Ozone Dental Therapy for Gum Disease

The word “ozone” may make you think of a hole in the earth’s atmosphere due to pollution, or remind you of the unique scent in the air after a lightning storm.

In reality, ozone is a vital, healthy element. It shields us from ultraviolet rays of the sun, and it has many helpful applications in daily life. I use ozone water as a rinse to remove bugs and residual pesticides from my fresh produce. Many cities use ozone to keep public water supplies safe and germ-free. It is also a component of air purification systems, and is used to clean spas and swimming pools.

Heal your Gut. Heal Your Life.

It has been said that 80% of the immune system can be found in the intestines. If this is true, then good health will never be attained until your digestive system is working at its best. 

 Intestines 

So if you are dealing with chronic health problems and also have chronic intestinal issues (constipation, loose stools, bleeding, bloating, or any combination of these), then you might want to actively focus on fixing your gut, in order to fix your health.

Swimming Can Be Harmful to Your Teeth

As a biological dentist, I have quite a number of health conscious patients, several of whom are avid swimmers. Swimming is a very healthy sport, but it can have its drawbacks.

Handstand in the swimming pool

Most swimming pools are chlorinated, and as most of us already know, chlorine can be toxic. We know that our skin is the biggest organ for sweating out poisons (detoxification), but it is also the biggest organ for absorbing poisons. That being said, it would be good to avoid exposing our skin to all known toxic chemicals: sunscreen, most makeup and moisturizers, and of course, chlorinated swimming pools.

Can removing amalgam fillings help patients in New York live healthier?

More than 150 million Americans have at least one “silver” filling in their mouths. Yet dental amalgam contains very little silver. It is made up of about 50 percent mercury. As consumers become more aware of the health hazards associated with having one of the deadliest toxins known to mankind a few inches from the brain 24/7/365, many are considering removing amalgam fillings. I advise friends and family in New York to carefully research the dentist they choose to do the work.

Inappropriate removal of amalgam

Conventional methods of removing amalgam fillings greatly increase the mercury hazard. Little or no protection is provided to the patient as the filling is ground out with a drill. Particulate matter lands on the skin and is swallowed. The greatest threat, however, is from the drilling itself. When amalgam is heated by friction, it releases mercury vapor. Inhaled mercury vapor quickly passes through lung membranes and accumulates in the body.

Safe removal of dental amalgam

At The Brand Wellness Center, we adhere to strict IAOMT guidelines for removal of even a tiny amalgam filling.

• The patient is given an activated charcoal tablet 15 minutes prior to filling removal.
• The treatment room has an air filtration system.
• An alternative air source is provided for the patient.
• A rubber dam keeps particles from being swallowed.
• The filling is kept cool with water and air.
• “Chunking” the filling into several pieces reduces the need to drill.
• A high volume evacuator removes vapor and particles.
• Once the filling is removed, staff uses fresh rubber gloves.
• The patient’s mouth is rinsed for a minimum of 15 seconds.
• The work area is immediately cleaned up, and the patient’s face and neck are wiped.

That is an oversimplification of a complex process, but it gives you an ideal of the importance of removing amalgam fillings safely, for an ongoing improvement in your overall health. 

Mercury fillings impact the health of NY dental hygienists and assistants

According to the United States Department of Labor, there were 200,500 dental hygienist jobs in this country in 2014, with a growth outlook of 19 percent (much higher than most fields) in the next ten years. There are even more dental assistants at 318,800, with an 18 percent growth outlook. Nearly 96 percent of those dental workers are female. Many are young women, starting families. As a holistic dentist in NY, I am concerned about the potential of mercury dental fillings to cause these individuals grave health problems, including birth defects and reproductive failure.

Occupational hazards of amalgam fillings

Silver-colored fillings contain about 50 percent elemental mercury, a known neurotoxin. In conventional dental offices, dental workers rarely wear protective gear or use air filtration masks. The rationale given by their employers is usually two-fold. First, since the ADA and FDA have long supported use of dental amalgam, it must not be dangerous. Second, protective gear would scare patients on the receiving end of amalgam fillings. Most dental workers aren’t fully aware of the hazards of working with amalgam, and their health suffers as a result.

How mercury infiltrates the body

Elemental mercury can be absorbed through the skin, ingested, or inhaled. Dental workers are commonly exposed to mercury vapor. They work in close proximity to a patient’s mouth, breathing the vapor each time an amalgam filling is polished, ground, or drilled.

