Note: For the post ‘Healing Teeth – Part 1′, click here.
Several people on SCD or GAPS, myself included, have experienced a transient issue of darkening teeth.
One day, a few months in to strict GAPS, I was going about my normal activities when I suddenly noticed I had dark grey teeth! Mortified, I brushed with this, that and the other thing, to little avail.
After several days, I went to my dentist, who confirmed the oddity and only found it bizarre. She could not explain it. She said bacterias could cause one of three colours on teeth –all harmless– but that she’d only ever heard of it in children, never in an adult.
Although the dentist confirmed it appeared the stain was inside (ie. had penetrated) the affected teeth, a professional cleaning removed the vast majority of the colour. Regarding the transparency, my dentist said this was quite a normal development as we age. (She said that the makers of Sensodyne toothpaste had caused quite a successful marketing stir by showing pictures of see-through teeth and claiming this was due to acid erosion.)
Over the subsequent days, I noticed the grey did indeed increase every time I ate food that had been cooked in cast iron. (I’d always used cast iron, and this had never happened before.) Initially, my dentist was certain this was coincidental and not at all related.
Ultimately, I read two things of interest:
One, a good number of folks doing SCD have a transitional period several months in during which their teeth darken. It resolves.
Two, a specific relationship between bacteria and iron can cause a blackening of the teeth. I think this fits with my theory regarding the cast iron pan. It is accepted that cast iron does indeed impart healthful iron into our bodies, which is why we are encouraged to use it. So, does it not fit that the iron, which obviously passes through my mouth, would be present in the mouth long enough to interact with bacteria, including that transitionally in greater proportion than usual?
My theory is that, at some point in SCD’s shifting of the body’s bacterial balance, this ‘rearrangement’becomes most prominent or obvious in the mouth. When the shifting completes and the bacterias settle into a more healthful geography, the matter of transient discolouration resolves.
For several months now, eating food heated in cast iron no longer causes this issue. My teeth are again consistently gleaming and strong-looking!
Not only that, my latest dental appointment brought the following feedback from my dental hygienist:
1. My gums have done, well, the opposite of receding. (What on earth is the word for that? In any case, they’ve moved back up toward where they should be.)
2. My plaque build-up, normally “moderate to high” was “light”.
Also, this appointment was the first in a long long time where a specific nervy point in the front of my mouth did not cause me to jerk with pain upon contact (which it used to do even with just the dentist’s waterpik). The dentist felt this was due to the healing.
Neat, hey? Thirty-seven years old, non-fluoridated water supply, fluoride toothpaste just once in a random blue moon, generally just water and a manual brush and sometimes baking soda or tea tree oil or coconut oil, some attention to technique, followed up with a drink of kefir. I don’t know what part of that is doing the trick, but something is!
Update July 10, 2009: Last week I went through a deep round of die-off. I had various tell-tale signs, but of greatest interest to me was that, after many months of gleaming white teeth, the tooth discolouration returned. Some (not all) teeth took on a dark line at the gum and/or a grey marbling throughout. After several days of a twice-daily brush with baking soda, and a nightly ‘pulling‘ with coconut oil followed by two rinses with warm water then a good tongue scraping, they discoloration is again clearing up. I remain convinced that this phenomenon is due to a positive shift in the body’s ecology.
Update July 27, 2009: With some discolouration remaining, I went to the dentist for a cleaning. I had a hygienist that was not familiar with my dental history. Much to my frustration, we had the conversation again:
H: “Yes, your teeth are definitely grey-black. It’s not a stain, though – it’s inside the teeth.”
Me:
No, it looks like it’s inside, but it really is only on the outside. When they’re cleaned, they’ll be white.
H: “Well, I’ll clean them and we’ll see what happens but it’s actually inside the teeth.”
Once the hygienist started, she acknowledged that indeed, all of the colouring was lifting. She was fascinated.
H: “It’s something you’re eating.”
I don’t think it is. I eat a very specific diet and it doesn’t change. My teeth are white for several months at a time, then suddenly turn dark, with no new foods added.
“Do you drink coffee?”
No.
“Tea?”
No.
“Red wine?”
No.
“Eat chocolate?”
No.
“Gosh, you eat very cleanly…”
Yes.
“Do you eat beets?”
Not in the past several months. And my teeth were white until a few weeks ago, with no beets having been eaten in the meantime.
