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I have been looking into holistic dentistry as well. We went to one holistic dentist that had a lot of good information, but he was a complete jerk. I could go into the story, but it is not relevant.
We have recently found another that we'll be meeting with next week and I'll post more once I have experience.
We've also been looking into American Biodental in Tijuana, MX, due to the desire to find a dentist who follows the Huggins protocol that won't break the bank.
We have been reading 'Cure Tooth Decay' which is also based on numerous doctors studies. I highly recommend it, but it will make you want to change your diet, so be prepared! I truly don't think our teeth were meant to rot out of our heads the way they do in America and other developed nations. It is clearly a product of our food and environment. I like that a holistic dentist will try to answer the cause(diet, toxicity, stress, etc.) behind, the symptoms(cavities, infection, etc.), rather than drill and fill stating that it is a matter of getting older or poor brushing habits (while these things may be involved). The holistic approach views the body as made up of many complex systems that certainly affect one another. It is not psuedo-sience any more than patching your teeth with experimental materials like mercury and other heavy metals is. I recommend doing your research and do not blindly trust and medical professional. Learn about your body and allow professionals to assist you with taking proper care of it if needed.
WE need to be responsible for our health!
Mercury isn't an "experimental" metal, in dentistry. Amalgam fillings have been used since the early 1800's. THEN, it was experimental. THEN, there were a myriad of problems with them, because the toxicity of mercury was unknown, and the idea of sterilization sometimes was nothing more than dipping a dental tool in grain alcohol. Anasthesia was also experimental, and antibiotics weren't invented until the early 1900's. Amalgam fillings have come far in the last 170 years, even though the current scare still references problems that existed over 100 years ago, and have been addressed and corrected since. The mercury scare with regards to amalgam fillings, is one of those "tin foil hats against the aliens" pieces of ignorant folklore.
Also, an infection in the gum can't be cured by eating better, any more than an infection in your foot can be cured by eating better. Just like eating well can't prevent infections. Teeth weren't "meant to rot out of our heads" -and- it isn't clearly a product of our food and environment. Bad teeth, rotting teeth, missing teeth, sepsis, gum infection, bone loss and decay have been discovered in mummies that were otherwise preserved. Other bad teeth, bone loss, and signs of infection have been discovered in skulls of prehistoric man. It's obviously nothing new, nor is it a sign of industrialized anything.
Diet, toxicity, and stress -can absolutely positively- contribute to tooth decay. But to say tooth decay can be -cured- by addressing diet, toxicity, and stress, is dangerous, fraudulent, quackery, and flat out incorrect. Tooth decay can't be cured. It can be treated.
Also, an infection in the gum can't be cured by eating better, any more than an infection in your foot can be cured by eating better. Just like eating well can't prevent infections. Teeth weren't "meant to rot out of our heads" -and- it isn't clearly a product of our food and environment. Bad teeth, rotting teeth, missing teeth, sepsis, gum infection, bone loss and decay have been discovered in mummies that were otherwise preserved. Other bad teeth, bone loss, and signs of infection have been discovered in skulls of prehistoric man. It's obviously nothing new, nor is it a sign of industrialized anything.
Even proponents of conventional medicine have acknowledged the fact that, to maintain a strong immune system a good, healthy diet (along with sufficient rest and low stress), is vital. Many diseases can be prevented by taking care to keep one's immune system good and strong and that includes a good diet.
Dental disease is caused by consuming simple carbohydrates, chiefly grains. And yes, this is true of the ancient Egyptians who relied on grain heavily. In non-grain eating cultures dental problems are virtually unknown as proven during the early part of the 20th century by Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist. Whem primitive cultures begin eating PROCESSED foods (which grains are, by their very definition), they begin to experience dental disease as well as a more frequent manifestation of physical disease as well. It is well known that primates in the wild do not experience dental issues but when they are introduced to a "civilized diet" (thanks to Purina, lol), they begin to have dental disease.
Since grains cannot be eaten without processing of some kind, it is not a natural food for early man. This is an adaptive food that is edible and provides nutrients, but is not a perfect food and not a food necessary for life.
Yes, it's a doctor who came up with some possibly useful theories, some of which made sense when he came up with them, because no one had come up with anything better at the time. He made a whole lot of money on the theories, started a foundation, and then most of his theories were summarily debunked.
