How to save your teeth (and your health)

• Be aware that sugar and refined carbohydrates are the cause of tooth decay and cavities. If you eat no sugar or refined carbohydrates whatsoever, your teeth will stop rotting (politely called dental decay). People who never have sugar from the youngest age (as on many traditional diets before any Western food or drinks are introduced) keep a full and healthy set of teeth all their lives.
• Eat some other food immediately after having acid food or drink in your mouth. This is usually what happens, as foods and drinks like wine, lemon juice and sharp yogurt are normally consumed with something else. The most common acidic offender is apple cider vinegar. It has many wonderful health properties, but after having it in your mouth have a good rinse, preferably with a pinch of sodium bicarbonate added.
• Clean your teeth properly. You do not need to brush your teeth after every meal if you enjoy a healthy no-sugar food and drink diet. It is much better to thoroughly clean your teeth once per day, or even every few days if you are on such a diet. Proper cleaning takes many minutes. Flossing is the most important part of cleaning your teeth. The most effective way to clean your teeth is the Charles C. Bass method. Use a soft bristled brush. Hold it at a 45 degree angle to the tooth. Gently make a tiny gentle wiggling movement to get the bristles down between the gums and the tooth (an area called the sulcus). Once the bristles are in the sulcus, make a very small and gentle back-and-forth motion. Keep the movement delicate and short, hardly more than a vibration, otherwise you will pull the bristles out of the sulcus or damage the gums. Do this for a few seconds, perhaps five strokes, then move on to the next couple of teeth to clean. Clean the sulcus on both sides of each tooth this way. Also give the sides of the tooth a more vigorous brushing. To clean the teeth in the front of your mouth place your brush across them to work the bristles into the sulcus.
• Minimal dental treatment. Most conventional dental techniques (see below) lead to the death of the tooth and several procedures are the source of an ongoing infection or toxins in your body. Check the Grow Youthful Holistic Dental Directory, which contains a list of hundreds of holistic dentists from all over the world (dentists who treat the whole body).
• Gums - treat gum disease (periodontitis or pyorrhea) and prevent receding gums.
• It is often preferable to have a tooth PROPERLY removed rather than suffer a root canal, bridge or insert. However, this is a difficult and personal decision, because nobody wants a gap in their mouth when they smile. Another reason to keep a tooth if possible is that the removal of certain teeth in the arch can result in the re-distribution of occlusal (chewing) forces. The opposing tooth will no longer have regular pressure from chewing on it, and can deteriorate. In a few cases, symptoms can even include headache or earache.
• Other factors such as proper hydration, oil pulling, diet and exercise discussed in Grow Youthful will ensure that you have sweet breath, healthy gums and no ongoing deterioration of your teeth.

Mercury fillings

Mercury fillings (the silver gray or black fillings that millions of people have in their mouths) are toxic and in my opinion should immediately be banned. Mercury amalgam fillings are responsible for many serious and apparently chronic diseases.

Some people are more susceptible than others to the effects of mercury poisoning, and experience dramatic improvements in their health after the removal of their mercury amalgam fillings. For others like myself, there was little effect after I removed my mercury fillings.

The amount of mercury that goes into the average mercury amalgam tooth filling is sufficient to kill you if it was taken all at once. Approximately 50% of an amalgam filling is mercury. 25-30% is silver, and the remainder is usually zinc and tin. An amalgam filling will leak mercury vapour over many years. The specific sicknesses mercury causes are extremely variable with each individual person. Research over decades has proven mercury can be the cause of degenerative diseases such as inflammation, heart disease, arthritis, bone spurs, birth defects, mental depression, headaches, migraines, insomnia, irritability, hallucinations, memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, tremors (shakes), kidney diseases (nephritis), skin diseases such as dermatitis and eczema, loosening of the teeth, pain and numbness in the extremities (multiple sclerosis symptoms) and many others.

White composite fillings are only slightly more expensive than mercury amalgam fillings, but require more skill. If your dentist argues that white composite fillings are too weak and short-lived to use, find another dentist. Composite fillings performed by a skilled dentist will last as long as any others. A dentist who is not capable of doing composite fillings should not be allowed to practice.

If you and your dentist decide to go ahead with a mercury amalgam filling, I suggest you ask your dentist for a written and signed conformation that mercury amalgam fillings are safe and will not harm you.