Brushing Teeth

[ForTheHunt]

I hardly brush my teeth anymore. If I ever have a slipup and eating something cooked I'll feel it on my breath, else normally when I'm 100% raw I just feel my teeth are clean so I don't do it.

[PaleoPhil]

Even chimps clean out stuff stuck between their teeth with twigs (although they do eat lots of fruit)--especially from trees with antibiotic properties--so I'm not sure that no teeth cleaning at all is a good idea.

I've gone ~2days without brushing my teeth to try it. My teeth are in no pain, but there is a sort of ache there which makes me want to brush them. There is also a fairly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

I think you answered your own question for you at this time. I wouldn't consider stopping brushing unless I was getting no plaque or film at all on my teeth. Even then, I would likely use a tea tree oil toothpick.

[Yume]

Anyone tried using a miswak stick? http://www.yobserver.com/sports-health-and-lifestyle/10013042.html.
I've decided to buy one and see if they work well as toothbrush and toothpaste replacement.

[raw-al]

Anyone tried using a miswak stick? http://www.yobserver.com/sports-health-and-lifestyle/10013042.html.
I've decided to buy one and see if they work well as toothbrush and toothpaste replacement.

A quote from the article where it says not to use it no more than once per week as it is so abrasive.
"Dr. Hani Saeed, a dentist and a professor at Dhamar University, believes the miswak has benefits, but can be over used. “I am against the daily use of the miswak because it can grind down the enamel of teeth,” he said. “If it is used no more than once per week, the stick is fine, but I discourage people from using it any more than that.”

“Using toothpaste and a toothbrush is more effective than the miswak,” said Dr. Saeed. “The brush can reach every where in the mouth and kill bacteria between the teeth.”

“I always clean my teeth using the miswak after every prayer during Ramadan month. It gives me a fresh and good breath, and I feel better to have clean teeth and healthy gums,” said Malika Farah, 22, student at Sana’a University"

I see them in Indian grocery stores. I never had any luck with them so I gave up.

[Paleo Donk]

I've only brushed my teeth a couple times in the last couple months and though they are not white, they feel good.

Wouldn't teeth brushing be a great reason why we wouldn't be adapted to plant life. I wonder how many years on average your teeth would stay in relatively good health, without brushing on a diet that contained different amount of carbs. On zero carb, the teeth should be unaffected. What do raw vegan teeth look like if they don't brush for a few years?  Wouldn't this simple question disprove veganism right there if all their teeth fell out after a few years?

[PaleoPhil]

Fresh tea tree oil toothpicks do work to stimulate my saliva like crazy. Only problem is, once the package is opened the oil dissipates rapidly.

...Wouldn't this simple question disprove veganism right there if all their teeth fell out after a few years?

Yes, but the really committed vegans tend to be impervious to reason.

[cherimoya_kid]

Yes, but the really committed vegans tend to be impervious to reason.

Which is why i don't know what to say to the most committed ones. I had heard from some vegans on the rawfoods.com message boards that Dr. Price showed the effects of poor nutrition on ribcage and jaw structure, and I just assumed that raw veganism would be even better for this than traditional diets. 

However, after fruit damaged my teeth so badly, and also after I read Dr. Price's book, I was done with being vegan, period, end of story.  I'm in this for my health.  People who aren't into studying nutrition and unusual diets for health are as far from me as East from West.  It's like we speak a different language.   

So, to sum up, vegans might as well stay off my board.  They have no place here.  We are here for our health.

[ForTheHunt]

Which is why i don't know what to say to the most committed ones. I had heard from some vegans on the rawfoods.com message boards that Dr. Price showed the effects of poor nutrition on ribcage and jaw structure, and I just assumed that raw veganism would be even better for this than traditional diets. 

However, after fruit damaged my teeth so badly, and also after I read Dr. Price's book, I was done with being vegan, period, end of story.  I'm in this for my health.  People who aren't into studying nutrition and unusual diets for health are as far from me as East from West.  It's like we speak a different language.   

