What could be so wrong with minimally invasive dentistry? Sounds like a good idea right? Actually it’s anything but.
Minimally invasive dentistry involves detecting a cavity when it is very small and doing small treatments – removing small amounts of tooth structure and putting in small fillings.
Proponents of this type of dentistry (both conventional and holistic dentists) cite the benefits of having tiny parts of the tooth removed and tiny fillings placed as opposed to having large holes drilled and large fillings placed.
Minimally invasive dentistry gives people the false impression that they are choosing something healthy for their teeth by having small amounts of tooth structure removed, and that the dentist doing small treatments and fillings is providing a great holistic service to people.
Of course when you give someone those options – small filling or big filling – everyone is going to agree that a small filling is better. But what is so disturbing about minimally invasive dentistry is that it implies the only options are small or big fillings.
But there is a third option that people are not told. And that option is to have no filling. If you had a choice between small, big or no filling, now tell me what you prefer. Personally I prefer no filling, and I bet a lot of other people do too.
Catching tiny cavities and putting in tiny fillings is really not helping people. See, these tiny cavities are actually totally reversible. People don’t need tiny holes drilled in their teeth – they need to be told that they can remineralize their teeth and harden up the small soft spots.
Dental Textbooks Acknowledge Ability of Cavities to Heal
Don’t believe me because you’ve never been given this option before? Here is a quote is straight from my dental school textbook:
“It has been shown experimentally and clinically that incipient caries [small cavities] of enamel can remineralize.” – Sturdevant’s Art & Science of Operative Dentistry 4th Edition, 2002
A few reasons why remineralizing your tooth is a far superior choice over minimally invasive dentistry:
- Having a filling in your tooth, no matter what size means dedicating the rest of your life to needing it repaired and replaced (fillings don’t last forever).
- Fillings of all sizes are susceptible to recurrent decay, especially if the underlying cause of the cavity has not been addressed (and it is not with minimally invasive dentistry)
- After remineralizing your natural tooth you certainly won’t need to keep seeing your dentist every so many years to have it replaced! In fact, remineralized teeth are more resilient to cavities in the future.
“These discolored, remineralized, arrested caries [cavities] areas are in-tact and are more resistant to subsequent caries [cavity] attack than the adjacent unaffected enamel. They should not be restored unless they are esthetically objectionable.” – Sturdevant’s Art & Science of Operative Dentistry 4th Edition, 2002
(Another quote straight from my dental school textbook. Makes one wonder why it is not promoted in the modern conventional or holistic dental office…)
I was once talking to a dentist friend of mine about small cavities. She said, “Oh I don’t bother observing them. I just go ahead and fill them. What is the point of watching a cavity just get bigger and bigger?”
But why does she think there just two options, big or small cavity? What about the third option of remineralizing it or healing it?
A lady told me that she went to see a very well known holistic dentist who gave her tons of options for how to remove her daughter’s small cavity and tons of options for different materials to fill it with.
But no option to heal the cavity (which by the way the lady and daughter did do, thankfully).
Remineralization Does Not Occur Using Fluoride
I like to make sure I mention the term, ‘healing,’ because certainly there are some dentists and hygienists out there who promote remineralization of teeth but only through the use of fluoride.
Using fluoride does not heal our teeth. Healing our teeth involves naturally restoring the lost minerals from our teeth by addressing the underlying local and systemic cause(s) of the cavity in the first place. And as much as the toothpaste companies would love for people to think so, cavities are not caused by a lack of fluoride.
Naturally remineralizing or healing one’s teeth can be rather simple for some people and incredibly challenging for others. For some people it can be as simple as cutting out some garbage foods and drinks. It may mean adding in some real food or taking fermented cod liver oil. For others it involves a massive change in their lifestyle and dietary habits.
No matter what amount of work you put into naturally remineralizing and healing your teeth, I promise you that your teeth and the rest of your body will thank you.
It’s time to stop sticking band-aid treatments in our mouths. Regardless of whether they are small band-aids or not, fillings and other dental treatments cover up our ability to take control of our health and healing capabilities.
