In the previous post, I looked into a study from 1999 that proved that raw vegans demonstrated development of enamel erosion even in a limited time span which was not the case in the control group that was following a conventional diet. I call that article a mockery because the raw vegan group in their studies was given citrus juice in some crazy quantities, which is a funny marker and makes me very weary of the type of diet that group was following in general. Yet, when fruits rich in acids and sugars becomes one of the centerpieces of the diet, concerns about dental health may become very pronounced and for a good reason! In general, following an anti-inflammatory diet, an extreme type of which is an adequately designed raw plant-based diet, there must be no concerns over the oral health, however, some knowledge might be useful. Below, I will provide some dietary and hygienic tips that you might find helpful!
DO keep your teeth in check, do regular cleanings if tartar buildup happens to you, and make sure to treat all cavities (try to avoid mercury-based fillings) before they develop into something more profound. Dental visits might be uncomfortable not only sensationally, but also in terms of budget if you do not have dental insurance, but in this case, there are dental care discount plans! While I was going for my Ph.D. and didn’t have dental insurance (nor I had much money), I used Careington dental plan that provided up to 70% savings on dental services. The enrollment is $90 or so, you register on the website, pay those $90, and they ship you a card. This sum is an annual cost of having this dental discount plan and it is set to auto-enroll you every year, so be mindful of that. Unlike dental insurance, the benefits of the discount plan start right away and there is no 1-year, 2-year wait to get discounts for certain costly procedures, so discount programs are very convenient in case teeth had never bothered you before and suddenly your gum got swollen or something like that happened. You just buy a card and you know that here is your ~50-60% discount on a visit the moment you need it. In case you didn’t know, now you know. If you don’t have dental insurance, you are still fine and can save up on dental expenses, and if financial part was preventing you from going to the dentist, this discount program option will greatly relieve some tension there. Teeth are important to keep healthy! I referenced Careington here (I lived in NY), but there are many more. See which option is widely accepted in your state or city to pick the best. The problem with these companies is that there are bunch of websites that distribute the plans, so you might feel like you are being scammed, but it is a legitimate service and you should look for the most authentic representation and try calling them before you pay.
DO NOT listen to the fairytales about how dental problems “indicate a normal process of detoxification when you go raw”!!! There is nothing more stupid because your body must thrive on living food diet, not lose important body parts or exhibit signs of nutritional deficits. Even if your enamel sensitivity increases or you start noticing gum recession, it is time to analyze what you might need to correct in your diet/hygiene.
DO NOT listen to the fairytales about how you need to go “all natural and forget about cleaning your teeth” or that “dental plaque is not only beautiful and attracts the opposite sex, but also provides a nice protection”!!! Even monkeys clean their teeth, and monkeys know, but there are raw, natural lifestyle human enthusiasts that do not want to accept that rudimentary idea of spending 2 minutes 2-3 times a day brushing, using a floss, and doing something else on top of that.
DO brush your teeth at least twice a day with a proper toothpaste. A miracle toothpaste I discovered 4 years ago (way before raw plant-based diet) is from Japan and it does not numb the nerves, unlike some generic brand sensitive teeth toothpastes do, and remineralizes the enamel instead. Here it is: Apagard Premio. It does not contain fluoride, and instead it contains nano-silica (nanohydroxyapatite). Such toothpaste has two effects: it desorbs tartar and prevents it formation in future, and it restores the enamel and arguably can even treat the erosion in the beginning stages when surface levels become porous (it looks like bright-white, matte stains on the teeth). While I did not notice that any of my white stains that I had since years ago got restored, I can confirm that I did not develop any tartar after my last professional cleaning at the dentist that happened in 2019. Another thing I can attest to is that my enamel sensitivity only increases if I eat something very acidic (a bowl of cranberries, a-ha) and do not take measures to immediately neutralize the acid, but it goes back to normal in a couple of hours. So the promises made by the manufacturers hold! I highly recommend this toothpaste, but it is up to you to decide and also possibly discuss it with your hygienist. The only concern I have with this toothpaste is that it is not completely free of unwanted chemicals. A cleaner option would be this toothpaste that has the same active ingredient, but is rid of SLS and is overall milder and simpler in composition. For maintenance, my favorite toothpaste is from Auromere, it has nice mild abrasive properties and very good composition!
DO follow a proper brushing technique, or, better get an electric brush. Are you aware that you are supposed to spend 2-4 minutes brushing your teeth in sections with sweeping, one-way motions going from a gum line down to the edges of the teeth? My stepfather is a Ph.D. and used to work at a dental clinic and taught facial-oral surgery at a medical school, so I spent quite a bit of my childhood time at his clinic looking through the dentistry magazines and at the posters on the walls. The most profusely imprinted one was an instruction on how to brush teeth properly. “Sweeping motion, from the gum line…” - I did not like that because it feels so much more natural to do up and down movements! So I got an electric brush and have been happy since. It is an especially cool investment if you have a family because everyone can use one motorized body and just swap the individual heads. It is highly advisable to use the softest brush heads existing on the planet, so these are my choice. I am pretty sure if you search, you can find even gentler ones, but if you are accustomed to brushing your teeth with something resembling a bundle of electric wires, these will be a good first-step switch to make! With an electric brush, it is nearly impossible to mess up the technique, so it is a great way to avoid mechanically-induced gum recessions and to reach sacred spots, but if you are a devoted manual brush user, there are some brands that sell ultra-soft kinds too. I will not recommend them here because I only recommend what I am happy with.
