Although you can’t tell just by looking at them, every one of your teeth is a living organ. Beneath the hard outer enamel is a softer layer of dentin, and within that is the pulp. It contains nerves that signal temperature changes and pain, blood vessels that deliver nutrients and oxygen, connective tissue that supports everything else, and specialized cells that can create new dentin when...
Blog
How We Take X-rays While Keeping You Safe
For about 100 years now, patients have been draped with lead aprons during x-rays to protect against radiation. That made sense when x-ray technology was in its infancy. Today’s digital imaging requires far less radiation, and the radiation that is needed is far more focused. The lead apron just isn’t needed. Even the American Dental Association recently updated their guidance to reflect the new...
Understanding the Tooth/Body Connection
For ages, most dentists acted as if the mouth were completely separate from the rest of the body. Little consideration was given as to the impact of dental materials and procedures on whole body health. So we got things like amalgam fillings that constantly release neurotoxic mercury; dentists “saving” teeth by killing them, removing all their living tissue in root canal treatment; and a country...
Getting the Mercury Out – Safely
Despite their name, “silver” fillings only contain a bit of silver. They also contain copper and tin - and sometimes small amounts of zinc, indium, and palladium, too. But their dominant component is mercury - a potent neurotoxin. Mercury’s toxicity is why we don’t place “silver” mercury amalgam fillings in our practice. All of our restorations are made from biocompatible composite or ceramic....
Take Care of Your Teeth and Gums. Oral Health Can Affect Your Brain.
Dental health is important for our mental and cognitive health, research shows By Richard Sima September 21, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT Poor oral hygiene is associated with an increased risk for myriad health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and early death. The state of our teeth and gums, though, may be vital for our well- being beyond the mouth and body....
The Best Dentistry Is the Least Dentistry How You Benefit from Our Minimally Invasive Approach
Most people don’t realize that whenever a tooth is worked on, it undergoes some trauma. Drilling, for instance, can irritate the living tissues within the tooth. Heat from the drilling can be damaging. Even repeated injections of anesthetic can lead to inflammation, infection, or nerve damage in the tissues around the tooth. With repeated procedures, the small traumas can add up, increasing...
Fluoride Shown to Harm Kids’ Brains
As we write this, a ruling has yet to come down in the federal court case that could spell the end of fluoridation. (In case you missed the news about it when we shared it in a previous newsletter, you can access it here.) One key part of the plaintiffs’ argument? A report from from the National Toxicology Program on fluoride’s neurotoxicity. Peer reviewed twice, the NTP report is a 6-year...
Biological Dentistry: A Whole-Body Approach to Oral Health
Just as medicine has its specialties - cardiology, oncology, podiatry, and so on - so does dentistry. Periodontics, for instance, focuses on the gums, bone, and other tissues that support the teeth, while endodontics deals with the pulp and tissues around a tooth’s root. Holistic dentistry, on the other hand, doesn’t describe a specialization so much as an approach, a philosophy, a particular...
Mercury Fillings & Fluoridation Finally on Their Way Out?
One of the most important concepts in biological dentistry is biocompatibility. We want to be sure that any materials and techniques that we use - whether for fillings, inlays, implants, or anything else - get along with your body on a biological level. We're looking to support health, not disrupt it. Truth be told, the dental profession as a whole continues to support certain practices that...
