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Diet and Caries: Evidence-Based Nutrition for Preventing Tooth Decay
“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation without investigation.” . . .
Herbert Spencer
Arguments in favor of a natural approach to tooth decay go against what we read and hear about keeping our teeth healthy. Although science has taken us down the wrong path more than once, I fully realize the plethora of information telling us that fluoride is good for our teeth. Yet, I have never seen fluoride stop active tooth decay in my dental practice. I have seen nutrition change teeth dramatically, quickly, and positively while I have watched fluoride ruin teeth [and health] many times. What most people think is proper nutrition may not be sustaining to our health. There are many arguments in favor of a wholesome natural diet which has been used many times to overcome the “diseases of modern civilization”… of which caries is one.
I adhere to the assumption that dental disease can be corrected with good nutrition, e.g., wholesome food.
To that end I applied my self. What I have learned from learned men in the past, like Ralph Steinman, Weston A. Price, Melvin Page, and Dennis Burkitt, can still be applied today. Yet, good nutrition is not something of the past, but exists today if one seeks out a wholesome natural diet. This approach has been used by many to cure cancer and other terminal diseases by Gerson, Kelley, Issels, Moerman, and Neiper. While their diets were specific for cancer and fairly complex, it certainly makes sense that a natural approach holds promise for tooth decay.
Today there is so much misunderstanding in the field of nutrition that truth is difficult to find. The literature is filled with half-truths and whole lies. One study cites benefit and safety of fluoride, while another study finds it to be mutagenic and dangerous. We are left with a conglomeration of disjointed facts; sometimes dishonest studies set to prove their point. This is one reason I tend to not adhere strictly to research, but look at who did the research, who paid for the research and who stands to benefit from it. Just as there is good research and bad research, there are good anecdotes (evidence-based) and bad anecdotes. Evidence-based just means using our own senses to understand what we see daily. This is true empirical science at its best. Isn’t that true science?
Somewhere along the way we were supposed to use our common sense rather than base our assumptions on false science.
As Paul warned Timothy, “Beware of science falsely so-called.”
I once reviewed some 36 journal articles on fluoride to “see” if it was linked to cancer. In this group of articles, some 18 said that fluoride was linked to cancer and 18 concluded that fluoride was perfectly safe. Now it cannot be both ways, so who was correct? Either fluoride causes cancer or it does not cause cancer. Right! All studies seemed to be “correct” and contained “good” … seemingly sound research.
Then, reading closer I saw that several of the studies showing that fluoride was “safe” were paid for by a major toothpaste manufacturer. Now the element of bias was present … my eyes were opened. Geoffrey Smith in his treatise on fluoride said that one could not make an accurate assessment about fluoride given all the conflicting data. Well, either it causes cancer or it does not cause cancer. Which side should we err on? Would it not be prudent to err on the side of safety and use caution… especially considering that tooth decay is not a life-threatening disease… but cancer is?
The EPA union scientists came out against fluoridation as a health issue. So are they smart scientists one day and then dumb ones the next day when they call fluoride a toxin? When a scientist wants to create cancerous cells out of normal cells what does he use? Fluoride. See Eustace Mullins, Murder By Injection, 1988, NCMR, Staunton, VA… you guessed it. Yet, it is alright to put fluoride on children’s teeth and put it in our water supply. Prestigious scientists, like Dr. Dean Burke, Chief Chemist Emeritus for the National Cancer Institute spoke out against fluoride many years ago. Dr. Gerard Judd, a chemist on the Manhattan Project, has written extensively on the dangers of fluoride as a chemical.
Linus Pauling saw his name vilified when he spoke out in favor of Vitamin C for cancer. Where is common sense? Professor Takeki Tsutsui stated, “Furthermore, a significant increase in chromosome aberrations at the chromatid level, sister chromatid exchanges, and unscheduled DNA synthesis was induced by sodium fluoride in a dose-and time-dependent manner. These results indicate that sodium fluoride (NaF) is genotoxic and capable of inducing neo-plastic transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells in culture.” Should we not take a deeper look into these allegations of cancer potential? Don’t we owe it to our patients to responsibly help them eliminate tooth decay without causing cancer in the process?
From the Congressional Record: “One of the most interesting time-trend observations has been that in the case of fluoridation the increased (excess) cancer mortality rates in humans can be observed with statistical certainty within five years, even one or two years in instances.” They go on, “… the likelihood is a number of 30,000 or more excess cancer deaths per year linked with artificial fluoridation in the United States in 1975, …” Gerard Judd, PhD, stated, “Fluoride is the most carcinogenic chemical in the field of public health hazard.” How many times do we have to read terms like, “cancer,” “neoplasms,” “sister chromatid exchange,” “unscheduled DNA synthesis” and “chromosome aberrations” before we wake up and face the music? I know what they mean; why is no one else concerned? Fluoride is not a “necessary evil,” because 1) it has little or no benefit, 2) it did not exist for primitives thousands of years ago, and 3) we can improve teeth without it by using nutrition. So why promote it? It appears one cannot advocate “health” and be for fluoride at the same time, as the following quotes reveal. (See boxed quotes on this page.)
