Dental stuff

[Mr. Beyondtheory]

My dentist reckons I may need some crowns due to acid reflux during my sleep over the years ruining their enamel. The dentine has been exposed quite a lot on about 3 molars.:(

They've been like this for a few years now, and yet no bad bacteria :alien:has got into them. I thought it was just about automatic when dentine got exposed because it is not as hard and tough as the enamel.

I am doing my best to improve my poor digestion which is behind the acid reflux. I am taking ayurvedic herbs, eating smaller meal portions, and walking after meals a bit. But it feels like a losing battle in some ways as a lot of my indigestion is due to a damaged liver, which doesn't look like it is going to get fixed anytime soon.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how good crowns are; and whether anyone else has some molars with exposed dentine (ie. some sinkholes), and whether they've got away with it for some years.

The only thing I notice is if I drink hot lemon and honey drinks, those particular teeth become really sensitive for a day or two. Sometimes I can't eat on that side.

[TanyaL]

I can't really help with the dental stuff. I have read quite a bit about how to re-mineralize teeth, haven't had to heal any cavities so I can't testify to it, but I can point you to a thread on the topic, it's a bit long though..

http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=399989

And here's a synopsis...
http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=399989&page=36
post 706 on that page, by JaneS

Just skimmed another thread of yours, not sure you'll be keen on it since it's based on Weston Price's book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. The basic summary of his argument is we need more minerals, esp calcium and phosphorus, and a whole lot more fat soluble vitamins (A, D, K2 in particular, so animal products) in order to have healthy teeth, but if we do, we can heal cavities that have already formed. I feel lucky that my kids haven't had cavities yet, we've got health things we're working on. I think there is some luck/genetics/constitutional susceptibility, however you want to describe it, at work with all this as well.

But, one reason I responded was, what's the link between acid reflux and liver function? My dad has horrible acid reflux and I think his liver function is pretty bad for a guy still walking around, living his daily life, so your mention of both caught my eye.

[Sandra17]

Very interesting Tanya. Thank you.

[Mr. Beyondtheory]

Hi Tanya,

Thanks for that information. Actually I know about Weston Price and have actually tried a lot of the Price Foundation ideas...ie. a few months back I took the special butter oil, and Cod Liver oil together, and was drinking raw milk.

I have to be honest, I didn't notice anything much happen. In fact the raw cows milk made my acid reflux much worse. It was indigestible to me.

I still think some of their ideas are right, though I certainly don't think they are right when they say you must eat meat, and must drink cows milk.

They seem rather dogmatic in that area. I know that Ayurveda strongly recommends tahini and root veges to help with mineralising teeth and bones. That's because they contain not just calcium but magnesium which is crucial for bone and dental health. There is also the idea of not eating too much protein because it makes the body acidic; the body reacts by stripping calcium from the bones in order to use it as a buffer in the blood against the acidity. Calcium is an alkaline mineral.

As for the liver - acid reflux condition, I believe a lot of acid reflux comes from poor digestion. The food just sits there in the tummy being digested too slowly and improperly...thus you get regurgitations. Also maybe a lot of acid get's generated but it is of poor quality, and it creeps up the oesophagus during the night when you're horizontal.

The liver if damaged usually means digestion is going to be adversely affected, because it plays an absolutely crucial role in digestion. The liver creates the bile that is used to emulsify the fats we ingest, and all the blood that goes to the intestines to absorb nutrients, then carries the nutrients to the liver to be processed and cleansed, and made more bio available, before being pumped back to the heart to be pumped around the body to where the nutrients are needed.

If the liver is not doing a very good job there are big ramifications for the health.:(

[TanyaL]

Hi Tanya,

Thanks for that information. Actually I know about Weston Price and have actually tried a lot of the Price Foundation ideas...ie. a few months back I took the special butter oil, and Cod Liver oil together, and was drinking raw milk.

I have to be honest, I didn't notice anything much happen. In fact the raw cows milk made my acid reflux much worse. It was indigestible to me.

I still think some of their ideas are right, though I certainly don't think they are right when they say you must eat meat, and must drink cows milk.

They seem rather dogmatic in that area.

They do, and it's a real shame. I think the good parts can be overlooked because of this. For us, we're gluten and dairy free, and however many nutrients may be in raw goat or cow milk, it's just bad news for us. Someday, probably, but it'll be a few years for us. But for me, the pictures in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration really spoke to me, and looking at my kids' faces, they seem to have the problems that Price wrote of. Which isn't surprising, we got into the topic of health and nutrition due to health problems.

For us, fat soluble vitamins seem to be a big deal. Not everything, we're working on lots of nutrient deficiencies, and some topics like gut health and other nutrients like zinc and folate aren't discussed by Price, but the broad strokes of fat soluble vitamins and lots more minerals than most of us eat (probably not you, but me before I changed our diet), seem to me to be a big part of good health. But hey, I'm still working on this stuff, we'll see how we do in a couple years. ;)



I know that Ayurveda strongly recommends tahini and root veges to help with mineralising teeth and bones. That's because they contain not just calcium but magnesium which is crucial for bone and dental health. There is also the idea of not eating too much protein because it makes the body acidic; the body reacts by stripping calcium from the bones in order to use it as a buffer in the blood against the acidity. Calcium is an alkaline mineral.

And you see, this is one area that they seem to overlap. From a practical perspective, the high-mineral intake that Price advocates seems to have the same effect as the acid-alkaline balance theory. They just seem to have different approaches to getting the same result.

As for the liver - acid reflux condition, I believe a lot of acid reflux comes from poor digestion. The food just sits there in the tummy being digested too slowly and improperly...thus you get regurgitations. Also maybe a lot of acid get's generated but it is of poor quality, and it creeps up the oesophagus during the night when you're horizontal.



Okay, makes sense. But still the solution is to fix the liver problems, and while I'm working on mine, my dad isn't. Thus worry.



If the liver is not doing a very good job there are big ramifications for the health.:(

I know! And this really worries me for my dad. I know my liver's a mess, well, it's improving but still got a ways to go. But the slow downhill slide is harder to see than the abrupt fall off the cliff, and so I worry. I _know_ what's wrong with him, and I love him and want him around for a long time. Anyway, off-topic. :rolleyes:

So, do you have any ideas on why your liver is stressed? Doesn't address the immediate dental issue, but if decay isn't setting in, then it seems like you've got time to work on overall health and then open the way for the enamel to remineralize.