My teeth came up gleaming.
The dentist came in and agreed that it must be a matter of shifting flora, with the mouth temporarily overgrown in a specific bacteria or fungi. She suggested continuing to brush with only baking soda and water, using a power toothbrush, and having more regular cleanings. She said that whatever the cause of the “grey film”, the only way it could develop is for several distinct layers to accumulate in the right order. She said that by preventing any one of these layers from being deposited, the grey would be avoided.
I remain curious about this issue. I have heard of several adults and children on SCD or GAPS getting this, so we need to look to the commonalities of these to find the source. For example, since people using and not using Bifidus are having this experience, we know the source is not Bifidus. Mine started before I’d introduced SCD yogurt, so I know it’s not from that. While I continue to wonder, I have set my cast iron pans aside.
August 10, 2009 – I’ve been watching my teeth very carefully since the last cleaning turned them a definite, thorough, complete gleaming white. I see now that the change is not sudden, and that it is indeed a matter of “layers” (despite brushing with baking soda, as recommended by my dentist, 2-3 times per day). In these three short weeks, my teeth have become progressively yellowed and the grey is starting to reappear. Fascinating!
September 16, 2009 – Teeth continued darkening, eventually developing the obvious mottled grey appearance again. I replaced baking soda with Kiss My Face Whitening Certified Organic Aloe Vera Toothpaste and most of the dark colour vanished within a few brushings.
September 23, 2009: A member of our support list who has researched the topic of tooth healing has found that the following are the most common recommendations: pastured raw butter; Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil; xylitol mints; rinsing with water after every meal; oil pulling; xylitol toothpaste or toothsoap for brushing; raw liver; raw bone marrow applied topically and eaten.
April 7, 2010: After a persistently stubborn darkening after each intensive and fully effective professional cleaning, and without changing my diet, my teeth are remaining white for a record period (four months) through the use of a Philips Sonicare toothbrush, as recommended by my dentist.
January 31st, 2011: My teeth have remained free of grey/darkening since September 2009. I am continuing to use: Philips Sonicare toothbrush sometimes and manual brush sometimes; Kiss My Face Toothpaste (just recently replacing this with baking soda with tea tree oil).
July 20, 2011: To my regimen I’ve added daily use of the OraBrush and floss, and have for some months been using these plus Phillips Sonicare with baking soda and one drop of tea tree oil. My teeth are staying clean with no greying and no other issues. A dentist checked them a short time ago and said they are in excellent shape. While I had no greying, I did have normal, low-level build up and had a professional cleaning at that time.
Baden re dental health: I went to check another blog I’m following and saw this!
http://movingstronglyforward.typepad.com/moving_strongly_forward/2009/04/visual-proof-that-food-heals.html
The idea that milk and fluoride are essential for good teeth has been drummed into my generation.
Forget that – Just LOOK what bone broth can do! Oh, and improved body ecology helps too
Thanks for sharing,
Anne.
Great post, B. And encouraging. Just got my teeth cleaned (in Inverness!) and discussed my receding gums (not unusual at 55, especially since I probably inherit whatever caused the periodontal nightmare that was my mother). Last time I was told not to brush too hard near the gumline because of recession, this time that I’d been neglecting my gums. A sonic toothbrush was prescribed, which I bought at some expense, and I also intend to start oil pulling. But very good to hear that the diet will do its part as well. Thanks as always.
Eloïse (who, as you can see, is not only not lost to Scotland, but is newly wireless and amazed to be sitting outside her small crofthouse on a beautiful Easter Monday and writing to you surrounded by breathtaking scenery)
Eloise! Hello! So good to hear from you from your new location! It’s warm enough to be outside? It was here for a whole two days, but then very cold again, grrr…
Anne: Thanks so much for that link! I checked it out. Exciting! And good idea she has about ‘before and after’pics. The dentist has lots of my son’s – I wonder if I would be able to obtain and post them…
Hi Baden,
I just found this post and love it!
I too have had darkening teeth and wondered what the heck is going on?!?!?! So good to know that I’m not alone. I’ve heard it is our body “retracing” old dental treatments. I also like your theory on the new bacteria balance and cast iron.
Now, I’m just praying for my gums
. I feel that they’ve receeded a bit since I started this diet so hoping that will reverse as well. I trust it will!
