How I Cured Two Cavities & Acid Reflux
Can cavities & gum disease be treated naturally? How about acid reflux and dry mouth?
After two years of struggling with cavities, gum recession, dry mouth and acid reflux issues, my oral health is finally turning around. My cavities have filled in on their own, my acid reflux healed without drugs, and my dry mouth has disappeared. This is my story:
I have been out of the medical system for over 8 years. I haven't been to a conventional doctor or taken antibiotics is just as long. However, I didn't understand that oral health can also be treated naturally. In fact, many holistic doctors don't know how to treat cavities. So I continued going to dentists, until I'd had enough.
The change began about a year ago when I went to the dentist with tooth pain for the 5th time that year. He took a few X rays and discovered 2 cavities: one small and one medium size cavity. I researched online and only a handful of natural doctors even talked about the ability to heal a medium size cavity. Most suggested getting it filled so it wouldn't turn into a root canal. At that point, I had gum pain/recession and other tooth problems that had been ongoing for a year, so I made the decision to attempt to heal my mouth as a whole on my own. I wanted to address the core problem instead of just putting out fires. I also had persistent ongoing dry mouth especially at night which I felt was weakening my enamel. (Enamel renews every night, but if you don't have enough saliva, the enamel cannot repair itself). I knew I had to take care of my dry mouth first but I had no idea how.
I went to a massage therapist/holistic doctor who felt that teeth problems and dry mouth are connected to the stomach. Finally I got my first clue. She insisted that I focus on healing my stomach.
Not long afterwards I developed a bad case of acid reflux.
I knew that I had to get to the core problem. My teeth problems were definitely connected to my stomach.
The finger pointed at 2 things: STRESS AND DIET. But I was eating pretty healthy. I learned that its not just what you eat, but when and how you eat.
Below are the steps I took to heal my teeth:
1) I stopped eating dinner (especially carbs) after 8pm. Late night eating puts strain on the digestive system. Our bodies are programmed to detoxify and repair as night. At night our digestive power is weak. Intermittent fasting (when we don't eat for a specific amount of time throughout the day) gives the body time to rest and renew. If I was very hungry, I would eat a vegetable soup or salad at night, but no carbs (no bread rice millet oats etc...) Try to eat your dinner before 8. If you must eat carbs, eat minimally- 2 tablespoons max.
2) Hitbodidut: Hitbodedut is personal prayer. I take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour every day and talk to G-d out loud. This includes thanking Him for the good in my life and asking for help in the future. This greatly helped to reduce the stress I was under. Positive thinking changed my life.
3) Morning Bread: I eat bread from Josephs Organic Bakery for breakfast and lunch. Eating it in the morning specifically was critical to solving my acid reflux issues. It improved my digestion overall and helped regulate my blood sugar levels. Starting off the day with coffee/black tea and cake is not ideal. We have to start off the day on the right foot, not by spiking our blood sugar levels first thing.
I have this bread about twice a day. In the morning I eat it plain with salt or with a little olive oil and lettuce. Sometimes I eat it with organic butter. The key here is not to avoid rich heavy meals for breakfast. It should be as simple as possible. So dont slather nut butters, jelly, or hummus on your morning bread. If I need a little extra something I'll eat a banana. In fact I snack on bananas throughout the day. Bananas help coat the stomach lining and lower acid reflux.
For lunch I eat Joseph's bread with salad or soups. I honestly dont know what I would do without it.
4) I stopped drinking black tea/coffee in the morning. Most people want to drink their cup of joe or black tea when they wake up. Not me. I learned the hard way that Coffee and black tea are acidic for the stomach and mouth. They weaken tooth enamel and cause acid reflux and heartburn. If need be, drink coffee or black tea later in the morning or in the afternoon. Avoid putting cows milk in your tea/coffee as milk is highly pasteurized and causes heartburn and reflux. VERY IMPORTANT: DONT DRINK YOUR TEA/COFFEE TOO HOT!!! Your drink should be warm but not hot or boiling. Hot drinks weaken tooth enamel.
5) I started drinking Herbal Teas & water In the Morning: I start off my day with a cup of warm water followed by Digestive Tea #6 or #31. #31 Tea is specifically for Acid Reflux. I also drink adrenal support tea. I really love soursop tea which I drink once per day in the afternoon to stabilize my blood sugar levels. I dont have diabetes or pre-diabetes but keeping blood sugar levels stable is very important for everyone and especially for people prone to stomach troubles. (High blood sugar levels feeds bad bacteria in the gut leading to acid reflux, leaky gut, and IBS). Soursop promotes healthy blood sugar levels and keeps the immune system strong.
Digestive teas and fresh soursop tea are available at Joseph's Organic Bakery.
