Mystic Toothaches
Even in the 1800's and even in the United States and Canada, it was once common to blame tooth decay on the power of the Devil or evil spirits. Most people believed that a toothache was a sign of sin, and the best way to get rid of the toothache was to get rid of the sin that was causing it.Or at least that was a common view in the Western world. Traditional Chinese Medicine offered an intricate theory of how the various lines of energy passing through the body could become disordered and cause toothache pain in specific locations.
For example, if you had pain in the upper right wisdom tooth, the practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine would look for problems not just in the tooth but also in the right shoulder, right ear, or the right side of the heart. If you had pain in the upper left wisdom tooth, you might also have a health issue in your left shoulder, left ear, or the left side of your heart. Similar connections were made between other organs of the body and pain in other teeth.
Toothache and Tooth Decay
Nowadays toothache is recognized as being cause by tooth decay, and tooth decay is known to be caused by bacteria. Specifically, tooth decay is now known to be caused by Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria. When these bacteria feed on sugar, they release acids. The acids in turn rot away the enamel on your teeth - the hardest substance in your body.Fighting Tooth Decay
Everybody knows at least a little about how to fight tooth decay. We have all been told since childhood that we need to:- Brush after every meal and every snack.
- Floss once or twice every day, looping the floss around the tooth rather than pulling the floss up and down between the teeth (which can injure the gums and jam food between the teeth even harder).
- Rinse your mouthwash every day, and
- See your dentist at least two times a year for scaling your teeth to get rid of plaque and tartar that brushing cannot remove.
However, there is something else that everyone can to do prevent tooth decay that we don't learn in school. That is to eat the right foods at the right time. And especially not to eat protein foods and starchy foods at the same time (within 60 minutes of each other).
How Keeping Protein Foods and Starchy Foods Separate Can Prevent Tooth Pain
The digestion of food starts not in the stomach but in the mouth. To start the digestion of proteins, the mouth secretes acidic juices. To start the digestion of starches, the mouth secrete alkaline juices.If you eat both protein foods and starchy foods at the same time, your stomach is going to have to work harder to digest the protein. It will release a lot more acid - and if even a little bit of that acid comes up with burp or belch, even if you don't feel or hear them, the acid can and will dissolve the lining on your teeth. Along with regular brushing and flossing, eating proteins and starches at different times, at least 60 minutes apart, is one of the best things you can to do prevent tooth decay and toothache pain.
