Dental Doldrums

But, after that completely useless emotional tirade, I got smart.  Here’s where I am now:

-Despite how careful you are with food, sometimes kids (and adults) will get cavities, and part of that is about the shape of your teeth and your underlying saliva pH.

-WATCH OUT for Vitamin Gummies! A “healthy” nightmare for some, especially kids with deep ridges in their teeth!  I knew without second thought that this was not a child who consumed too much “sugar”, but realized later that she consumes daily vitamins that are a sticky mess.  We’re moving to powdered everything. 

-Dentistry, just like conventional medicine, is guilty of the same downstream ‘bandage the problem’ approach.  Instead of “huh, WHY does she have a cavity?” A typical dentist might say “she has a cavity, let’s patch it up and eat less sugar.”  When, in my post self-inflicted mom trauma (PSIMT?) research frenzy I asked dentists about saliva pH, probiotics, and underlying vulnerabilities….well, you can imagine the blank stares.  

SO

-I tested her saliva pH, it was on the acidic (low) side.  Foods can lean toward being acidic or basic.  I will be leaning toward more basic foods for her (or at least consider a more ‘basic’ wash with food at the end of meals)  

-I plan to also utilize the power of Xylitol — a sugar alcohol that improves saliva pH (thus making a corrosive environment less likely), and slowly kills off the bad guys.  Remember that bacteria, food, and underlying disposition can lower pH, and a lower pH will set the stage for more enamel destruction.  The presence of bacteria and enamel breakdown create the perfect storm.  So, Xylitol provides buffering to acid — but additionally, problematic bacteria attempt to consume it as food and are unable to derive any nutritive value, and die! She will have Xylitol in her toothpaste *and* in a chew she can have post meals. [In fairness to one standout dentist, she recommended Xylitol as well!]

-Lastly, we’re starting well-validated oral probiotics with strains that compete with strep mutans (the strain that causes cavities).  It literally kicks the bad guys out!  

I share this today not only to elevate the dialogue on how we care for our teeth, but also to remind us to advocate and dig deeper when what you’re getting from your healthcare dialogue does not resonate with your reality.