The human body has no way to flush mercury, so it builds up over time. Mercury vapor attacks the central nervous system, and impairs lung and kidney function. Because the toxin crosses the placenta, it also accumulates in unborn babies. Fetuses are especially susceptible, as the neurological system is developing.

There way to resolve this very real health threat to thousands of NY dental workers and their future offspring. The change will occur when dentists, dental support staff, and patients demand a healthier alternative to mercury-laden amalgam fillings.

Wonderful Whey Protein

Detoxing the body from heavy metals and other everyday toxins can be a challenge. As such, it is important to find simple routines and nutrients to incorporate into your daily rituals to enhance health. (Read My Secrets to Regaining Health) Ingesting whey protein may be worth adding to your list.

Whey Protein Powder

Whey is formed as a byproduct of cheese production. It is a complete and balanced protein because it contains all the “essential” amino acids (as well as additional amino acids). It supplies the purest form of these crucial nutrients and cofactors for cellular repair and growth.

Bleeding Gums

Do you have bleeding gums or chronic bad breath? Do you find blood on your pillow in the morning? If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions you may have gum disease.

Bleeding Gums

Periodontal (gum) disease is rampant. It is estimated that 80% of the adult population over the age of 40, have it. Most people aren’t even aware that they have it since it is fairly painless with minimal symptoms. If left untreated, the obvious sequelae include painful abscesses, loose teeth, and finally tooth loss. The less obvious sequelae is chronic inflammation in the body, heart attack and strokes.

Oral Probiotics

When we think about probiotics, we automatically think of intestinal health. We know that intestinal health is a significant key to our healthy immune system, so it is important to maintain its integrity by eating fermented foods or regularly supplementing with probiotics.

But now we can look at the other end of the digestive system- the mouth. Most of us are already aware that the health of the mouth is a reflection of our bodily health. This has already been shown through conventional medicine with simple correlations of periodontal (gum) disease with coronary disease. Holistically, the meridian system (via Acupuncture) has shown that every tooth is correlated with a corresponding body part. (see Meridian Chart here)

With this in mind, maintaining a healthy flora in the oral cavity may be an important shield in preventing cavities, gum disease, bad breath and localized infections like the common cold or sore throat. The bigger picture is that it may save your life by preventing disease in distant outlying bodily organs.

Friendly bacteria (probiotics) boost our immune system and hinder pathogens from binding to your body's tissues. Probiotics can also lessen the growth of pathogens by producing agents that make it harder for them to live and thrive.

Fluoride with Lead: A Toxic Combination

According to a recent report published by the Fluoride Action Network, fluoridation chemicals added to public water supplies can leach lead from water pipes and increase lead levels in children’s blood. The report, produced in light of the current lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan, explains that fluorosilicic acid (the chemical that fluoridates the drinking water) intensifies the corrosion from lead pipes and fixtures.

Fluorosilicic acid is a caustic fluoride byproduct of the commercial fertilizer industry and is added to public water supplies, including Flint’s, in a failed effort to prevent tooth decay. (See our many posts on Fluoride at The Brand Wellness Center website that explain this.) Even though lead water pipes were banned in 1986, these pipes are still in use throughout the nation’s water supply infrastructure.

Keeping tooth decay at bay: A holistic approach to preventing and treating cavities

One of the most rewarding aspects of dental practice is helping patients avoid oral problems. I know that even a simple cavity can cause physical discomfort, emotional stress related to appearance, and wellness of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit – I take the wellbeing of each patient seriously. I believe in preventing and treating tooth decay with a holistic approach.

concern over treatment cost and taking time off of work. As a healer concerned with the

How tooth decay occurs

Your teeth are covered with a thin coating of enamel, which protects the underlying porous dentin structure. Enamel is incredibly strong, but it is not impermeable. Your mouth is home to hundreds of strains of bacteria. Many are beneficial; they help to break foods down for digestion. However, like any living organism, as bacteria eat, they excrete. In this case the excretion is quite acidic. It combines with acids from sugars in sweet foods and carbohydrates, sticking to teeth in a gooey film of plaque. These acids infiltrate microscopic tubules in tooth enamel and begin to dissolve its mineral compound. The result is tiny lesions that, without care, eventually become holes in your teeth – dental caries, tooth decay, or cavities.

Skeptics ask, “Why consider amalgam removal?”

