If you ask most people whether or not you can heal a cavity, the answer you would get 99.9% of the time is that it is impossible.
Even conventional dentists would agree with this assessment. Ask a typical dentist at a routine cleaning whether you can heal a cavity on your own and he/she is likely to look at you like you’re crazy (I know this from experience).
In stark contrast to this current conventional “wisdom”, Dr. Weston A. Price DDS wrote of numerous situations in his dental practice back in the 1920s and 1930s where cavities healed with no need for drilling and filling. Dr. Price discovered through research that cavities are caused by nutritional deficiency and when this nutritional deficiency is corrected, the cavity heals.
Biological dentists also understand and teach their patients that teeth can remineralize naturally when the diet and microbial conditions in the mouth are conducive to the healing process.
If you think about this in an open-minded manner leaving all preconceived ideas about cavities behind, doesn’t this make sense? Shouldn’t the body be able to heal a cavity just like it heals a broken bone or a cut on your arm? Why would teeth be any different from a broken wrist after all?
Having read Dr. Price’s epic work Nutrition and Physical Degeneration some years ago, I’ve been of the school of thought that cavities can indeed be healed with proper nutrition for some time. But believing something intellectually and knowing it works from experience are two very different things, are they not?
For this reason, I am very excited to relay to you a recent story regarding one of my children. You see, my oldest child (12 years old at the time) developed a cavity in his top right lateral incisor. It was behind the tooth right on the gumline. My husband noticed it one night as he was checking his teeth to see if he was doing a good job brushing and flossing (he’s way too old for nightly brushing by Mom or Dad).
There was a definite hole in the tooth and not a small one either. My husband called me over to take a look and I was alarmed to see the hole and I used a rubber-tipped tooth probe that we have on hand to check how deep it was. The tip of the probe went way into the hole. There was no doubt that this was a cavity, and we both agreed that we needed to get it filled pronto.
Our reasoning was that the incisors are very prominent teeth and taking a chance that the nutritional approach would not work quickly enough to save the tooth was a big concern for us especially given that our soon to be teenager’s diet could likely not be controlled closely enough to ensure rapid success.
I called the dentist right away and made an appointment. In the meantime, I began insisting that my son take 3 butter oil capsules every morning along with his normal, daily teaspoon of fermented cod liver oil. I’ve always been pretty strict about the daily cod liver oil dose before school, but a bit slack about the butter oil along with it to be perfectly honest.
Not anymore. With this big hole in the back of his incisor, I knew that he needed to take both together. Dr. Price discovered that cavities healed faster when these two therapeutic and nourishing oils were taken together.
The dental appointment was a few weeks out, so I continued with the butter oil capsules every single day. I also told my son that he really needed to go back to his breakfast of two slices of toast each morning with raw butter and honey. This instead of tahini and honey which is what he had been having in recent months.
He was fine with that as he loves raw butter and had just gotten out of the routine of having it every morning. Did this simple change of breakfast have an impact on the development of his cavity?
Probably.
I didn’t change anything else. He didn’t go off grains and he still ate the occasional sugar junk that he gets at school (ugh). It was Easter time too so this type of stuff was rampant. He is almost a teenager, after all. Try to take all grains and sugars out of their diet and you are going to get a rebellion. Kids need to learn some things on their own.
I’ve found you can’t protect your kids from this stuff and raise them in a bubble. You can only teach them to be wise and they will learn moderation on their own over time.
On a side note, I was pleased to see that at a party following his class’s Poetry Day that he bypassed the big bottles of soda and Hershey bars. Amazingly, this junk was being handed out by the parents afterward (no, I’m not kidding).
I was very very proud of him. He knew that eating that stuff would give him a couple of zits for sure and make him feel lousy all afternoon and probably the next day too. We Moms have to celebrate little victories along the way, don’t we?!
Anyway, back to the cavity story.
As it turned out, the day before his dental appointment, the receptionist calls to say that the appointment needed to be rescheduled as the dentist had to unexpectedly go out of town for family reasons. This pushed out the appointment for another couple of weeks, but all the while, we continued with the 3 capsules of butter oil with a teaspoon of fermented cod liver oil after a breakfast of 2 slices of raw butter and honey toast.
Last weekend, I decided to take a peek at the cavity to see if it was getting any worse. It had been about a month since my husband discovered it and I was a bit concerned given that it was one of his top front teeth. I took a flashlight and he tipped his head back and I looked, and looked, and LOOKED!
NO CAVITY!
That’s right. There was no hole at all. It had completely filled in and was as smooth as the tooth next to it. I told my husband and he took a look too. He was delighted to see that the hole was gone.