Here are two articles on mutations caused by fluoride:
Sodium Fluoride-induced Morphological and Neoplastic Transformation Chromosome Aberrations, Sister Chromatid Exchanges, and Unscheduled DNA Synthesis in Cultured Syrian Hamster Embryo Cells, Takeki Tsutsui, Nobuko Suzuki and Manabu Ohmori, Can Res, 44:938-941, 1984 (March)
Sodium Fluoride-induced Chromosome Aberrations in Different Stages of the Cell Cycle: A Proposed Mechanism, Marilyn J. Aardema, et al, Mutation Research, 223:191-203, 1989
The titles of these respected scientific articles say it all, so why are we not being told the truth about fluoride? Why do the ADA Journals never mention fluoride as a toxin when so many other journals openly speak of its toxic potential? Why was fluoride banned (used and then removed) from 11 European countries? Why did they have a “De-fluoridation” conference in Thailand this past spring (2002)? Why is there a massive rush to fluoridate America, when the results are less than spectacular and other countries are removing fluoride from their water supplies? Why are we not told about fluoride’s cancer potential when we are literally forced to drink it against our wishes? Will we have pretty smiles, but die of cancer? Not a fair trade in my opinion. Why can’t we have nice teeth and be cancer-free too? It is easy … with proper nutrition. Many dentists have the attitude … “I am going to save that tooth if it kills you.” And it just might.
Vegetarianism and caries:
The vegetarian movement is growing now and many people swear by the vegetarian diet. Meat is bad for [us] … they tell us. One nutritional reverend states (with no shred of proof) that meat causes 90% of all disease. Yet, I have seen 50 families of vegetarian children with cavities. When I questioned them, they did not eat sugar and ate a fairly wholesome diet of many organic vegetables. I was perplexed at first. Then I realized that there is no (or very little) vitamin D in plant foods. Vitamin D sources include, dairy, red meat, eggs, cheese, fish, organ meats and milk. There are only small amounts of vitamin D in a few other plant foods.
What about the lack of vitamin D? Since Vitamin D helps normalize calcium metabolism and has a very positive effect on the bones and teeth, it would make sense to include this valuable vitamin in any dental nutritional program. Assuming that kids get enough if they drink milk is not wise, since 1) not all kids drink milk, 2) the Vitamin D added to milk is synthetic, and 3) milk is usually pasteurized (which inactivates the enzymes needed to ensure calcium metabolism). Therefore, I see kids with good teeth who drink milk, and I see kids with bad teeth who drink milk. What milk does do is to block the absorption of fluoride and thus [protects] the teeth from fluorosis. I recommend raw organic milk, if possible.
Vegetarian mothers who do get enough Vitamin D will not pass enough Vitamin D to their infant via breast milk to prevent tooth decay. Then we may see advanced cases of childhood or “Baby Bottle Caries” (BBC) in these children. Vitamin D has to be present to protect the teeth. Now there are some pediatricians who say (erroneously) that breast feeding is cariogenic. They do not understand that if the mother lacks Vitamin D, the child will have a Vitamin D deficiency too.
A vegetarian diet is very low in fat … that is a fact. If the protein is kept constant (in these three variables of protein, fats, and carbohydrates), then all things being equal … carbohydrates have to go up when fats go down. This is a given. Therefore, low fat dieters and vegetarians do not realize that they are imposing a risk of caries from a low fat diet lacking in Vitamin D. Loveren states, “Analyses of dietary intake of European and American populations indicate that people with low fat intakes tend to have high sugar intakes and vice versa.” (C. Van Loveren, European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, Feb 2000.) Therefore, low fat diets are high carbohydrate diets.
One study on people living beyond 90 revealed that these people had two things in their favor. 1) a functional thyroid and 2) adequate levels of Vitamin D. So where does one get Vitamin D? Eggs, milk, butter, and cheese … the same foods that doctors tell us not to eat because they also contain cholesterol.
So I ask you … How can Vitamin D be so essential and cholesterol be so bad for us when they come from the same food sources? Something does not fit!