His basic premise is what Branson claims..that dental disease is caused by bad diet.
Because somehow, dental disease can't POSSIBLY be caused by..
wait for it..
dun dun dun...
bad dental hygeine.
Y'know, like - eating a lot of sugary and starchy foods, which stick to the teeth, and then NOT brushing your teeth. Or using fluoridated toothpaste, or getting a professional cleaning every 6 months. Or flossing the pieces of rotting food out from between your teeth every so often. None of that could -possibly- have anything to do with disease, no way jose. It can only be "bad diet." If you take excellent care of your teeth, it won't matter, if you eat bread. If you eat bread, you're doomed forever to have dentures. Except if you stop eating bread. And then all those cavities will magickally disappear.
Because diet is the end-all be-all to dental health, according to Price and his band of merry lunatics.
Oh yeah and no amalgams because they're leeching poison into your system and you're gonna die (even though - it's been proven that the current incarnation of amalgams do -not- cause mercury toxicity, or contribute to it).
You know how it is - you read about it on the internet, and some quack shows up in town saying he's the answer to all things dental and for a low monthly fee he can save your dental soul... and soon enough, you get a bunch of people on forums proclaiming that the Messiah has indeed arrived.
Yes, it's a doctor who came up with some possibly useful theories, some of which made sense when he came up with them, because no one had come up with anything better at the time. He made a whole lot of money on the theories, started a foundation, and then most of his theories were summarily debunked.
His basic premise is what Branson claims..that dental disease is caused by bad diet.
Because somehow, dental disease can't POSSIBLY be caused by..
wait for it..
dun dun dun...
bad dental hygeine.
Y'know, like - eating a lot of sugary and starchy foods, which stick to the teeth, and then NOT brushing your teeth. Or using fluoridated toothpaste, or getting a professional cleaning every 6 months. Or flossing the pieces of rotting food out from between your teeth every so often. None of that could -possibly- have anything to do with disease, no way jose. It can only be "bad diet." If you take excellent care of your teeth, it won't matter, if you eat bread. If you eat bread, you're doomed forever to have dentures. Except if you stop eating bread. And then all those cavities will magickally disappear.
Because diet is the end-all be-all to dental health, according to Price and his band of merry lunatics.
Oh yeah and no amalgams because they're leeching poison into your system and you're gonna die (even though - it's been proven that the current incarnation of amalgams do -not- cause mercury toxicity, or contribute to it).
You know how it is - you read about it on the internet, and some quack shows up in town saying he's the answer to all things dental and for a low monthly fee he can save your dental soul... and soon enough, you get a bunch of people on forums proclaiming that the Messiah has indeed arrived.
Um, the reason I said it looked familiar was because I had already posted a link to the Weston A. Price foundation on the previous page. But I guess you figured you'd use it as yet another opportunity to lecture everyone.
Teeth aren't like nails or hair; they are more like bones, which can be strengthened or weakened by ...
...wait for it...
...dun dun dun ...
DIET.
This is the last thing I'll be saying on the subject, and please don't bother replying because I'll be blocking you, because reading your posts is like being waterboarded.
@AnonChick:
I'd prefer that you don't comment on anything here, as you apparently have an axe to grind with anyone and get some sort of pleasure out of attacking others points of view. I have grace for that, but quite honestly, I just don't want to discuss this any longer with you, because you are condescending and lack relational skills necessary to have a cordial conversation. Thanks for your opinion, I now know that you dont have any room for anything alternative to what your view is. Thanks for that, now go abuse someone else's thread. @Branson and Tabatha:
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I have been spending a lot of time reading/researching the effects of Diet upon dental health. I've recently started Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy and hope that it will revert some of the abuses I've committed to my body in years past. I'm only 30, but want to do whatever it takes to prevent further tooth decay. My father had full dentures at my age, mainly due to poor dental hygiene. I have been following Dr. Mercola for quite a few years and have found that he also has continued Dr. Prices research. Why a Root Canal is a Dangerous Dental Procedure
He recently posted videos of his thought process in getting teeth extracted rather than having a root canal procedure.