The power to live a healthy life does not lie in the hands of your dentist, hygienist or any other practitioner. You have the power.
More on How to Remineralize Teeth to Heal Cavities
The book Cure Tooth Decay outlines in detail the dietary protocol for remineralizing tooth enamel. According to the author Rami Nagel, the most important two dietary steps for remineralization include a daily dose of fermented cod liver oil (NOT regular cod liver oil) and regular consumption of raw, grassfed dairy.
OK, so what to do for good higiene?
Even severe decay can become completely arrested. My little boy developed severe decay around the age of 2. It came on really suddenly. I had not yet heard of Weston A. Price at that point, but my first research on the topic led me to calcium bentonite clay. He was not getting any sugar, juice or anything–yet we had severe decay. With the front teeth even almost crumbling. We recently discovered he had a really bad lip tie (and tongue tie) the lip tie we just had lasered this year. This probably played a strong part in the top front teeth decay, although he also had decay on the 1st molars as well. We did also use some spry on his teeth, and then I would pack his teeth with the clay at night at bed time. I also put clay on his teeth throughout the day. This alone arrested the decay. In the next year I learned of Weston A Price and incorporated some of that, although not the raw milk. I kept him dairy free other than the butter oil combo. Diet is certainly really important/ critical; however, for those not getting results from diet alone I would strongly recommend clay in the mix of things. Children do not need to get unnecessary dental work, surgeries, etc. There is a better way–thanks for doing this article. We recently went to a holistic dentist and he was amazed and asked what I had done, and confirmed that all decay was totally arrested. He told me to keep doing what I had been doing. His permanent teeth are coming in looking great, no enamel defects and a good wide jaw. Parents keep doing research, and yes I so agree with one of the posts above that cautioned about dishonest dentists just looking to drill and fill for income. I too had this experience. I am fortunate and have no cavities in my adult teeth, I had moved to a new town, and saw a new dentist. My first and only visit, he did a fluoride treatment (I had perfect teeth and was in my 20’s). Unfortunately I had no idea about fluoride at that time. He also said I had a cavity and he wanted to fill it immediately. I asked if they could show me it on my x-ray, they said it didn’t show, but that was common. Well I left that day and never went back. I did not have a cavity as later confirmed by my honest childhood dentist and am still cavity free.
Dentistry has victimized so many-so so SAD!!!!
Last August, I discovered eating real food. In October I started taking Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil with raw organic pasture fed butter and switched to Desert Essence. Had my check up in November, everything was good. I started oil pulling in December and made my own toothpaste with bentonite clay, baking soda, salt, coconut oil and essential oils. I’m positive I found a cavity in March. Since then, I have been taking fermented cod liver oil, fermented skate liver oil, and butter oil and pushed my 6 month check up back a month, but I’m VERY VERY disappointed. I haven’t had a cavity in 20 years, and I get one when I start eating real food and reduce the toxins in my life? I doubt the food caused it, but I’m positive it was the fluoride in my toothpaste that kept me from getting cavities all this time. I’m hesitant to wait too long to get a filling because I’ve already had one root canal from letting a cavity go too long.
I switched several years ago from fluoride toothpaste to fluoride-free xylitol toothpaste, and not only have I been cavity-free, my tooth sensitivity went away too. I highly recommend it. I prefer Spry and Epic Dental. Both have 25% xylitol. Please give this a try before going back to fluoride.
How can I read all the posts Dr. Smith’s posts? The pingback post below says you need a password, but people reading on this comment section have no passwords, it seems.
The same thing happened to me. When I had a crap diet and used fluoride toothpaste, I had no new cavities. As soon as I started eating real food and stopped using a fluride toothpaste, I got cavities. When I used a fluoride toothpaste and took fermented cod liver oil, a small cavity did heal though.