Oral hygiene:
Since I see many kids, I have seen many cavities. I see cavities in kids that brush three times a day with a fluoride-containing toothpaste. I see cavities in children that do not brush. I see cavities in kids who took fluoride pills religiously. Again we do not want to make hasty conclusions. Brushing is important, … but it is not the answer we are looking for. Weston Price (see end note #1) traveled around the world studying primitive populations and found that as long as they ate their wholesome natural diet, they did not have appreciable tooth decay. Now these primitives did not brush or use fluoride toothpaste, but they did eat a good natural wholesome diet. Again, need we learn a lesson … no fluoride, no tooth paste and no brushing and no cavities. That just does not fit with our “modern scientific” way of thinking. Maybe we need to change our way of thinking. Do we need another study on tooth brushing or fluoride, when primitives did not have access to either?
Dietary changes and cavities:
“In many epidemiological studies dietary variables have never explained more than 6% of the variance in caries.” (Loveren) But what variables were they studying? If a scientist still recommends fluoride, which our ancestors did not have access to, and still sees a rate of decay commensurate with “normal” figures, then he has missed the whole point. How can one study something they have no idea about? It appears to me they do not know where to begin. OK, they begin with fluoride, which is taken as a given. In other words, they think fluoride has been proven so many times, it is assumed to work … when just the opposite is true.
Fluoride has devastating effects on our enzymes. We need enzymes for all metabolic processes, including digestion and detoxification.
Enzymes are also found in every cell and used in every cellular function. Without enzymes we die. Enzymes are the key to life and the door to robust health. Enzymes can assist the cure for cancer. Yet, fluoride inactivates over 100 enzymes. (Judd, Yiamouyiannis, Waldbott.) Fluoride causes delayed eruption of teeth in children. Today, probably some 50% of all orthodontic cases are the result of fluoride. Fluoride causes collagen breakdown. What are gums made of? Could years of using a fluoridated toothpaste be contributing to the increased cases we are seeing of periodontal breakdown and gingival recession? Very likely this is the case.
My dietary program for caries control and prevention: What follows is my very simple, wholesome, natural tooth caries prevention program for anybody with ears to listen. It works. Throw out the fluoride and reduce caries with diet. In the last 6 years I have placed many patients on a simple program for caries control. It consists of a five part program:
1) Good oral hygiene. But remember… the primitives did not brush. So it is good to keep the mouth clean and reduce the numbers of bacteria.
2) Avoiding sugar, that is, refined sugar. In severe cases, yes I will limit fruits and sweet fruit juices, but normally I don’t. While it is white sugar which is bad for teeth, fruit sugars can be cariogenic also. Sugar depletes calcium from our bones and teeth. The saliva of a person on sugar is nearly always acid and has no mineral reserves.
3) Eating a wholesome diet, which includes green vegetables… a good source of calcium. Let’s face it, there is no calcium-deficient diet in the U.S. today. People may take calcium supplements, but calcium is so ubiquitous that we hardly need a supplement. We do, however, need Vitamin D… without which we will not utilize the calcium. So my program [does] not mention calcium, per se, but only the calcium-containing foods… milk, cheese, dairy and green vegetables.
4) Avoiding substances which are anti-nutrients. Tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and chemicals which deplete calcium and other nutrients.
5) Using butter and cod-liver oil. These contain natural Vitamins (A & D) and help to normalize calcium. This is the keystone of my program. They also contain cholesterol. Price used butter to stop cavities in 1939.
In the years of this simple program, I have watched hundreds of carious teeth harden with reduced pain, and remineralize.
It produces excellent results, and I do not adhere to fluoride, nor have I seen fluoride do this in 28 years. Therefore, fluoride is not a part of my caries control program, for reasons I discussed, (namely cancer potential (mutagenic), delayed tooth eruption and fluorosis), which are three very good reasons not to use it. There are several studies which show that fluoride increases tooth decay (Judd.) So fluoride is not a part of my program, per se, but some kids will use fluoridated toothpaste. Fluoride makes no difference; it is a toxic poison, neurotoxic and nephrotoxic.
As an added bonus, this program also calms hyperactive children and it normalizes many other body functions dependent on calcium (like nerves and the heart). It is a nutritional program designed to help teeth. As a nutritionist I find it difficult to reconcile my differences with a known toxin, like fluoride, when I can stop cavities with palatable and safe nutrition. There is enough fluoride in toothpaste to kill a young child and we should remember that the original rat poison… was sodium fluoride. Fluoride at levels of 2 ppm is decreasing salmon reproduction … what about human reproduction? Fluoride is neurotoxic and lowers IQ levels in humans. Fluoride increases the aging process and causes osteosclerosis and increases hip fractures in people without teeth. In other words, there is no need for fluoride at all beyond age 12… but everybody has to take it in their water.
