Preface: I am not offering dental/medical advice here, merely sharing observations from my own mouth's research. As with any lifestyle changes or health decisions you make, choices and options you add into your life are your choices and your responsibility both in their use, actions, and consequences. Seeking the support of a biological dentist (compare to a naturopathic doctor for whole body medicine) can assist in the effort to save a tooth. Medical Disclaimer
Back Story: I have always had healthy, strong teeth and have had few cavities as a child or adult. After 2 pregnancies and nursing both those babes, I have noticed changes in the health and strength of my teeth. This makes sense, on some level, as the nutrients to grow a new human (and fill that new human's stores) are taken from the body of the mother. In the perfect world, where all people eat 100% whole foods from birth on and every baby’s mother back the entire generational line ate 100% whole foods, mother's bodies would be better equipped for this childbearing giving of nutrients. But that is another story and another blog post... maybe.
Two years ago, in the fall of 2015, I cracked a tooth (lower right side of my mouth). Honestly, I don't remember how I cracked it. I was advised to have the tooth capped with a composite crown made right in my dentist's office. I had this procedure completed. After having the crown, I was not able to chew on that side. This discomfort in my tooth and jaw remained for weeks. I was told the crown needed to be filed down. When that did not solve the problem, I was told my upper tooth, above the capped tooth, needed to be filed. "Pain upon chewing is often because the crown sits to high above the height of the original cracked tooth." I said no to filing my upper, real tooth. This did not make sense to me... filing off the enamel and minerals of a perfectly healthy tooth to accommodate a fake tooth. (This seemed like an invitation to weaken the real tooth and invite in decay.) I asked to have the fake tooth filed more and if it was getting too thin to file then replace it with a shorter version that fits better.
A year and 1/2 later I was still not able to chew on the right side of my mouth. Then, in comes the serious pain: shooting pain in my lower right jaw. Ouch! Upon x-ray, I am then told the previously cracked and now capped tooth is suffering from root infection, decay, and needs to be "root canalled" to preserve (not save) this dead tooth.
In hindsight, visiting a biological dentist when the tooth first cracked, would have been a good choice. Maybe a thorough exam would have detected a problem starting under the tooth, (cracked tooth let in microbes), that could have been cared for immediately with ozone therapy or natural antimicrobials. Who knows, hindsight is another sight altogether.
So in comes my thought process: broken bones heal, wounds heal, infections heal... why can't my tooth and its root heal?? I have also read, many times over the years, information about root canals that is less than appealing. Wishing we had a biological dentist in our area... I did some research and this is the
"Save My Tooth" Plan I came up with:
Get rid of the infection
Rebuild tissue & root health with herbs, homeopathy, and essential oils
Rebuild nerve health with herbs, homeopathy, and essential oils
How did I plan to do this? It was a work in progress but I used my knowledge and training as a RN, Herbalist, and Natural Health Education Specialist to create my own plan.
Immediately I did Homeopathy remedies:
Arnica Montana 30C, 2 doses for bringing down inflammation
Hypericum 30C, every 2 hrs X 1 day then 2X daily X 1 week for nerve regeneration
I also did essential oil applications directly to the gum line of this affected tooth.
FYI: I am not an advocate of ingesting essential oils (putting them in my mouth means they will get ingested but I am also not big on losing teeth) as they are very strong and hard on digestive tract tissues and gut microbes.
Rosemary, Tea Tree, & Thieves essential oil X 1 application, these are anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory essential oils. I mixed 2-3 drops of each into about 1 tbsp. organic olive oil and applied directly to gum line, both sides, of the affected tooth area. I actually rubbed it onto the gum line on that whole side of my lower mouth.
Long Term treatments:
Herbs Etc. Phytocillin for anti-microbial support, 2 capsules 3X daily for 3-4 weeks
Dr. Christopher’s X-Ceptic formula to the gum line 2-3 times daily
Fresh ginger & turmeric root syrup for anti-inflammatory effects, 1-2 tbsp, 2-3 times daily
Sarsaparilla route extract, 30 drops 3X daily for liver support (other liver root herbs would work here: burdock, dandelion…)
Herb Doc Oral Therapy Tonic for teeth, gums, tongue, & breath applied to gum line 2-3 times daily at opposing times of the X-Ceptic formula above.