We hope that moving toward a paleo diet and eliminating many of the toxic foods that we've been habitually consuming will reverse the damage of eating processed sugars and grains for the majority of our lives.
Pray Hard, Play Hard
-Scott
Teeth can be strengthened or weakened by diet. You're absolutely right. But cavities cannot be cured by eating something different, and diet is -not- the #1 method of preventing tooth decay; good dental hygeine is. This has been proven by allopathic AND alternative medicine communities in peer reviewed research studies and in non-peer reviewed studies. There is only one small segment of the population that insists that it's diet, and not dental hygiene, that *does prevent* (as opposed to "can contribute to prevention of*) tooth decay, and that is the segment of people who profit from claiming otherwise.
As for ordering me not to respond to you, this is an open forum. If you don't want to hear dissenting opinions on the matter, start your own forum and invite only people who agree with you to post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tabatha1970
Um, the reason I said it looked familiar was because I had already posted a link to the Weston A. Price foundation on the previous page. But I guess you figured you'd use it as yet another opportunity to lecture everyone.
Teeth aren't like nails or hair; they are more like bones, which can be strengthened or weakened by ...
...wait for it...
...dun dun dun ...
DIET.
This is the last thing I'll be saying on the subject, and please don't bother replying because I'll be blocking you, because reading your posts is like being waterboarded.
@AnonChick:
I'd prefer that you don't comment on anything here, as you apparently have an axe to grind with anyone and get some sort of pleasure out of attacking others points of view. I have grace for that, but quite honestly, I just don't want to discuss this any longer with you, because you are condescending and lack relational skills necessary to have a cordial conversation. Thanks for your opinion, I now know that you dont have any room for anything alternative to what your view is. Thanks for that, now go abuse someone else's thread.
-Scott
Well it's too bad you only posted to get opinions you want to hear, rather than a wide variety of opinions which might not coincide with your idea of the truth. I know now that you don't have any room for anything alternative to what your view is. However, you don't get to tell me not to post here. If you want to have a private discussion where only people you agree with are allowed to post, then start your own forum.
Wow, I never knew there was such controversy over dental health. Obviously your diet will effect your immune system and a weak immune system will make everything more susceptible to problems, even your mouth, gums, etc. Duh...I don't need a medical degree to know this. But you can't prevent tooth decay without good dental hygiene. It's the #1 thing we can easily do to keep our teeth and gums healthy. I certainly hope nobody is suggesting otherwise?
Everyone is blessed or cursed with different problems and sometimes it's the teeth. There is no diet in the world that is going to "work" or "cure" everything in everyone and since I'd rather not loose my teeth I will brush and floss and get my teeth professionally cleaned and fill cavities and fix broken teeth with and whatever else modern dentistry has to offer. Since I've always been a regular dentist goer my whole life I know what the situation in my mouth is. When I needed to find a new one after mine retired I skipped over the guy who said I needed a bunch of work and tried someone else who was just as conservative in his approach as my old one was.
Plus I like food. All kinds of food. Since there already seems to be a long huge list of food that's worse for me than grains I'll just make sure I floss more often
[b] @Branson and Tabatha:
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I have been spending a lot of time reading/researching the effects of Diet upon dental health. I've recently started Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy and hope that it will revert some of the abuses I've committed to my body in years past. I'm only 30, but want to do whatever it takes to prevent further tooth decay. My father had full dentures at my age, mainly due to poor dental hygiene. I have been following Dr. Mercola for quite a few years and have found that he also has continued Dr. Prices research. Why a Root Canal is a Dangerous Dental Procedure
He recently posted videos of his thought process in getting teeth extracted rather than having a root canal procedure.
We hope that moving toward a paleo diet and eliminating many of the toxic foods that we've been habitually consuming will reverse the damage of eating processed sugars and grains for the majority of our lives.
Pray Hard, Play Hard
-Scott
Scott, in addition to the excellent protocol you are initiating, I would look into the aspects of eating an alkaline diet (versus acidic). There are many great resources out there and after spending years studying the subject, I am convinced that keeping your body as alkaline as possible not only helps reduce dental disease and bone loss, but results in better over-all health.
Good luck to you. You sound like a man who has a good head on his shoulders.
20yrsinBranson
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