What do you think of when you hear the word cavities? A dentist’s office? A drill? Pain?
Thanks to Rami Nagel, I think of cures. Author of Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities With Nutrition, Rami has helped thousands of people learn the truth about what causes cavities. People who follow his program watch their teeth re-mineralize, their cavities heal, their gum disease vanish. The secret? (Here’s a hint: it’s not regular brushing and flossing.)
Put simply, it’s all about proper nutrition. Recently, Ann Marie at Cheeseslave ran a post on what causes cavities, also known as dental caries. Her post inspired me to track down Rami Nagel and invite him to write a guest post summarizing his research on how to prevent cavities and have healthier teeth and gums:
Nature designed your teeth to a shining white level of perfection. 5 Billion years of evolution, and hundreds of millions of years of successful survival of humans and our distant ancestors, without dentists, was based upon an intricate plan for success and health.
In other words, we were designed to have healthy teeth our entire life. Decayed and falling out teeth would lead to an inability to survive in the ancient world, and thus I conclude it isn’t inherent in the human design.
In recent times humans have been inflicted with a plague whose official name is “dental caries.” The plague effects approximately 90% of the population. It gets worse with age, about 28% of 2-5 year olds have dental cavities, and by the time people reach ages 20-39 the number climbs to 87%. The plague is not cured by chemicals, by detergents, and it is certainly not cured by dentists drilling holes in teeth.
The True Causes of Cavities
Dental greats Weston Price and Melvin Page illuminated the cause of cavities. Dr. Price found primitive people around the world who had minute levels of tooth cavities–and in some cases none at all. When these people switched to a modern diet, tooth decay became rampant. The modern diet consisted of mainly of white flour, concentrated sugars in the forms of syrup, jams, honey or white sugar. It also had meat in tins, vegetable oils, and canned vegetables.Dentist Melvin Page went into further detail of how modern foods affect our bodies, he found that cavities occur as a result of imbalances in our calcium and phosphorus metabolism. When the calcium and phosphorus ratios in our blood go out of balance, we get tooth cavities, or gum disease. Correcting the levels, primarily through a change in diet, resolved the problem.
Most recently dentist Ralph Steinman, together with John Leonora, found that whether we have healthy teeth or not is regulated by our glandular health – particularly the hypothalamus in the brain and the parotid glands in the jaw. These glands control whether we have active decay or healthy teeth (no decay) based upon the fluid flow in the microscopic channels within the teeth.
How to Heal and Prevent Cavities
We can combine the wisdom of these three dentists together, along with trial and error to create a program that can be as high as 95% effective in halting and even reversing tooth decay. I have received many reports from ecstatic people who have made their cavities hard again and who have healed tooth infections by following some or all of the guidelines below.The premise is simple: we need to eat how our bodies were designed to eat.
We need to be like our ancestors at the dawn of farming, who prepared their foods carefully to preserve the taste and nutrients of the foods.
The three most important changes you can make are these:
- Avoid processed foods. Processed grains, the breakfast cereals, the bagels and the pasta cause blood sugar fluctuations. Over time our glands become tired monitoring the blood sugar, and we get cavities.
- Monitor your sweet intake. Yes, honey, maple syrup, fruit, are all natural sweets. But many people don’t realize that many types of fruit have been hybridized to make them sweeter. If you have tooth problems, you cannot be eating fruit all day. Particularly tasty sweet fruits, like bananas, dates, and blueberries, are very high in sugar.
- Eat more Activator X. Dr. Price found an important factor in tooth mineralization, that is related to fertility, which he called activator X. Activator X occurs primarily in butter when the cows eat rapidly growing green grass. Many people account that by adding a high quality grass fed raw milk to their diet, their cavities have stopped, and some can even see new tooth structure building. The power of raw milk or butter to stop cavities comes from the fertility factor present during certain times of the year. I suggest eating 1 tablespoon or more of high quality butter per day. Without this substance, the body does not have activating “messages” to the hormonal system to build healthy teeth and bones. In India, ghee from a cow or buffalo is considered a sacred food for pregnancy, breastfeeding and growing children. It is precisely this activator X component that assures bright white healthy teeth.
There’s significantly more I could discuss (I did write an entire book on the subject, after all), but let me leave you with a summary. If you want the healthiest teeth possible, eat:
- whole foods freshly prepared,
- yellow butter,
- organs and glands like bone marrow and liver,
- mineral rich bone broths,
- raw dairy, and
- a variety of sea foods.
