Diet and oral health

OF the 125 Medical Schools in the US, only 32 have a required course in nutrition for graduating physicians. This dismal situation is even worse in dental education programmes. There is a very strong perception that diet and nutrition are unrelated to the teeth – but this could not be farther from the truth.

Many people now realise that they must be responsible for figuring out for themselves just what is a proper diet and by extension, nutrition. But, these days there are so many conflicting viewpoints that it is hard to decide what constitutes healthy eating. Every 10 years it seems the so-called experts flip-flop their position and tell us to eat exactly what they told us not to eat before. First butter is bad and margarine is good; then butter is good and margarine is bad. What do you do?

I have followed the field of nutrition closely for more than 30 years, and what I have discovered is that there are a few very good, very consistent individuals in the field whose work and advice has consistently held up under scrutiny over time. Dr. Weston Price was a giant in this field. In the book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, long considered the seminal text on nutrition; he documents the effect of dietary changes on bone structure, teeth and health in general.

In his extensive travels to Alaska, the Amazon, Australia, Europe, the South Pacific and many other areas, Dr. Price consistently found that those people who remained on their native diets experienced almost no tooth decay or periodontal disease, and that degenerative disease, in general, was virtually non-existent. However, when the “white man’s “civilised diet, including refined sugar and flour, was introduced, tooth decay and other degenerative diseases began appearing with sudden and alarming frequency. Perhaps the most dramatic proof of the link between diet and health was demonstrated by Dr. Price through these studies.

Dr. Price also noted that the new diet brought about remarkable changes in physiognomy. Bodies actually became narrower and taller. The dental arches became narrower, causing tooth crowding. Women’s pelvises also became narrower, making childbirth more difficult.
One photo essay of two brothers indisputably illustrated these changes. The first brother stayed on the family farm and continued to consume the traditional native diet. The second brother had moved to the city and switched to a typical modern diet. The brother on the farm had no tooth decay whatsoever, while the city brother had now developed rampant decay. What is truly remarkable, though, is that when the city brother moved back to the farm and resumed his native eating habits, all decay ceased.

Based on Dr. Price’s research, following a genetically appropriate diet would lead to optimal health. This does not make for highly practical advice, however, as native genetic lines are for the most part completely blurred. Most of us do not live in isolated tribal communities, marrying into our own genetic pool. How then do we apply Dr. Price’s insights to our modern dietary needs? What we do is to adopt the general concept and proof of what are the main items to consume regularly for acceptable oral health, which are, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables and fish.

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