Holistic Dentistry
In this blog, I’m sharing what I’ve learned as I’ve researched + made decisions to approach my dental health in a holistic way. You’ll enjoy this if you are someone who is making efforts to eat whole foods, drink clean water, reduce your overall toxic load and approach your health through the body as a whole …
This is full length blog which includes my experience, research, my oral health routine, suggestions for dentists that want to integrate doTERRA into their clinic and a podcast interview about total health dentistry.
I don’t write for everyone, but I do write for you 😘
Enjoy + please share if you find value …
So growing up, I was the one in our home that was drawn to healthier foods from a young age …
I would drink the water when my brother was cracking open cans of Coca Cola that he had hiding in his bedroom.
I never drank juice and had less sugar than most kids I knew.
I had a good routine in place taking care of my teeth as a little girl - morning + night, rarely flossing but don’t think I was the only kid that wasn’t haha.
Went for dental cleanings every year, did the fluoride, used the Colgate, etc
And every year without fail, I would have at least 1 cavity.
This continued on throughout my teen years and evolved into several root canals, crowns + mercury fillings #80skid
For most of my twenties, I was eating a vegan diet which turned out to also put my body into an opportune state for decay as I discovered it to be quite challenging to have a fat soluble rich diet when eating strictly vegan.
It’s really been only in the last 5-6 years that things started to turn around as I began integrating organic/mineral rich foods, plant medicine in the form of pure essential oils, clean + supportive oral hygiene products and bio-available supplements. (Bioavailable simply means the available amount of a supplement that the body is able to use, most supplements today create expensive urine)
And now I’m grateful to be in a position to ‘clean up’ a lot of the dental work that was done in my first 20 years.
In this blog I want to share a bit of the background that formed this decision for me + my experience so far …
So I titled this blog, holistic dentistry so that you can find it more easily when searching … let’s first look at what that means.
Since you’re reading this, I know you’re interested in continuing to learn + grow in the ways you take care of yourself.
I also know that you have a reverence for how your body works - that what you do to one part, you do to the whole.
This essentially is the definition of a holistic perspective + approach.
This perspective aligns with the understanding I began to have over a decade ago. as I was unlearning things I grew up believing about our health.
And in my personal experience with oral health - the old way of thinking was only leading to new problems.
When we are talking about our teeth, we cannot tell ourselves a story about how our teeth have no connection to the rest of our body.
I’m not only talking about the connection that is believed to exist between each tooth and specific organs (as seen in the meridian tooth chart), while that’s interesting, I’m mostly talking about how the state of our mouth gives us a good indication of the health of the whole body.
Perhaps you’ve heard about the work of Dr Weston Price?
He was a pioneer dentist back in the early 1900s that began having suspicions about methods such as root canals + the real reason cavities formed.
He made the world his laboratory, and his work formed much of the foundation for the understanding we have today within the approach of holistic or total health dentistry which advocates for the following:
✔️ Eating nutrient-dense, mineral rich whole foods, properly grown and prepared
✔️ Avoid root canals: If you have root canals that you suspect are causing disease, have them removed by a knowledgable dentist
✔️ Avoid mercury (amalgam) fillings. If you have amalgam fillings, have them removed by a holistic dentist who specializes in mercury filling replacement
✔️ Orthodontics should include measures to widen the palate.
✔️ Extract teeth only when necessary, and then in such a way as to avoid leaving the jaw bone with cavitations, which can be focal points of infection.
Let’s quickly explore 2 common areas that conventional dentists and holistic/biological dentists have different perspectives on …
Root Canals
We make the decision to do a root canal because when presented the option of keeping our tooth or removing it … keeping it feels like the right decision doesn’t it?
It did at least for me several times I was presented with these options.
However, does it make sense that we would cut off a part of our body that has died (to frostbite let’s say) but then kill a part of our body and leave it in?