Tooth decay with age is NOT normal.
We have replaced whole nourishing vitamin-dense foods with modern, convenient, chemically-laden and factory-made foods that lack vitamins. Without food-based sources of fat-soluble and water soluble vitamins, our bodies decay over time. Our road map for perfect health becomes corrupted, and our teeth decay. Our bodies crumble because what we are eating does not support good health.
So, to Ramiel Nagel, I say THANK YOU!
Rami has authored two books — Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition and Healing Our Children: Because Your New Baby Matters! Sacred Wisdom for Preconception, Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting (ages 0-6). You can find him online at www.curetoothdecay.com and www.healingourchildren.net.
(photo by mynameisharsha)
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I understand the evidence about healing cavities, but is it possible for chipped teeth to be repaired at all? I’ve recently noticed several small nicks in my front teeth. Obviously, some of this is due to dental alignment, but I also suspect that poor diet has allowed my teeth to be weakened.
Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this matter?
The advice that i would give is to stop any toothpaste with glycerin – this, along with the wrong food diet, makes it near impossible for any re-mineralization of the teeth – although chipped teeth will likely not heal as it is the enamel that is damaged – Weston Price found that exposed dentine (the living inner part of the tooth) will re-mineralize and we found that to be happily true in our experience with our 1 year old’s decay – now 4.5 with still damaged enamel baby teeth, but they healed over with re-mineralized dentine.
you can read our story about our daughter Lola’s teeth healing as well as some more detailed information about the necessary changes in your diet to gain true dental health. Diasolgaia – google (cut and paste) The Teeth Rotting Diet – its what for your lunch?
I love this post. I have for a long time joked with friends that it annoys me how evolutionarily deficient teeth are. The fact that they get dirty, smelly, decayed, all led me to this belief. That is until I realized our teeth are probably just fine. The problem is our diet. Thanks!
john
R.A. — Yes, you can re-mineralize your teeth. I’ve not done it (no chipped teeth to speak of), but I know people who have.
Towards the end of this post, you can read about how Ann Marie healed a chipped tooth after changing her diet to traditional foods — raw milk, real butter from grass-fed cows, no refined sugars or processed grains, and a daily dose of cod liver oil.
It takes time, but you *can* see the difference!
John — LOL. Exactly! Many native populations around the world have PERFECT teeth, and they certainly aren’t brushing or flossing!
By chipped, do you mean cracked? If a piece of a tooth breaks off, I don’t think anyone could regrow it, but if you’ve got a crack, I’m sure it could heal.
NOT true – surf the web to find first-hand accounts of teeth regrowing. Obviously, there’s no “overnight success” bullshit here, because the process is slow.
Why I’m saying this? Because I’m seeing chipped parts of my two frontal 3rds teeth regrowing. I’m on CTD diet and mixed eggshels, also using NOVASONIC (LIPUS device) to stimulate the roots.
But your teeth’s nerves have to be intact! So you can’t do anything with teeth after root canal, although reports are mixed.
BTW – since you can’t believe it, how would you expect your body to react? Inaction due to you disbelief.
hi rammit – what is the ctd diet? and where did you get your novasonic? also, if you have any updates on your teeth, do share! thanks
Great post! I have both of his books and they are great! I actually thought he might have info on teeth that never came in. The teeth next to my top front teeth never came back in after I lost the baby teeth. My brother and I were 15 months apart and I am the lucky number 2. lol. My brother had perfect, teeth, skin, and nice thick hair. I had a large gap, 2 missing teeth, and thin hair and acne. Thanks God for braces! I had my daughter and then I got pregnant immediately with my son and guess what, his teeth next to front teeth never came in. Does this mean he will never get them? Is there anything I can do. He is now 3 1/2. I really do not want him to go through all the pain with the braces. They pulled all the teeth over and then I had to have them bonded. Had to get braces twice because the teeth wanted to go back. I just started following WAPF diet about 1 year ago. I also give them FCLO and Butter Oil. I will say after introducing the raw milk, my son no longer needed any pain releif when his molars came in. I did not even realized he got them in. All his other teeth that came in(before he drank raw milk), I was armed with the oragel and tylenol. Love your blog! God Bless!
Lolaloves13 — Good question! I’ll ask him. I have adult teeth that never came in (genetic, my father is missing those teeth as well), so I still have two baby teeth in my mouth! Can you believe it? Most people don’t, but it’s obvious when you look at my mouth. Thankfully, they’re both molars, so it’s not a cosmetic issue at all.
