Hello Dr. Ellie,
I am hoping to go shopping tomorrow to purchase the products (the Canadian versions) that you have recommended so that I can begin following your system. I am very excited about this. I have a rather large cavity on the side of one of my molars, which also has a filling from my childhood on the chewing surface of the tooth.
I have not experienced any pain or sensitivities so far. I have been struggling with the decision of whether-or-not I should visit the dentist and have it filled. I would truly like to avoid that route. I know that you cannot possibly make a diagnosis without seeing my tooth, but do you think that I have a chance of reversing the damage and the cavity? I am 50 years old, have all my teeth, and would like to keep it that way. I have been experiencing very continuous dry mouth problems, which are probably due to menopause, so I am thinking that, that is why I now have a cavity. I would sure like to avoid further problems.
Thank you so much for your generosity in making all of this information available to the public.
Sincerely,
M
Hi M,
Two things cause dental problems in the mouth acidity and dry mouth. Together they are even more destructive.
Women over the age of 30 often develop acidic saliva occasionally (under stress or hormonal ) and sometimes all the time ( poor diet, extreme stress, medications etc).
If you know any women who “think” they have gum recession the chances are it is the first stage of acidic erosion. Acidic erosion affects the root surfaces of molar teeth. The root surfaces wear away, leaving a sensitive channel along the gum line. Many dentists sell their patients an expensive new toothbrush but I would suggest these patients use my system and eat xylitol.
If you allow mouth acidity to ruin your mouth the bad symptoms progress. A groove forms at the gum line, then fillings begin to fail and leak. The usual treatment for this is a root canal, then a crown, one tooth after the other.
Following all this expensive treatment, the hygienist will discover calculus under the gum and suggest deep cleanings and periodontal surgery.
Next are implants and then dentures.
I believe that all this is preventable but you need the rinses that heal teeth and adequate amounts of xylitol.
I am delighted that you will try this program, because you will halt this process and “freeze” dental time. Next you will start to reverse the damage and you should see results in several months.
Make sure you keep the ACT/Fluorigard rinse ( the dilute fluoride) in contact with your tooth for as long as reasonable. Repair and remineralization occurs when the rinse is in contact with your tooth surface.
You may want to rinse three times a day at the start to “jump start”repairs.
Zellies mints and gum are an excellent way to have enough xylitol each day at the end of meals.
Any form of xylitol will work, and you can mix and match the products to suit your lifestyle.
Spend a little time calculating how many grams of xylitol you are eating and make sure you have at least 6.5 grams a day. (Each Zellie mint is 0.5 grams so two would be 1.0 grams; gum is 0.7 grams so two pieces will give you 1.4 grams etc). Add up the total grams of xylitol each day and ensure you reach the 6.5 gram threshold level. This level is going to clean out your cavity and allow healing to begin.
I often tell people that healing teeth is like healing a wound on our knee! Your need the wound to be clean and then you will get healing of the flesh and finally healing of the skin. One without the other will not give you complete healing.
Xylitol will clean the wound and help the “flesh” of the tooth to heal. The rinses stimulate healing of the “skin”
I hope this description helps you. I would expect improvements by about September ( mark the date on your calendar and let me know how things are going). I would expect continued improvements to continue until the end of the year.
I have stories of patients with holes in molar teeth finding they had disappeared on this system after six months. I cannot promise you this but if I were you I would start as soon as possible and be very optimistic!
Ellie
Ellie Phillips DDS
26 Corporate Woods
Rochester, NY 14623
Categories: Sensitivity