Holistic Dentistry
What is Holistic?
The basic philosophy of all Holistic practice is that everything in the body is connected in some way, meaning that we take into account the whole body in the context of healing. We are concerned with:
- The health of the mouth (teeth, gums and jaws) and its impact on the health of the body.
- The health of the body and its impact on the health of the mouth.
Reasons why you should choose a Holistic dentist/Holistic dentistry
- Safe removal of amalgam/silver fillings.
- Treatment of mercury toxicity.
- Use of biocompatible dental materials, i.e. materials that are in harmony with your body.
- Prevention and effective treatment of bite and jaw related problems, sometimes associated with headaches, migraines, neck and back ache.
- Non-extraction orthodontics - this can prevent musculo-skeletal problems that can potentially be triggered by the removal of teeth. More details on this form of treatment can be found on our Dental Technicians website.
- Treatment of inflammation by our dental hygienist. Inflammation in the mouth can be linked to infections in the body e.g. chronic long standing gum disease has been shown to have a direct link to cardiac disease.
- Willingness to refer to, and work with, good complimentary and conventional practitioners to meet the needs of a comprehensive approach. Richard himself uses Applied Kinesiology (member of the International College of Applied Kinesiology) and is a qualified Reiki Master.
What is Applied Kinesiology - and its use in holistic dentistry?
Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a system using basic manual muscle testing, e.g. looking for something that will make a strong muscle weaken, for evaluating areas of impaired function within the body. For instance, in the dental field, Richard could ascertain whether you may be intolerant to silver fillings by seeing if a normally strong muscle in the arm weakens in the presence of the filling material.
Introduced by a chiropractor, Dr George Goodheart in 1964, AK has expanded considerably, providing many different dimensions to the diagnosis of bodily dysfunction. It uses the principle that the body is a self-maintaining, self-correcting mechanism.
Health is composed of structural, chemical and mental factors which must be equally balanced, producing the "The Triad of Health". AK can be used to analyse and check all three factors and suggest treatment for any that are disrupted. Again, dentally, an example of a structural factor is misalignment of the jaws, and a chemical one is mercury toxicity! AK is always used in conjunction with standard diagnostic checks, each enhancing each other.
