When it comes to some of the more “crunchy mama” things I’ve chosen to speak out about (like supporting natural birthing practices, drinking raw milk, and being pro-choice when it comes to vaccinating kids), skipping fluoride and using more natural methods to keep my kids teeth healthy and cavity-free is another one I can add to the list.
Even before I was a parent I knew that fluoride was toxic and that I wouldn’t use it on my kids, but I didn’t know how else to keep their teeth healthy. I just figured that if I taught them how to brush well and didn’t let them eat too many sweets they’d be fine. Little did I know how big of a role nutrition and the kind of toothpaste I used played into having healthy teeth.
Thankfully, we’ve not had too many teeth issues, but that doesn’t mean it’s always been easy. It also doesn’t mean I’ve always done things right. I’ve definitely had wake-up calls and times where I’ve realized I needed to step-up and do a better job taking care of their teeth.
Over the years, when it comes to healthy teeth, I’ve come across some surprising roadblocks that have stood in the way of me trying to keep my kids teeth healthy. Today, I’d like to share 4 of them with you. Maybe you too have encountered these roadblocks to naturally healthy teeth or maybe you’re just now realizing they exist.
4 Surprising Road Blocks To Naturally Healthy Teeth
1. Food & Money
Eating really healthy can be a bit pricey at times, especially if you make a lot of meals at home that use a good bit of fresh ingredients and you shop for high-quality foods. Thankfully there are ways to cut down on your food budget without cutting down on health.
I’m not a food blogger so this isn’t my area of expertise. I’m learning all of this right along with you, but I do have a few great real food blogs for you to check out to help with feeding your kids healthy foods without breaking the bank. Kirsten from Live Simply, Shaye from The Elliott Homestead, and Tiffany from Don’t Waste The Crumbs are some inspiring blogs that I love. Check ’em out as they have some great advice about eating healthy without needing to break your grocery budget.
2. Expensive Supplements
If you wanna use all the “right” supplements to keep your kids teeth healthy, it’s gonna cost you. What I do most times is only use the “best of the best” when I feel like it’s absolutely necessary and use cheaper versions of the same supplement most other times.
A good example of this is cod liver oil. There are a lot of different brands of cod liver oil out there. Some brands are better than others, and the better ones usually come with a higher price tag. Now just because some brands are “the best” doesn’t mean the cheaper ones are junk. You have to do your research and figure out which brands are right for you and your kid. Then you can decide when you’re gonna use the best and when you’re gonna use the okay ones and save a bit of money. You can learn more about supplements for children as well as replacing supplements with food in my nutrition for kids blog series.
Now when it comes to supplements for teeth, if your kids teeth are currently healthy then it may be fine to save the “best of the best” for when you really need it… like when one of your kids has a cavity and you want to remineralize it. Obviously, the goal with all this healthy living is to prevent things like that, but sometimes things slip through the cracks and your kid may get a cavity. Don’t beat yourself up. None of us are perfect.
3. Ignorance
How is ignorance a road block? Well if you don’t know any better and you’re doing something incorrectly (even if you’re not meaning to), there will be consequences.
I did this for the longest time. When it came to my children’s teeth, I was ignorant about the ingredient glycerin found in children’s toothpaste. Once I found out that glycerin is no good for teeth, I started making my own toothpaste… a tasty coconut oil toothpaste and a tasty remineralizing toothpaste.
4. Genetics
This last road block is unfortunate, but what’s more unfortunate is that you have limited control over it. Your kids are born with their genetics the way they are and there’s not much you can do to change them.
Now there’s a lot of evidence to show that living a healthy lifestyle full of good water, air, and nutrition and minimal in toxins and stress can close off bed genes and open up healthy genes in future generations. Of course, that doesn’t help your kids here and now, but the more you instill good habits in them, the more those habits will be the norm for them. This means that their children will have healthier genes than they did, and those healthy habits will be passed on to their children and continue going down the line. What a legacy to leave behind!
So on my journey to raising my children naturally, when it comes to teeth, we’ve been blessed, and although I wouldn’t say it’s been easy, it certainly hasn’t been all that rough either. I’m thankful that we have the money to buy quality foods and supplements when we need them, that I’m being exposed to sound information and becoming more knowledgeable in these lifestyle areas, and that my children have good genes when it comes to their teeth.
We all have different battles to fight, and having kids with naturally healthy teeth may be one of yours, but don’t give up. Keep searching, keep working hard, keep learning, and keep doing. The sun will come up tomorrow!