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I get a lot of questions about dental hygiene and health, and for good reason. Dental records of our paleolithic ancestors show a fairly low incidence of caries [7] when compared to modern teeth. Exceptions exist [8], but the general trends suggest that Grok [9] had better teeth than the average contemporary human. Of course, when cavities struck back then, they hit hard and got really ugly, because there were no dentists, drills, or x-rays to fix the problem, but most never got to that point. Also, the adoption of agriculture is generally associated with the emergence of poor dental health, so much so that many researchers use the appearance of dental caries [10] in a population as strong evidence for the presence of farming. Maize/corn is particularly bad [11], as is wheat, but the same relationship may not hold true for rice agriculture [12] in Asian records.






The Vitamin D/A/K2 Connection

You’ve probably heard about how this holy trinity of micronutrients works together to promote proper bone and tooth mineralization, which means putting calcium and other minerals where they belong (bones, teeth) instead of where they don’t (arteries, dental calculus/plaque). Both Stephan Guyenet [13] and Chris Masterjohn [14] have written extensively about the synergistic interplay between the three nutritional factors, so I’ll keep this brief. Get adequate midday sun or take vitamin D [15] supplements; eat grass-fed butter [16], hard cheeses, and organs [17] (especially goose liver, apparently), or supplement with vitamin K2 [18]; get plenty of vitamin A from liver, egg yolks, and other animal products.

Grain Avoidance

I probably don’t have to tell you to avoid grains, [19] but for any newcomers who might be reading: ditch the grains, beans, and other legumes [20] that contain high levels of phytic acid, which is known to bind to and prevent absorption of minerals critical for dental health. Nuts [21] also contain phytic acid, but we tend not to eat as many nuts as grains or legumes due to the caloric load. It’s a lot easier to eat two cups of whole wheat than it is to eat two cups of almonds. If you do eat nuts on a regular basis, consider soaking and/or sprouting [22] them to reduce phytic acid content.

Nutrient Intake

It’s not enough to consume the holy mineralization trio and avoid excessive amounts of mineral-binding phytic acid; you also need the raw building blocks. That means getting plenty of minerals in your diet. Leafy greens [23], grass-fed meat [24], organs, nuts, roots, and tubers [25] are all good Primal sources of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and other vital micronutrients – vital for general and dental health – so eat plenty of them.

Hate the Toothbrush? Use a Chewstick.

There are numerous examples of traditional cultures using chewing sticks from trees with medicinal or antimicrobial properties, like the neem [26] in India, the miswak/arak [27] in Africa, the Mid East, and Asia, or the tea tree, which I mentioned in a previous post [28]. Here’s an example [29] of a Masai “toothbrush” – it’s a whittled-down branch from a (perhaps medicinal) tree with the end frayed and the fibers splayed out to permit interdental entry. If you don’t have access to a miswak, neem, or tea tree, you can find chew sticks online [30] quite easily. Toothpicks or floss will also work pretty well as a physical deterrent, albeit without any medicinal qualities.




Toothpaste use increases abrasion [32] during brushing, while water alone produces less abrasive force. Interestingly, the same study revealed that softer toothbrushes actually cause as much abrasion (and sometimes more) than stiffer toothbrushes. While increased abrasive forces seem like they’d reduce more plaque, that doesn’t seem to be the case. A recent study found that the brushing is the important part, not the paste. In fact, brushing without paste was more effective [33] at removing plaque than brushing with paste.

An herbal toothpaste made from herbs and plants traditionally used to treat oral disease in India was superior to a placebo toothpaste [34] in the treatment of gingival bleeding and oral hygiene. Another study [35] compared herbal toothpastes to conventional fluoride-containing toothpastes in the treatment of established gingivitis and found that both were equally effective.

In another study [36], a baking soda toothpaste beat an antimicrobial non-baking soda toothpaste in plaque removal and tooth maintenance. Most studies [37], in fact, show that baking soda is more effective at plaque removal than toothpastes without baking soda. It’s pretty common among older folks to just use straight baking soda to brush, and this seems to be an effective tactic.

