JS,

what is the unit on the y axis?

my teeth were not too bad to begin with; the pockets were rarely deeper than 4 mm, except few sensitive spots. there was a spot in gum that would get infection or inflammed every 2 years.

when i first switched diet, the first thing i noticed was the improvement dental health before anything else. (didn't have to loose weight so not much too tell).

but i'm still left with receding gum. is there way to regrow it back? it does not give me any discomfort tho.

Eddie
I believe he means C Reactive Protein.

I've had a lifetime of dental problems (9 cavities in 5th grade) - I've had fillings fall out and have had fillings replaced. Cavities as a child (constant). In my thirties it was root canals and crowns (no my dental hygiene was never great but I tried). It was cracked and broken teeth which I blamed on my nighttime grinding. They couldn't drill without breaking the tooth. It didn't matter how much I brushed and flossed at this point. It came to a screeching halt when I went Primal. And my "dental hygiene" is actually worse now. I use my WaterPik and occasionally brush with whitening toothpaste because I'm a coffee drinker. That's it. It was a 180 degree turn around for me.

@ Cyclops: I saw something like that, too, but can't find it now. As I remember, the illustration was about the pH of the mouth -- when the mouth is too acidic, minerals flow out of the teeth, but when the mouth is more basic, minerals flow into the teeth and the teeth can actually remineralize somewhat. A paleo diet, by reducing food for acid-generating bacteria, probably automatically adjusts the pH of the mouth.

What is y'all's take on Xylitol toothpaste (and chewing gum)? My dentist was pleased when I said I was using it. (Spry in the brand I use -- they have a nice peppermint, and cinnamon, and I forget what-all else.) As I understand it, the Xylitol starves the bacteria so they can't dig holes in your teeth.

Being a periodontist and having eaten a paleo diet for almost three years I had to add this:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19405829

http://www.zora.uzh.ch/25306/2/Baumgartner_Impact

to the reference list 🙂

Elenor, I just bought some Spry online. When I got it and discovered that in addition to xylitol it also has sorbitol, I tossed it. In my mouth, that would be kind of like putting water on a fire to put it out, and at the same time, putting on some gasoline. It's a real challenge to find products that have xylitol that don't also have a bunch of other junk. I even suspect any plain xylitol sugar that doesn't specify "birch." Not because I'm worried that much about corn -- by the time it's been processed into xylitol, it probably doesn't make much difference -- but from what I've read, most of the corn xylitol comes from China, and has been known to be laced with sorbitol, since sorbitol is much cheaper.

your readers might like to read "cure tooth decay, by ramiel nagel. it is right in line with what you have said about tooth health as well as more exyensive in other areas. he also believes the natural way of eating is the right way.

I've had bad tartar and plaque as long as I can remember, eating paleo didn't really change anything. The kelp variety Ascophyllum Nodosum (avaiable as capsules from Nature's Way, or bulk from Maine Sea Vegetables) helps a lot with tartar buildup, I take 1T/day in bone broth with a little salt.

What's made a tremendous difference is upping my fermented skate liver oil from 1/2-tsp/day to 2 tsp/day. This basically increases Vitamin A to about 9,000 IU and D to 4,500IU, plus additional quinones, K2, etc. I've also started using Mark Manhart's Calcium-Zinc toothbrush moistened with some of his oral calcium-zinc solution to brush in the evening before bed. The combination is amazing -- no plaque, no tartar buildup, my teeth feel shiny and smooth all day. So I expect to get an excellent report on my next cleaning (just to confirm), and then to just stop going to the dentist.