Dr. Weston Price, DDS, is really the guy that started off the paleo idea, although I don't think that he mentioned the Theory of Evolution. In 1939 he published a book and most of what he talked about was the strength of the teeth of primitive people and the reason why, which were their diet.

I have lousy teeth. But one thing going paleo has done for me is bring my chronic periodontal disease to a halt. I no longer have any pain or inflammation in my mouth, my gums no longer bleed when I brush my teeth, and none of my teeth feel loose any more. I can eat things like almonds again without discomfort. On top of that, my teeth are far less sensitive than they were--ice-cold drinks still bother me a little, but that I can actually drink them now is a tremendous sign of improvement.

I've got a long way to go in order to get my teeth above the gumline into decent shape, but my improved health below the gumline makes me feel far more optimistic about it. I never thought I'd say this, but I don't feel such deep dread about going to the dentist now. I won't be able to undertake any major work for at least another year, but for now I'm okay with that--it gives my mouth another year to do some more healing on its own.

I eat tons of starch, fruit, honey and sometimes plain white table sugar. And I have great teeth. But I also eat things like liver, bone marrow and I'm not afraid of fat.

It's not necessarily about sugar as Weston Price pointed out. It's more about mineral/vitamin deficiencies and consuming commercially prepared, processed foods most likely contributes to that.

I'm really happy for you that you have good teeth and that eating "paleo" seems to work for you. But please stop demonising carbohydrates! It's so not the cause for every ailment.

For some reason, between my British and Chinese parentage, my teeth have always been amazing- totally cavity free and no plaque build up ever. Besides a fake tooth due to a teenage accident, I've never had a problem. On the other hand, my poor little brother had 5 cavities throughout childhood eating the same diet as I was (a pretty high quality one, with very little bread and plenty of meat/veg). His teeth were considered quite "weak" according to the dentist.

Since going just gluten free and lower sugar, my brother's teeth are no longer described as "weak" and he hasn't had a cavity since. Me? No changes, but hey I wasn't complaining in the first place. I think there will be a lot variation in answers in experience, just like there are many different teeth in the first place!

Overall, my teeth are hundreds of times better than they used to be pre-Paleo, 9 months ago. Even on hard-core Paleo/ketogenic diets though, I still grow a bit of tooth plaque within a few months’ time. My goal is to not accumulate ANY plaque on my teeth ever again, to have fully re-mineralize my teeth (already healed ~80%), to have fully heal sensitivity in my front teeth (already healed ~70%), and to fix receding gum lines (healed only about ~10% so far). So I've started a home-made toothpaste regimen, recipe on my blog.

Yes. Without a doubt. I was the kid who got a new cavity every frigg'n time I would go to the dentist. EVERY time. Sometimes multiple cavities. I could never understand what I was doing wrong - I avoided sugar and had great brushing/flossing habits. It was never enough.

Fast forward to 2008 when I dropped the grains and upped the [good] fats in my diet. Cavities are suddenly a thing of the past, and a couple of tiny cavities that we were "watching" from a perious dentist appointment disappeared, much to the confusion of my dentist. Amazing stuff, and yet, I STILL can't convince her that the changes were all diet related. She still insists that reenameling is impossible. Sigh.

Yeah, the dentist the other day explained to me that excess sugar in the body can get spilled into your saliva and cause more cavities. A low sugar, mineral rich diet like paleo definitely helps with better dental care.

A part of it is just good genes. I've had maybe one cavity in my life that occurred after I got married and perhaps just a couple of flaws that were filled in. This was all before I went paleo. I'm 54 yo now. Whenever I go to the dentist I'm told that my mouth is gorgeous. (But I admit that I never liked soda or sweet drinks much, so probably that helped also.)

I am 66 and my teeth are beginning to fall out. I have been able to stop that trend and reduce the inflammation that proceeds the falling out of teeth since I started with paleo. I use one tender tooth as a guide to see if what I am eating causes inflammation or not. The dentist will certainly want to remove it, and I look forward to telling him "no" and telling him why.

As with most issues, it is genetics and diet. I am a dentist and agree that excess consumption of sugar and processed carbohydrates are the cause of dental disease. I'm not prepared to vindicate "natural" sugar sources. When I eat too much fruit, my teeth begin to hurt, and I eat plenty of fat and organ meats. I think genetics does play a role.

Perfectly clean teeth with vitamin K2. I've stopped going to the dentist for teeth cleaning altogether. Adding vitamin K2 -- the MK-4 from Thorne Labs -- cleaned the calcified krud off the back of my lower front teeth in 2 days! Truly amazing! Now my teeth are smooth and clean all the time. I just brush my teeth once a day -- and often I forget to do even that. I'm saving good money without the dentist 2x year. I learned about it from Richard Nikolay at Free the Animal. (Read down near the bottom) The vitamin K2 is a hard to get vitamin, even if you eat the best pastured eggs, butter and organ meats. It's the 'X-Factor' that Dr. Weston A. Price discovered. It puts the minerals where they are supposed to go, instead of calcifying your arteries and joints. Be sure to get the MK-4 version of vitamin K2. And even though the Thorne bottle costs alot up front, you only need several drops a day -- so the bottle will last you all year. Bottomline: if we get all the nutrients we really need, our body should be clean and smell good -- like all primitive people were.

NOTE: Upon re-reading Richard Nikolay's accounts, he emphasized that for this to work, you need to also take the fermented cod liver oil by Green Pastures. I've been on that cod liver oil for several years. Perhaps that's why I had such great results.

More: read Chris Masterjohn on Vitamin K2. More: read Stephen Guyenet on Vitamin K2.

I've been reading one of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's books, The Fat of the Land. He says the Inuit didn't have problems with dental cavities on their traditional diet of meat and fish, but once they started getting rations from white people (flour, sugar, etc), dental cavities became a big problem.

i had cavities in 09. i got them removed the other day. dentist said they grew very little. i still snack too much, eat cereal, and wheat...but i dont drink sugars, use almond milk instead of milk, i use coconut oil, and i use wapf butter/cod oil. baby steps.

I always use to have tiny little cavities every time I went, it was such a pain, I'm a super brusher as they call it, even have the brush ridges in my teeth! (not a good thing)

About 6 months into going paleo I went to the dentist and only had one tiny spot which she filled just to be safe....then the next 6 month check up, nothing! A first for me!

I almost can't wait to go back and check again! Definitely the dietary change helped my teeth.

There is also "Cure Tooth Decay" by Rami Nagel. http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Tooth-Decay-Cavities-Nutrition/dp/1434810607/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339947866&sr=1-1&keywords=ramiel+nagel

For those wanting to go further than just paleo. I haven't read the book yet, but I heard him speak a few months ago. A lot of good information.

My teeth have improved a whole bunch thanks to the paleo diet. One tooth has been my poster child basket case. At one point it almost fell out and was very tender. I use it as a way of determining whether something that I eat was inflammatory or not. The tenderness is almost zero and it seems to be moving back into place. My have a dental appointment on July 3rd, and I hope to surprise the dentist. (:->)

My bite has also improved.

I'm British. Having bad teeth is part of my ancestral heritage.

Funny, I was always a marvel in the dentists chair. I could go two years without a cleaning, and no tartar or plaque. The hygienists said they loved seeming me on the schedule. Since going Paleo in December, for the first time in mynlife, I have to floss almost every day. I can see the plaque, and as someone who never had any, I find it gross. I have never had a cavity. I am 48 y.o.