Re: teeth and body

[Guest guest]

José ,

>

>My question is - those of you not eating starches (the majority) and

>those of you eating them (the minority) - do you usually clean your

>teeth after your meals? Could brushing and flossing be unnecessary or

>even harmful if you don`t eat starches at all?

>

>

Starches are broken down to sugars in the mouth. Sugars are implicated

in tooth decay. Starches make the teeth feel dirty and fuzzy. A starch

free diet makes for clean teeth naturally. I was just at the dentist a

couple of weeks ago and he said the new instruction coming from the

dental professionals is not to brush right after a meal with sugars,

starches and or acids (like citrus). He said swishing the mouth with

water is best, then clean the teeth after an hour or so has elapsed, and

only once or twice a day maximum. The thinking is that the substances

listed weaken the enamel. If you brush right after consumption, you

risk brushing some of the enamel away.

Oh, and the Stefansson article comes into play here as well. Here is a

bit from when tooth paste and brushing first became popular:

http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson3.htm

------------------------------

A bulletin conspicuous in the subways co-operated some time ago with the

New York Commissioner of Health by displaying this notice:

FOR SOUND TEETH

BALANCED DIET with

VEGETABLES : FRUIT : MILK

BRUSH TEETH

VISIT DENTIST REGULARLY

Shirley W. Wynne, M.D.

Commissioner of Health

During the same time the ether was full and the magazine pages were

crowded with advertising which told you that mouth chemistry is altered

by a paste, a powder, or a gargle so as to prevent decay, that a clean

tooth never decays, that a special kind of toothbrush reaches all the

crevices, that a particular brand of fruit, milk or bread is rich in

elements for tooth health. There were toothbrush drills in the schools.

Mothers throughout the land were scolding, coaxing, and bribing to get

children to use the preparations, eat the foods, and follow the rules

that insured perfect oral hygiene.

Meantime there appeared a statement from Dr. Adelbert Fernald, Curator

of the Museum of Dental School, Harvard University, that he had been

collecting mouth casts of living Americans, from the most northerly

Eskimos south to the Yucatan. The best teeth and the healthiest mouths

were found among people who never drank milk since they had ceased to be

suckling babes and who never in their lives tasted any of the other

things recommended for sound teeth by the New York Commissioner of

Health. These people, Eskimos, never use tooth paste, tooth powder,

tooth brushes, mouth wash, or gargle. They never take any pains to

cleanse their teeth or mouths. They do not visit their dentist twice a

year or even once in a lifetime. Their food is exclusively meat. Meat,

be it noted, was not mentioned in the advertisement issued by Dr. Wayne.

Teeth superior on the average to those of the presidents of our largest

tooth-paste companies are found in the world to-day, and have existed

during past ages, among people who violate every precept of current

dentifrice advertising. Not all of them have lived exclusively on meat;

but so far as an extensive correspondence with authorities has yet been

able to show me, a complete absence of tooth decay from entire

communities has never existed in the past, and does not exist now,

except among people in whose diet meat is either exclusive or heavily

predominant.

--------------------------------------------------

Deanna

[Guest guest]

--- José Barbosa <jcmbarbosa52@...> wrote:

> I think this is very true. Still, I like to clean (at least clean if I

> can`t brush or floss) my teeth immediately after eating. Sometimes I

> simply massage my gums and teeth with some Weleda paste. This is maybe

> an obsession, because if I don`t clean my mouth, I feel I can get a

> cavity or develop bad breath. My teeth are not that strong, anyway. My

> need is maybe because I am still eating starches, who knows?

I believe the need to clean teeth (and the frequency and the technique) depends

on *what*

you eat.

A diet high in sugar and refined, processed carbs does more damage to teeth and

needs

more care.

Eventually, no matter how many $$ you spend on dental cosmetics, the teeth will

degenerate if this type of diet is continued.

On the other hand, a diet high in natural, whole foods, carefully prepared is

more gentle

on the bones overall, including the teeth.

There is an article on the WAP website named " The invisible toothbrush " .

This is based on Dr. Price's observation that none of the native communities he

studied

had ever used (or seen) a toothbrush.

Yet they had perfect teeth, very low incidence of dental cavities and virtually

no bone

loss disease.

If you look at the photos in his book (also on the website), you will notice the

snow

white, shining, regular teeth of the people.

You cannot get that kind of teeth out of a teeth whitner manufactured by Colgate

or

Pepsodent !

> My question is - those of you not eating starches (the majority) and

> those of you eating them (the minority) - do you usually clean your

> teeth after your meals? Could brushing and flossing be unnecessary or

> even harmful if you don`t eat starches at all?

I don't have great teeth - in fact, my teeth have a lot of be desired.

I believe this is basically due to bad habits during childhood - excessive

consumption of

sweets, candies and using sweets as " comfort food " .

But I don't believe that brushing and flossing 10,000 times a day will repair

the damage

or make it better.

In fact, I believe brushing and flossing do more harm than good.

I brush once - early in the morning.

After every meal, I rinse my mouth vigourously with water to loosen and expel

any food

particles.

Given the state of my teeth, I am probably not the best person to ask for

comments on

dental habits.

OTOH, I have been to a Dentist only twice in my whole life - first when I was

around 10

yrs. old for regular cleaning and again about 4 years back (again for cleaning

and

nothing else).

> Likewise, one could say a clean body on

> the outside doesn`t mean that you are healthy in the inside. Anyway, I

> can`t stop having my shower. Am I doing something which has only social

> and aesthetic value, something that could even be harmful to my ski?

When I lived in India, I used to shower twice a day - morning and evening.

It is so hot in the summers that you have no choice but to take cold showers at

least

twice a day.

Now, I shower once a day, all seasons.

Being in Canada, it is a challenge to keep the skin from getting too dry and

cracking up

during the winters.

-Pratick

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