Big jar goes in fridge, small jar bedside stand
Long Term Paste Treatment
I used Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Tooth Powder (*that I added comfrey leaf powder to) mixed in a paste with:
water
Complete Tissue & Bone Massage oil (comfrey root to rebuild tissue),
Thieves essential oil blend (antimicrobial & anti-inflammatory),
Rosemary essential oil, antimicrobial,
Herb Doc fresh breath drops, anti-microbial
Dr. Christopher's Ear & Nerve tincture (herbs to rebuild peripheral nerves)
I applied this every 2-3 hours along my gum line for at least 3-4 weeks. Herbal Tooth Powder and the Complete Tissue Oil contain herbs (comfrey leaf & root) to rebuild tissue.
After 3-4 weeks, I applied at bedtime and again in the AM. I did this for several months.
I then swapped out to using only at bedtime and stopped putting the essential oils in it. Now, 6-7 months later, I use it 2-3 nights a week.
After 2 years... I can finally chew on the right side of my mouth. Yes, even hunks of raw, hard carrots.
My dentist tells me that this is only temporary... that I will, no matter what, need to have a root canal or tooth pulled. My tooth is feeling pretty good these days... But, I will keep using my tooth powder paste... and take each new day and challenge as it comes to me.
If a tooth problem is caught early enough, a biological dentist can save it with ozone and other natural treatments. Biological dentists, in my mind, are the naturopathic docs of the teeth / mouth.
*Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Tooth Powder originally did contain comfrey powder. The comfrey was removed when the FDA told us it was unsafe. Myself, I think this is BS. Comfrey is a safe and effective bone and tissue healing herb that has been used for hundreds, thousands perhaps, years. I used comfrey leaf and root powder in medicinal infusions for both of my pregnancies and breastfeeding adventures to provide dense bone and tissue building minerals. Plants I am not afraid of...
Paste Treatment Recipe:
Honestly, this is just approximates of everything. This is how I cook and this is how I make my herbal remedies: pinch of this & pinch of that. Handful of this and handful of that... depending on what I am making, for how many, and how long it will be shelf or refrigerator stable.
Rounded tablespoon of Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Tooth Powder
water, just enough after I added everything else to make a thick paste that would spread onto my gum lines and not melt away quickly, generally it is still there, on my gums, in the AM. I just rinse and spit upon arising. Trust me, you will want to. The taste in your morning mouth needs resetting!
Say a tsp. or so of Complete Tissue & Bone Massage oil (comfrey root to rebuild tissue),
2-3 drops of Thieves essential oil blend (antimicrobial & anti-inflammatory),
2-3 drops of Rosemary essential oil, antimicrobial,
10-12 drops of Herb Doc fresh breath drops, anti-microbial
30 drops of Dr. Christopher's Ear & Nerve tincture (herbs to rebuild peripheral nerves)
I keep this in a small glass jar in the refrigerator. I keep enough for a few nights in another small jar on my bed side stand. When my bedside jar is empty, I wash it with hot soapy water, and put more in.
They may not be perfect... but they are mine, well, mostly mine!
Update 1/25/2019
The only time I notice a flair is when I eat sugar, which is very rare. Holidays caught me on a couple of occasions and I would notice, within a few hours, pain under that problem tooth area. Huge wake up of the damage sugar does in the body and how sugar flairs infection by feeding the microbes and weakening the immune system. Recently, I also used CBD ointment, mixed in with the comfrey tooth powder herb mash, for a while. Anti-inflammatory & anti-microbial.
The below image is from a FB self healing group. The teeth are a mirror image of yours. Top is top teeth, bottom is bottom teeth. Right side of picture = left side of teeth / mouth. Left side of picture = right side of teeth / mouth. Although, the sides of mouth & the impact on whole body health are same on both sides.
2nd image is another version from a natural healing doctor.
November 2020 update below
UPDATE November 2020, 4 Years Later
So I caved and had the tooth pulled just before Thanksgiving 2020, 4 years later.
Then it took 14 months to have all of the rebuild work done: titanium implant that had to sit around for months healing before the actual fake tooth was then created and placed upon this titanium post.
Why did I finally quit. Hmmmm, honestly I think I was just tired of hearing the doom & gloom from my dentist. The initial problem never got worse, in fact it was far less of an ‘infection’ pocket. It just never totally went away. My dentist kept telling me if I did not get rid of the tooth OR do a root canal, I was risking infection & injury to the teeth beside it, jaw infection, blah-blah-blah. And then, recently, a girlfriend’s mother had a severe infection spread in her jaw because of an abscessed tooth that literally almost killed her. Emergency jaw surgery to scrape out the infected bone tissue & hospitalized for a few days of IV antibiotics then outpatient antibiotics twice daily for over a week.
I made the best decision at that point to just be done with it.