A tooth is basically a small organ with it’s own blood supply to receive nourishment, healing, oxygen. When we root canal a tooth, we are killing it and then leaving it in the body without any way for the body to reach it. Healing blood + bacteria from within your immune system can no longer travel to the dead tooth should a problem arise down the road. And a problem almost always does arise …
What kind of problem?
You may have seen the documentary Root Cause, before Netflix was pressured by the American Dental Association to pull it down.
Root canal teeth can harbour bacteria and become a chronic infection and that infection can then travels throughout the body contributing to many chronic health issues such as heart disease + cancer. Up to 400% more bacteria have been found to surround a root canal tooth, so it appears that the
dead tooth becomes a safe house for harmful bacteria to collect, grow, mutate + invade.
Did you know that over 15 million root canals are performed each year in the US alone?
It’s best to get a second opinion from a biological dentist if you’ve been told you need to get one.
There was a 5 year study done by researcher Dr. Robert Jones, who discovered an extremely high correlation between root canals and breast cancer.
Looking at 300 breast cancer cases it was discovered that 93% of women with breast cancer had root canals. What was even more interesting is that it was found that in most cases, tumours manifested on the same side of the body as the root canal tooth. Dr. Jones deems that toxins from the bacteria in an infected tooth or jawbone inhibit the body’s natural ability to suppress tumour development. Ultimately - it puts the body into a state of depressed immunity.
My first priority in addressing the health of my mouth began in 2017 as I made the appt to have my first root canal tooth extracted.
It had been done about 15 years ago, became infected 5 years later, was root canaled again and then became infected once again 2 years ago.
And as I’ve explained, there is absolutely no way for the body to reach the site to heal it. It doesn’t matter what routine you have in place, this bacteria is unreachable.
Further down, I’ll share more about my experience having my first root canal tooth pulled …
The other hot topic within dentistry is
how much mercury exposure is okay?
If you’re like me and are a child of the eighties … than you may have at least 1 mercury filling.
By the way - did you know dentists will rarely refer to them as mercury fillings? They’ll say something less suggestive such as silver, amalgam or metal.
Toxic mercury makes up about 55% of amalgam fillings. And we now know that this mercury is continuously being emitted and absorbed into various organs throughout the body for ‘safe’ storage. The impact this has on the body is intensified by how many fillings you have, chewing food + grinding your teeth.
And while several countries have banned the use of mercury fillings, it is still a common practice in North America
Now that I have had the 2 root canal teeth extracted over the last 2 years (because they were on opposite sides of my mouth and with each extraction, I had to wait 4 months before an implant could be put in place), my next priority is to have my mercury fillings properly removed.
It’s important that you work with a certified biological dentist to have mercury fillings properly removed or you could have poisoning occur through the removal process. You can find a list of dentists that are certified to do this right here. This is where the process began for me 5 years ago when I came across Dr Farahani (who I’m interviewing on the podcast) who specializes in safe removal of root canal teeth + amalgams.
As you’re doing your research, it’s important to know that the field of ‘holistic dentistry’ is not governed, so it’s important to meet with a dentist and really get a feel for their perspective + skill.
here is my current understanding and personal approach:
Nutrition for Dental Health:
Most cavities are now understood to be linked to the diet + microbiome. Back to Dr Price … he travelled all over the world in the early 1900s trying to understand why indigenous populations weren’t getting cavities. He was the first to link cavities back to the sugar, preservatives and acidity within the typical diet of the western population.
So the best focus is to eat as much organically grown produce as you can afford so that you nourish your body with more minerals grown in rich soil. If you can’t afford to go all organic - a good place to start is the look at the top 12 foods to always buy organic over on the Environmental Working Group (EWG Dirty Dozen list)
Healthy fats are super important because they contain fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K). Here is some good info about this and food choices rich in ADEK. Think about your daily routine and how can work these in. For example - I’ve been doing this version of bulletproof coffee for over 5 years, so I get a good solid dose of grass fed butter + MCT oil each day. For best Vit/hormone D intake - you want about 20 min of sun on your unblocked skin each day.