One researcher reported that even children in un-fluoridated areas were getting too much fluoride. What does that say about all the rest? Children taking fluoride pills or vitamins with fluoride can risk fluorosis and end up with brittle and discolored teeth. Then there are the school fluoride rinse programs, which expose children to yet another source of fluoride. Children taking fluoride drops, fluoridated vitamins, or who inadvertently swallow toothpaste, risk fluorosis, delayed eruption and brittle teeth, not to mention cancer, neurological disorders, kidney trouble, and inactivated metabolic enzymes associated with fluoride. These problems are very real even though we might choose to ignore them. Fluoride can also substitute for iodide (both are halogens) and cause thyroid problems.
Conclusion:
Common sense can sometimes prevail … that is if we are not blinded by false dogmatic science.
Nutrition has a lot to offer, if it is used properly. Healthy teeth are not difficult to obtain.
We were not meant to have “soft” teeth like our parents, unless we eat like our parents. Butter and cod-liver oil can harden teeth from the inside and help to build secondary (repair) dentin. I call this Vitamin D Therapy (VDT), because it hardens teeth and eliminates sensitivity to cold and sweet by altering the flow within the dentinal tubules.
Some quotes on fluoride:(emphasis added is mine) “Fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster, than any other chemical.” – Dean Burk, NCI, Chief Chemist Emeritus “Sodium fluoride is a highly toxic substance …” – L.P. Anthony, DDS, Editor of JADA 1944 (How times have changed since 1944!) “These results indicate that NaF (sodium fluoride) is genotoxic …” – Ref: Can Res, 44:938-941, 1984 “The present results have revealed the mutagenic property of NaF (sodium fluoride).” – Ref: Caryologia, 40:1-2, 79-97, 1987 “…there is now no doubt that fluoride can cause genetic damage.” – Ref: Compl Med Res, 6:111-113, 1992 “There is now a substantial body of evidence suggesting that fluoride is mutagenic.” – Ref: Sci Tot Env, 68:79-96, 1988 “A number of other papers have demonstrated mutagenic effects of fluoride.” – Ref: Fluoride, 10:102-125, 1977 “The results suggest that NaF (sodium fluoride) causes DNA damage in cultured human oral keratinocytes.” – Ref: Mut Res, 140:43-48, 1984 All these are highly respected peer-reviewed scientific journals. |
Ted H. Spence, DDS, ND PO Box 819 Exmore, VA 23350
Phone: (757) 442-3313; Fax (757) 442-9677
REFERENCE AND BOOKS ON FATS AND OILS:
Udo Erasmus, Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, 1986/1993, Alive Books, Burnaby, BC.
Karl Loren, Life Flow One, 1994/1995, LEES, Burbank, CA 91510.
Sally Fallon/Mary Enig, PhD, Nourishing Traditions, 1995, Promotion Publishing, San Diego, CA 92122.
Uffe Ravnskov, The Cholesterol Myths, 2000, New Trends Publishing, Washington, DC.
Mary Enig, PhD, Know Your Fats, 2000, Bethesda Press, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE:
1. Weston A. Price, DDS, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 1939, Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, (see order page)
2. Max Gerson, MD, A Cancer Therapy, 1958, Gerson Institute, Bonita, CA.
3. Fred Rohe, Metabolic Ecology: A Way to Win the Cancer War, 1982, Wedgestone Press, Winfield, KS.
4. Josef Issels, MD, Cancer: A Second Opinion, 1999, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, NY.
5. Ruth Jochems, Moerman’s Anti-Cancer Diet, 1990, Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, NY.
6. Ralph Moss, PhD, Cancer Therapy, 1992, Equinox Press, NY.
7. Fluoride References:
1) NA, Fluoridation Conference Proceedings, 1966 National Health Federation, Washington, DC.
2) John Yiamouyiannis, Fluoride: The Aging Factor, 1993, Health Action Press, Delaware, OH.
3) George Waldbott, MD, Fluoridation: The Great Dilemma, 1978, Coronado Press, Lawrence, KA.
4) Gerard Judd, PhD, Good Teeth: Birth to Death, 1997, Research Publications, Glendale, AZ.
5) Eustace Mullins, Murder By Injection, 1988, NCMR, Staunton,VA.
8. Gerard Judd, PhD, ibid.
9. Krispin Sullivan, CN, “The Miracle of Vitamin D”, Wise Traditions, Vol 1, No 3, Fall 2000, p 11-20.
10. Lisa Reagan, “Breast-Feeding and Dental Caries.” Article submitted to Mothering Magazine for publishing.
11. C. Van Loveren, “Diet and Dental Caries: Cariogenicity may depend more on oral hygiene using fluorides than on diet or type of carbohydrates,” European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, Feb 2000, p55-62
Published in Health & Healing Wisdom
Spring 2008 | Volume 32, Number 1
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