Natural Dental Care: Heal Your Teeth

The natural dental care focuses on providing safe and natural treatments to patients by getting rid of toxic materials and metals traditionally used by conventional dentists. This field of dentistry also focuses on prevention rather than curing the problems. It focuses on the health of the whole person, not just his dental health. The healthier the body is, the more likely it is for the teeth to be healthy. Diet and exercise as they impact a person's health are also given consideration.

A practitioner of natural dentistry will never use such potentially harmful treatments as mercury dental amalgams. This substance is a toxin and all dentists must handle it as hazardous waste. Since amalgams are about 50% mercury, do you really want that in your mouth? Mercury has been found to cause many complications in the body including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Fillings used in natural dentistry are coloured resins and porcelain as well as gold. Old mercury fillings are often replaced by these safer materials in order to improve a patient's health.

Crowns used by orthodox dentists are made of materials that contain toxic metals like nickel. Metal free, porcelain and ceramic crowns are an excellent option for those concerned about what goes into their mouth.

Practitioners of natural dental care do not believe that tooth decay is caused by a lack of fluoride, but rather poor brushing techniques and an inadequate diet. In fact, excessive fluoride has been linked to loss of appetite in children, weakness of muscles and nerve damage.

So the patient is not given a fluoride treatment, but rather is shown the best brushing and flossing techniques as well is advised on the best diet which will ensure healthy teeth and gums. The dentist teaches his patients about the harmful effects of white flour, refined sugar and white rice. A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables as well as protein from eggs, chicken and beef is also recommended.

Gum disease is addressed by the dentist by advising daily cleaning. Vitamin supplements and herbs may also be recommended. These include calcium to strengthen bone and vitamin C for healthy soft tissue. Tea tree oil in toothpaste and mouthwash is helpful in reducing the bacterial build up which can cause an infection. Diet, exercise and the state of mind of the patient are also taken into consideration. By controlling gum disease, the chances of suffering stroke, heart attack, diabetes and obesity are reduced.
Practitioners of natural dentistry hold the belief that root canal procedures can produce poor health by not thoroughly treating infections unable to be detected by x-rays. Alternative treatments such as red heat lamps, or sauna therapy are used. If these processes do not work, they will consider extracting the tooth.

Anaesthetic is available at the surgery of a natural dentistry practitioner. Acupuncture is also often made available for pain control, as well as nitrous oxide (laughing gas).

Why Basic Dental Care Will Never Go Out of Style

You may have noticed that all of these complicated and fancy treatments have popped up. Laser gum surgery, other advanced surgeries and even implant technology continue to grow and evolve with each passing year.

However, our goal should be to never need these special (and expensive) treatments. Many of these 'solutions' can be avoided with a little bit of knowledge and effort at home.

Many people are subconsciously sold on the idea that they only need to brush and floss. In truth, this does work for some people and they are able to continue for many years without a problem. Yet, many people are very faithful about their brushing and flossing and still end up with numerous problems.

These are the people who would benefit from an overall home dental care philosophy. With a little understanding, many people can greatly improve their dental health and increase the chances of avoiding advanced treatments.

However, the biggest reason that your personal home care will never go out of style is just basic science. Most dental disease occurs because of some exceptionally pesky little critters called anaerobic bacteria.

They form a special relationship with each other and produce a biofilm called plaque. It is a thin, mostly invisible layer of stickiness that shields them from their one bane - oxygen!

I am fairly certain that you have heard of plaque before. Plaque is, along with the anaerobic bacteria that it shields and hides, what dental professionals have identified as the enemy.

There is a trick in all of this. It is the essence of your own personal protection. If you will understand this one key point, you can make a dramatic shift in your dental health.

The plaque needs to remain intact for the anaerobic bacteria to reach population levels that can do significant harm to your dental health. This is the secret.

If you disrupt the plaque daily, the underlying bacteria will be exposed to oxygen. This will keep their population levels manageable.

There is absolutely no way to completely get rid of the bacteria, it is simply impossible. Therefore, your home dental care most focus on the disruption of this plaque every day. If too much time goes by and the plaque remains intact, the 'bad' bacteria will grow rapidly.

This means that as long as you disrupt the plaque every day, things should get better. However, it does appear that while brushing and flossing does the trick for some, many others seem to need to do more with their home care. Learn what else it takes to make and keep your teeth and gums healthy for a lifetime!