Supplements/other:
Vitamin C for healthy gums: acai, blueberries, citrus, asparagus, camu camu
Supplements such as doTERRA’s LLV gives you good broad spectrum of balanced micronutrients.
Probiotics are an integral supplement to the diet and to ensuring a healthier mouth. It is becoming more believed that the microbiome plays more of a role in having healthy teeth + gums than even how you take care of your mouth! doTERRA’s probiotic for kids + adults is one of the best on the market because of how much makes it way to the intestines where it is needed.
My daily oral care routine:
First thing in the morning before I drink water, I scrape my tongue
Brush up + down with OnGuard Toothpaste on an electric brush in the morning to polish and an ionic brush at night. Here’s why the OnGuard toothpaste is the most coveted paste in the natural health space.
Floss (you can add a drop of OnGuard or Myrhh to floss for deeper cleaning or use water irrigator
Rinse with OnGuard Mouth Rinse
Throughout the day, it would be ideal to brush after all eating, but if that’s not possible, simply rinsing the mouth with water after a meal helps. Waiting at least 30 min (to allow proper digestion to occur) and then chewing a xylitol based gum can help clean the mouth and help with pH too! And a simple DIY is to make your own cinnamon, peppermint or OnGuard toothpicks!
I don’t oil pull every day - more like 1-2x a week. I keep sesame oil in my bathroom and simply squeeze a little and then add a drop of peppermint oil or OnGuard oil right into the sesame oil while it sits in the little valley under my tongue before I start. Because sesame oil doesn’t go hard at colder temps - you can spit this right in the toilet when you’re done. If you’re using coconut oil - you will need to spit into the trash otherwise you’ll clog your plumbing. You can buy oil pulling packets for ease or even premake these oil pulling bites
Weekly: I will soak our toothbrushes + tongue scrapers in a glass of water with a few drops of OnGuard Blend to clean off bad bacteria
Every 6-12 months: Visit a holistic/biological dentist. What I recommend is that you continue to visit your conventional dentist - you will see they will have to evolve because of patient questions. And then seek out a holistic/biological dentist for a 2nd opinion the next time you are told you need.
The supplements I take that impact my dental health: doTERRA Lifelong Vitality (baseline support), doTERRA PB Assist (probiotic), doTERRA DDR Prime softgel (helps build strong new cells), Vit D/K2 blend (supports bone health)
Click Here to read research on why OnGuard is such a powerhouse blend
The Kids:
Kids can learn to scrape their tongue in the morning too
Brush up + down with OnGuard paste on an ionic brush and an electric brush a few times a week for polish
OnGuard mouth rinse but most kids will need to cut 1/2 with water in shot glass
For teething, you can make the following roller bottles depending on age:
Babies —> age 5 : In a 10ml roller bottle: 2 drops each frankincense + copaiba + lavender + siberian fir. Top with FCO and roll on cheek.
Kids age 5 - 12: Same oils as above but you can double the drops
Kids supplements: doTERRA kids multi, Pb Assist JR + Vit D/K2 blend
🛒 If you want to purchase doTERRA at the wholesale price of 25% off: I created this custom starter collection for you which has the doTERRA products I mentioned above and will give you 1 year of shopping whenever you want at that wholesale price.
If you first want to understand why doTERRA quality is important, read this blog on oil truths I wrote for you.
here’s what i did pre + post tooth extraction:
Internally:
Prior to a dental appointment and especially a procedure such as tooth extraction, it would be wise to take 2 OnGuard softgels each day for a few days prior along with massaging the Oregano touch into your feet. This will help strengthen your immune system before the procedure.
