Keys to a Healthy Mouth Part 5 – Nutrition

How Nutrition Helps You Have A Healthy Mouth

Nutrition plays a massive role in having a healthy body, our wellbeing as well as disease prevention. But did you know that with the right nutrition you can have a healthy mouth.

“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or a slow form of poison”

Nutrition and Dental Disease

If you:

• Have perfect blood sugar
• Have balanced ions of Calcium and Phosphorus in the body
• Consume fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
• Minimise sugar and carbohydrate intake

You will be at a much lower risk for developing cavities!

Add to this a natural mouth rinse containing ingredients like vitamin K, Tea Tree Oil, Aloe Vera, and Myrrh that naturally decrease inflammation and fight the bacteria that cause tooth decay, and you have a perfect recipe for great dental health.

It is also very important to see your dentist regularly.

Tooth decay with age is NOT normal.

We have replaced nourishing vitamin-dense foods with modern, convenient, chemically laden processed foods that lack vitamins. Without food-based sources of vitamins, our bodies decay over time. Our teeth decay because what we are eating does not support good health.

Reduce Tooth Decay With Good Nutrition

Tooth decay risk factors depend on:

• The mineral content of the diet, particularly calcium and phosphorus
• The fat-soluble vitamin content of the diet, chiefly vitamins D, A and K2
• The availability of minerals for absorption, determined largely by the diet’s phytic acid content, as phytic acid from grains like wheat prevents mineral absorption.

Vitamin K2 protects us from heart disease, ensures healthy skin, forms strong bones, promotes brain function, supports growth and development and helps to prevent cancer. But most importantly for your dental health, K2 is used to deposit calcium in the bones and teeth.

Vitamin K2 can be found in egg yolks, organ meats, chicken breast, chicken liver, fish eggs, cod liver oil.

Vitamin A can be found in beef and chicken livers and fish liver oil. It’s precursors – the carotenes are found in dark coloured vegetables. If you are not a fan of organ meats, you can take these items in capsule or powdered form.

The best source for Vitamin D is sunshine. If that is not available and/or you live at a latitude where in the winter you can’t make Vitamin D from the sunshine no matter what, the next best source, in my opinion, is old fashioned, cod liver oil or straight Vitamin D supplements.

Cod liver oil contains large amounts of elongated omega-3 fatty acids, preformed vitamin A and vitamin D, essential nutrients that are hard to obtain in sufficient amounts in the modern diet. Some varieties may also naturally contain small amounts of Vitamin K.

The Ultimate Nutritional Program To Prevent Tooth Decay

The ultimate dietary program to prevent tooth decay and heal early cavities by remineralisation, it would look something like this:

• Rich in animal foods, particularly meat, organs, fish, bone broths and eggs.
• No grains at all due to the carbohydrate and phytic acid content. (That includes wheat, corn and rice).
• Nuts, legumes and beans in moderation – due to the phytic acid.
• A limited quantity of fruit (one piece per day or less)
• No refined sweets.
• Cooked and raw vegetables.
• Sunlight and high vitamin cod liver oil.
• No processed food.
• Lots of water.

Sugar Alone Does NOT Cause Dental Decay

That’s so controversial coming from a dentist that I am going to say it again…

SUGAR alone does NOT cause DENTAL DECAY!

Cavities occur as a result of imbalances in our calcium and phosphorus metabolism and too much acidity in the body. When the calcium and phosphorus ratios in our blood go out of balance, we get tooth decay or gum disease. Correcting the levels, primarily through a change in diet and lifestyle will help resolve the problem and greatly reduce your risk for dental disease.

It can even halt the progression of tooth decay and reverse small cavities.

As a holistic dentist, my aim is to help make patients more aware of their overall health and guide them toward preventing or managing diseases – it is not just about to drill and fill floss and brush and don’t eat sugar.

Find out more or call 07 3720 1811 for a consultation.