite, zinc, manganese.
Well I ground up the tablets and dabbed the dry powder onto my teeth before bed. 1 week later a marked improvement in sensitivity. Two weeks later there was no pain at all.It has been over 6 months and I just brush my teeth with the powder instead of just leaving it on overnight. I have not been back to the dentist but I can not see any places where it was looking bad and certainly have no sensitivity like before. My next check up is soon so I am interested in seeing what she thinks of my home fix job.
Yes, homeopathic remedies are great. I’ve used them, and still use occasionally – mostly my son does. I purchased 200 dilutions – this way, you take them only twice a day – in the morning and at night, instead of 15′s and 30′s.
However, many times I prefer high quality therapeutic grade essential oils, because they’re more effective, especially if you drink caffeinated drinks for example.
I also saved my root canal already twice! In fact, I tried homeopathic remedies the 2nd time, and they did not help me. Not that I am putting them down. I’ve used them on my family many times, and still have a full draw of different ones. They are most effective if taken right away after the injury, etc.
My dentist says I need root canals on both front teeth. I have a HUGE filling on one of them that’s very loose, and very small bumps (abscesses on both of them). I pop them on my own and it’s very small. I’m not sure if I really need root canals because I don’t think the teeth are dead but I don’t know much about the subject. I’m in no pain but the slipped filling is ANNOYING. Is there a way to heal the nerves instead of just taking them out? I know that many root canals don’t last long and people get infections after they’re done so I’m trying to find the best alternative. I’m going to try rinsing with salt and baking soda, and applying oil of oregano, clove oil and maybe olive oil but something is telling me a root canal isn’t it for me.
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