Evidence for iodine alone (without fluoride) being superior or a full replacement is limited & not strong enough to override fluoride's proven track record. Most guidelines prioritize fluoride, with iodine as a potential add-on for high-risk patients or specific scenarios (e.g., reducing bacterial recolonization).
Archaeologists can date the adoption of agriculture in skeletal remains without carbon dating.
They just look at the teeth.
Hunter-gatherer teeth: Minimal decay, strong enamel, proper jaw development, wisdom teeth fit comfortably.
Early farmer teeth: Rampant cavities, abscesses, overcrowding, impacted wisdom teeth.
The grain diet literally rotted their mouths while they were still alive. You can see the exact generation when a population switched to farming by the sudden appearance of dental disease.
We've been treating cavities as normal for so long we forgot they're a Neolithic farming disease.
Your ancestors who ate meat had perfect teeth without toothpaste.
The main reason for cavities is that we're leeching out calcium and phosphorous, a process called demineralization. And this occurs when the Ph in the mouth becomes very, very acidic. Normal pH is 7, that's neutral. It drops down to a 6, 5, or even a 4. Acids have the capacity to break down bone tissue. And the enamel in your mouth is stronger than steel, so imagine what acids can do to your teeth. The acids are caused by an excessive amount of bacteria brought on by eating an abundance of sugars that are causing different bacteria: streptococcus mucous and lactobacillus.
Lactobacilli
are members of the lactic acid bacteria, a broadly defined group characterized
by the formation of lactic acid as a sole or main end product of carbohydrate
metabolism. . . . Eighty species of
lactobacilli are recognized at present.
Too much sugar > acid bacteria > raises your pH > which starts dissolving your teeth.
Kids nowadays consume too much sugar? Ha!! Has he seen what most kids growing up in the 1960s and 1970s had in their breakfast cabinets? Ever watch an episode of Seinfeld? What does he have atop his refrigerator? Boxes of sugary goodness . . . goodness that will cause your teeth to decay. The American Dental Association must have been paying for the segment of his scenes in his show.
Liquid candy in the form of soda? Oh, yeah. You mean to tell me that there were other beverages that quenched a kid's thirst? No, not alcohol, which is another form of sugar. Gatorade wasn't bad.
Berg suggests getting kids on alternative sugars like Xylitol. Oy. How about no sugars at all? Stevia is a powerful sweetener, meaning that it will provide a very sweet taste perhaps without all of the bacteria caused by sugar, but man is it sweet. Too sweet. There's a Greek yogurt brand, called Oikos, that uses Stevia. Oh. I taste it and I feel like I am eating something from a biolab in Ukraine. There are better store-bought yogurts, like Nancy's.
