Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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WAPF claims that bacteria do not cause tooth decay:

As for claims that xylitol can prevent tooth decay, I can only say, “Buyer beware!” Such claims are based on the faulty theory that bacteria cause tooth decay. We know from the work of Weston Price that tooth decay is a problem of nutrient deficiencies—the bacteria are just there cleaning up dead tissue.

Is there a consensus in the paleo community?

A related idea is the effect of acid, either produced by bacteria or in acidic beverages like orange juice. Does the acid do nothing at all to the teeth, or is a well-nourished body just able to rebuild the teeth quickly enough?

If I'm well-nourished, and decide to eat some fruit before bed, and not brush my teeth, is that a bad idea?

(I also wonder about xylitol but I'll probably ask a separate question.)

flag	asked Jul 31 at 19:03 Kelvin 304●2●7

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I think that the WAPF do say some silly stuff sometimes. – Matt Jul 31 at 19:47

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How did you get to that conclusion from that article? The article talks about agave. Their take on xylitol is controversial but I concede the greater point about processed foods being worse. – John Sorrentino Jul 31 at 19:58

@Matthew perhaps, but what is your view? I've come to question a lot of things, and I don't want to so quickly dismiss what might currently sound silly to me. – Kelvin Jul 31 at 19:59

@John I realize it's not the main point of the article, but they explicitly say "faulty theory that bacteria cause tooth decay", which seems like a plain assertion to me. They obviously believe the theory is faulty, and I'm asking "how do they know?" – Kelvin Jul 31 at 20:01

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I assure you bacteria are one of the determinates. If you feed gnotobiotic rats sugar they won't get decay. I like WAPF and am a member but their articles are not peer-reviewed. – John Sorrentino Jul 31 at 20:44

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John Sorrentino · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-31 19:56:21Z UTC

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There are 3 determinate s of tooth decay. I wrote about that here. Teeth, bacteria, and ferment able carbohydrates. (sugars) If you want to read about the best theory we have of tooth decay download and read the article by Dr. Southward linked in this piece. It also talks about the correctness of the Weston Price approach.

answered Jul 31 at 19:56

John Sorrentino
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	Thanks for the articles. – Kelvin Jul 31 at 20:07
	The theory sounds reasonable to me. The part about bulimics and their intact dentin was especially telling. – Kelvin Jul 31 at 20:25
	I really liked his theory on why children get so much decay. As a dentist I really see it in kids but not in their parents so much. Same diet. – John Sorrentino Jul 31 at 20:39
	Nice articles. I think I've only had one cavity in my life (in my mid 20's). When I took a microbiology class in college we cultured our mouths for s. mutans and I didn't grow any. Don't know why but not complaining. – MiMintzer Jul 31 at 20:40
	Btw, I found the text of the article [here](agd.org/support/articles/?ArtID=9892). Makes it easier to do a search. – Kelvin Aug 1 at 15:45

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Kelvin · Answer 2 · 2012-08-01 18:14:30Z UTC

This is an expansion of John Sorrentino's answer (the accepted one) based on the cited sources. Give him an upvote too if you find this answer useful.

His website has a pdf to an excellent article by Ken Southward. I found a link to the text here.

I only read parts of the article so far, but I think this excerpt summarizes it well:

The tooth is designed to withstand the harsh oral environment, provided it is properly nourished. A high-sucrose diet affects the tooth from the outside by enabling oral bacteria to produce acid and from the inside by reducing the dentinal fluid flow and the body's ability to control the inflammatory process in the dentin. Antioxidants can shield the dentition by decreasing the effects of acid erosion, by minimizing the effect of ROS in the hypothalamus, and by replenishing TIMPs in the dentin. Minimizing sucrose as well as increasing fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional supplementation are modifiable lifestyle decisions with significant measurable benefits.

The systemic theory of dental caries
By Ken Southward, DDS, FAGD
Featured in General Dentistry, September/October 2011
Pg. 367-373
Posted on Friday, September 02, 2011

ROS=reactive oxygen species (a category of free-radical)
TIMP=tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (inhibit MMPs which would break down the dentin)

I wonder if dietary fructose and glucose have the same effect as sucrose. That's something that wasn't addressed. Someone who knows more about the oxidative effects can probably address that issue.

alwayscurious · Answer 3 · 2012-08-01 22:31:04Z UTC

Since Price observed green stuff growing on remarkably healthy teeth in some of the populations he observed, it seems reasonable to conclude that it's not strictly a bacteria problem.

My takeaway from the WAPF reading I did was that people who eat primarily processed, industrial foods end up deficient in vitamin K (assumed identity of Price's Activator X). Since vitamin K controls calcium partitioning, being deficient in it directs calcium to be deposited in blood vessels instead of the skeletal system and teeth.

Basically, garbage in, garbage out.

Do bacteria cause tooth decay?

3 Answers