I just passed 6 years on keto and not a single cavity since then. My husband who is also keto has had one tiny one.
It hasn’t helped the plaque buildup on my teeth, though. I sure wouldn’t put up with bullying from a dental hygienist. I would probably say something like “You sure seem to enjoy berating the patients who are paying your salary!”
I am with the oxalate dumping explanation. I still get tartar despite all other mouth/teeth/gum issues resolving since eating carnivore. I do my own tartar scraping successfully in the location where it seems to build up.
Tartar is generally calcified or hardened plaque. Instead of our teeth getting the calcium rebuild, the plaque gets it. Plaque is a biofilm of about the three most common species of bad guys which cause cavities - two of which are streptococcus species. Both of these are sensitive, ie killed by, to the lauric acid in coconut - hence my suggestion to brush with it. If you are too carni to brush with it, I don’t have a better suggestion because the others are essential oils of plants. My breath has been better in the morning since brushing with coconut oil at night and not rinsing out my mouth. The tannins and other components of tea and coffee can contribuite as well.
Interesting. I know coconut oil is antibacterial. I am familiar with “oil pulling”. Do you use toothpaste first, or just the coconut oil?
I am currently using an hydroxyapetite toothpaste, which I spit out but don’t rinse out. I follow this with a dab of coconut oil on a manual toothbrush which I lightly brush my teeth, gums, and tongue with.
I’ve been doing the coconut oil for almost a year, and I do believe it has really helped my mouth get rid of a lot of the undesirable bacteria. My breath is generally noticeably fresher in the morning. I have only been using an hydroxyapetite toothpaste for about 2 months now. I do feel a difference in my teeth. It seems they are smoother, and actually noticeably whiter. I’ve never had success with “whitening” toothpastes. When I get my teeth cleaned at the dentist, it seems they are just a cleaner yellow… yeah, that bad. I’ve tried the peroxide based teeth whiteners you leave on for a half hour, etc. Still noticeably yellow teeth. Then I learned that the dentin is actually a yellowish color. So, if your enamel is thin, you are probably just seeing the yellow dentin underneath. The only way to naturally change that is to build more enamel, which is a process that happens in an alkaline mouth with deposition from saliva. For the first time I can recall in my adult life, I actually feel my teeth are whiter, and not just “cleaner.”
As to whether this has actually reversed some minor cavities I had forming is another question, but was my second goal. We shall see. So, this process actually starts with a low carb or keto diet, which discourages the wrong bacteria from gaining a foothold. They also turn the sugars in food into acid. Discouraging that through diet is the first step. I believe the coconut oil toothbrushing has also helped. Then lastly the hydroxyapetite toothpaste. My research has indicated that only nano-hydroxyapetite toothpastes are capable of doing this, and then there are different qualities of nano-hydroxyapetite as well apparently. I just used David’s Nano-hydroxyapetite toothpaste I got off Amazon. Now I kinda wish I had taken a picture when I started, because I believe the change is noticeable…
Thank you so much for the detailed information! It sounds like it’s something I may benefit from!