DO use floss! I made a mistake myself and I did not take flossing seriously ever (that led to a cavity), until I moved to the U.S. and suddenly realized that dental preventative care is much more pleasureful and affordable than corrective and invasive care. However, flossing is one of those things that most people are repelled from because it can be painful, your fingers lose blood circulation, the thread can slip and stab a gum, an average floss stretches and twists and instead of a nice flat strip, you are dealing with a super-sharp string… Flossing concerns are especially annoying if you, similar to me, have tightly spaced teeth.The solution can be bought! I tried a bunch of different flosses from the most generic one that dentists hand out after hygienic appointments to “organic, compostable, no-GMO, raised with no hormones or antibiotics” flosses, and my all-time favorite floss is this one. It is flat, it is textured, it does not deform. I adore it and if they ever decide to discontinue manufacturing, I will stock up on it.
DO NOT brush right after you ate acidic fruits. Our teeth are a dynamic system, as well as our skeleton: minerals can be desorbed and absorbed depending on the surrounding conditions. So, if you do not want to perform a chemical-mechanical polishing of your enamel, avoid at least the mechanical part. Instead, allow your teeth to recover by, first, neutralizing the acid as much as possible (it can be plain water or baking soda solution), and second, by fasting a bit allowing your mineral-infused saliva (I hope you are eating enough minerals with your raw diet, huh?) get in contact with the teeth and deliver bio-available repairing materials. If you have mineral toothpaste accessible, you can rinse the mouth with a bit of toothpaste and water. But do not scrub anything until you feel neutral taste in your mouth and no particular teeth sensitivity.
DO NOT switch to eating exclusively smoothies and liquid foods (should I mention fruit juices here at all?). The teeth are more than white slicers and grinders that just assist in a first step of digestion by milling large pieces of food. Roots of the teeth go deep into the jaw, and on the inside each tooth is a living system with a blood supply. Every time you apply pressure on the teeth by chewing, you are stimulating not only the gums, but you help regenerating the jaw bone by creating periodic pressure and by drawing blood supply, and, of course, you increase blood supply of the teeth themselves. The later argument is challenging to defend against the modern science, since it is believed that the teeth rely on the internal supply only during formation and growth, but then it makes no sense to have this “dental placenta” throughout the life. However, ancient health practices regard teeth as alive and interconnected with other body systems. Teeth feel and they are definitely not like hair! Many people habitually eat cooked mush and do not even need to put any effort in chewing, so needing to chew coarse, rough greens in large quantities becomes a whole workout that often averts people from going raw. But then they discover smoothies that eliminate any need to chew and allow to hide a bunch of gross stuff behind the bananas and they give raw diet a second chance. This is a wrong turn if it becomes a long-term habit. Get accustomed to chewing well and chewing a lot for your teeth health and for your overall well-being! When you are chewing a lot, with a good amplitude, you help to flush the lymph and supply nutrition to the tissues and organs surrounding your jaw joints (facial muscles included), you also help to move the wax inside your ears if this is something concerning for you, and, - cherry on a pie - chewing helps to supply more oxygen to the brain! So there is a reward mechanism!
DO use something else. This appliance is still not commonly found in an average household, but if you want to feel the luxury of seriously clean teeth every day, get water jet floss! You brushed, you flossed, you rinsed, and you think that you are done? You might be surprised with how much stuff may remain after following your typical comprehensive routine with the water floss, as you still might miss some pockets or gaps that trap debris! Water floss provides not just hygienic benefits, but also gently massages gums. To get into habit of using water floss, buy some natural mouthwash with appealing taste to add small quantity to the water. The challenging part of using water floss is finding a technique that would allow to not splash water all over the bathroom. To start, set water stream pressure to the lowest setting, and switch it on only when the tip is in the mouth, do not stretch your lips, such that they cover the tip. Work your way up to the maximum comfortable setting. I prefer using mine in the shower though, and this is why I bought the cordless rechargeable one. Much less mess!
DO NOT eat all the time and DO NOT opt for highly sugary foods. Snacking, especially with sugary and acidic foods, is not natural and establishes a time-average acidic environment in the mouth cavity, which must be rather alkaline on average to allow enamel to recover between exposure to the foods. Fruits are very easy to eat and they also quench thirst, so they naturally become a go-to snack, regardless of whether it is a real hunger or just a thirst. Let your oral pH stabilize and let saliva restore the teeth between food intake.
DO eat mineral-rich foods, including sea moss and other raw seaweed, leafy greens, nuts and seeds, mushrooms. So to speak, eat a complete and balanced, abundant raw plant-based diet!
If you follow the tips above, both, your dental and overall health will be superior on a raw plant-based diet. Look for the keys provided by Nature and use some technological advances that can replicate the natural tools when the later are unavailable. Chew, stimulate, nourish, follow eating regime, and clean - these are the pillars of healthy teeth!
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Raw Form of Life.
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