170: How To Have Healthier Teeth

How To Have Healthier Teeth

It is no secret that most of us spend a lot on dental health. That is why one of the things we usually remind our kids is to practice good hygiene, especially by brushing their teeth regularly. However, there are ways to prevent high dental expenses. My guest, Dr. Steven Lin, will show us how to have healthier teeth as well as keep our teeth in tip top shape.

Dr. Steven Lin's Realization

Dr. Steven Lin has been practicing dentistry for a long time. However, Dr. Steven Lin took a hiatus at one point in his career. He felt something was missing despite being passionate about educating patients on how to have healthier teeth.

It immensely bothered him that so many kids nowadays suffer from rotten teeth. These children eventually grow up and develop gum disease. Apparently, the conventional way of hygiene like brushing and flossing wasn't solving the cause of the problem.

Fortunately, Dr. Steven Lin rediscovered a passion for dentistry when he came across a book written in the 1930s by Dr. Weston Price, a dentist who provided a lot of eye-openers regarding dental health and how to have healthier teeth.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

Dr. Weston Price was a Canadian dentist who published his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration in 1939. Known for his theories regarding nutrition, dental and physical health, he initially did extensive research on focal infection theory.

Eventually shifting his focus to nutrition in the late 1800s, Dr. Weston Price started to formulate the correlation between diet and tooth decay. According to Dr. Weston Price, foods that cause nutritional deficiencies and dental problems are flour, sugar and processed vegetable fats. His book likewise expounded on the different diseases resulting from Western methods of preparing and storing foods.

Link Between Diet and Teeth

Dr. Steven Lin says people fail to realize that we have a dental disease epidemic. This dental epidemic is not merely solved by merely brushing our teeth and flossing regularly. It helps, but it does not eradicate the problem on how to have healthier teeth.

“We currently have a dental disease epidemic. Masking it with fillings and braces don't make us get to the cause of our dental problems,” said Dr. Steven Lin. “There is indeed a strong link between the mouth and body.”

Dr. Steven Lin also believes diet plays a significant factor on how to have healthier teeth. Having crooked, rotten teeth, it apparently means our jaws aren't growing as well. Hence, the mouth-body connection.

Connection Between Sleep and Dental Health

We all know getting enough sleep is essential to our health. Apparently, it is twice more important for kids because it affects their dental health.

Dr. Steven Lin says one of the first things he noticed with his young patients is whether or not they have dark circles under their eyes. Their lack of sleep or having sleep apnea is a dead giveaway that their teeth are in bad shape.

“If these kids, aged 4 to 10 aren't breathing right at night, that means their brain is starving of oxygen when they're sleeping,” explained Dr. Steven Lin. “It's starving the most crucial developmental stages.”

And how exactly does sleep apnea affect the teeth? Apparently, those who lack sleep tend to grind their teeth. According to Dr. Steven Lin, the teeth are the symptom. The jaws, facial muscles, tongue and the way we breathe all shape how our teeth develop.

Kids With Crooked Teeth

Having braces puts a big dent into our dental expenses. However, Dr. Steven Lin says that crooked teeth can be prevented if we have a regular nasal breathing, correct tongue position, lip posture and skeletal posture.

Apparently, the primary factors contributing to crooked teeth are incorrect skeletal, jaw and teeth development. All these factors can be prevented by making sure our kids practice good oral hygiene as early as possible to promote the healthy growth of their teeth.

Ideally, children should have regular visits with the orthodontist at age 7. This way, they get educated on how to have healthier teeth.

The Dental Diet

The Dental Diet is Dr. Steven Lin's 4-Day Program. The program seeks to improve dental and oral health, as well as our overall body health. Under this program, you'll learn tips on how to have healthier teeth by eating right.

“I also train dentists and nutritionists. We need to change the whole paradigm and get to the cause,” said Dr. Steven Lin. “Furthermore, if we are losing minerals, that's a sign that our body is in distress.”

Dr. Steven Lin also guarantees that doing his program not only will give you healthier teeth, but also improve your overall health as well. Incidentally, The Dental Diet which expounds on how to have healthier teeth is slated to be in book form and set for release in 2018.

Common Myths

There are several dental myths that Dr. Steven Lin busted. And I bet you'll be surprised at a few common ones.

First of all, did you know that mouthwash can be bad for our teeth? Apparently, it does! Dr. Steven Lin says that mouthwash kills the good bacteria. In addition to that, having a little plaque is safe and healthy.

On the other hand, some say oil-pulling is good in healing cavities. Dr. Steven Lin says there may be a rationale behind oil-pulling. However, there is still no known clinical outcome since there's only a certain level of a cavity that can be healed.

Despite that, Dr. Steven Lin doesn't recommend fluoride in toothpaste. According to him, we don't need fluoride to prevent decay. In place of that, he recommends using a pre biotic toothpaste.

Dr. Steven Lin likewise cautions against bleeding gums because this means that there is something wrong in our immune system, especially in the gut. Consequently, it can also lead to gum disease especially if we have a poor diet.

“It boils down what you eat and how you eat. If you build your immune system and manage minerals, that's what protects your tooth from decay,” said Dr. Steven Lin.

Bio

Dr. Steven Lin is a board-registered dentist, writer, and speaker with work published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The British Dental Journal. He has also written for MindBodyGreen and About.com and given talks as part of the TEDx program.

Trained at USYD with a background in biomedical science, he is a passionate whole-health advocate, focusing on the link between nutrition and dental health. His mission is to prevent dental diseases instead of treating them.

Dr. Lin's Dental Nutrition course is PACE accredited (AGD Council) for continuing education. He has trained healthcare professionals in Australia and UK. He also teaches general health practitioners about the mouth-body connection.

In January 2018, his book The Dental Diet will be released in the US, UK, Australia, and Germany. The Dental Diet is a journey of ancestral medicine, the human microbiome, and epigenetics. It explains the foods for healthy teeth based on the Weston A Price Diet – the inspiration for Dr. Lin's work.

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