Dental amalgam has been used in the United States to fill cavities since before the Civil War. In those early days, the material was inexpensive. Even today, some dentists prefer amalgam because fillings can be completed quickly. Prep work doesn’t require a lot of finesse – the dentist simply drills out a substantial portion of tooth structure and presses the malleable material into place. Plus, amalgam lasts a long time. However, these “silver” fillings actually contain only a tiny bit of silver. This combination of metals includes about 50 percent mercury. Many health-conscious patients are choosing to have amalgam fillings removed because of the implications of having one of the most toxic elements known to mankind situated a few inches from the brain. Yet doubters continue to ask, “Why consider amalgam removal?” Let’s take a look at some of their common contentions, from a holistic perspective.

Skeptic claim #1 – “Mercury is harmless in an alloy.”

An alloy is a combination of metallic elements. Dental amalgam is an alloy of copper, tin, and silver, with mercury as a binding agent. Mercury does not become inert in this mixture. Friction (chewing, biting, and grinding) allows mercury vapor to escape from amalgam and be absorbed into the lungs, digestive tract, and soft tissues of the mouth.

Osteonecrosis: Death of the Jawbone

When one thinks about losing teeth, usually we think of periodontal (gum) disease, deep dental decay or maybe even trauma (getting hit in the mouth). But as baby boomers age, one has to consider how medication may play a part in this.

Osteonecrosis of the Jawbone

 
Osteonecrosis, or death of the jawbone, is on the rise. It has been reported in patients who are receiving treatment that includes bisphosphonates (for osteoporosis), chemotherapy (for cancer), and/or corticosteroids (for inflammation). The majority of reported osteonecrosis cases have been connected to dental procedures such as tooth extraction or implant placement. It is not that these procedures create it, but that they actually uncover it and expose its presence.

Biomimetic Dentistry

A relatively new phrase in the holistic dental community is "biomimetic dentistry".

The word "biomimetic" is derived from two terms: "biology," the science of life or living matter in all its forms, and "mimic," to imitate or copy. With the advent of adhesive bonding technologies in dentistry over the past few decades, materials and techniques have been developed that allow for the minimal removal of tooth structure, followed by adhering tooth-colored material onto or within the tooth. The philosophy behind this brings new meaning to the phrase “less is more”.

Historically, when prepping a tooth for a filling, dental schools taught students “extension for retention” and “extension for prevention”. In essence, the bigger you make the cavity prep, the more likely the filling will stay in and the less likely you will get a recurrent cavity around it. This no longer holds any truth in the modern dental arena.

Nowadays, decay is removed and a restoration is bonded that both strengthens and mimics the form and color of the remaining healthy tooth. Depending upon the individual needs of a tooth, it can be repaired either with a bonding material applied directly to the tooth, or with a conservative inlay/onlay (similar to a partial crown) fabricated in a dental laboratory.

Biomimetic Dentistry: Less is more.

In these cases, crowns and prophylactic root canals can be avoided. The integrity, form, esthetics and function of the tooth, as nature intended, can be preserved. Thus, biomimetic dentistry is achieved.

5 Ways to Detox from Fluoride

“Fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster than any other chemical.” - Dr. Dean Burk, PhD

Cleansing your body of fluoride is not the same as getting rid of heavy metals such as mercury. Fluoride is not a heavy metal. It's a halide (review your high school chemistry) in the same family as iodine, bromine and chlorine. Fluoride, bromine, chlorine all bind to the iodine receptors in the body and displace iodine. So it is not uncommon to find that fluoride toxicity is associatd with iodine deficiency.

Here are some simple ways to remove fluoride out of your body daily:

Is Fluoride Making You Sick?

Fluoride is found everywhere today. Not just toothpaste and mouthwashes, but in many antibiotics, medications, and even non-stick cooking pans. I think that most of us know that it is found in many bottled waters and municipal water supplies.
The fallout from this fluoridated water supply is that it is currently in just about everything we eat or drink that has been made from these waters. There is no escaping fluoride in the modern world, and as a result, there has been a plethora of diseases associated with this fluoride overdose.

Fluoridated water from the kitchen sink

Here are the top 7 fluoride related health challenges:

NAC: A Detoxification Revelation

Replacing your mercury fillings with a dental material that is more biocompatible and less toxic, is usually the goal of the vast majority of patients that come to see me. And I applaud each of you who actually take a proactive step to do so.

The question that usually comes up afterwards is: How do I remove the residual buildup of mercury from my body tissues?

There are many simple ways to detox, and you can actually read about many of them in my book My Secrets to Regaining Health or read through my blogs to get other helpful ideas.

However there is another simple method worth exploring. The use of NAC.

NAC (N-Acetyl –Cysteine) is a natural sulfur-containing amino acid derivative found naturally in foods. It is a powerful antioxidant. It helps the body eliminate free radicals and neutralize toxins, especially heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead.