About a month ago, I took the kids to the dentist (9 and 5), and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they had cavities. Rory (9 yo) had 4, and Blaire (5 yo) had 1. I was truly shocked because all of their previous visits “looked great.” I have heard many, many stories about people reversing cavities and remineralizing their teeth, so I went deep down the rabbit hole.
This is in absolutely no way medical or dental advice. This is my own personal experience and journey, and I will keep this post updated as our journey continues.
Two people I would definitely follow are Restoration Dentistry and Ask the Dentist. I also bought this PDF from Restoration Dentistry that I HIGHLY recommend. I learned a lot. Completely worth the $67.
Our Timeline & Plan
We had X-rays on December 29th, and we are giving our protocol a full three months before we can make any official decisions on filling any cavities. We are going to do another set of X-rays and check at the end of March.
Until then, this is our protocol. We are almost a month in and have been VERY strict on this. If we can reverse these cavities, my kids won’t have to endure the trauma of the dental drill, and my wallet will be happy too.
Our Cavity Remineralization Protocol
Cleaning Routine
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Brush two minutes per day, morning and night (with help from parents)
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We are using the Elementa Tooth Gel
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Floss morning and night (flossing all teeth at night and the “problem” teeth morning and night)
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I use the Akamai floss (code: AKAMAI15) and put a little of the Elementa Tooth Gel on it
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Elementa mouth rinse morning and night
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My 9-year-old is also doing a little oil pulling with coconut oil a few times a week
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Tongue scraping before brushing morning and night
Lifestyle Changes
We are no longer snacking/grazing, which is really hard to do as homeschoolers when we’re in and out of the house all day! Every time we eat, our mouth becomes acidic, and it takes hours for it to restore its pH. Anything below 5.5 is a breeding ground for cavities. We want to give a solid 2+ hours in between eating to allow our mouth to rest and remineralize.
Additional lifestyle changes:
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Rinsing our mouths out with water after eating helps get some of the food particles out
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Chewing xylitol gum or mints after eating
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Xylitol is great for combating bad bacteria
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Just watch out for flavors with citric acid…this will make your mouth acidic
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Prioritizing meat, fruit, veggies, raw cheese, raw milk
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We already do this, but we are completely cutting out dried fruits, crackers, bars, and any foods that easily get stuck in the teeth for now. Not forever, but at least for these next 12 weeks while we fight the cavities
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Incorporating bone broth where we can (they love my butternut squash soup with bone broth). Bone broth has calcium
Supplements We’re Using
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Vitamin A (cod liver oil)
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Calcium (code: ROOTS)
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Fulvic acid drops (code: AKAMAI15)
Except for the cell salts, I put all of those supplements into a protein shake they have daily. The cod liver oil is very strong, so I only put a few drops in it…or I also like to take a can of cod liver and mix it into two cans of tuna so it’s not too fishy, but we get the vitamin A from the cod liver.
The cell salts they take once a day and just let them melt under their tongue.
Woo Woo Stuff (Visualization & Mindset)
- I’m a big fan of visualization and manifestation, so we have a chart of their teeth printed out, and I have highlighted the teeth that are “troubled.” Every day, we take a few minutes to visualize the teeth healing and remineralizing. I also visualize our next dental appointment and the dentist saying, “Wow, I can’t believe how much these teeth have remineralized!”
- I also have a tuning fork at 528 hz, which is said to be the frequency of healing and DNA repair. I use the tuning fork near their mouth at bedtime.
- We also do not use the phrase “my cavities” or “your cavities.” We only refer to them as “the cavities.” By saying “my,” it is implying ownership, like they belong to you. We refer to them as “the cavities” because they don’t belong to us. They are just a symptom that they are experiencing.
- We also speak in the affirmative, like:
“My teeth are getting stronger every day.”
Enamel vs. Dentin Cavities: What I’ve Learned
Another note. It is well documented that cavities in the enamel can be healed and remineralized. It is said that once they get into the dentin, they cannot be healed and need to be filled.
In my research, though, I have found some people say that even though dentin cannot be regrown, it CAN be arrested—aka the decay does not progress and stays asymptomatic and stable long term. That is my best-case scenario.
These are all baby teeth, so I am hoping we can stop the decay until the teeth fall out naturally. I have also heard the mineral density can increase and dentin can be hardened or sealed biologically (the pulp lays down tertiary dentin underneath)—whatever that means lol.
So my hope is to remineralize the teeth with enamel cavities and stabilize the teeth that are into the dentin until they fall out. I have also heard there is a difference between the cavity being “into the dentin” vs. “cavitated.” Apparently, once it’s cavitated, lifestyle changes cannot keep up with the rate of decay.
I need to call my dentist and ask. I’ve heard both opinions say “into the dentin,” but I’m not sure if they are cavitated or not. Stay tuned!
Final Thoughts & Update Plan
Again, this is NOT dental or medical advice. This is just my personal experience from some research and what we are trying with our kids. I will update this blog post at the end of March with the results from the second set of x-rays and what happened and what our updated plan will look like. If you’ve tried remineralization, dietary changes, or cavity arresting before, leave a comment and share what worked (or didn’t) for your family.
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