Foods That Heal and Prevent Cavities (Podcast)

John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher. I’m here today with Dr. Nammy Patel, founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco, California, helping patients recognize the vital connection between dental, health and whole body health. And author of the bestselling books, Age with Style: Guide to a Youthful Smile and Healthy Living and Total Wellness: Understanding the Link Between Your Teeth and Your Health.

Today, our topic is foods that heal and prevent cavities and some foods to avoid. Welcome Dr. Nammy.

Dr. Nammy Patel: Thank you for having me, John.

Can the Right Diet Help to Heal Cavities?

John: Sure. Dr. Nammy, can eating some foods actually help to heal minor cavities?

Dr. Nammy: So avoiding certain foods will help maintain cavities. And one of the couple of things that I would highly recommend avoiding with minor cavities is really going to be anything acidic like oranges, lemon juice, lemon water, even apple cider vinegar. They’re highly acidic and will cause erosion of the teeth and will cause cavities to progress. So I would say those would be the things you want to avoid.

Now, things that will help with minor cavities. You want calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin D. Now, any foods that are rich in all of those ingredients is going to help. Milk is the most common one we hear, right? Milk has calcium in it, has vitamin D. It helps rebuild natural tooth structure. And those are some elemental ingredients that our body utilizes in our bones and our teeth.

Best Nutrients for Oral Health

John: Are there other nutrients that are good for our teeth besides calcium and vitamin D?

Dr. Nammy: Well, there’s magnesium and potassium. Those are all really important and they’re great for our teeth, because what they do is… Our enamel isn’t just made of just calcium and vitamin D, it has potassium, it has magnesium, and all of these crystals, when they combine together, they actually make a really nice tight crystal that is resistant. And so, when we eat, we always have saliva, so we have a little bit of acid.

So this happens microscopically, if I was going to look and say, let me explain this process to you. So what would happen is that our teeth are being demineralized when we eat, because the environment is acidic. Anytime you eat, your mouth goes to a pH of two. So definitely don’t recommend frequent snacking. That’s the most horrible thing you can do for yourself.

And so what we really want to be careful about is the foods that we eat are actually made high, rich in calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and potassium. And they really work really well because they help make the enamel structure tighter and stronger and more resistant to acids.

Foods High in Calcium, Vitamin D, Magnesium, and Potassium

John: And so what are some of the foods that are high in calcium, vitamin D, magnesium and potassium that we should try to eat more of?

Dr. Nammy: So there’s kale, chard, all of your leafy greens are amazing, right? Kale, chard, and then you have broccoli, which are always really great. I’m also a big fan of supplements. So I do think that as a society we do not get enough vitamin D, and part of it is because we sometimes live in colder environments or we spend a lot of our days inside.

You and I tend to work a lot. We’re indoors a lot, so we’re not necessarily getting the two hours every single day sitting outside, because frankly, we’re just busy. And so I am a big, big, big, big fan of supplements when you don’t have the ability to sit outside for two hours or whatnot, so that we get our dose of vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, potassium. So those are really, really, really key that I recommend.

Steps to Remineralize Your Teeth

John: And are there other steps that people should take to help to remineralize their teeth?

Dr. Nammy: Absolutely. The most important one is going to be stop snacking, and that’s going to be number one. Number two, stop eating sticky foods. So peanut butter is a perfect example. So as yummy as it is, it’s high in protein. Yes, wonderful, but it sticks to your teeth, so it’s going to cause more cavities. So you want to avoid that.

The other thing I always see patients eating a lot of is dried fruits or dry snack mixes. They’re considered “healthy,” but they’re so sticky. The dried fruits really get stuck in the teeth, and as they get stuck in the teeth, they’re really hard to clean, and the majority of the population isn’t really brushing their teeth after snacking or after eating a meal the majority of the time, because they’re so on the go. So that would be another thing I would say you should avoid.

The things that I do recommend to remineralize your teeth are going to be using probiotics. So there’s wonderful probiotics that you can utilize. ProBiora has one, they’re really great to help remineralize your teeth, making sure you’re using a hydroxy nano-apatite toothpaste is really wonderful as well. That has calcium, magnesium, and it helps make that crystal enamel crystal stronger like we talked about.

The other thing you can do is make sure you use an electric toothbrush. So making sure you’re getting rid of the bacteria or the food that’s sitting on your teeth on a regular basis, that helps remineralize as well. And especially when you combine an electric toothbrush with the hydroxy nano-apatite toothpaste, you’re getting a double line.

It’s kind of like waxing your car every day. So I like to use that analogy for my men out there. I feel like that’s a really great way to make sure that your teeth are clean, smooth, and you’re also buffing them out, giving them this nice luster and also making them stronger and more resistant to decay.

The Importance of Rinsing and Brushing

John: If you can’t help but have some of the foods that you mentioned that might not be great for your teeth, or occasionally you have those things. Can you help to alleviate some of the issues by kind of immediately brushing your teeth afterwards?

Dr. Nammy: Absolutely. I would say first of all, take some water, switch your mouth out and swallow or spit whatever you want to do. Get rid of that environment so that way it’s not stuck to the teeth so much. So definitely brushing your teeth is one of the things that will help.

Chewing gum is going to help as well. It’s going to stimulate saliva, it’s going to help you get rid of the bacteria and also get rid of all the sticky stuff that’s on the teeth. If something is stuck in between the teeth, obviously floss. That definitely would be something that’s highly recommended.

Now, some other things that you can do is, if you need snacks throughout the day, if you’re a snacker or there’s people who are grazers, then graze on things that are highly cleansable. For example, an apple. An apple is great because it doesn’t get stuck in between your teeth, and it’s not a sticky substance that gets stuck on your teeth. So it’s a great, great, great snack to be able to have. Celery is also really great. Broccoli is also really great. Hummus is another one. It melts in your mouth.

Those would be things that I would recommend snacking on, so that way you’re just eliminating the cause, which is sticky foods that are staying on your teeth for a long period of time.

Contact Green Dentistry for Help With Cavities

John: All right, that’s great advice, Dr. Nammy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Dr. Nammy: My pleasure.

John: And for more information about green dentistry, visit the website at sfgreendentist.com, or call 415-433-0119.