Oral health (the condition of the teeth and gums) is strongly associated with serious health problems. Childhood respiratory infections and other infectious diseases are among these problems. Children with pale faces and dark circles under their eyes have a higher average number of filled cavities than children without them. Counting dental fillings is a good way to assess the risk of childhood illnesses. Childhood illnesses and cavities are strongly associated because they are both partially caused by failure of some of the same basic metabolic pathways inside our cells. Cavities should be taken very seriously. Every effort should be made to prevent them.
The risk of cavities increases with age. The older you are, the more important it is to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Due to aging, it is more difficult to keep your teeth and gums healthy. It is also more difficult to keep your body free of diseases. Poor immunity is difficult to measure, inspect, and quantify. Cavities are obvious. Gum health is obvious. Everyone should be aware that protecting teeth and gums from cavities and periodontal disease also protects them from colds, influenza, and other infectious diseases.
Cavities are caused by poor nutrition. This is a well-documented fact from the 19th and 20th centuries. During this period, dozens of isolated, indigenous populations joined the modern economy. Time and again, when indigenous populations switched to a modern diet, the prevalence of cavities increased dramatically. Subsequent research has proven that the most important “anti-cavity” factors in the indigenous diet/lifestyle are vitamins. Read more here. The recommended daily allowances of vitamins are insufficient to maximize cavity prevention. If you are looking for good doses to start with, click here. Counting cavities is a good way to establish at an early age what individuals in the population need extra vitamins. In old age, the high prevalence of cavities and lost teeth suggests that the recommended daily allowances of vitamins are inadequate for the majority.
Nothing will change the fact that a higher incidence of cavities and lost teeth are part of the aging process. Optimizing vitamin intake will not stop aging. But it will help you to age gracefully. There is no reason for your teeth to age faster than the rest of your body. Our healthcare system provides excellent services for keeping your teeth healthy. By using orthodontia to keep your teeth in the right place, and then by brushing, flossing, fluoriding, and cleaning every three months, properly nourished teeth will last more than 100 years.
The importance of dental health puts the women (there aren’t many men in these jobs yet) who clean our teeth at the forefront of the healthcare system. Twice a year they have a roughly 45-minute opportunity to compare the health of our teeth to our neighbor’s teeth, and then to teach us about best practices for keeping teeth healthy. Vitamin supplements and sunshine have become part of that conversation. The best dental offices are helping their patients adjust vitamin intake.
Most people don’t like talking about the vitamin supplements they are taking. It’s embarrassing. Healthy people shouldn’t need pills. And vitamin supplements – even 1 RDA multivitamins – cause side effects. Admitting to side effects is also embarrassing. The dental chair is proving to be a good place to discuss vitamin supplement strategies to maximize benefits and minimize side effects.
If your children are not taking vitamin supplements, and they are not going out into the sun to get extra vitamin D, then the odds are that their teeth are deteriorating. If their teeth are deteriorating, then your children are at high risk for developing a pale face and dark circles under the eyes. Find a dental office that will help you put together a supplement program for your children that includes vitamin C, niacin, and thiamine. Send your children out into the sun without sun block. Prevent cavities and pale faces at the same time by implementing the program. Measure the results by tracking the health of your children’s teeth.
So very glad to find your articles. Thank you. I have a 3 and eight month old son who has dark circles under the eyes and pale skin. Have him on an iron supplement but it is not fixing the problem. Has normal energy but wont eat any meat (only nibble of chicken and mushrooms), no vegies, just fruit. Other foods ok. Have been reading you posts but can you please advise me EXACTLY how much vit c , niacin, thiamine etc to give my little monkey. Can these be liquid form to give oraly (if so what amounts) as he only drinks water (which is good) and will taste it if i mix it in that. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ARTICLES.
Leonie
Leonie,
Here's my recommendations:
My recommended cure uses sunshine and three supplements that are inexpensive and easy to find. Sunshine is essential for good health. Vitamin D, one of only four vitamins that prevent named deficiency diseases, is manufactured by skin exposed to sunshine. Sunblock should only be used after your child has been exposed to 30 minutes of bright sunshine. The three supplements are 500 mg chewable vitamin C tablets, children’s chewable multivitamins, and 250 mg time-release niacin gel caps. If you have a toddler with a pale face and dark circles under the eyes, feed him or her 6 of the vitamin C tablets, one multivitamin, and 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin gel cap. Follow up with 4 more vitamin C tablets before bedtime. Many toddlers are happy to take one kid’s chewable multivitamin and lots of chewable vitamin C. These taste good. The half niacin gel cap is the only toddler-unfriendly ingredient. Fortunately, niacin has a mild flavor. The gel cap is filled with tiny spheres. Break the gel cap in two and add half of the spheres to ice cream or pudding, or some other soft, sweet, toddler-friendly food. The niacin may cause the toddler to flush – a temporary reddening of the skin. Although the flushing can be unpleasant, it is harmless. Further, flushing is unusual with time-release niacin gel caps at such a low dosage. Keep going with 125 mg/day of time release niacin and the vitamin C, 4 chewable tablets every morning and every bedtime until the dark circles are gone and are replaced by rosy cheeks. Sunshine, 4 chewable vitamin C tablets and a multivitamin should be obtained every day, even when healthy.
Sorry for the delayed response.
Steve
HI steve! I know it has been eons since you last posted, but Im desperate here. My dtr doesnt have the dark circles, but she does have allergies, so I am researching the regime you suggested for that. My question is related to the sun exposure – I have always been leery of sunscreen and only really use it if we are out in the hot sun at the park or beach for an hour or more after which I come home and wash it off before naptime. We also use hates, long sleeves and long pants when it is hot. However, recently (age 4) she has what doctors are telling me are three sunspots on her face (very white skin), so now I want to use more sunscreen to prevent more spots from appearing. What do you think about all this? I dont want her to have a bunch of sunspots all over her face, but I dont want the chemicals on her face either. Im at a lost right now. please help.