I wish my mother knew this, because i grew up with cavities galore!
Now I have ALL KINDS of mecury fillings (that scare me to no end but im guessing its better to leave them in now because hubby and I will probably be ttcing in the next year or so; no time to chelate really)
Now, I am busy trying to heal the two NEW cavities a dentist found two years ago and hubby’s new 4 cavities (he’s never had cavities before now, so he’s freaking out).
I wonder if my mother had this knowledge that I wouldnt have had to go through all those agonizing visits to the dentist (Im a cavity PRO now and i hate that lol).
I am glad hat I have this knowledge so that now I can keep my children from having to go through the crap that I had to go through.
Tamara — If you’re really trying to heal cavities right now, I *highly* recommend buying Rami’s book on the subject and reading through it. It’s obviously much more thorough than this post, and will equip you with the knowledge you need to make even better food choices.
Good luck!
-KristenM
Great information. I wasn’t aware of the Activator X information. This is great stuff — and more ammunition (IMHO) for our move to organic, grass-fed dairy.
lo
Lolaloves13 — Here’s Rami’s Reply:
The teeth next to my top front teeth never came back in after I lost the baby teeth. My brother and I were 15 months apart and I am the lucky number 2. lol. My brother had perfect, teeth, skin, and nice thick hair. I had a large gap, 2 missing teeth, and thin hair and acne.
I don’t have an exact answer. It could be from the mother or the father’s side. You might try to find out if your parents diet changed during that narrow time gap. Because you were the second child and close together, it would seem like it could be a nutrient deficiency. But I am not certain.
I had my daughter and then I got pregnant immediately with my son and guess what, his teeth next to front teeth never came in. Does this mean he will never get them?
At some point there should be evidence of adult teeth growing, or not growing. Check with your local dentist that you trust.
Is there anything I can do. He is now 3 1/2. I really do not want him to go through all the pain with the braces.
There are many kinds of holistic orthodontists. Braces are not necessarily good. I would look into herbs and homeopathy.
American Academy of Cranial Facial Pain – Find specialists for disorders related to the pain and nervous imbalances caused by improper bite.
American Association of Functional Orthodonitics –
A.L.F – Advanced Lightwire Functional
I have adult teeth that never came in (genetic, my father is missing those teeth as well), so I still have two baby teeth in my mouth! Can you believe it?
I don’t know if it is genetic. Although certainly it seems to be passed down. Further research is needed on the topic. My theory is that something happens to the glandular system that triggers the growth of teeth, such as the parotid, pituitary, or hypothalamus, or all three. There may be a traumatic event, like a medication, a chemical exposure, or a deficiency or a rare mineral, like iodine.
Rami
Very enlightening, Kristen, thanks for getting in touch with Rami and getting all this great scoop for us!
Kelly
Kelly the Kitchen Kop
This corroborates what Michael Pollan says in “In Defense of Food.” Fascinating stuff! It’s amazing what eating real foods can do for our bodies.
Lee
Thanks for the quick response and getting Rami’s reply! I am so excited to have found you! I will definetely check out the links! Thanks again!
This is fascinating stuff! My 7 1/2 year old son used to have terrible teeth. He got 2 crowns when he was six! After changing his diet some we went back to the dentist and he had one small cavity, which the dentist decided not to fill because his oral hygiene was so much better (I don’t think that was because of better brushing). Six months later that small cavity was gone! His teeth are completely hard and there is no trace of the cavity. I think it is from cutting out boxed cereal (that was a biggie), eating only homemade, soaked whole wheat bread, and drinking raw milk (he never could digest store milk anyway). Amazing!
Food Renegade,
How on earth do you get such AWESOME guest posters? You are incredible. Please keep up the good work.
-leo
Over the decades, the tops of my lower front teeth have worn off, exposing a cross-section of tooth. For weight reasons, I gave up wheat 3 or 4 months ago. First, a knuckle that was completely flat for 2 decades has almost entirely grown back. After I read this same info on a different site, I checked my lower teeth. The wear is almost entirely gone. On top of all that, with the better diet, I lost 30 pounds, mostly around my waist. True story. Seems ridiculous but it’s not.
The Activator X is vitamin K2. Vitamin K1 is in leafy greens and allows your blood to clot. K2 is used for bones and teeth and is found in butter and raw dairy. Don’t forget about D3 (not the worthless D2). K2 + D3 + calcium = strong teeth.
