Nutrition for Healthy Teeth

Welcome back to my campsite! Pull up a chair and sit a spell 'round the fire and I'll share a little life story.

How important is good nutrition for good dental health? Very important. There of course are other reasons that cause bad teeth (genetics, improper dental care, etc.), but nutrition in itself is a huge part of having good teeth. Over-processed foods are everywhere, limiting our body's chances for ultimate health due to lack of the vitamins and minerals our body needs. It also is no longer helping that the ground soil farmers use now is so nutrient starved that there isn't as much in the way of vitamins and minerals in even the whole-est of foods. Sure, we can try getting our daily allotment through synthetic (man made) vitamins and minerals, but our body was designed to work well on REAL food, not the fake stuff.

So what caused the demise of my teeth? Where do the mistakes lie? I'd have to say all three, but especially the good nutrition part. Bad teeth are part of my family history, and I admit, I wasn't very keen on brushing my teeth as a child (I brush as an adult, though!). But I do believe it was my 10 years of working at McDonald's and eating a steady diet of fast food daily...most days it was all three meals (I was a manager and the food was free). My diet before and after McDonald's wasn't much better, since processed foods are so handy, and so quick. I don't remember my first cavity (although I'm sure my mom and dad do, since it started a long string of dental visits for me), but I do know it was at a young age. I just thought it was a fact of life, not that it was abnormal to have so many problems. And amalgam filling after amalgam filling came, and then eventually crown after crown.

I see a continuation of genetic problems in our oldest child, Peanut. Peanut's been to the dentist already with many fillings at a young age (only composite fillings though!). Peanut also isn't the keenest on getting teeth brushed, but we're certainly trying to maintain a more healthy lifestyle for our children by making sure there are more whole foods at meals and the snacks are healthy. They still get their share of "junk" food, but we try to limit where we can. The one thing that's going to be better for Peanut and Doshi in the long run is that amalgam will never be allowed in their mouths.

I don't have much of an update on what's been going on with me this last week. The tooth is still bothering, and I'll be contacting my dentist this week to get in to have it pulled. I saw my doctor on Friday, and he's in agreement that it is most likely the root-canaled tooth gone bad that's causing my extra problems right now. Plus he also added what he believes are allergies to my list of symptoms since I've been having some upper respiratory problems as well on and off through these last two+ years. Allergies are on the list of symptoms that have been helped by amalgam removal. Another thing to hope for that will disappear when my dental revision is complete.

I'm hoping that next time I post I will have been able to put a list together of foods that are great for natural detoxification (cleansing - especially mercury and other heavy metals) that anyone can eat to help their bodies work better, or if you're mercury laden like me and want to avoid them until your amalgams are gone so that you aren't pulling mercury from your teeth to go through your body only to feel worse. Stop by again soon to check it out!