Have you ever had a dentist tell you about the importance of nutrition?
Not just the rhetoric of, ‘Don’t eat sugar,’ but have they really wanted to educate you about the critical role of nutrient-dense foods for creating optimal oral health (and whole-body wellness)?
We’d never had this experience until years ago when we started OraWellness. We began to meet some amazing dental professionals who are really doing their best to educate their patients about the foundational role that nutrition plays in navigating the path to optimal oral health.
Dr. Al Danenberg is one of our amazing dentist friends. He’s a dentist who has specialized in treating gum disease for the past 40+ years.
After what he refers to as his ‘wake up call’ of having a stroke, he began to dig beyond what our culture says is a healthy diet and lifestyle. His journey has brought him to a primal lifestyle, and he has completely redefined his dental practice to educate his patients about the foundational role that diet (and lifestyle) play in their ability to heal.
Since Dr. D’s wake up call and shift to a primal lifestyle, he has been sought after as a resource in the dental world for all things paleo/primal. You can find his work on popular blogs like Mark’s Daily Apple and Dr. Loren Cordain’s site, among others.
Dr. D has also become a Functional Medicine practitioner.
Below are some of the highlights from our fun interview.
Show Notes:
- 1:26 How believing the culture norms about what constitutes a ‘healthy diet’ caused Dr. D to have a stroke and temporarily lose his ability to speak.
- 4:20 Explanation of his ‘nutritional blinders’ that were removed in 2006.
- 5:45 How he turned around negative blood chemistry, high blood pressure, and being 30 pounds overweight.
- 6:55 Dr. D’s formula for how long it takes to eat a healthy diet to reverse previous damage from unhealthy habits.
- 8:30 The relationship between gum disease and leaky gut.
- 12:30 The results from a clinical trial that Dr. D conducted to test the impact of two important nutrient-dense foods on active periodontal disease.
- 15:10 Historic proof that tooth decay and gum disease are modern diseases.
- 19:05 The two main foods that you must avoid if you want to give your mouth the best chance to heal.
And so much more…
If you have active gum disease, please watch this video. You will find gems and insights that most definitely will help you navigate your path to optimal oral health.
And, if you’d like to learn about an at-home kit that can help you address existing periodontal disease and take your oral hygiene routine to the next level, you can read about our HealThy Mouth System here.
Helpful, Related Resources:
Dr. Al Danenberg’s website
How to Help Your Child Avoid Gum Disease [article]
How to Stop Bleeding Gums in 3 Easy Steps [article]
Can Diet Alone Improve Existing Gum Disease? [article]
19 Pearls for Overall Health [guest blog post from Dr. D]
5 Steps to a Healthy Mouth [free video tutorial]
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Thank you and Aloha!
What you eat plays a part in just about everything having to do with your body. Your gums are no different so good advice to keep up a good diet to prevent oral diseases.
Thanks SO MUCH for this interview with Dr. D. So helpful, and besides, He is a DELIGHT! Plan to use much of the information. Can hardly wait for his book to come out!!!
What great information, Will! Thank you for putting this together! I found your earlier post on Dr. Danenberg’s in-office study to be fascinating, and am thrilled that you were able to post an interview with him. Like you, I struggled for years with my sugar addiction, and often allowed “cheats” despite dealing with autoimmune issues. My wake up call was last year at age 27 when my gum pockets failed to improve following a deep cleaning.
For the past year my diet has revolved around nourishing foods- organ meats, broth, seafood, ferments, good fats, and mounds of veggies. I had hopes of this protocol helping my gum disease, but so far that aspect hasn’t improved as much as I’d hoped. This interview was very encouraging! Dr. D’s one month for every year concept helped me put things in perspective. Thanks again!
Aloha Isabelle,
Thanks for your supportive words!
Yeah, the game with effectively addressing gum disease is to disrupt and disorganize the bad bugs consistently while you improve your systemic immunity. That way, the pathogenic bacteria can’t mount an organized attack from a strong ‘camp’ under your gum line. This was Dr D’s point about ‘removing the irritant’ of calculus.
The good news is when we consistently lower the population of bad bugs in gum pockets, the calculus can flake off by itself. Simply put, there aren’t enough bad bugs to keep the plaque intact on the tooth roots.
Thanks again for stopping by to offer your positive appreciation for this interview and our work!
My gum situation really puzzled my dentist. He hadn’t seen anyone my age with so little buildup experience bone loss and gum issues. I plan to see a functional doctor soon to address systemic issues that my new lifestyle hasn’t completely controlled.
I forgot to mention that your HealThy mouth blend, pocket applicator, and oil pulling has really helped with my gum sensitivity. Thank you for those tools and advice! I just need extra help 🙂
Aloha Isabelle,
Thank you for stopping by to share your experience with us. We are honored to be part of your team to navigate to greater oral health!
I stopped my gums bleeding with a diet similar to what Al describes. A lot of vitamin C rich foods (parsley, lemon juice, raw fermented vegetables) along with plenty of animal protein seemed to be at the core of what worked. This happened a few times so it was like I did an A B A trial – i.e. trying out different conditions on the same subject alternately. I was already eating no sugar, refined food or junk oils.
Great to hear this interview! Thanks for doing it!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your supportive words Susan! Awesome that you’ve been able to navigate this terrain well with diet! Feels good, doesn’t it? 🙂
you guys should interview Dr. Jack Kruse, neurosurgeon AND dentist. check out his website- jackkruse.com and read “the quilt” for some mind blowing info….
Thanks for this lead Tom!
I’ll reach out to Dr Kruse and see if he would be into doing an interview with us!
a transcript of this would be great if possible! at least the main ideas. thank you!
I second the request for a transcript! 😀 I don’t process information very well when listening but I have no trouble absorbing written information.
Fantastic video! Thank you for sharing your time and expertise. I am curious whether Dr. Danenberg used Green Pastures FCLO/BO in his study? Or some other brand?
Aloha Michelle,
Thanks for the thumbs up!
Yeah, Dr D used Green Pastures FCLO/HVBO and skate liver oil and a nutritional supplement from blue green algae I think (for minerals) in his study. If you look toward the bottom of the blog in the ‘related, helpful resources’ section, you’ll find a link to another article on our blog where we detail what he used in the study and quantities.
We hope that helps!