Blessings,
Genevieve
I have CD and have been on SCD for about 3 years. Before I could get a diagnosis and was eating antibiotics left and right – I developed this weird fuzz on the back of my upper teeth that was a brown color. Needless to say it disgusted me – as if it’s not bad enough to think you have fuzz/bacteria in your gut and then see it on the inside of your teeth. It only returns when I have a flare (from eating chocolate of course) so I know that it’s yeast. lovely.
After much research and a couple of root canals and pulled teeth, I have a good mouth for once. The acid balance is under control. I wish more people understood the connection between bad dental health and their general health – it’s a warning sign !
Love your posts.
Hi Michellega,
Oh, I know I would be upset if I found fuzz on my teeth, but I also somehow think that’s pretty cool! A direct glimpse of what we discuss – fascinating!
I’m just now reading Price’s Nutrition and Physical Degeneration which says exactly what you did -that it’s a warning sign!
Best,
Baden
Hi. I just purchased Dr Schultz’s Tooth and Gum product. His pharmacy is here in CA, but you can get it online I think – American Botanical Pharmacy…you can swish it or put drops of it into a waterpik…heard great things about it from many who have used it…esp for gums and any bacteria issues in the mouth. I will let you know how it goes, but as it is not too $$$ – it might be worth trying. Di
Thanks for posting this. My teeth have had the same darkening and I was beginning to think that changing my diet to this new healthy way of eating (Nourishing Traditions-style, not strict GAPS) was having some bad side effects! I am very encouraged to see that I’m having the same symptoms as someone on GAPS. Wow! Good things must be happening. Anyway, after seeing that a professional cleaning would get rid of the dark stains, I pulled out my power toothbrush and baking soda/salt toothpaste and went to town. It took a bit of brushing but the stains did fade dramatically. Thanks again.
Just curious if rinsing with Hydrogen peroxide helps?
Hi TB,
I have no information further to what is posted. Did you check out the ‘save your teeth’link?
Best,
Baden
I find ‘alternative’dentistry fascinating, thanks for posting all this. We just switched to tooth soap before starting GAPS, I’m hoping that the combination of GAPS and tooth soap can heal my surface cavities. I need to get on figuring out which fermented CLO to buy, maybe I’ll go do that now.
Well, I’ve been on GAPS for about 6 weeks now and also have darkening of my teeth and some grey marbling – mostly around the outside of each tooth. First I thought that the ACV in my glass of water had ruined the enamel, so I stopped that (although I see it recommended everywhere as a healthy thing to do!) Then I thought that it was because I was oil pulling (with coconut oil) so I’ve cut back on that. But perhaps it’s just my body readjusting and I should keep up w/ the oil pulling? I’m just worried about what the dentist’s going to say. Anyway, thanks for this post because it gives me some level of comfort to know I’m not alone. Please keep us posted!
What I wonder is….did anyone else have “other mouth issues” PRIOR to GAPS?!
I am so glad I read this, I had been eating WAPF style for about 10 months when I discovered Nourishing Traditions and then began eating what I didn’t know yet was very close to the GAPS diet (more of a “paleo” type diet, but with dairy- lots of fatty meat, marrow, eggs, shellfish, butter, yoghurt, greens and other low carb veg, berries, etc.) for about the past 3 months. Well, just a couple weeks ago I’m brushing my teeth and notice they look horribly grey! I have been so depressed about this, as I am only 28 and feel like my teeth look like those of an 80 year old. I have been searching for an answer to why this was happening when I am eating what should be the optimal diet for dental health. It is also not great advertisement for how healthy my diet is! It is so amazing for me to read this and I feel so much better knowing this is not permanent enamel loss (which is what I thought). I’ve been drinking a lot of kombucha and I thought that perhaps it was eating away my enamel! For sake of discovering commonalities I have not been taking any bifidus or other probiotic pills and I use a cast iron pan every other day.I also do not use any toothpaste.
Please, please post more if you find out any new info about this. Do you believe this is an issue that will resolve itself completely eventually?
Thank you!
Hi Hannah,
Based on my experience so far, to achieve white teeth I would recommend a professional cleaning, use of a good power toothbrush, then professional cleanings every four months. I’m collating everyone’s posts on this experience and am hiring a dentist to research this matter for all of us. Yep, I am! I will definitely keep everyone posted on anything we learn.
