I'd like to hear your experiences with dental issues while on a raw food diet. I've had numerous cavities in my past which went hand-in-hand with many sugary & starchy food items. This book I'm reading spoke how archaeological studies of paleolithic people's teeth were almost top-notch. The author claims this to be a result of not consuming starches or refined sugars that continuely fed acid-producing bacteria. Any truth in this? That'd mean raw foodists wouldn't have cavity-concerns, though I'm assuming dried fruit and maybe bananas would contribute to cavities.

When I was 100% raw and cleansing I ended up losing a tooth due to an abcess that developed.

Oooh, sorry to hear that Ahimsa! Hope all is well with your teeth now.

I think cavaties can definitly develop if raw foodists eat too many nuts and dried/fresh fruit and not enough vegetables. This is really common and it does seem like a lot of raw foodists experience sensitive teeth and cavities while being on raw because of this.

well, it shouldn't stop you from eating fresh fruit and whatnot. You just need to be sure to rinse your mouth out with water and brush your teeth regularly.

one person on a raw food forum said that it may be because the plaque is being taken off exposing the sensitive enamel. And that after a while, the enamel strengthens and the pain and problems go away. I've heard lots of people say they had sensitive teeth at the beginning but that it went away after a couple weeks.

Rinse and brush. Also, be sure to eat lots and lots of leafy greens. Green smoothies will help tremendously.

I haven't had any cavities since going raw. I do think that dried fruit is hard on the teeth and you should definitely brush and floss after eating it. I have eaten a lot of dried fruit in my raw history, but it never gave me teeth problems, but I have heard of others who did have problems with too much dried fruit. Fresh fruit is better for you anyhow.

I wonder about my cavaties and raw food and regular food and all that. I've had to cut back on brushing my teeth because I was getting recessed gums and a health food book said that one should only brush two or three times a day. I was brushing 4 times a day.

Now my gums and teeth are feeling a little better. :)

And I like jenna's idea of rising a lot. Getting the sugars out of your mouth is a good idea. I wonder if it's best to rinse with a salt water solution though. I just don't know.

I've been raw for three weeks now, and I think I have a cavity. It's a black spot in my molar that's slowly been getting bigger. Could this be a detox as I also have coldsores? I haven't been eating fruit, so it may also be too many nuts.

My chipped front tooth I had since I was a kid healed completely durring a 6 month raw stretch. I was also using toothsoap instead of toothpaste. ALL toothpaste, natural or not, has glycerin in it which prevents the remineralisation of teeth. You may want to check out the toothsoap instead. It's called perfect prescription tooth soap.

You can also use Dr. Bronners soap to brush your teeth with.

A mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and salt is also a great toothpaste.

I've also heard horsetail tea is supposed to heal your teeth.

And I like jenna's idea of rising a lot. Getting the sugars out of your mouth is a good idea.
What? :eek:

Mr. Sun likes the idea of rising a lot and gives credit to Jenna for it :boobies: Hey, Jenny, you make the Sun rise! :sunny:

:lol:

:o :lol:

Oh my goodness, I'm so embarrassed, lol.

Was that a typo or a Freudian slip?

Although, I must say: Ahimsa, for you to pull that meaning out of that post... get your mind out of the gutter, lol. :)