Dear Ellie Phillips
I am so glad I discovered your blog, I’ve read through everything and found it very helpful. When I was younger I never had a problem with cavities, and I had one during most of my teenage years, however, when I turned 19 I suddenly got lots of them (8) 🙁 I haven’t figured out why, I ate sweets sometimes, but not a lot and not everyday, and I brushed my teeth 2-3 a day. Sometimes I would party, like most people in their early 20s, and alcohol is bad for teeth, and brushing drunk before bedtime is probably not done as well as brushing when sober…
When I was 19 I was dating a guy for about half a year, and he had really bad teeth! Of course he never told me how bad, but I know he had a few teeth missing and cavities. Think about the stereotype of bad British teeth, and there you go…. Can it be possible that this is part of the reason why I after dating him suddenly got lots of cavities? I read in your blog that cavities are a bacteria and an infection, which was new to me.
I live in the UK and can’t find Crest toothpaste, I can get it over ebay, but I would like to be able to buy it at a shop nearby. Do you know if for example colgate or sensodyne has good substitutes for the crest toothpaste?
Xylitol has been part of my diet for about a year, mainly as a substitute for sugar on my morning oatmeal, not mainly for dental health, but I have now started to use it more. I try to bake with it, and also drink it with water as you recommend. However, and this is quite embarrassing, my stomach tends to become a bit upset, can the body only handle a certain amount of xylitol, or will it get more used to it as I increase the amounts of xylitol in my diet?
I hope you have time to answer my questions 🙂
I really appreciate your blog, and your willingness to help tons of people with various dental problems
Best Regards,
– M
You may enjoy reading my book – Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye – available on Amazon.
Yes, cavities are a transmissible and contagious infection.
If you have healthy teeth – dental ‘cleanings” denude teeth of its protective covering.
A course of antibiotics can also wipe out the healthy, protective bacteria and leave you vulnerable.
If you then kiss someone with bad teeth – it is easy to become infected.
Regular Colgate may be your best alternative in UK. Don’t use Sensodyne – it will work against your dental healing.
Space out your xylitol during the day into very small but frequent amounts.
More than 10 grams ( 2 teaspoons) is not more beneficial for teeth. Frequency is key – the more small exposures – the more use for teeth. Sipping a teaspoon dissolved in water will provide one of the best ways to use xylitol.
Use sugar in your baking – it is not necessary to be scared of sugar if you have xylitol elsewhere in your diet.
My other suggestion is to start taking Probiotics.
Drinking and poor diet can wipe out the natural bacteria in your intestine – and it can be hard to get them back again.
Get Probiotics as pills from a health food store or on-line. Take them regularly – they will work with xylitol to put you back to intestinal health. Beware and avoid anything with sorbitol. Sorbitol is often in diet drinks, sugarless gums and sugarless candies and sweets. Sorbitol will also work against your teeth and will upset your intestinal bacteria.
Good luck and let me know how this works out for you,
Ellie
Ellie Phillips DDS
http://www.ZelliesCleanWhiteTeeth.com
Solutions for Oral Health!
author, Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye
Categories: Uncategorized