So, to sum up, vegans might as well stay off my board.  They have no place here.  We are here for our health.

A lot of them are vegans for health aswell. They're just a little misguided.. In our eyes that is

[PaleoPhil]

A lot of them are vegans for health aswell. They're just a little misguided.. In our eyes that is

Those are the ones that I went to the trouble of posting a little information at a raw vegan forum for after I felt sorry for some, seeing how badly they were doing and how some were getting attacked by the coolaid drinkers for not towing the party line. I didn't debate with anyone, I just shared my experience and answered questions. A few who were doing badly on raw veganism or were already experimenting with raw eggs, fish or meats expressed interest. The main benefit I provided seemed to be in giving additional courage to people who were already starting to question veganism and include some animal foods.

By checking in on a couple raw vegan forums and videos (particularly Paul Nison's) now and then I've noticed that there seems to be a recent growing movement of raw vegans incorporating some animal foods for health reasons. Enough people have been doing veganism for 1-10 years or so now that we are seeing quite a few converts back to some animal foods, even among former 100% vegan gurus (such as Paul Nison).

[miles]

Can anyone provide some info on why it would or would not be bad to not brush your teeth whilst eating 'raw ZC'? Further, if there was a problem, would you be able to feel it in plenty of time that you could sort it just by returning to brushing? And how would you tell?

Thanks.

I was hoping something would happen such as the mouth would 'return' to it's natural pH balance, and proceed to 'look after itself', without the intervention of toothpaste.

[Nation]

Would you like an update from people who stopped brushing their teeth, how is that working out?  I'm debating weather i should stop or not, i will keep flossing to remove chunks of meat stuck between teeth.

[miles]

I haven't brushed my teeth for months(5/6+ I think, not sure exactly). It's seemed fine so far, I just pick out any food from my teeth after I eat. Only thing is, when I stopped brushing my teeth was only soon after I had started eating joints of raw meat(as opposed to raw steaks, or cooked meat), so initially I wasn't any good at getting the remains from my teeth and I didn't really know if it was important or not, or what would happen if I left it. I had some stuck between the two bottom middle teeth and it left a faint, small yellow stain when I removed it the next day. The stain is still there and I don't know what it is... This was right at the beginning; of course I had no one to advise me that I should just pick out my teeth in front of a mirror with my nails after eating. Not had any other noticeable issues aside from that...

[Nation]

That's awesome

[Wolf]

Throughout my entire life, I have rarely brushed my teeth, mostly only when I was younger and my parents made me.  Even then, the most often I ever brushed my teeth was once a day, because I always hated the taste of toothpaste, though I used it when my parents told me to brush my teeth.  Now that I am older and my parents aren't always telling me what to do, I hardly ever brush my teeth, nor have I been to the dentist since I was about 5 or 6 years old.  The times I felt guilty for not brushing my teeth, I usually brushed using only water.  I have never had a cavity or much tooth problems, except that my teeth are a bit on the yellow side, and also more recently I've noticed my breath doesn't smell so great.  Because of that I ended up buying some listerine to swish my mouth with and toothpaste to brush with, but I'm afraid that it will kill any of the good bacteria in my mouth along with the bad.  I've always had high saliva production though, I am probably constantly swallowing every 10 - 20 seconds.

I don't think not brushing your teeth will do much of anything to your teeth, no matter what your diet.  My diet pretty much consists of mostly cooked foods, though I've mostly preferred my food to be more on the undercooked side, with rare steaks and sunny-side-up eggs.. but I do live in America, and eaten my share of overcooked, processed, and fast foods, and drinking plenty of soda.. which is all probably more of a contribution to my yellowish teeth and bad breath.

However, I have lately been wanting to take better care of my teeth, and I was wondering if anyone knew a good store where I could buy some of that miswak?  A store which could be found in Southern California?