I took the probe and pressed around just to be sure and confirmed what my eyes were telling me – the cavity had indeed healed over.
I will still be taking him to the dentist to have a check-up but there is no doubt that there is nothing wrong with that tooth any longer.
The best news of all is that I changed very little to get this tooth to heal. He didn’t use coconut oil pulling or any special remedy. He simply continued on his normal, nourishing traditional diet at home with the lapses that typically occur at school and playdate events. We added the butter oil with his daily dose of cod liver oil, and he substituted raw butter for tahini on his toast every morning. The butter oil added critical Vitamin K2 to his diet which supercharges the absorption of the Vitamins A/D in cod liver oil.
That’s it!
I hope you find this story encouraging! Dr. Price’s research really does work in practice!
Dentist’s Conclusion After Examining My Son’s Cavity
This brief update has been added since the original posting date of this blog. I did indeed take my son to the dentist to have a full examination and there was no cavity to be found anywhere in my son’s mouth. A hole was there, the hole is gone. Nutrition can indeed heal cavities!
Diet not only heals early cavities, but it can also heal severe ones where a root canal is recommended. This article on avoiding root canals details that scenario.
Please note that a cavity in a tooth that has already been drilled and filled in the past cannot be healed. Please see a dentist right away to have that cavity filled with non-toxic materials (not mercury amalgams).
Also, a tooth that is cracked or has had part of it broken off cannot be healed with diet. Again, consult with a dentist to have that situation properly handled.
Best Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil to Heal a Cavity
Please click here for where to buy cod liver oil and butter oil. Note that any old store brand of cod liver oil is not going to work for healing cavities. These brands contain synthetic Vitamin A and D and are heavily processed. Only use these vetted and tested brands to ensure quality results.
Click here to watch my video blog on how to make ghee if you are not able to order butter oil where you live.
Also, this article which provides photographic proof cavities heal can help you see the visual results.
Child Needs to Be on Traditional Diet
Please note that if your child is not on a healthy diet already, the addition of cod liver oil and butter oil (for Vitamin K2) alone will not be sufficient to heal a cavity. A diet consisting primarily of convenience foods that resulted in a cavity problem cannot be rectified with a couple of superfood supplements. It will definitely help and may prevent future cavities, but won’t fix existing ones.
For more information on the diet necessary to heal cavities including high vitamin cod liver oil and butter oil, read the book Cure Tooth Decay.
A Second Cavity Healed!
In May 2017, the same child mentioned in the story above healed yet another cavity. This time he did it all by himself (he is 18 years old now). He noticed a small hole in one of his front teeth. Like the last time, the early cavity was right along the gumline. It was also on the front of the tooth and easy to see in the mirror. I am kicking myself now that we didn’t take before and after pictures!
He asked me what to do about it, and I referred him to what we did 6 years earlier to heal a hole in one of his lateral incisors. He hadn’t been taking much cod liver oil for awhile. So he immediately went back on 1 tsp raw, extra virgin cod liver oil per day (which we are now using instead of fermented liver oil). To supercharge the absorption of the Vitamin A/D in cod liver oil, he also doubled his Vitamin K2 intake (180 mcg/day). Finally, he cut out the few sweets he was eating. Within 2 weeks, the hole was gone!
Please note that instead of butter oil to add K2 to the diet, this time he used a potent natto extract supplement. Both butter oil and natto extract contain the critical Vitamin K2 necessary to heal cavities. It is best used synergistically with cod liver oil for optimal and fast results. Butter oil contains MK-4 and natto extract contains MK-7. This article contains more discussion on MK-4 vs MK-7 forms of Vitamin K2.
Diet is Always First to Heal a Cavity Followed by Cod Liver Oil/K2
My son felt very empowered by the experience. Please note that other than lagging on his cod liver oil/K2 supplement regimen, he was eating an excellent Traditional Diet. Certainly no fast food (ever), candy or soda. Junk to him is a piece of pizza at a party and sweets are a couple of organic cookies after a quality whole foods dinner.
As a Mother, there is nothing better than knowing your children have learned from your efforts raising them and are able to successfully put traditional health into practice for themselves as young adults.
Where to Find a Biological Dentist
I get many requests about who I recommend as a truly holistic dentist. If you are looking for one, I recommend Dr. Carlo Litano of Natural-Smiles.com – (727) 300-0044. Be sure to tell Dr. Litano that the Healthy Home Economist sent you and get 10% off your first visit!
He sees children and does phone consults too!
More Information
Child’s Severe Tooth Decay Healed with Diet
Whiten Your Teeth Without Dangerous Chemicals (that will eventually destroy the enamel)
Healing Periodontal Problems with Bone Broth
Natural Alternative to Baby Teething Gels
Coconut Oil Stops Oral Strep Bacteria from Damaging Tooth Enamel
Cause of Crooked Teeth
10 Signs Your Dentist is Truly Holistic
Could the Cause of Your Illness Be Right Under Your Nose?