After the procedure (such as an extracted tooth), you can use certain essential oils to help with the inflammation. Here’s what I did: 2 drops each frankincense + turmeric + copaiba in a veggie cap, 2-3 a day. Right around the time I’m burping a little taste of turmeric, it has gotten to work and I feel a sense of calm rush over my body. Want to see what my root canal tooth looked like after it was pulled? Click here … it’s gross
After 2 days: alternate taking DDR Prime with that pill recipe above. This comes as a premade softgel by doTERRA or as an oil which you can make your own pills with 4 drops in them.
Continue on the (likely) prescribed antibiotics either until it’s run course (again review this with your dentist) or switch to GX assist daily for the remainder.
KEY: Take probiotics 2 hrs after taking the antiobtioic. doTERRA’s PB assist is the best as it has a prebiotic fiber built in and will reach the gut and not die in the stomach where most probiotics do. I set a timer on my phone to have an alarm go off to keep me on this schedule. Ongoing - after you’re done taking the antibiotics, continue taking 2 x PB assist each night before bed to help them populate the gut without having to compete with digestion or stress.
Other supplements that are key: doTERRA LLV + Terrazyme with meals. And on an empty stomach mix a Lypo-spheric Vit C packet into a little juice and do that once a day to boost the body’s healing especially of the gum tissues
Drink lots of water - at least 1/2 your bodyweight in oz. I recommend adding 1 tbsp of liquid chlorophyll + 2 drops of a doTERRA citrus oil such as tangerine, lemon or green mandarin to boost the body in cleansing.
Topically:
After the procedure, I made a roller bottle that worked beautifully to help with pain + inflammation. In it I put: 10 drops each copaiba + frank + black pepper + helichrysum topped with coco oil. Rolled on back of neck, temples and across the cheek area where the tooth was removed, several times a day.
If you have Deep blue rub - massage it into the back of your neck + traps will instantly help with any tension your body is holding onto following the procedure.
After a few days you’ll be able to resume your oral hygiene routine on the area that the tooth was removed. Now would be a good a time as any to evolve your oral hygiene routine to try some of the things I shared with you above.
🛒 Purchasing the tools:
Further up under the oral routine section - I gave you the link to purchase doTERRA at 25% off with a cart I created for you.
If you not only want to have a solid daily routine in place with the tools I mentioned there, but you are also preparing for a an upcoming dental procedure and want to be equipped, I’ve created this custom cart for you which has the items I talked about above for internal + topical preparation. You can add/delete items from this cart - I just wanted to put it all there for you for ease.
The rest of the items I mentioned above are clickable through the carousel below …
is your dentist interested in integrating doTERRA in the clinic?
The OnGuard line is the most popular collection within doTERRA which is a community of over 8 million customers around the world.
The Toothpaste + Mouthwash are the highest quality you will find in the natural health space.
Here is a collection of research done on the oils in OnGuard Whitening Toothpaste.
Here is a great article about how to diffuse anxious feelings + fear in the dental office.
I’ve also created this page on HOL:FIT with content for medical practitioners interested in learning more about doTERRA’s healthcare initiative + partnerships.
Notes for clinics looking to integrate:
Dentists can have an office wholesale account opened up that is run by the receptionist,
to order doTERRA at the wholesale price + sell in a retail space within the clinic at least 10% higher than the wholesale price.
Here is more info from the doTERRA policy manual about selling at retail from within the clinic.
Alternately, the clinic can offer patients the option of ordering doTERRA at wholesale to their own home.
To do this, someone at the clinic must be registered as a wellness advocate.
I have the simple steps for how to open up a wholesale account right here.
Resources:
Holistic dentistry directory: The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT): you can ask your dentist if he is trained through this organization to remove mercury fillings
Resources on mercury, fluoride, root canals etc
doTERRA Constituent Wheel: Learn which doTERRA oils to use in various applications based on what constituent they have.
