Hi Ellie,
In brief, I had increasingly worse pocket measurements and was seeing no improvement with flossing as my dentist kept on telling me.
I found your book, started your program, and 2-3 months into it, had my gums measured and they had not improved. They were all 4, 5, and one 6. My dentist gave me a deep cleaning, and here’s the latest installment, 3 months later…)
After being absolutely meticulous in doing your complete regime (not even skipping one day), that 6mm pocket has become a 3! I even have one measurement of a 1mm pocket! I am getting an Oral DNA test next Wednesday, so I’ll be able to tell you about that soon too (hopefully it will also be good news.) I had been also been flossing once a day so I wouldn’t have to lie to my dentist, but I have stopped flossing now and my gums feel even better.
So I am utterly grateful and very, very happy. I skipped out of the dental office 🙂
I do have some more questions which are all over the map. I would be very glad to give you payment to answer these because you’ve helped me so much. It seems only fair. If you’d prefer to talk rather than email, I’d be glad to do that too. Let me know what is easiest for you. Take your time in responding too — none of this is urgent.
1) I am a strict vegetarian, verging on vegan, both for health reasons and mainly for my ethical and environmental beliefs. I worry that the lack of dairy in my diet may effect my teeth, but I do make sure to eat lots of alkaline foods and finish my meals with raw veggies, nuts, or an apple as you suggest. Have you seen any major negative effects in dental health due to absence of dairy?
2) Rinsing my sonicare toothbrush head in Listerine every night and putting it on my window sill is fading the “indicator” bristles much faster than normal. Does this mean I should replace it more often, because the bristles are being worn down, or is it OK to still just replace it every 3 months?
3) My dentist is really pleased that I am using Closys, which she loves. She says she’s noticed that people using it a lot can be more susceptible to staining though. I think this is true in my case — the upper part of my bottom teeth, and the lower part of my upper teeth, where the enamel is thinner, is becoming a bit grey. I don’t drink coffee, tea, or wine, so what else could explain it?
4) My dentist is also still recommending Invisalign due to some crowding in my mouth. I have found out that it does not contain BPA but I am still not keen in having plastic in my mouth every night for the rest of my life. I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about the matter.
5) Finally, I have slightly yellow hard enamel at the top of two teeth, which is apparently due to a “buckle”. I could choose to get a filling over these. Would that be purely cosmetic, or would you see some benefit in the hygiene aspect?
Feel free not to answer any of these questions — I realize you do not want to interfere with dentist-patient relationships and I respect that. I just would love a second opinion because I feel a bit lost in making such important decisions.
With very best and warm wishes,
S
Hi S,
I am delighted to hear your news!
I would also very happy to arrange a consultation with you – if you decide to do this.
If you want to talk – the best way is to schedule a time through my “coaching” website DrEcoaching.com.
http://www.drecoaching.com/ask.html#packages
You may want to wait and think about any final questions you want to ask – so we could tie up all the loose ends.
It would be fun to speak person to person and we might figure out some of the small accessory things that could make a difference.
For example, one lady was seeing great improvement but in our conversation mentioned her blocked sinus.
Now with the use of a xylitol nasal spray – things have DRAMATICALLY improved for her.
looking back I think 60 % of her problems were from allergies/fungus in her sinuses that were infecting her mouth.
Vegan diet: I think a vegan diet is very hard to balance.
I believe you have to know a lot more about diet than normal mix-food eaters.
Usually I think vegans can be short on protein, adequate fats and probiotics.
I could give you alternatives for the yogurt, fish oil and fish based products and proteins that I normally recommend.
Vitamin D is another concern.
From a dental standpoint – you need to ensure you have enough proteins – to build the protective layer of proteins in your mouth that will sustain your oral health.
I usually suggest organic, whole milk yogurt – goat or cow based – we would have to consider alternatives.
Fermented dairy foods appear to quickly add the probiotic cultures that I believe are essential for oral health balance – and work to benefit gut bacteria health – which may be closely related to oral health.
Alkaline foods are good and this is how I begin to teach the first level of oral health knowledge.
On the other hand, fats, proteins and probiotics need to be addressed for oral health for the next level of knowledge.
There seems a strong relationship between oral health – vitamin D, C and bromalain.
Changing your Toothbrush: I would not worry about “indicator” bristles fading on a toothbrush.
It is more important to clean your brush daily – especially when you are fighting to remove pathogens from your gums.
The idea of replacing a toothbrush every 3 months is insignificant in contrast to the need to disinfect a toothbrush and move it from a toilet area.
I have never seen ANY research to support a 3 month toothbrush change – just great marketing!!!
Staining: The staining will continue until you have stabilized and overcome the plaque infection in your mouth.
Maybe increase the amount of xylitol each day – by adding a teaspoon to water and sip this during the day – in addition to some mints and gum.
These stains are most likely composed of “dead plaque” bacteria – many of them have come from old plaque and “dropped’ around your teeth.
Once you have your oral health totally under control – this will stop – but it may take 6 -12 months for this to happen.
Read to the end of this piece on my website – and it will explain:
http://www.zelliescleanwhiteteeth.com/Zellie-Mouth-Care-System.aspx
This shows the xylitol time line and why it takes 6-12 months to get rid of an old infection in your mouth.
http://www.zelliescleanwhiteteeth.com/Resources-Oral-Health-Timeline.aspx
Closys is actually good at removing daily stains in the future – don’t worry about tooth color at this moment – it is too soon.
Keep on the program and your tooth color will improve slowly and you will see great results – but your gum health is the primary concern.
In my opinion your list of importance should be:
1. Gum health ( without this you will loose your teeth)
2. Sustaining a clean mouth – making changes that stop the staining – shows you have “arrived”!!
3. Make sure the color of your teeth pleases you ( this will happen naturally as your teeth are getting harder and stronger)
4. Concern about straightening or invisilign etc – This should be very last on the list – and in my opinion will make all of the above harder to achieve – so it should only be considered when have achieved ultimate oral health.
Any chance of a picture of the enamel on your front teeth?- even a poor quality one would be helpful – in order to comment.
Maybe this is something we could discuss in a consult – since it is a lengthy discussion with pros and cons!
Hope this is helpful to you,
Great to hear of your success!
Best Wishes,
Ellie
Dr. Ellie Phillips DDS
Solutions for Oral Health
www.DrEllie.com
Dr Ellie@drellie.com
Categories: Uncategorized
Actually, it's very easy to balance a vegan diet. I periodically keep careful track and do the math. I easily get more than enough protein without even trying. Remember also that the body doesn't need "complete protein" (i.e., all the essential amino acids together in the right proportions for the human species) in a single meal, but will get what it needs over the course of several days if you eat enough variety. It's also very easy to use calcium supplements, and some people actually find they absorb such calcium better than dairy (especially people with joint and soft tissue problems). Even B-12, which carnivores think we are all dying from lack thereof, is easy to get in supplements or actually food (check out nutritional yeast, for instance). Likewise there are indeed plant sources of the omega oils (e.g., flaxseed). I would suggest everybody look for a good vitamin and mineral supplement these days because of extra stress from our environment and depleted soils. But carnivores need to relax about the "difficulties" of a vegan diet. It really isn't difficult, as long as you don't think vegan means just lettuce…