You can brush, you can floss, but you can't escape tooth decay - or that's what you have been told. The truth though is that your teeth aren't designed to rot. Before you helplessly let bacteria drill cavities into your pearly whites, you can restore their strength, density and sparkle by remineralising them.
Tooth Matters
Remineralisation refers to your teeth's natural healing mechanism; a process in which minerals are restored to the tooth's molecular structure. It is essentially the reversing of demineralisation - the first stage of tooth decay where your teeth lose minerals and become 'sensitive'. So if your teeth have chalky white discolouration or brownish black pits, you may just be in time to remineralise them.
Studies have shown that people who didn't eat modern foods had flawless tooth structure and virtually no tooth decay. Noted anthropologist Earnest Hooton once said, "It is store food that has given us store teeth." While modern foods are to be blamed - refined flour, refined sugar, fast foods and colas - the problem is compounded when the enamel isn't strong to begin with.
In 1883, Dr W D Miller, a pioneer in modern dentistry, said that a strong, dense tooth would "indefinitely resist" an attack from acid; be it from bacteria or food. The difference between Dr Miller's 130-yearold theory and today's dentistry is summed up aptly in Ramiel Nagel's book Cure Tooth Decay. "Dr Miller knew that the tooth's density and structure are what protected it against tooth decay, whereas today, dentists are taught that it is the bacteria by themselves that cause tooth decay," Nagel points out.
Remineralise Up
While conventional dentistry harps on what foods bacteria might be feeding off on, the solution lies in realising what food you might be feeding the bacteria. Dentist Dr Pooja Gunjikar says foods high in sugar and acidic content encourage plaque, setting off demineralisation. "For instance, eating chocolates makes your pH level drop, which causes formation of acids that erode the enamel of your teeth," she says.
Calcium and phosphorous are the most vital minerals for healthy teeth, followed by magnesium, copper, iron and manganese. "Calcium and phosphorous help form hydroxyapatite in the enamel, which replenishes the teeth's molecular structure," she says.
Foods That Work
Calcium-rich foods like dairy products, leafy greens, tofu, broccoli, almonds and sardines help boost teeth health. For your phosphorous fix, eat pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds and cheese. But it's the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K that are critical in helping our bodies utilise minerals.
Phosphorous, calcium and hormones need vitamins A and D for our cells to produce osteocalcin - the protein responsible for deposition of calcium and phosphorous into our bones and teeth. For vitamin A, you can pick from sweet potato, carrot, watermelon, eggs, spinach, oatmeal and chicken liver, while sunlight, seafood, raw butter and eggs are excellent sources of vitamin D. The best two-in-one option for teeth health is cod liver oil.
Both endocrine and pituitary glands, which play a big role in teeth health, can be regulated by eating a lowsugar diet. Moreover, a fluctuating blood sugar level is bad news for teeth, as it upsets the pH balance of your mouth and accelerates decay. Since cholesterol boosts hormone functions, include healthy fats in your diet.
Gunjikar recommends brushing teeth twice a day with fluoride-rich toothpaste. Ultimately, your tooth's self-healing ability depends on saliva - a supersaturated solution of calcium and phosphate which neutralises acids. "Sugar-free gum helps generate more saliva," she says.
By Anand Holla
This article originally appeared in Mumbai Mirror
