I got lucky and needed one very minor filling

- Diet (and smoke) can influence each person's "normal" saliva pH.

In my case, I'm "lucky" to tend to develop tartar. I need to get cleanups regularly, but have not developed a single cavity in my entire life. My father is the same, and he has all his teeth with no fillings at 65+. My mother, on the other hand, has struggled with cavities and has had several fillings and even a replacement or two done.

If I remember correctly, sugar / carbs push the saliva pH towards developing cavities. So if someone has had really bad cavities before the diet, he or she would be arguably better off with paleo. The tartar guy, on the other hand, will probably accumulate tartar at a faster rate.

Quote from: rentawitch on March 10, 2010, 08:31:45 AM

it's ok if  your teeth fall out you learn how to suck very hard!

You saucy little minx

It's not so simple. If you read "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" you can see that some groups that consume no carbs have more cavities than groups consuming carbs. For example, the Inuits had more cavities than many of the groups that consumed carbs.

BTW, I don't think Price reported bad teeth, quite the opposite, he reported good teeth (same with Stefansson). The number of cavities just happens to be a bit high than other carb consuming groups.

Dr. Alex Hirdlicka, Curator of Anthropology in the National Museum, Washington, writes me that he knows of no case of tooth decay among Eskimos of the present or past who were uninfluenced by European habits. Dr. S. G. Ritchie, of Dalhousie University, wrote after studying the skeletal collection gathered by Mr. Diamond Jenness on my third expedition: " In all the teeth examined there is not the slightest trace of caries."

I brought about 100 skulls of Eskimos, who had died before Europeans came in, to the American Museum of Natural History, New York. These have been examined by many students, but no sign of tooth decay has yet been discovered.