Cheers,
Baden
Does Gaps Diet approve of the dolomite powder that Sally Fallon recommends in Eat Fat Lose Fat?
What would this do with your teeth if it was appproved?
I just wanted to leave an update to say that my teeth responded very well to brushing with some baking soda, and taking a little bit more time with my electric toothbrush in the problem areas. I’m very encouraged that this isn’t a permanent condition! I do need to try the baking soda again as I’m seeing a bit of grey come back again.
I am back to oil pulling a couple times a week and drinking some ACV in my water a few times a week now that I don’t feel that either of those were the cause of the greying.
I will be curious to hear what anyone else discovers.
FYI, I also use a cast iron pan 5-6 times a week. I use a homemade toothpaste (Dr. Bronners soap and coconut oil). And I’m not taking any probiotic pills, just lots of dairy kefir, water kefir, sour kraut, beet kvass.
I did NOT ever have this trouble prior to GAPS. I’ve always gotten rave reviews on my teeth when I saw the dentist.
I have struggled with gray teeth on and off on the SCD and GAPS – I do a hybrid of the two.
A fellow SCD’er who happens to be a dentist actually said brushing with baking soda on a regular basis is bad for the enamel of the teeth. I stopped as a result. I found that baking soda actually made my teeth worse after a while.
My new regiment involves flossing daily, a sonicare toothbrush and a hydrofloss;
http://www.hydrofloss.com/
I find when I use Xylitol toothpaste it makes my teeth feel wonderful initially but my mouth gets a fuzzy coating.
A couple of hours later my teeth feel are coated as well.
I have been using Vita-Myr toothpaste for a while now.
I find toothpaste has little to do with this situation and that actual probiotic rich foods can make the situation worse.
I find that after my B12/B complex shot my teeth are usually in much better condition.
In between cycles of having the gray hue appear I get bouts of yellow teeth- not really sure what this is about!
I do drink tea occasionally although this is an on and off kind of habit.
I am going to start supplementing Lactobacillus reuteri as per instructions from a fellow gapshelp member. She quoted some interesting studies too.
Jodi
Well I admit it, this is keeping me from trying the GAPS-diet. I already have some trouble with my teeth (probably because of a severe vitamin D deficiency and the use of medicine) and I really do not think my teeth could handle another stressor.
Maybe the problem is that many pre-GAPS dieters and/or pre-SCD dieters actually have a vitamin D-deficiency? Without a normal amount of vitamin D in the body, the body can’t use magnesium and calcium. No matter how much calcium and magnesium you consume via your diet, if you’re vitamin d-deficient, the body can’t absorb it.
Also the holy trinity of good dental health, magnesium, calcium and vitamin d, need to be in balance for the bones in our body to be healthy. Magnesium always needs calcium to maintain a balance and vice versa. Magnesium activates the body to store calcium. If the liver has been using extra magnesium and vitamin c to detoxify chronic candida and you start on the GAPS-diet with a magnesium deficiency, maybe the already magnesium-deprived body can’t handle another stressor (which in the beginning GAPS is) and the body stops absorbing calcium in the bones because all the magnesium goes to the liver to fight the candida?
I don’t know, I’m just speculating in order to help the discussion.
Hi MK,
I appreciate your sharing another theory. That’s all we have to start from!
One thing I would say is that the teeth themselves do not seem to be affected. My teeth are very strong and healthy, they simply develop this mottled grey coating which can be cleaned off, but the teeth themselves are in great shape.
I’m grateful for your comment because every idea is one more to submit to the dentist.
At this point, I’m going to first try the suggestion posted by Jodi about supplementing with Lactobacillus reuteri Prodentis to see if a balance is achieved.
All my best,
Baden
I just saw the dentist yesterday and he commented on how strong and healthy my teeth are and that the gray color is due to a hue looking like it is coming from inside the tooth when in fact it doesn’t- It’s outside on the tooth!! just a good cleaning and whoosh! it’s gone.
I am Vitamin D, Magnesium and Calcium deficient. I am on the diet due to years of mismanaged Crohn’s disease, many meds and an awful diet. The road has been rough but slowly I have been flourishing on the diet and my D levels have gone up. Mag and Cal are a bit wonky for me but I reckon this is just a matter of time!
I may be slower than most but my teeth are no longer loose and my gum health is really good.
