I'm one of those people who suffer increased tartar and plaque since switching to LC. Suspect it's because my HC foods were all vegetables and fruits, but that's not directly relevant. Went to a 3x/year cleaning schedule to help, but this lastest session was brutal. The hygenist said that she has observed that the surface of LCers' teeth seems to be a little rougher, too, but nobody in the practice understood why.

(Acknowledgment: it is probably only the LCers who suffer this symptom that she would notice; those who are blessed with better dental health since LCing wouldn't come to her attention.)

SO: has anyone with this symptom found anything that works? I'm thinking fancy high-tech toothbrush, waterpik, ???

Anyone have a contact in dental research looking for a project?

thx

I use a water pic and a high tech toothbrush. My toothbrush even times me for 2 minutes.

My teeth have been tremendously cleaner since starting LC. I guess all of the low fat pasta I used to eat, along with the pretzels and the (you get the idea) used to really make the tartar build up on my teeth. Now they are nice and clean and shiney white. (See - my little emoticon shows my pearly whites LOL).

shortstuff

I don't know that I've noticed cleaner or more plaque-ridden yet, although I've only been LC for 3 months so far.

But, my sister is a dental hygeinist, with lots of dental experience (she was going to be a dentist, but got a little off track for other reasons). I will ask her about rough teeth and get back to you, but one thing I am doing right now is using a prescription strength fluoride toothpaste that she recommended. I have a few cavities, but can't afford to get them filled right now and she said that this stuff will REALLY reduce the plaque build-up in the meantime. I brush my teeth with regular toothpaste as usual, then brush for ~30-45 sec with the super-fluoride one, then spit it all out, but DON'T RINSE, and go to bed (or don't eat or drink anything for 2 hours, which is why I do it before bed since i drink too much water during the day to go 2 hours without it). I don't know how long I can do it before she yells at me some more about going and getting the cavities filled, but it really makes my teeth feel cleaner and smoother. Maybe you can talk to your dentist about it?

We use the SoniCare toothbrushes and I find my teeth feel cleaner. Haven't noticed a build-up since doing the LC.

I also use the SoniCare toothbrush, and haven't noticed an increase in tarter. I also started to use baking soda because I read somewhere on one of these forums that baking soda helps nuturalize keto breath. Maybe its the combination.

Funny that you mention this. I just noticed that my teeth feel really icky lately. Very rough on the underside of the bottom teeth. I keep thinking about how I REALLY need to get to the dentist. It's not something I ever thought about before.

I wonder if the 2 things are related. Hmmm.

Well, it just so happens that I was at the dentist yesterday and we had this very same discussion! Two of my kids recently went into braces and their ortho had recommend Listerine at least twice a day. I didn't ask why then, but I asked my dentist about it yesterday. He said that Listerine is the ONLY over-the-counter mouthwash that contains a patented ingredient that actually kills the bacteria that causes plaque buildup (I sound like a commercial). He said that the ortho had recommend it because kids with braces have a harder time brushing around all that hardware, and it's just to help keep the plaque to a minimum. I've decided that it's definitely worth a try!