Holistic Dentistry
We get it. You want a dental office that looks at the whole body and mind.
But, what is true, and what is marketing?
The most "holistic" dental care you can provide yourself with is a visit for a cleaning and a check-up, including x-rays. Many oral diseases are due to biofilm; getting rid of plaque and calculus and making sure all of your teeth are doing well, and that your existing dental work is sound, are critical steps to making sure that your oral microbiome is healthy.
We can talk about nutrition, airway, tongue-tie, and the mind-body relationship at your consultation.
What is Holistic Dentistry?
"Holistic" "Biological" "Biomimetic" Dentistry are not recognized specializations in Canada. Anyone can put that they are doing "Holistic" dental care on their website. You can pay a membership fee to become part of an association and take a few courses and BAM....you are a holistic dentist. Congrats.
One of the claims by Holistic dentists is that they look at the whole body, but regular dentists do not. That is not necessarily true. A dental degree requires education in medicine or osteopathic medicine in most North American programs. There is long accepted interaction between oral health and systemic health, particularly as it applies to healthy aging. It does not take a holistic dentist to understand and practice this.
So you have to ask yourself, what is Holistic?
The human body has an incredible capacity to tolerate stress, to adapt, and to heal. Holistic dentistry often recommends unproven procedures with toxic chemicals under the guise of "treating the whole body". At my office, we provide complex dental care with limited external intervention; I rarely prescribe antibiotics, I do not do sedation, I hardly prescribe opioid analgesics, we do not do antimicrobial mouthrinses after surgery, no drawing blood and spinning it down, no IV drips.
We focus on gentle and precise dentistry, and set up the body to heal itself.
A simple blood clot has EVERYTHING your body needs to heal from a wound.
That is holistic!
Injecting vitamins, spraying ozone in wounds, taking CT Scans on everyone, going straight to extractions for dead teeth....you have to ask yourself.... Does your body NEED that? Is it Holistic to intervene so much?
Holistic Procedures
Ozone
Ozone itself is not considered a free radical, but in biological systems it is very-unstable, reacting to form dangerous chemicals that cause oxidative damage to the body, even to the DNA.
The use of Ozone in the dental practice exposes staff and patients to a harmful gas that is proven to cause damage to lungs and other organs at a cellular level.
There is some evidence that it MIGHT help disinfect cavities and that it MIGHT speed up healing after dental surgery--but it is limited proof, often using strong dosages/forms of ozone.
How is it "holistic" to expose people to a toxic chemical that is not really proven to be better than not using it?
We do not offer ozone at our practice.
Dead Teeth
Teeth are hollow, and when healthy, have living tissue inside that can fight off bacteria.
When a tooth dies, it loses it's ability to defend itself and bacteria take over. Yes, an untreated dead tooth is not good for your body.
A root canal treatment is the process of cleaning out the inside of the tooth, disinfecting it, and sealing it up as good as possible. Does this remove 100% of the bacteria? No. Does it work forever? No. Does it help you keep a tooth, Yes! But.....root canals can get re-infected and can cause big problems. So they need regular monitoring.
There is no evidence that a dead, properly root canal treated tooth, that has a healthy ligament around it, is bad for your immune system. "Holistic" dentists, however, insist that they cause damage to your meridians and such; but, there is no proof of this. It is quite the opposite, where there are many studies that show normal ligament cells, absence of bacteria, and low inflammation around a well treated root canal.
What is the alternative if you do not want a dead tooth in your mouth?
Extraction.
Yes, we can remove dead teeth for you if you think they are bad for you, but then what is next? If you remove teeth without replacing them, your remaining teeth will be strained and will start wearing, chipping and breaking, leading to many oral problems. This is a certainty that I treat all of the time as a prosthodontist at a significant financial and biological cost to people.
Replacing the extracted teeth with dental implants costs a fortune. If you wanna do that, hey, we are here for you. Ceramic dental implants are not perfect and they are new to the market, so we do not warranty them in case of implant fracture or restoration problems. Implants can get infections too.... you can end up in the same scenario of fighting bacteria even with dental implants.
So.....why not keep your teeth and monitor them? We have seen many a person with buyers remorse after removing all of their dead teeth because a "holistic" dentist told them to!
Ceramic Implants
So you do not want "metal" in your body, and you heard that Holistic dentists do metal-free implants?