Still waiting for the L Reuteri in the mail!
Keep ya’ll posted.
Jodi
Of note, received to my inbox April 8, 2010 was the following:
This was posted on the Trying Low Oxalates group and I thought it was interesting in light of the email you just sent with your teeth update. It really makes me wonder about my daughter who will sometimes have white teeth, and sometimes they turn brownish.
“My teeth as well got a brownish color, so much so that the dentist always asked me if I drank coffee (which I didn’t.)
My daughter did have teeth problems prior to low oxalate diet (her front teeth had turned gray while eating a really high oxalate diet). They whitened up after a few months on low oxalate. She never had gum problems that I could see
though.”
Hi Baden,
Was this woman’s daughter low oxalate + Gaps? or just Low Oxalate? Just making sure.
Super interesting.
Jodi
Hi Jodi,
I don’t know… Hopefully she will appear and post. Love this conversation we’re all having here…
B.
Baden,
Have you experimented with oil pulling at all?
Jodi
Hi Jodi,
I tried oil pulling maybe four times, so can’t speak to it all. I’m a total disaster when it comes to doing anything regularly
Best,
Baden
Humor:
After reading Hannah’s post where she mentions that this gray teeth issue is not a boon for the healthy diet I couldn’t agree more! My oldest daughter stated just last night that I had better not visit any of the detracting family members until I have white teeth again!
Question?
I am unclear; does the prfessional teeth cleaning help with the grey or not?
Enjoyng the posts!
Ann
Hi Ann,
Lol, agreed! But the benefits do certainly outweigh this sole cosmetic issue.
Yes, the professional cleaning clears the grey completely. The dentists always think the stain is inside, then learn it’s entirely superficial.
The person who recommended L. reuteri Prodentis prefers the Biogaia brand.
Of note: Dr Natasha has reviewed our posts here and did not have information specific to this matter. She did recommend we (all) brush with just olive oil, though.
Best,
Baden
Another question? Which company to order the L. reuteri from ?
Ann
Hi,
I’ve also suffered from gum recession and teeth stains- prior to starting the GAPS diet. Had to have 3 cleanings a year, always arriving at the dentist with stained teeth. This is perhaps because of my health condition (whether it’s CD or not remains to be seen). I stopped having red wine, coffee, and chamomile, and that helped a little.
I also used to have aching gums for days; switching toothpaste for a home-made tooth powder helped –check out a great herbal healing toothpowder here: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/news/2007-08/healthymouth.html
Above all, adding some hydrogen peroxide to my toothbrush did the trick. No more pain. Electric toothbruses made my teeth too sensitive (I tried 3 expensive brands!)
I thought I would post this just in case it could be of help to any of you.
I’m especially curious to hear about the effects of reuteri Protectis vs reuteri Prodentis on teeth. Which are people experimenting with? See below…
*
From http://www.biogaia.com/health-care-professional/l-reuteri-basic-facts/questions-and-answers
What are Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis and Lactobacillus reuteri Prodentis?
* L. reuteri Protectis is the culture with an effect on human gut health and immune system, and it is used in most products such as drops, tablets, yoghurts and drinks. Its scientific designation is DSM 17938 and it was formerly known as ATCC 55730.
* L. reuteri Prodentis is the culture used in oral health products such as lozenges and chewing gum. It contains a blend of two strains: L. reuteri DSM 17938 and L. reuteri ATCC PTA 5289.
Baden, in May you said you were going to try Lactobacillus reuteri Prodentis. I wondered if you had noticed any changes? I first noticed the tooth greying/transparency thing going on at my sixth month on GAPS. Teeth still grey looking at 8 months. I wanted to mention that we have been using cast iron in our home for at least a decade, and I’ve never seen this greyness to my teeth ever, so I have my doubts that it’s the cast iron. I was at the dentist last month to have my teeth cleaned. I explained to the hygienist that others found the grey coloring was removed with a “good” dental cleaning, but there was no change to my teeth. Wondering what the “good” cleaning is that others have gotten. On the GAPShelp list, one woman says she learned from another list that it is fluoride detoxing through the teeth. This is the first time I’ve heard this. I’m afraid to do oil pulling. I have a *lot* of fillings, most of them amalgams, and I’ve heard about people loosening up their fillings when they do oil pulling. I am curious why the dental cleaning I received did nothing for the coloring, and afraid that my teeth are really growing transparent! I have tried to take photos to demonstrate what it looks like, but can’t get the right lighting or something as it doesn’t show up how it looks in real life in the photos. I have wondered if I might be low on calcium since I have not had dairy products for all these months (any of it exacerbates my asthma and allergies, even kefir and our own raw goat’s milk).
