By Ali Wetherbee

If you are looking for a natural or holistic alternative to Western dentistry, Ramiel Nagel’s book Cure Tooth Decay is a valuable resource. Drilling, filling, and root canals are not the only methods of treating cavities! This book teaches you how to remineralize teeth, slowing down and even reversing cavities. Author Ramiel Nagel wrote this book after successfully finding a way to halt his daughter’s tooth decay. His protocol is backed by five years of research and is based on Dr. Weston A. Price’s recommendations.

The dietary component is crucial, and involves limiting or eliminating grains, nuts, and beans, all of which are high in phytic acid, as well as sugars. Nagel recommends a diet rich in vegetables, grass-fed meat, pastured dairy, organ meats, bone broths, and healthy fats like grass-fed butter, coconut oil and fermented cod liver oil. Healthy fats and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are essential to the remineralization process. Diet plans for those with special concerns, including those who are vegetarian, primal, or lead very busy lives, are also presented.

With chapters entitled, “Dentistry’s Inability to Cure Cavities,” “Remineralize Your Teeth with Wise Food Choices,” and “Your Bite: A Hidden Cause of Cavities, A Fresh Look at Orthodontics and TMJ,” this book takes you step-by-step through the problems with modern dentistry, Dr. Weston A. Price’s findings, and the actions you can take to rid yourself and your children of cavities. There are also meal plans and recipes to set you off on the right foot, and an entire chapter devoted to preventing and curing tooth decay in kids (hint: you don’t have to stop breastfeeding!)

Supplements to consider: 

• Green Pasture High Vitamin Butter Oil
• Fermented Cod Liver Oil 
• High Vitamin Butter Oil/FCLO Blend
• Coconut Oil
• Perfect Bovine Gelatin
• Catie’s Magnesium

Get the book here to for more in-depth information on preventing or reversing cavities.

Additional recommendations:

• Check your toothpaste. Even most natural and organic toothpastes contain glycerin, which, according to Dr. Gerard Judd, forms a coating on the teeth that prevents remineralization. It takes more than 20 brushings to remove glycerin from the teeth. Many people opt instead to use tooth powders, tooth soap, remineralizing toothpastes, or homemade formulas. Ever since my own family stopped using commercial toothpaste, our dentists have been amazed at how clean and healthy our teeth are! After experimenting with homemade toothpaste, we now use just a brush and water, but rinse with a baking soda and essential oil solution. Depending on your specific oral care needs, you can find a recipe or product that will work for you.
• Try oil pulling. The healthy oil is good for the teeth, and so is the saliva that gets swished around with it. Saliva is an excellent source of calcium and phosphate, which are essential minerals for tooth remineralization.
• Dietary calcium and phosphorus and blood sugar levels may be crucial; according to Dr. Melvin Page, DDS, they must be present in the proper ratio. In 100cc of blood, the ideal ratio is 3.5mg calcium to 8.75mg phosphorus and 85mg blood sugar. He found that when any part of this ratio became out of balance, tooth decay became more prevalent.
• Manuka honey, with it’s potent antibacterial properties, has been found to reduce plaque just as much as chemical mouthwash and more than xylitol chewing gum. Studies have found manuka honey to successfully kill more than 250 different strains of bacteria. Use topically on teeth, or replace sugar or processed honey in your recipes with this raw, UMF 15+ manuka honey.