Ceramic dental implants are made of a zirconium oxide alloy, usually stabilized with yttrium. The chemists out there are gonna say, "wait a minute! Those are metal elements!!"
And they would be right, but.....because the alloys are "oxides" they are considered ceramics and do not really act like metals.
So are ceramic implants really metal free? I guess that depends on how much you trust these oxides to not break down to their metal substituents over time.....
Do ceramic implants work?
One-piece ceramic implants systems have been around for decades, but they have many prosthetic and biomechanical limitations so they really were not useful.
Recently, ceramic implants that are designed like metal implants, where they are internally threaded to take components that can be screwed in place, have hit the market.....but....we are talking less than ten years of clinical use, so they do not have the track record of metal implants.
So....if you want a ceramic implant, yea....we can do it for you, but we cannot warranty them like we do metal implants.
"Non-Toxic"
Fillings and Porcelain Crowns
So you are looking for a Holistic dentist because they can do fillings that are "Plastic Free" and "Non-toxic"!
This simply does not exist.
Yes, at our office, we use "Plastic-Free", "BPA Free" ceramic dental filling material whenever possible. We also use biocompatible materials for crowns.
But.....
All fillings and crowns need to be glued to the tooth in some way and there is currently no dental adhesive or cement system on the market that is truly free of plastics or acrylic monomers.
Any dental office that is marketing that they are doing plastic free, non-toxic, dental work is not really being fully honest; is that holistic?
Graphene in
Dental Anaesthetic
Really?
If this is a concern for you, you cannot trust any dental anaesthetic. There is no Holistic dentist out there that can guarantee that their anaesthetic is free of any graphene oxide.
You see claims of Holistic dentists using heat and magnets to treat their anaesthetic to remove impurities. Graphene oxide really isn't really ferromagnetic and local anaesthetic is supposed to be stored under 25 degrees celcius......graphene needs to be heated above that to break down.
Is it holistic to tamper with sterile, standardized, predictable, tested and proven injectable solutions? No.
None of the anaesthetics we use have Graphene Oxide listed as an ingredient.
IV Infusions
It is 100% true that a healthy, balanced and vitamin rich diet is important for your health, and that nutrient deficiencies have long been associated with multiple ailments.
But.....
There really is no evidence that supports any sort of Vitamin infusion before or after having dental work done....no matter what you read on a Holistic website. There IS evidence that IV infusions are a source of microplastics and that they generate waste that will live in an landfill forever.
We do not offer any sort of IV infusion services at our office, but would gladly help coordinate your dental appointments to line up with treatments at your local infusion provider if that makes you feel more Holistic about your dental care.
"SMART"
Amalgam Removal
Amalgam has mercury and silver along with other metals in it, and having old fillings in your mouth can be associated with increased levels of these products in the bloodstream. It is understandable why someone would like to have their dental amalgams removed.
Holistic dentists claim to offer "Safe" amalgam removal and there is a big protocol listed on one of their association's website. These recommendations, however, are not tested and are not proven to be safer than the usual approach. Their website has almost 100 references, but none of them are studies where they actually test the protocol and see if it results in less mercury exposure to the patients and the staff.
The protocol creates unnecessary plastic waste in barriers and tubing and requires noisy, electricity consuming, unrecyclable equipment. How is it "Holistic" to be introducing garbage into the world to follow a recommendation that is not proven?
At our office, we use rubber dam isolation and high volume suction directly at the amalgam restoration, along with electric drills with precision bits and copious sterile water--methods proven to be safe. Our staff are wearing REUSABLE PPE and the office is outfitted with HEPA filtration, carbon filtration and UV disinfection in the central HVAC.
I routinely am testing the air quality at the office and it is pretty free of particulate matter.
Fluoride
If you don't want to use fluoride, don't use fluoride. Your body, your choice.
We do, however, recommend fluoride at our office--it is safe in toothpaste, it is safe in professional applications, and it is proven to work better than anything else. Yes... I have read the pineal gland studies, and the IQ studies, and all the stuff on the fluoride action network website....but....topical application is still safe. I do agree that you should not eat a half dozen tubes of toothpaste, or live somewhere you are exposed to toxic industrial waste pollution. Not good for your health!
Hydroxyapatite is great for tooth sensitivity, but it does not strengthen teeth like fluoride. It is also expensive and has very limited clinical evidence. This is the best alternative if you want to avoid fluoride.