Hi there Starlene,
The good cleaning I had was just a basic professional dental cleaning. It totally did the trick (several times). I wonder if it might be worth your trying another dentist. I also wonder, though, if others reading this blog and its comments have lacked success in this issue with professional cleanings. If so, hopefully they will post here, as that will help with our community’s “research”.
Yes, I did do a course of reuteri. I was not able to get the prodentis, though, and got the more commonly available one (protectis), for which I have found no literature regarding impact on tooth health. After a month or so, I didn’t notice any change in my teeth, which have continued almost entirely free of discolouration for several months anyway -since my last professional cleaning and subsequent implementation of the electric toothbrush I mentioned.
Just to clarify: I don’t believe the cast iron alone caused my darkening, but rather the cast iron in relation to a specific rebalance of bacteria in my mouth.
Re: calcium. If you Google ‘food sources of calcium’you will find many GAPS-friendly sources that are non-dairy. Bone broth is one.
All my best,
Baden
I just thought I’d mention that my son used to have severely discoloured teeth (age 3) while he was taking an iron supplement (Palafer). He was not on GAPS at the time. The discoloration appeared to be coming from the inside, but sure enough was removed (with significant effort) by a dental cleaning. Once he went off the supplement, the discoloration did not return (he was still not on GAPS). So iron is definitely involved. We made no other changes during this period.
My son is now 5 and a 1/2 and we are just getting started on GAPS. I am so exited! He’s been on full GAPS for 4 weeks now and we will start the intro diet during the Christmas break. We’ve already seen improvement. His constipation is less severe: For the past 2 weeks he’s been having bowel movements every other day vs. every 3-5 days previously. We’re on our way!!
Chantal,
Thank you for this (iron) info! Very interesting…
My teeth have stayed clear of grey for many months now, darkening temporarily only if I eat from a cast iron pan then quickly clearing again. As of this week, I’ve had to increase my iron intake so I’ll watch for changes.
Great news on the results so far for your son!! Good job, Mama!
All my best,
Baden
I’ve been a candida sufferer for years and have to watch my diet carefully..I started using a cast iron pan about a year ago and thats when I noticed the grey strip on my 2 front teeth..looks like its from the inside but not..gets better after a cleaning from the dentist but comes back again after a few months??? I also have a magnesuim deficiency and have been taking supplements to try and boost it up…I’m glad I;’m not alaone..gonna try some of your suggestions in between cleanings and put away the cast iron pan..
Commenting seems to be the only way to be notified of followups and the discussion is fascinating!
Baden,
We just moved back to California, and one of the first things we did was revisit our previous dentist, who does good work, but does not discuss fluoride/mercury politics. My wife went in for a teeth cleaning first, and the hygenist heard about how we have been on GAPS, and the strange results we have been getting (e.g gray teeth). She simply did not hear what my sweet wife had to say. I went in a day or so later, and I had not been taking good care of my teeth, but had been faithful to GAPS. So the teeth cleaning required power tools to get the plaque off, but my gums were/are as healthy as they have ever been. I pointed out the discrepancy to the hygenist, high plaque build up and healthy gums are not supposed to go together. It got her attention, she listened to me (to my wife’s dismay!), and took down the name of the GAPS book, and “The Devil in the Milk” book by Keith Woodward. But the amazing result for me was that the gum prick test, which usually is all 3′s and 4′s for me, was an astounding chorus of 1′s, with several 2′s thrown in for good measure. She kept looking at her instrument to make sure the tip had not broken off!! My recession on one gum line is going away, something that never happens in conventional dental wisdom. So once again GAPS is healing our bodies, with unpredictable outcomes. The sad thing is that very few of our friends and family are receptive to GAPS, only those who are very sick and broken.
God Bless you again!
Mike
I’m not sure if this is good or not but I use a q-tip with a couple drops of pure peppermint essential oil and a little baking soda. I gently wipe the stained areas and it removes it. You can see residue on the q-tip. Teeth are white again.
