Remineralizing Teeth Naturally – How To Give Your Body the Best Chance At Reversing Cavities

I’m no dental hygienist or oral health expert, but I do have useful personal experience backed up with thorough research and topped off with beneficial tips that I would love to share with you. To save you the trouble of doing the same tiring research, here are the key points on how to remineralize teeth naturally. Let’s begin!

What Causes Tooth Decay?

To find the solution to the problem, you need to understand the cause. So, to clarify the remineralization journey, I want to tell you a bit about how tooth decay occurs.

Did you know that some people have no to a few cavities in their lifetime? If you think that this is just mad luck, the truth is very different.

Dr. Weston A. Price (dentist and author of the book “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration”) is one of the researchers who met and observed cultures that didn’t have problems with cavities.

Do you know what’s even more mind-blowing? These people were from primitive cultures and had no access to our fancy oral hygiene products. They didn’t even have a toothbrush.

So, what’s the secret?

Our anatomy of teeth and how prone they are to cavities largely depends on our diet. In the research, Dr. Weston A. Price found that a whole-food, high-fat type diet leads to fewer cavities. On the other hand, a more modernized diet (containing grains and agricultural foods) contributes to tooth decay.

That “you are what you eat” expression reflects on our oral health as well. If there are not enough minerals in your diet (such as lack of calcium) or insufficient fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, C, and K), but you consume loads of refined sugar, you’re definitely boarding the train to Cavity Town.

Another "enemy" of healthy teeth is the presence of Phytic acid. Phytic acid affects the minerals in tooth enamel. It can harm this surface layer of our teeth designed to protect them against tooth decay. But I'll tell you more about this in the segment that's soon to come.

Vitamins and Minerals That Help Strengthen Teeth

If you want to switch up your diet and help your teeth battle with cavities, there are several key vitamins and minerals you should welcome in your diet.

Having a diet rich in vitamins and minerals is a natural way of strengthening your tooth enamel and protecting your teeth from harmful bacteria.

Here are some vitamins and minerals that are a must-have for anyone whose goal is natural teeth remineralization:

Foods to Avoid due to Phytic Acid

Now that we’ve covered which food can help with teeth remineralization, you should also know which ones can backtrack your efforts to reverse cavities.

As I mentioned above (hopefully you remember it), Phytic acid can harm our teeth’s enamel. In the words of Dr. Mark Burhenne, “Phytic acid, a compound in grains, greatly affects the way your body absorbs other nutrients your teeth need.” He then explains how “Phytic acid can be bad for teeth because it impairs the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These are all important to your dental health.”

This is very important because you don’t want to invest effort into changing your diet to boost intake of calcium, phosphorus, and other beneficial minerals only to have the Phytic acid ruin it all.

Knowing what you now know, you want to know which foods your should watch out for. Some foods high in Phytic acid are:

• Grains (whole wheat, oats, rice, etc.)
• Beans (soybeans, black beans, pinto beans, etc.)
• Seeds (sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.)
• Nuts (almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, etc.)

You can learn more about Phytic acid and its content in different foods in this article by a Principal Nutritionist, Ryan Andrews.

If you are a big oat-lover or passionate walnut eater, don't worry! You don't need to give up on these foods (we don't want that). What's important is that you don't eat them too often or practice certain routines that will make them less harmful to your teeth.

For example, you can reduce the levels of Phytic acid in nuts and beans by putting them in salted water overnight, rinsing them afterward, and dehydrating them.

Another useful practice is to rinse your mouth immediately after eating any food high in Phytic acid. Once you do this regularly, it will become a routine and you won’t mind it (trust me!).

Weston A. Price Foundation has a detailed article on how to treat foods with high levels of phytic acid, so do check it out if you want to learn more about it.

How to Remineralize Teeth Naturally

Let’s summarize what we’ve learned so far about remineralizing teeth naturally:

• Diet matters
• Eating foods rich in minerals and vitamins helps us strengthen our teeth and keep them healthy
• We should carefully eat foods high in Phytic acid as it is harmful to our teeth’s health

What also matters on top of this is:

• Flossing
• Oil pulling

There has been a huge rave about oil pulling among us oral health enthusiasts. If you don’t know what oil pulling is, let me briefly explain.

What You Need To Know About Oil Pulling

Oil pulling is an ancient alternative medical practice. It is associated with a holistic system of medicine from India called Ayurveda which evolved around 3,000-5,000 years ago.

This method refers to swishing an edible oil (typically coconut oil) around the mouth for 10-20 minutes and then spitting it out. While swishing oil for over 10 minutes doesn’t sound very appealing, wait until you hear about the benefits before you rule it out.

According to a study that included 60 participants who rinsed their mouths with coconut oil, this practice reduced the number of harmful bacteria found in saliva within only two weeks. Consider that bad bacteria can lead to cavities, gum disease, bad breath, and even tooth loss, and you’ll understand why I’m an oil pulling advocate.

When practiced correctly and regularly, oil pulling can prevent cavities, reduce bad breath (quick fact: it is a condition that affects around 25% of people), reduce gum inflammation, and contribute to overall oral health. Now those 10 minutes of swishing don't sound so bad, right?

If you want to maximize the benefit of oil pulling, I’m going to give you the magic formula—combine coconut oil with essential oil mouth drops.

This simple hack can make a big difference. I don’t want to get into too much detail about the benefits of essential oil mouth drops because we’ve already got that covered in one of our posts. This post also goes in-depth about the best essential oils for oral health, so you can learn about that as well!!

Using EO mouth drops is beyond easy. You just add a couple of drops to a tablespoon of organic coconut oil (don’t settle for anything that’s not organic!) and start swishing. Our Refreshing & Restorative Mouth Drops have already got the support of many happy customers, so do check it out.

That’s all I have to report to you about the best practices for reversing cavities. This is what worked for me and I do hope that it will work for you!

Now that you know that this is not a myth but a real possibility for you,
why not give it a try?

Do it for yourself and your health. Not just oral health because a balanced diet and natural oral hygiene products will contribute to your overall well-being. Hopefully, this little pep talk will get you thinking about taking the road to natural teeth remineralization. You can do it!