Excellent information! Only in the last few years have I heard about good nutrition being key for dental health…I just wish I could go back and change my early 20’s and the five cavities I had filled!
Julie
Very interesting article on preventing tooth decay. I’ll print this up and leave it in our lobby and plan to email it out to our patient base. The Activator X concept is completely new to me.
i just got into this site, i don’t even know if someone’s going to reply because the last posts were made last year.. it’s just that im scheduled to have a root canal treatment soon but now i want to try “cure tooth decay” first and see how it’ll serve me for a couple of months. my concern is the hole on the tooth for that period of time. will i have temporarily filled to somehow prevent further damage or will it just hinder the natural restoration ill be watching out for? thanks
blessed,
Perhaps you have discovered Ramiel’s website and were able to submit your question to him directly.
If you are still in need of help with this question, try submitting it here: http://community.curetoothdecay.com/cavities
Thank you, Ramiel! This is fascinating and makes a lot of sense. What do you think about oil-pulling? I’m trying to do it with olive and coconut oil, but my teeth are so tightly jammed together it’s difficult.
Hi Ramiel so a little bit about me and my teeth. My teeth have been perfect for a long time. About a year ago I switched to a paleo/primitive diet. No grains, sugars, barely any fruits. Just vegetables, meat and fat. The last month or so my teeth have started chipping in some spots and turning brown. I looked at the back of all of my bottom teeth and they are quite brown and starting to wrap around the fronts of all of my teeth. Now before this I was primarily eating an all meat diet for two months. Rarely had any carbohydrates but was eating a lot of meat and nothing else. My teeth are getting worse by the days/week. My beautiful smile is going away. Since hearing about you I have been eating more liver from grass fed beef, lamb, I eat a lot of fat (egg yolks), olive oil, butter, coconut oil. I have just started drinking a lot of raw milk as well. Also I was eating some heart as well. I still eat no grains or any sweets. I occasionally drink on the weekends but not during the week at all. I eat all organic vegetables and have no started adding back in more vegetables and occasionally fruits because I though I might be defficient in vitamins or minerals. I’ve been eating your type of way for a couple of weeks now, but the problem is still persisting. I also have been starting to eat organic sauerkraut. I can’t find fermented cod liver oil around but going to try to find it. How long do you think it will take to see change in my teeth. I would have figured it would have halted or started getting better, but it is still getting worse. Also I suspected that it could have been from fluoridated water, which I was drinking a lot of tap water at the time when this started happening. Now I’m only drinking bottled spring water and trying to get water from a friends spring out in the country. Can you please let me know any input? This is very important to me and don’t want to lose my smile. Should I go to the dentist and see what they say. I know I shouldn’t because they are just in the business to make money off my teeth and probably want them to get worse. Please let me know. Also if anyone else has had a similar problem please join in. Thanks. -Chris
Can we also point out the importance of breastfeeding in this issue? Not only do bottle teats/artificial nipples cause dental malocclusion by strengthening the wrong jaw muscles, causing high arches in the roof of the mouth and narrowing airways, but artificial milk lacks many vital micro-nutrients which build and actively protect teeth. The immune factors in breastmilk reduce the build up of bacteria in the mouth, and the sugars are not corrosive like the ones in processed cows milk based artificial milks. Natural diet starts in infancy, and, breastfeeding helps with natural child spacing and means mothers body has a chance to recuperate before building a new baby.
Natural is best, and natural doesn’t come out of a can!!
http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/bfing_import.htm
Interesting article. What do you do for a child that is severely dairy intolerant (ghee seems to cause slight amount of eczema)? Also – fermented cod liver oil (emulsified for young children) has glycerin in its formulation. Should it them be avoided?
I find that the real sad part is the increase of dental cavities in children. Parents are too busy to care about giving children the natural nutrition their bodies crave. Processed food is junk, it ruins our teeth and makes us get sicker a lot easier.
Hello, I recenty started oil pulling and it would seem that my teeth look noticibly whiter and its only been 3 days. I am wondering if the oil pulling will have a negative affect on my four front teeth that are bonded? Also,wondering if i have any hope of whitening the bonded teeth they are stained much worse then my other un-bonded teeth a fact that seriously concerns me since the reason i got them bonded in the first place was to cover up damage from a drug could terramicin that i was giving quit often as a child due to multiple infections and strep throat. The medication did ruin my teeth especially the front six upper teeth. Do you have any advice?
also i wanted to add like the above poster i too did not have all my baby teeth come out ! I thought i was a rare case….needless to say when my daughter lost her baby teeth i thought she lost too many ! not true it was because i did not remember losing any but my top two!