Wisdom Tooth Extractions
Could I use this for a 3 year old .. she has a disability and is terrified of doctors / dentist .. talk to a pedi dentist and said I’d have to hold her down would probably have put her under to fix the tooth .. and I don’t really want to do that to her.. she drinks water doesn’t drink soda eats a lot of fruit and yorgurt. I’m afraid it was the formula she was on as baby .. any advice would be great thank you so much
This is super misleading considering only a dentist can diagnose a cavity. Just like saying “oh I think I have cancer I’m going to take x-y-z and then it will go away” then you go to the doctor and never had cancer in the first place. Until you have a diagnosis/xray proof that the cavity penetrated into the dentin I feel like this is bogus.
Many cavities are quite easy to see with the naked eye. If you break your arm, you know it’s broken right? You don’t need an orthopedist to xray it to tell you what you already know … they xray it to know how to best fix it. Of course, sometimes cavities may be smaller or along the gumline and difficult to identify without xray or probe. But others are quite easy to see as was the case with my son’s cavity as described in this story. You are, of course, welcome to believe whatever you would like 🙂
Hey Sarah, thanks for this post! I know things have changed in the cod liver oil front. In a previous post you said you would not use Rosita as the product had been pulled in Norway for dioxins, but it is listed in the radiant life website. Also, Green Pastures FLCO is also still listed there. It looks like you link directly to dropi, but the bulk option is unavailable. Can you comment on the other offerings?
Additionally, how frequently do you take the k2 supplement. Would that be taken with the CLO?
1) What CLO is best
2) When and how much K2 do you take for normal health
3) When and how much K2 do you take for healing cavities
4) When would you opt to take butter oil instead of K2 (the Jarrow product you link to).
Thanks!
You stated that a tooth that has been previously drilled cannot be healed via traditional diet. Why is that? What happened to the tooth that will not allow this process of healing to occur?
Thank you so much for this article!
Drilling a tooth compromises its structure to an extent that it loses the ability to remineralize on its own.
Hi Sarah, brilliant article. I have a question. Would this work on healing/remineralising white spots from decalcification?
Probably not. But, I would ask your holistic dentist about it. Most likely those white spots are not decalcification, but fluorosis. Many children have them today because there is so much fluoride exposure from tap water, to carbonated sodas (in cans), to unnecessary and damaging fluoride treatments at conventional dentists.
Hi Sarah, very interesting article… Im a nut when it comes to my teeth, and gums, I don’t like going to the dentist , and getting picked & stuck with sharp things lol.. I make my own homemade tooth paste, organic coconut oil, with Himalayan salt, sometimes ill use organic turmeric with baking soda, and Himalayan salt, and even use Manuka honey , with coconut oil. I also do coconut oil pulling at least 5 times a week I also gargle with warm water, with either salt, or baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide twice a day.. My diet is also fairly good, (not perfect) , I eat lots of organic foods etc.. But I continue to get a few gum line cavities on my lower teeth , on the outside, and it gets me frustrated.. I absolutely believe food is medicine … At the same time , it seems like every article has something different to say about teeth and , gums. I feel like I spend too much $$$ on trying all these different things, so im hesitant to try your suggestion haha.. So have found that outside of your family people are getting good results with suggestions? Blessings Mike
I have a 4 year old with multiple beginning spots. How much should I be using to supplement him? He eats a pretty good diet, but is there anything extra that I could add in besides the supplements? Thank you!!
I would recommend the dietary modifications in the book Cure Tooth Decay. https://amzn.to/2EhI9Qw
Thank you!! Love this article! I’m about to try it out, I’m going to use the Jarrow Brand MK-7 pills but for the cod liver oil can I use the capsule form of the oil instead of the actual oil? Or does this only work if you use the oil?
I would use it off the spoon otherwise you have to take too many capsules per day.
I noticed a small cavity on my now 3 year old. How much of FCLO and BO should I be giving him? We have an appointment with the dentist but would like to try this before we go.
My children received 1/2 tsp cod liver oil and 1/4 tsp butter oil per day at that age. Note that if the child is eating a lot of grains/sugars/processed foods, this supplementation regimen won’t do much good.
Hi Sarah. Any experience or tips on what can heal a chipped tooth? I dont eat processed or refined foods (except bread once a week or two). Mostly plant based, some meat here and there. Would love to hear anything you can offer!
Unfortunately, a chipped tooth will not heal. You will need to get it repaired at the dentist.