Digestive Tea #31 https://veganbakerymiami.com/collections/other-products/products/32-ibs-chrons-tea
Digestive Tea #6 https://veganbakerymiami.com/collections/other-products/products/herbal-tea-6-for-constipation
Fresh Soursop Tea: https://veganbakerymiami.com/collections/other-products/products/fresh-soursop-tea
6) I stopped eating chicken & meat. I stopped eating toxic fish years before but I was eating chicken twice a week. I stopped eating chicken entirely and limited my meat consumption to organic GRASS FINISHED beef once a week. (Grass fed is a scam, you need to find grass finished). Chicken, meat, and fish are very acidic and it takes a tremendous amount of digestive enzymes to break down the proteins. Children need protein but adults above 30 should remove meat from their diet, unless they have IBS or Crohn's in which case bone broth soup could be beneficial. If you must eat chicken/meat it should not exceed more than once a week and it should be cooked in water or liquidy sauce (like meatballs). When its cooked in water it changes the compostition and makes it easier to digest.
Why I avoid Chicken: Chickens today are very toxic: they are raised in terrible conditions, and most are in an unhealthy state when they are slaughtered. They are fed GMO foods.
WHY I AVOID FISH LIKE THE PLAGUE: Large fish like tuna and salmon are full of heavy metals which can wreak havoc on the body. In fact, large/medium sized fish are so toxic nowadays that they should be avoided at all costs. I know many people who developed mercury poisoning as a result of fish consumption. If you must eat fish choose smaller fish like sardines which have lower mercury levels. The problem is that coastal waters are so polluted that it affects even small fish caught near the sea. Its better to avoid fish entirely. A good source of Omega 3s are chia seeds.
7) SUGAR DESTROYS YOUR TEETH- Obviously sugar, whether brown or white, destroys your teeth. So I avoid all desserts that have sugar, corn syrup, rice syrup, or artificial sweeteners. I don't eat honey unless its incredibly pure. The only desserts I eat now are from Josephs Organic Bakery - because they are made from wholegrain stone ground kamut flour and are sugar free (sweetened with organic maple). These desserts dont spike my blood sugar levels. Avoid eating cake first thing in the morning or late at night. Late morning or afternoon is the best time for something sweet.
I stopped buying almost all processed foods, organic processed foods are still processed. If its made in a factory I'm not interested. This includes organic processed sweets such as packaged chocolates, organic nut bars, protein bars, etc... These are all hard on the teeth. Dates, raisins, chocolates, anything that gets stuck to your teeth should be avoided.
8) RAW SAUERKRAUT: Unpasteurized Raw Fresh Made Sauerkraut is full of natural probiotics which is great for restoring gut health and reducing acid reflux. Store bought sauerkraut is pasteurized to make it shelf stable. This process destroys the probiotics and Vitamin C.
The best sauerkraut is available at Josephs Organic Bakery
9) I juice fresh orange and grapefruit every day. Vitamin C is essential for gum and bone health. I had stopped drinking or eating citrus due to warnings that it could erode tooth enamel. It was a mistake. Citrus juicing is so important for bone health. The only thing I do to protect my teeth is drink the juice through a straw to minimize contact with my teeth and I rinse out my mouth with water afterwards. I also supplement with vitamin C about 1000 per day.
10) I do green smoothies/juices daily. Kale has calcium which is essential for bone health. Kale can be used in fresh smoothies, juices, and even cooked with.
11) I changed toothpastes to Radius coconut oil toothpaste or Dr Schmidts toothpaste because they are very mild. Most toothpastes have soaps and foaming agents in them which can harm enamel. Its also important to brush lightly. Brushing hard weakens the teeth. If need be clean crevices gently with Stim-U-Dent wooden toothpicks.
FAST FORWARD ONE YEAR:
After about a year of taking these steps to improve my oral health, one day I bit down on something hard and the tooth with the cavity was incredibly painful. I figured I had failed, my efforts were for nothing, the pain I was in indicated that the cavity had probably grown even bigger maybe even to a root canal. I sat in the dentists office in trepidation. The nurse took the x-rays. The dentist examined the x-rays and lo and behold the cavities had disappeared! The same dentist who had scared me the year before about my cavities couldn't find them! The nurse was incredibly confused. The tooth pain was just a temporary trauma from biting down hard. I had walked into the dentists office in defeat and emerged elated. Miracles do happen.
My dry mouth is gone Thank G-d, my acid reflux is 95% percent better. It only acts up on occasion if I eat something that aggravates it.
At this point Im not sure if anything we are led to believe about dentistry is true. Can teeth with Root canal infections be restored? I have heard of people with dead roots whose teeth survive and function perfectly fine. It stands to reason that a tooth which has blood supply can function.
There are problems with root canal procedures. Once your tooth has had root canal restoration and blood supply is cut off, then that tooth is dead material that just sits and gathers bacteria. Teeth with root canal procedures become a burden on the body, often there are bacterial infections left in the tooth and the sorrounding gum. This bacterial buildup can lead to arthritis and other chronic conditions.
The key is to take care of your oral health, and that goes way beyond just brushing your teeth. Diet and stress management are crucial to preserve oral health.
For a long time I suffered so much from teeth and gum problems and had no idea what to do. A little faith and hard work go a long way. If anyone tells you its impossible to heal something naturally or at all, don't believe them. Healing is in G-d's hands.
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