Xylitol is great for dry mouth and can help reduce bacterial load, but don't swallow too much or let your pets get at it.
Vitamin K2 doesn't do anything.
Oil pulling is good at reducing bacteria but do not aspirate that liquid or else you will end up with a sick lung infection.
Colloidal Silver is toxic, why do people think fluoride is a poison but are ok swallowing silver? That makes no sense.
You wanna avoid SLS and Triclosan as they can be quite irritating to the oral mucosa.
Avoid mouthwashes with alcohol or strong essential oils; they can kill good bacteria and have been associated with bad things.
Really.....the simplest is to floss daily and brush a couple of times a day with a non-abrasive fluoridated toothpaste. Just spit it out when you are done and you will be fine.
Cavitations
What are "cavitations"?
Holistic dentists are all about recommending panoramic radiographs, Cone-Beam CT and even ultrasound to assess the jaws for areas of diseased bone that they have given a blanket term of "cavitations".
Yes, there are absolutely dozens of different types of lesions that can occur in the jaws. Some of them are related to unhealed infections, some are randomly occurring cysts/tumours/growths that are derived from various cell lines.
Holistic dentists are particularly concerned with one specific type of bone healing defect, termed Fatty Degenerative Osteonecrosis of the Jaws.
These jaw pathologies have clear radiographic and histological patterns; it does not take a holistic dentist to diagnose or treat these conditions---and they all have proper diagnostic terminology, which "cavitation" is not.
If you want a CT Scan of your face to check for cavitations we can do that for you.
Airway Dentistry
Are you ready to have your jaws expanded?
Every airway dentist is going to tell you that your jaws are too small, that your tongue is too big, and that you need expansion of your maxilla because it is underdeveloped and is the cause of every problem you have ever had in your life.
If you wanna hear that, go to an airway dentist.
Can people have small jaws and small airways? Yes. Is it the end of the world? Not necessarily. The challenge is, what are the options, when problematic small jaws are identified?
Really, if someone's jaws are small enough to cause health problems due to poor breathing......jaw surgery is the best option. But then people do not want surgery.
So they try "expanders" and man is there a big market for expanders. There are dozens of different designs and concepts for expanders, and everyone swears theirs is the best. There are even expanders that are "holistic" and are supposed to work on biofeedback effects of epigenetics.
Expanders can work ok in the maxilla....but the mandible does not expand readily.
If we identify a jaw size discrepancy, we refer to an Orthodontist.
Tongue Ties
The more I educate myself on tongue ties, the more I diagnose them in people.
When you think of a "tongue tie", usually you picture someone who can't stick their tongue out of their mouths because the tissue tag underneath the tongue keeps it from moving around.
Yea! That is totally a tongue tie and it is usually problematic, especially for nursing babies and children learning to speak. The good thing is that these are usually screened for right at birth and dealt with right away.
There are tongue ties that are much more subtle. People can have taut tissues under their tongue, which makes it difficult for them to put their tongue to the roof of the mouth during swallowing, sleep and speech.
Is this the end of the world? Well, a tongue-tie dentist will say yes, that if this is not treated, the jaws wont develop properly, that posture will be effected and that it throws off the entire myofascial system in the body.
Really....it is not that dire....the body compensates. More often then not, I tell people they have a tongue tie, and let them know their treatment options (surgery and myofunctional therapy).....and they say.....nah.....I'm good.
But....there are some people where treating a tongue tie could have significant benefits. If the person is having trouble swallowing or speaking, if they cannot keep their mouth closed at rest, if the compensations are causing muscle pain.....these are valid reasons to treat a tongue tie.
The proper therapy is not as simple as cutting the taut tissue away. The tongue needs space to go, so orthodontic evaluation is recommended and if the jaws are narrow, expansion is required. Myofunctional therapy is necessary to strengthen the tongue for the surgery and to promote proper healing after the procedure. The surgeon should have training in soft tissue lasers to use the best technology to perform the procedure----there are some important nerves and blood vessels that you do not want to nick during the tongue tie release!
Our office has done all of the training in tongue tie surgery and even in the myofunctional therapy but.....it is not something we do enough to feel comfortable offering as a service as we only see a few people a year that want to follow through with the procedure.
If you are interested in an assessment we can do that and then refer you to myofunctional therapists who work with tongue tie release providers.
