Hi caroline,

Thank you for sharing this informative article and your personal dental history! I also utilize natural plant based and therapeutic substances for my oral care and avoid the chemically derived products that are typically recommended by dentists. As you know it takes a bit of effort to make our own toothpaste, etc as compared to just buying a tube of something. But I agree with you that the benefits are so well worth the effort!

The about consuming sticky food such as raisins is that they may not be a wise food choice for people who have deep grooves called pits and fissures in the biting surfaces of their teeth. Sticky foods like raisins do get caught in those fissures and do not break down as easily as the article stated because the depth of the fissures can cause the raisins to get caught in them resulting in a slower break down rate. Since most people do not brush their teeth after they have eaten sticky foods and/or because sticky foods can be difficult to brush out of deep fissures, the raisins will sit in those crevices long enough to become cariogenic. So for that reason, even many holistic dentists will tell patients to avoid sticky foods such as raisins.

I also agree with you about fluoride in that avoiding it as much as possible is probably a healthy thing to do. Fluoride is actually a toxic product made from the collection of waste from air pollution devices in the phosphate fertilizer industry. Fluoride is a known endocrine disruptor and it can negatively affect bones, brain, thyroid and even blood sugar levels. There is some minimal evidence that it can help prevent tooth decay in certain circumstances, however the indisputable health risks of using fluoride outweigh the minimal benefits. This is why products that contain fluoride carry a poison warning on the label.

Using therapeutic medicaments rather than chemical laden ones is certainly helpful in reducing the incidence of cavities and gum disease. However, they cannot take the place of proper nutrition. The real value to having and maintaining good oral health comes from the elimination of non-nutritive processed foods, sugar/artificial sugar substitutes and avoid the over consumption of starchy foods as all of these will alter the pH of the saliva contributing to acid forming bacteria called plaque. Even people with the worst family history regarding dental health, can have little to no dental problems if they eat nutritiously and maintain good oral hygiene.

Caroline, keep up the good oral hygiene and thanks again for sharing )