Wild, lopezfamilynow! Thanks so much for sharing that!
All my best,
Baden
I thought for sure that my greying teeth around the gums was major disease. I have never had any problems with my teeth before going on GAPS in January, apart from receding gums. I am SO happy I found this post, because I just tried the lopezfamilynow trick, and watched my scary grey-black teeth turn white. THANK YOU!!!!!
Jocelyn
PS if anybody has the name of a dentist who is friendly to traditional foods in Vancouver, BC, please let me know!
Awesome, Jocelyn!
Thanks so much for letting us all know that the lopezfamilynow trick worked for you, and that this topic itself was relevant and helpful to you!
All my best,
Baden
Baden ,
how are your teeth doing now? Staying the same as noted above?
I have only had a bit of the graying. My sister just told me (as only a dear sister can) that my teeth have yellowed a lot in the past year. I have been on Trad’l foods for 2 years and GAPs for 7 months. Rarely use iron pan.
I have a sonicare so will try that out with some different toothpaste ideas given here. I have stopped using toothpaste altogether for about a year. Do you think that could be it? But primitive people didnt use toothpaste. did they?
Meredith
Hi Meredith,
Yes, my teeth are doing fantastically! They are staying quite clean with no greying and no other issues. A dentist checked them a short time ago and said they are in excellent shape. I’ve continued using the OraBrush, floss, plus Phillips Sonicare with baking soda and one drop of tea tree oil.
Primitive people didn’t use our commercial toothpastes, and I don’t know if they used anything else, but I know my dad used nothing at all in the very traditional setting he grew up in. At 18, in his transition to Western culture, he saw his first dentist, who was blown away by the excellence of my dad’s teeth. After transitioning to Western culture, his oral health began a complete decline.
So many factors -beyond toothpaste or lack of toothpaste- will factor in to the health of teeth.
Let us know how your experiments work out for you!
All my best,
Baden
So glad I stumbled upon this discussion. I stopped using toothpaste about a month ago, instead brushing with a mix of baking soda and coconut oil. After reading baking soda can cause enamel to disappear, I switched to just coconut oil after a week or so. About 3 weeks into this, my teeth all of a sudden started to look transparent/gray. My husband agreed saying it looked like I had just eaten a bunch of blueberries!! Mortified, I broke out the baking soda and a q-tip (someone else used this method, too) and scrubbed my teeth. The color came off just fine (it looked purple on the q-tip!). I think MY discoloration is due to a new IRON supplement that is in liquid form that I began using about the same time I dropped traditional toothpaste. It is unfortunate that I started both the new “toothpaste” and the iron supplement at the same time, but it seems there is some connection with iron and our teeth coloration. I do not think it is the coconut oil as “toothpaste” that is doing it unless my teeth are detoxing? I just began oil pulling about 5 days ago, so I am interested to see what happens. As for diet, I have been on SCD before, but right now, I am just gluten free. Put that in your data collection bin.
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Thank you so much for submitting your experience! Very interesting indeed that this change in your teeth developed without even doing SCD or GAPS, but while merely gluten free! Yes, this -and all your other details- is very helpful as part of this research. Thanks! Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if the CO is influencing the bacterial balance in your mouth. In any case, I’m confident that in the end you’ll see clean, white, shiny teeth like mine eventually stabilized to.
All my best,
Baden
That’s funny about the purple just coming off. Coconut oil causes die-off (though mostly candida, right?), so maybe it was some kind of toxic residue from your mouth flora? Like dying biofilm or something? Funny, it actually sounds like a good thing to me. At least it comes off!
Is sorbitol or xylitol allowed on the GAPS diet?
Hi Chris,
No. The only sweeteners approved for GAPS are honey and fruit (dried or fresh).
All my best,
Baden
Thanks so much for this “healing teeth” post. I have been on GAPS for a couple of months now and suddenly my teeth have been turning grey on the tips. After reading this I would conclude that in my case it is a combination of the GAPS diet plus I am taking an iron supplement. I am borderline anemic so have been trying to boost my iron. I just began the supplement about a week ago. I always use cast iron pans so know that it is not the pans as I never had this problem before. It’s encouraging to know that others have experienced this as well.
Denise: So glad this was helpful to you!!
I’m sure it’s a relief to you that this, too, will resolve!
All my best,
Baden