Holistic dentistry is also known as unconventional dentistry, biocompatible dentistry, integrative dentistry, biologic dentistry or alternative dentistry. It considers the oral health of patients within the entire scheme of their emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
Various Healing Techniques
The practice of holistic dentistry not based on a set standard. However, many holistic dentists use different healing traditions combined with traditional aspects of dentistry. For instance, when a cavity needs filled, a holistic dentist will not be content with merely filling the cavity and sending you away.
- Holistic dentists take various considerations into account, including the lifestyle choices that may lead to the cavity forming in the first place and the biocompatibility of materials they use.
- The dentist typically customizes treatment to ensure that all the materials used are compatible and do not have adverse effects on the patients. They will also discuss your home care and nutritional diet to prevent future cavities. A similar approach is taken dealing with gum disease.
- A holistic dentist dedicates more time towards educating and informing you about keeping your gums healthy as well as giving you practical ways to take care of your teeth properly. Along with a visual examination, plaque samples received, and a microscope is used to observe oral bacteria.
- There are times when certain bacteria treated in specific ways. Before and after professional cleaning, verifying with a microscope is an important step to make sure your gums are healthy and will maintain good health.
Basic Holistic Dental Principles
Other fundamental principles of holistic dentistry include the following:
- Illness is preventable. Genetics may predispose you to certain diseases, but the right preventative car can help to alleviate most conditions.
- Metal fillings such as crowns and amalgams that contain potentially toxic and irritating metals avoided. Any real metals should be dealt with carefully.
- Gum disease is preventable, and it treated without surgery. TMJ and bite prevention and treatment.
- Proper nutrition can prevent and reverse dental diseases.
Holistic dentistry no longer regarded as a new phenomenon. Before the association of comprehensive dental care founded, some advocacy groups were already in existence. Dedicated dentists formed the association as a result of their concern regarding the narrow dental school curriculum. The objective of the doctors was to create a forum that would help to share and develop progressive healing therapies in dentistry. Go Now.
Differences between Traditional and Holistic Dentistry
As medical practitioners, all dentists are aware of the critical connection between oral health and overall health. Dentists often emphasize the need to prevent gum disease due to studies that have shown the link between gum disease and conditions such as heart disease, pregnancy, and diabetes.
However, what distinguishes holistic dentists from conventional dentists is the training that holistic dentists undergo in regards to the long-term impact of what dentistry can potentially do or does to the whole body.
Prioritizing Safety
Holistic dentists and conventional dentists all receive similar schooling that enables them to practice dentistry. Holistic dentists usually go on with their education with the aim of focusing on the holistic principles of oral care. While holistic dentists may differ and not be the same, a holistic dentist will always opt for the least toxic and safest way to achieve effective treatments and excellent results for patients.
Holistic Dental Care
There are similarities that traditional dental practices share with holistic dentistry practices. Holistic dental practices ultimately focus on considering all the aspects of health, from emotional and spiritual to mental and physical.
- A holistic dentist usually spends time teaching patients about the importance and value of overall health along with how their dental hygiene habits and dentistry affects their overall health.
- A holistic dentist also does away with individual conventional dentistry practices that they feel are not essential for the patient’s general health. These practices include avoiding mercury filling and fluoride.
- Holistic dentistry usually avoids using fluoride in both ingested and topical forms since research has shown a link between fluoride and cancer and bone problems. Several holistic dentists are also against public supplies of water fluoridated as this can contribute to fluorosis.
- Traditional dentistry uses mercury or amalgam fillings and Mercury fillings regulatory bodies and is covered by insurance; traditional fillings can still release some mercury.
- From the viewpoint of holistic dentists, mercury is toxic regardless of how small the amount secreted. This is the reason holistic dentists choose enamel fillings and bonding. These are used to rectify small teeth, repair chips, close gaps and more. The tooth-colored nutrition influenced diseases in the west do not contain toxins.
Choosing a Holistic Dentist
It is crucial to note that dentists are different and accepting traditional dental care or holistic dental care is a personal decision. The primary objective of any healthcare professional is to ensure that patients are healthy.
If you are thinking about switching from a conventional dentist to a holistic one, they are always available to answer questions and address concerns. They provide professional oral health care services and treat every patient by using restorative and nontoxic materials.
Focusing on General Wellness
Holistic dentistry is concerned with the wellness of the whole body that begins with the mouth. It provided an alternative approach to dental care and based on the belief that oral health linked to overall health. Instead of focusing mainly on the health of teeth and gums, it promotes the use of nontoxic materials to get rid of oral infections and enhance overall health. If you have been considering the option of going to see a holistic dentist, it is essential to know as much as you can about the history of this practice and the range of benefits from holistic dentistry.
History
- Holistic is a word that comes from ‘wholistic,’ which means the whole. Although the dynamic world of this field of dentistry is constantly changing, holistic dentistry has an exciting history. The dangers of mercury were researched centuries ago, support for mercury or amalgam fillings dwindled and led to a split between the pro-amalgam and anti-amalgam faction.
- With later discoveries of amalgam fillings and mercury toxicity, Alfred Stock, a German scientist published his results in a bid to stop amalgam fillings from used. A publication by Dr. Price a few years later concluded that diseases in the west were influenced by nutrition.
- The association of holistic dentists founded in the late 70s with the aim of promoting treatment methods that weren’t conventionally taught in the dental schooling system. The public subsequently educated about potentially toxic materials inside the mouth.
Aspects of Holistic Dentistry
There are some distinct ways to identify a biological or holistic dentist.
- Holistic dental offices do not typically offer patients fluoride treatments. They also do not insist on patients using toothpaste that contains fluoride. Alternatively, they suggest non-toxic and healthy toothpaste recommendations because they are aware that fluoride linked to adverse effects such as cancer, thyroid problems, and weak bones.
- A holistic dentist uses safe filling material that will not harm your body. They often test you in advance to ensure that your body does not end up rejecting the content. The testing performed in various ways, including muscle tests. Elements that are considered to be toxic such as amalgam are not applicable in holistic dental care.
- Holistic dentists do not provide amalgam fillings. Amalgam is not only non-biocompatible; it can also be toxic to the body. These types of fillings contain mercury that can leak out each time you time. They can be released to the fetus during pregnancy and to the baby while breastfeeding. The fillings are also susceptible to wearing down as time goes on.
Removing Toxic Fillings
- Amalgam fillings that contain mercury can be extremely toxic, removed by well-trained professionals.
- A holistic dentist knows how crucial it is for everyone involved in the procedure adequately protected from the potentially toxic mercury effects during removal.
- The amalgam is ideally cut away rather than ground along with using a dam and suction to ensure that fragments and vapors captured as the filling is removed.
Promoting Healing
Additional services may be offered by a holistic dentist to promote healing after a dental procedure. Unconventional methods are often used to help patients heal and range from acupressure to therapy. Alternatives to pharmaceutical products such as homeopathy may also offer for pain management and recovery.
Avoiding Unhealthy Procedures
- Holistic dental care helps you identify alternatives to healing teeth that may require a root canal. The dentist may recommend excellent and complete tooth removal to avoid future complications.
- Holistic dentists prefer to avoid unhealthy or unnecessary procedures such as wisdom tooth removal, numerous x-rays, and root canals. A holistic dentist can assist you with decisions like whether to remove wisdom that is not causing problems.
- Holistic dentistry continues to provide a safe approach to oral health by considering the whole body. If you seek to find a holistic dentist, you can call or set up an appointment that will give you the opportunity to inquire about their treatments and policies.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