Dr Mercola: How a Root Canal could be making you sick
Books: Cure Tooth Decay, The Dental Diet, The Toxic Tooth: How a Root Canal could be making you sick
Root Cause documentary was pulled by Netflix (censoring) because of all the backlash from the American Dental Association. You can still watch it on several platforms such as right here
Essential Oils + Oral Care (from the Oral Health Summit)
Do you want to learn from an expert?
Listen to the podcast interview I did with Dr Ali Farahani all about Total Health Dentistry
Show link:
Dr Ali Farahani is a leader in the interplay of how dental health and overall health intertwine for many years. He is well-known as a trusted, competent and above all caring dentist. Until recently he was only seeing adults with advanced dental needs in Stratford. Now in addition to helping adults he wants to help the younger generations by meeting them "up stream" to prevent rather than significantly intervene. His opinion has been sought by hundreds of Naturopathic Doctors from across Ontario as well as by publications such as Alive Magazine, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star.
In 2016 he was on a learning exchange at the world-famous Paracelsus Clinic in Switzerland which was featured in the Truth About Cancer series. World-renowned Dr. Thomas Rau MD and Dr. Farahani are planning guest lectures on his approach to Total Health Dentistry which will also be the name of his new podcast.
His new clinic is Sante Family Dental in Kitchener, ON, Canada where you will find a full range of holistic dental services such as fluoride free check ups, strict protocols for removing mercury fillings, natural gum care with microbial analysis and ceramic (metal free) implants. This new clinic is the realization of a long-time vision and has been designed to serve yet-to-be mothers, pregnant mothers, young children, adolescents, adults through all stages of life with every aspect of their oral health with special emphasis on their total health.
Questions during broadcast:
My experience: you had me at hello as you applied clove essential oil to numb + clean the gum area ;)
First I’d love for you to share what led you to become who you are today and the services you provide … which were quite alternative 10 years ago …
You define your work as ‘Total Health Dentistry’ can you explain what that means and what the difference in approach is compared to conventional dentistry?
Fluoride: One of the highlights of your clinic is that you are Fluoride Free practice. And fluoride is a hot topic because it’s a decision that in many municipalities, the government has removed choice as it’s pumped into the water. So it doesn’t allow choice and it doesn’t factor in the level of personal responsibility one may be taking - it’s a one size fits all approach. to Talk to us about why that is and how the understanding has shifted over the years with regards to the use of fluoride as cavity prevention.
Root Canals:
Many people have started to learn that there are serious health implications connected to root canals. What is the concern with having a root canal or having a root canal tooth in your mouth? Is it basically having a dead organ in your body?
Infected Root Canals are where the issue escalates. Because now you have a dead organ with an infection and it is a burden to the body.
Are all root canal teeth somewhat of a toxin factory?
Why might pulling a root canal tooth be a better option than re-doing a root canal?
So what are some things a patient can expect if they come to you to have a root canal tooth pulled?
The blood plasm
Screw in for approximately 4 mo until implant can go on (can get a ‘flapper’)
Implant vs leave a gap?
Implant material options? The implant not porous - it’s biomedical device that’s is solid…
How does pulling a tooth prevent future infection vs root canal?
cost range?
What are the implications of pulling a tooth and leaving a gap rather than placing an implant?
Mercury Fillings:
So alot of us 80s babies have mercury fillings … what is the concern with having these mercury pellots in our teeth - especialy if we’ve had them since the 80s?
Should all mercury fillings be removed or is it a patient by patient basis?
Is is true that mercury fillings release vapours that accumulate in the body tissues/organs?
Do you need to work with a trained holistic dentist?
The Holistic Perspective:
I want to ask you about the meridian chart or electrical pathway where it’s believed that each tooth is connected to an organ in the body. Have you seen evidence of this?
How much does diet play a role?
What about supplementation such as Vit D + probiotics?
Oral Care Rituals at home:
What would be a great oral care routine for our listeners to integrate at home? For kids - we have a lot of mamas listening?
What about 2 that I often talk about here: oil pulling + tongue scraping
Total Health Dentistry: what does this encompass?