Cosmetic, Implant & Holistic dentistry - Dr Jeff Brown

Greenwood Dental
Level 2,
103 Miller Street
North Sydney
NSW 2060

Ph: 02 9957 2988
After Hours: 0412 449 578
Fax: 02 9964 0160
Email: jeff@gwdm.com.au

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Why Holistic Dentistry?

From a young age I have always had a very keen interest in general health, well being, nutrition and fitness. This is reflected in the way I live my life and practice Dentistry. The mouth plays such a critical part in the health of the body as a whole that it is vitally important to keep the mouth healthy. The mouth has a very rich blood and nerve supply, harbours a lot of bacteria and is the entry point for all food and water.

Basically Holistic Dentistry involves treating the mouth in such a way that no harm comes to the rest of the body. Many diseases can be made much worse if the mouth is not healthy and recently evidence has shown some diseases and conditions can actually be caused by bad oral hygiene.

Headaches:

Dentists today see many patients with headaches which it is possible for us to treat.
If we rule out systemic problems it may be caused by:

• Grinding or clenching of the teeth. This is normally diagnosed by wear patterns on the teeth, pain in the muscles of the jaws upon awakening in the morning, tender jaw muscles or limited mouth opening. We have various appliances we can make which most often will alleviate the symptoms and hopefully get rid of the headaches.
• Incorrect tooth positions can cause muscle, joint and neural imbalances which can lead to headaches. Thorough assessment of the teeth can diagnose this and restorative treatment or orthodontics is very often successful in treating this.
• Past trauma such as car accidents or sporting injuries to the head and neck region can manifest later in life as headaches. Thorough history taking can diagnose this problem, the resultant headaches of which can often be treated successfully with physiotherapy.
• Bad posture particularly in the work environment can lead to head and neck aches.
• The pressures of everyday working, family and social stresses can cause tension headaches. How often after a stressful day at work we come home with a headache?
• Disturbed sleep patterns are a common cause of headaches. The importance of an open airway during sleep is vitally important as is the body's ability to rest and recuperate during sleep. Even snoring can disturb good sleep patterns.
• The lack of optimal nutrition and exercise can affect the balance of proteins, fat and carbohydrates, the imbalance of which can lead to headaches.

Allergies

With the increased amounts of toxins in our environment, insecticides and preservatives added to our foods, allergies are increasing in the general population.

The most common allergies we see in the mouth are latex and metal allergies.

Patients with known latex allergy need to be treated with non latex gloves while patients who present with a moderate or severe rash around the mouth following treatment could very well have a latex allergy.

Metal allergy is not very common but considering the different metals used in Dentistry, patients with this type of allergy can experience allergic symptoms. Metals used include gold, tin, copper, silver, nickel, cobalt, titanium, chromium and palladium to name a few.
Symptoms of metal allergy can be wide and varied from headaches or skin diseases such as psoriasis to even Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in severe cases.
We have tests available that not only will identify metal allergy but exactly what metal one is allergic to.
Today it is possible to practice Dentistry without the use of any metals.

Amalgam

Amalgam is probably the most widely used filling material ever to have been placed in teeth. Not only does it corrode and blacken in colour as it ages, it contains 50% mercury, which is given off as mercury vapour during the life of the filling. Mercury is so toxic that taken in a large enough doses it can be fatal. Amalgam also contains silver, copper, tin and sometimes zinc. Most of the mercury vapour is absorbed through the lungs and then into the bloodstream. Thousands of research articles have raised serious doubts about the safety of mercury in amalgam. The more fillings and the larger they are increases the risk of possible toxicity to the body. It is important that the correct procedure is followed for the safe removal of amalgam fillings. This involves the use of a rubber dam to isolate the tooth from the rest of the mouth, additional suctions and filters with nutritional support and detoxification. The amalgam is normally replaced with tooth coloured fillings that not only look better but are non toxic with little chance of affecting your health.

Root Canal Treatment:

Inside every tooth are one or more root canals that house nerves and blood vessels. These canals can become inflamed, infected and may die due to trauma or decay. This can be extremely painful as anyone who has had a tooth ache will testify, or painless and go on for years until detected by x-rays. Either way the treatment of choice today is root canal treatment the purpose of which is to clean out the root canal system and render it as close to sterile as possible.

Due to the complex nature of the system it is all but impossible to leave the system sterile, so would it just not be better to extract the tooth and not leave a focus of infection that could continue to affect the whole body.

Firstly loss of the tooth could result in numerous joint, bite and muscle issues which could be helped with the lost tooth being replaced, while secondly it has been shown that today most patients could expect to have and retain root fillings without any consequences for the rest of their lives. Some patient’s however who have had persistent health problems following root canal treatment have noticed a dramatic improvement in their health following extraction of the offending tooth while others have not.

Healthy Gums

Healthy gums are extremely important in the general health and well being of the body as a whole.
Unhealthy gums and teeth are covered by bacteria which can spread throughout the body via the blood stream or be inhaled into the lungs. The bacteria can cause the gums to become chronically inflamed which biochemically makes cholesterol stickier, increasing the possibility of cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks or strokes. Chronically inflamed tissues also release a protein called C reactive protein that can cause the same affects.
Chronic low grade inflammation or infection can cause a long term strain on the immune system which may compromise your health.
So regular gum cleanings are vital to the overall health of the body. This can generally not be accomplished by a quick 10-15 minute clean by the dentist. In our practice we have Dental Hygienists that are trained to focus on this aspect of your oral health and each visit is 1 hour. They will assess the condition of your gums, teeth and underlying bone, instruct you in correct oral hygiene and brushing, remove bacteria and deposits on the teeth and gums as well as give nutritional advice. They will also assess your existing fillings, check your bite, review and update your medical history, examine and check for oral cancer and identify any causes of bad breath. Sometimes follow up visits may be necessary.

Nutrition

The mouth plays an important role in the nutrition of the whole body. Food enters the mouth where it is chewed and swallowed, so without teeth, food cannot be chewed properly affecting digestion. Some people will just not eat a nutritious diet if eating is uncomfortable or not efficient.

Many diseases related to nutrition will first manifest in the mouth.
A lack of vitamin C will result in scurvy associated with bleeding and swollen gums.
Poor oral hygiene and diet will also affect the gums in a similar manner.

A diet high in sugar can make the saliva more acidic predisposing one to oral infections, tooth decay and loss of bone support around the teeth. Some people just have acidic saliva for an unknown reason that can affect the whole body predisposing one to general disease. We in our practice have tests to determine just how acidic one's saliva is and then have remedies to correct it by modifying diet and lifestyle.

Incorrect diet and dehydration can lead to severe headaches.

A new problem we are encountering is the use of sports drinks. These drinks are high in sugar and in large doses can cause tooth decay and severe tooth wear by acid production.