Kiss Your dentist goodbye
I love dentistry and for over forty years I have passionately educated and empowered patients to be successful with their oral health and avoid dental treatments. This was why I wrote Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye, to share this knowledge and explain the preventive side of oral health to desperate patients. My excitement about AAOSH was ignited as I discovered others who held the belief that medical professionals must work together. We agreed on the need for a paradigm shift to avoid preventable dental diseases and limit the whole body consequences that are triggered by poor oral health. What could be better than helping people live longer and healthier lives?
But there is an elephant in the room. How do we help patients avoid preventable cavities and periodontal disease? Any thinking person can look at current statistics and say we need to change something. There’s an epidemic of early childhood caries in kids under four in all socio-economic groups. This is not about flossing – this is a bacterial disease! We know the bacteria in a four-year’s mouth transfer to the permanent erupting molars and influence the child’s oral health as he or she becomes an adult. Sealants may sound effective, but what are the consequences of BPA and what if we block the fissures that protect the healthy bacteria responsible for digesting gluten in the mouth? Could dentistry be making children fatter and gluten intolerant? Does fluoride harm the thyroid health of girls and make them less able to conceive? These are vital questions, and someone has to address them.
We know 75% of teens have fillings and cavities, which shows disease bacteria are in their mouths. Dentistry fixes problems but cannot stop the infection that causes them. By age thirty, plaque has usually caused gingivitis and potentially initiated periodontal disease in 50% of young adults. Plaque and periodontal pathogens are transmissible – do kids know this? Do young women understand the health of their mouth during pregnancy directly affects the initial gut health of their baby, and poor oral health is a high risk for pre-term birth?
What’s so bad about a cavity? Yes, cavities grow up to be crowns, and root canals, implants, and possibly dentures. How can we allow this progressive, destructive disease to destroy families without sounding an alarm? These are preventable diseases and we are experts in prevention. We need to show our patients how to gain the upper hand on dental problems: to stop cavities, control periodontal disease and positively influence whole body health. I discovered an easy, no-floss home care system thirty years ago that appears to address good and bad bacteria and promote sustainable oral health. There are so many kinds of bacteria we must consider when we are recommending daily oral care. Here is the list:
- The spore-like "seeds" of immature plaque
- Mature plaque that develops and sticks to teeth
- Anaerobic pathogens of periodontal disease
- The diverse and healthy bacteria of the mouth that help us sustain health. (I pay closest attention to this group.)
We need to be kind to good bacteria, but target pathogenic bacteria for disease prevention.
This is why I believe there is no way for one toothpaste or one mouth rinse to gently combat caries and periodontal health in a simple home care routine. My system has helped thousands of my friends, family and patients avoid dental treatments and reverse cavities and periodontal problems. People have enjoyed sustainable oral health for decades – at every age. The system centers on xylitol and the daily use of a sequence of inexpensive over-the-counter products. Everything I recommend is generally ignored for glossier and more expensive, “new and improved” versions. But do they work? Check the statistics!
We know that sporadic doctor visits cannot keep our bodies healthy and the secret is what we do for our health daily. My system helps patients strengthen and clean their mouths each day to avoid dental treatments. The system is based on evidence-based science and my hope is that patients reduce their need for X-rays, fillings, periodontal therapy, and maintenance. The health of enamel improves when we allow teeth to mineralize but when we professionally polish them, we take away the hardest layer of enamel.
As AAOSH members, we pledge to lighten the burden for patients, helping to improve their general health and reduce the financial cost of disease.
My hope is that we ignite this goal for dental care, working to lessen the need for treatment and its expenses, so patients can enjoy more encouragement and improved whole body health.
You may not have time for my books, but they are an easy read for patients. I teach risk factors and simplify CAMBRA in Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye. My next book will hopefully help patients understand why dentists need to work with OB-GYN, pediatric, internist, ENT, chiropractors and NDs, to name just a few professionals that must rally for whole body health.
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AAOSH connects doctors and dentists, along with healthcare professionals from all fields to bring awareness to the ORAL-SYSTEMIC connection. 