How refreshing to read this article! There is a place for conventional dentistry, holistic dentistry and minimal invasive dentistry.. AND NOW MOVE OVER.. .there is also a place for teeth re-mineralization. The point is, patients should be told that there is another option called teeth re-mineralization which is by far the superior option for teeth and overall health, if the patient is willing to commit. This is almost never mentioned in any dental practice regardless of category. Not everyone will commit to this option, but isn’t it our right to know and to be informed? Dr. Weston A. Price had an over 90% success rate of teeth remineralization using dietary protocols. For those whom this approach is not working, other issues such as malabsorption and/or other stressors on the body are probably taking place. Thanks to the Mouthy Dentist for providing a voice for those who have been dentally oppressed for so many years!!!
Thank you so much for this post! I took my daughter to the dentist several months ago when a filling fell out and I instructed her to tell him that we wanted something other than amalgam, maybe porcelain…next thing I knew, I could hear him raising his voice and then he called me in and absolutely went off on me as to why in the world I wanted something other than “proven safe, and economical” amalgams! I held my ground and then I looked at him and noticed that since I last saw him, he had significant weight loss (already a thin man), his hair seemed to be falling out and he had a terrible grayish pallor. I was taken aback, as I could see plainly that he is having health issues…not to mention, he has always been a quiet, and polite man, and now he was openly, aggressively challenging me about something that should not have bothered him. (He makes money, no matter what I pick, unless I don’t want it fixed.) I left feeling very upset, and then he didn’t even tell me what he used! I am looking for an alternative dentist in Abilene, Tx, but that is almost impossible to find here. We have always loved this dentist and he has always been kind and courteous to us, for the last 15 yrs. SAAAAAAAAD!
I would throw out a word of caution here– the people whose cavities can heal have optimal digestion (as the people WP studied). Most of us who grew up on SAD do not have our body’s foundations working optimally and healing a cavity is not so simple.
I am a dentist and articles like this piss me off! People for the most part do not change and bad habits are hard to break. Conservative fillings are very effective in preventing bigger problems I.e root canals and crowns. ( and no it’s not about making money. I treat my own kids this way ) it’s no different telling a smoker to stop or a fat person to stop eating ! This theory is great in textbooks but in reality it is not the norm. If you don’t want small cavities filled don’t fill them… Then come see me when you need a root canal and crown for ten times the cost !
So you assume people don’t want to know about the other option? Treatment includes informed consent, and discussing other options yet I’ve never been to a dentist who talked about remineralization. Assuming makes an ASS out of YOU and ME. Don’t be an ass. Educate your patients and explain to them that these changes are LIFESTYLE changes and not short term ones and let THEM choose.
Dear Jeff the dentist,
Most people who visit this blog and follow it regularly are willing/changing their diets to promote remineralization. There is no reason to be ‘pissed’ at such articles. Educate and give the options. You can tell a client that they can remineralize teeth, but it takes a lifetime of good dieting and avoiding bad foods. AND you can give them the option of getting those micro-cavities filled so they don’t have to worry their sweet minds over what to eat to prevent cavity growth.
I love articles like these. They test the limits of popular ideas. Isn’t this what science is about? Developing theories, testing them, gathering data and evidence. Trial and error. You can get angry and ignore new and controversial information. Or you can experiment with it, relate it to history, look at what has already been done/experimented with it.
People are not always rigid as rocks, and they can change. Even if only 1 out of 100 people were helped, you still helped 1 out of 100 people. And that one person may be forever grateful.
I respect the right of people to choose what they want for their personal health.
But I agreed with this article right up until she said “fluoride doesn’t help”.
And then recommended that book.
The “science” behind the book is flimsy at best.
And teeth are not like the rest of your body. They cannot “heal” like if you cut your arm or break a leg.
Fluoride in large amounts is toxic.
But in toothpastes it’s therapeutic.
Fluoride soaks up into your teeth and makes them harder.
If they are harder it is more difficult for cavities to form and keeps small cavities at bay. The cavities NEVER go away. They just stay in an arrested form.
And BTW, to the people subscribing to the “it doesn’t hurt so it’s ok” path.
Small to medium sized cavities rarely hurt. By the time they hurt you are going to need a lot more than a filling. Possible root canals, crown and extractions enter the possible scenarios.
