Controlling Periodontal Disease Through Diet

We were recently asked by another dentist our thoughts on diet modification for the control of periodontal disease, check out what we said below.

Question:

Just wondering what your thoughts are on diet modification for the control of periodontal disease?

I have a patient who wants to make some changes to try and help with her condition. She is currently using a tea tree oil toothpaste and also a rinse containing tea tree oil at the moment, I spoke to her about grass fed beef, and also to reduce her grain intake.

What else do you suggest for patients?

SHDC: 
Low carb is a good way to go as the body quickly converts carbs to sugars/glucose and then glycogen and then fat. So when you see food that is “fat -free”, its true as it usually contains sugar and carbs which will convert to fat, free of charge.

As Weston A Price realised the key was quality fat soluble vitamins( A,D,K E) as they are necessary to absorb and utilise minerals and fat soluble vitamins and what he found was the best source of the fat soluble vitamins was animal fats. I know that is contradictory to Heart Foundation, Diabetes Australia and the Cancer Council.

The next question is the balance of omega 3 (anti-inflammatory) and omega 6( pro-inflammatory) and again in animals reared naturally. i.e pasture fed and finished, free to roam etc. nature has balanced these out beautifully in a 1:1 ratio. Grain fed animals there is 20 times more omega 6 i.e pro-inflammatory and seed oils ( canola, sunflower, safflower) are inherently unstable apart from further contributing to being pro-inflammatory. So healthy animals and healthy fats are key.

Obviously juices, carbonated drinks and sports drinks are a no-no not just for the sugar but also for the low pH( .i.e. very acidic). Water is best and my own preference at home is reverse osmosis with a pinch of celtic sea-salt( if you can taste the salt you’ve put too much in:)

In addition we have been seeing great success with “oil pulling” which utilises a table spoon of coconut oil (which has anti-microbial affects), swished around in the mouth for 20 mins once or twice a day. HINT: don’t spit the oil out into the sink, it will clog the pipes as cold water makes it solidify)

Some supplements can be useful too, Co Q10, selenium, zinc, vit D, a good multi vitamin/mineral/anti-oxidant, omega 3. But its good to consult an integrative doctor or naturopath to organise this properly.