Feed and Care for Your Teeth: 10 Ways to Keep Smiling

Cheese inhibits bacterial growth in the mouth.

by Dr. Andrew Saul

1.  Eat less sugar. All nutritionists and dentists agree that sugar promotes tooth decay, yet Americans consume over 120 POUNDS of sugar per person annually. Sugar contains no vitamins, no minerals, and no fiber. Decay-promoting bacteria love sugar, so starve them.     2.  Clean between your teeth. Use dental floss or those wonderful, easy-to-use, plaque-removing, interdental cleaning sticks.     3.  Take extra vitamin C. Tooth health is dependent on gum health, and gum health is more closely related to vitamin C than to any other nutrient.  The first symptom of scurvy is easily bleeding gums.       4.  Finish meals the way people did in past centuries: with cheese. Cheese inhibits bacterial growth in the mouth. Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Swiss, and Aged Cheddar cheeses are all good for this purpose.     5.  Rethink fluoride. Fluoride is so toxic that only one milligram constitutes a prescription dose. In spite of this, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows up to this amount in a single glass of drinking water. Virtually every country in Europe has stopped fluoridation.  Studies have shown that fluoride confers little, if any, real benefit. Persons who have grown up with fluoridated water have, on the average, only 1/2 of one filling less than people who did not drink fluoridated water (Chemical and Engineering News, May 8, 1989).     6.  Eat organically-grown foods, preferably from your own organic garden. Hereford, Texas became famous during the 1940's as "The Town Without a Toothache." Why was there practically no dental disease in this town? Lots of organic minerals in the soil and the foods grown in it. So, any teeth grown there were also better fed and stronger. The local dentist practically went broke. (A. W. Erickson, "Deaf Smith's Secret," Field Notes Crop Reporting Service, 1945)     7.  Pregnant women especially need calcium and multiple-mineral supplements to enable their developing baby to form strong teeth before birth.  These same mineral supplements help her to make milk for the baby's continued tooth and bone development after delivery.     8.  A baby's tooth enamel is constructed in the womb. Ameloblasts adequately form the enamel in the [baby] only if Mom gets enough vitamin A.  Carotene is best because too much fish oil vitamin A (over 25,000 IU daily for many weeks) can be harmful during pregnancy. All green and orange vegetables and, of course, carrot juice are ideal. You cannot easily harm Mother or child with produce.     9.  A good multiple vitamin is a good idea for everyone. Prenatal for Mom, liquid for baby, chewable for little kids, and don't forget teenagers, Dad, and the Grandparents. Research continues to show, decade after decade, that Americans continue to eat meals that are deficient in SEVERAL vitamins, not just one.     10.  Read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price, D.D.S. (Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, La Mesa, CA, 1970). This may be the best book on dental health ever written.   Copyright C 2004 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html ) For ordering information, Click Here .