What’s “minimal” about those?
The body is constantly repairing and restructuring. Teeth are innervated, no? Then they, too, have the ability to heal. Just because the research behind something isn’t massive doesn’t make it untrue. It just makes it less studied.
I had a routine fluoride treatment at age 16 and my life has never been the same, since. I was violently nauseous and ill the rest of the day, and within a couple of weeks i began having severe insomnia, with which i have now struggled for years.
I already had severe fluorosis – my baby teeth turned black and my adult teeth came in severely discolored, but dentists did not admit that it was fluoride that caused the problem. It is well-known that fluoride calcifies the pineal gland, interfering with natural sleep.
Calcium fluoride – that occurs naturally – can be beneficial applied TOPICALLY when children are between ages 7 and 9. Fluoride has no benefit when ingested and is probably concomitant with the increase of osteoporosis and dementia, possibly many more chronic illnesses rampant in our culture. Calcium fluoride is not used in toothpaste or dental treatments. Toxic byproducts, never found in nature, (Sodium Fluoride, Fluorosilicic acid, and Sodium Fluorosilicate) are added to the water and used in toothpaste. It is impossible for us to know how much of this poison is in our food (from foods grown or processed with water containing fluoride products) or any other way to be aware of our intake. This is bad for the general population, and for someone extremely fluoride-sensitive and already at a highly sensitized state, this is simply criminal.
I wish i could begin to educate the dentist i saw at 16 and any others using fluoride treatments routinely of how they have truly scarred my life and productivity.
Dr. Kim,
Can you specify the flimsy science you are referring too?
I suppose this means you discount the work of Dentist Weston Price
who published studies about a 90% cavity reduction using cod liver oil and butter oil?
Or do you discount the flimsy science of Dr. Philippe Hujoel who in 2013 published epidemiological evidence from the past 80 years of studies on vitamin D and teeth which showed a 47% reduction in cavities?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23356636
Cure Tooth Decay has 318 footnotes.
Dana Pittman, how would you check if your boron was low and how would you supplement. Also very interested in reading info supporting that if you have links??
The concept of minimally invasive dentistry includes two related points. Early cavities can be reversed without fillings (point 1), and when they get beyond the early stage small fillings are likely to give better long-term health outcomes than big ones (point 2).
Unfortunately, Dr. Smith is asserting that the concept applies only point 2. The assertion it is not correct.
Dr. Judene addresses this … some dentists use fluoride to “reverse” early cavities as part of their minimally invasive dental approach but as she says, fluoride doesn’t “heal” cavities.
Fluoride does not “heal” cavities, but the fluoride ion is incorporated into the crystal structure of the healed enamel making it more resistant to future decay. This is basic biochemistry that all first year dental students are taught. She is dancing around with semantics.
Using her approach, brushing and flossing does not prevent tooth decay. The absence of bacteria prevents tooth decay. Obviously there is a direct correlation but technically it is a correct statement.
If Minimally Invasive Dentistry was actually truly focused on Point 1, then there would be no Point 2. Why would people need small fillings if they have remineralized their teeth? And when you say they need small fillings because they “get beyond the early stage,” this is still a point when the cavity can be reversed. The fact of the matter is, if someone is getting a small filling, the cavity could have been reversed. Dentin, (the insides of our teeth, under enamel) can be remineralized. It just never is, in reality, because dentists (conventional, holistic and minimally invasive dentists) do not inform and encourage such a thing.
“If caries [cavities] becomes arrested on a dentinal [inside of tooth] surface, it is referred to as eburnated dentin.” – Sturdevant’s Art & Science of Operative Dentistry
How can I read your posts at your blog? I read your post on “The Healthy Home Economist” and am following a WAPF diet as much as possible.
When I click to go to your website it asks for my email but will not let me go to your blog because it seems, one needs to register.
Thanks!
Yes, I would like to read Dr Judene’s other blog posts as well, but haven’t been able to access them because of the log in requests on her website.
How do we register?