I have two big holes in my lower molars.I want to know if they can still remineralize. I don’t want them removed as they are essential for chewing.
Regards.
Did not know that you could get rid of cavities with proper nutrition. I am on my way to completely healthy lifestyle, though I am a bit of a sweet tooth and probably should eat less honey and dates (especially dates. And I do love raw milk. Though if I start to think, I haven’t had any cavities for quite a while and I tend to have poor teeth. Makes sense to me!:)
It is illegal to sell raw milk in Australia. And I believe many westerns countries are the same. The closest I can get is organic grass fed products. But I have switched to this dental friendly diet though I do tend to eat too much fruit.
Does this diet increase cholesterol?
I rarely leave a response, but after reading through a few of the
remarks on How To Cure Tooth Decay — Guest Post by Ramiel Nagel | Food Renegade.
I do have a few questions for you if it’s okay.
Could it be only me or does it seem like some of the remarks appear like
they are coming from brain dead visitors? 😛
And, if you are posting on other places, I would like to follow everything fresh you have
to post. Would you list of every one of your public sites like your Facebook
page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
I am a child of 18 years and now I have lost the colour of my teeth(yellow) , what can I do to make it white again……?? _ Joseph
I am a teen of 18 and I got some cavities on my molar teeth and after reading your article . I started consuming dairy products . But I find very allergic to them so what should I do then
I do not believe anything from that book.I was raised on a farm (back in Europe),100% organic with only grass fed animals,by my grandparents until I was 7.I ate everything he suggests in his book,with the exception of cod liver oil.Raw grass fed milk and butter,fresh chicken,duck,geese,turkey eggs,animal organs,tons of fermented foods,no soy,very limited sugar (as it was something fancy and expensive) and so on.By the age 15 I had 10 cavities and 3 molars removed.My son,now 7,has same diet including the nasty fermented cod liver oil,with everything home made,raw grass fed milk and butter,grass fed meat and organs.On top,he is also gluten free ,as I have celiac ,and already 2 cavities.We discovered he has multiple food intolerances that ends up in having eczema.He started having it at 3 when there was absolutely no sugar involved,was breastfed for 26 mo and otherwise super healthy.
We came to the conclusion that people with food allergies or sensitivities will automatically have a higher change of having tooth decay.
My kids never had otc medicine or antibiotics,and never infections of any kind,with only a minor cold once every few years. Also,they are highly energetic and smart.This shows me that their diet is great.
Forgot to mention that a good friend of mine,american born and raised,lives on junk food and starbucks frappuccinos and at 42 she is overweight,had her first child in vitro and she only has 1 cavity. Her son is 8 and obese,but has no cavities.She strongly believes in good oral hygiene and will never let her kids drink or eat from someone else. In case someone drank,or ate from her children’s bottles,or their dishes,they won’t be allowed to touch those.As babies they fed themselves,as she did not want to be tempted into linking their spoons and give them her mouth bacteria.
I had a very bad cavity in one of my molars and my friend was like you eat alot of processed foods which causes the cavity. I didn’t believe her at that time but when i visited the dentist, he told me the same thing. And now i visited your blog, I’m convinced now that processed food is bad for my teeth. Thank you so very much for the article.
Great article! its very well defined. I am going to follow these tips in my routine to have healthier teeth
Thank you for this post, a lot of useful information. I’m building my own website for teeth whitening and your post is one of the source of my inspiration.
In the process of healing can the teeth look worse before better? I took photos of my child’s teeth they showed huge Improvement in the past 2 months today when I took a photo it is showing cavities where it did not have cavities. I know she is still doing all the protocol so the only thing that I can come up with is it is pushing the bad out. Is my hypothesis true and if so can you provide links so I can read this for myself.
Rami Nagel died of cancer in 2017.
Thank you for this post, a lot of useful information. I’m building my own website for teeth whitening and your post is one of the source of my inspiration.
What are some home remedies I could reform to both cure and reduce the pain? i have an abscessed tooth that i cannot immediately tend to with a dentist,in the meantime,anyone have a home remedy or two that may help with the pain?its to the point that i cannot taste food or drink,but partly because i take thyroid medicine too.thanks in advance