Searching for a holistic dentist nearby

by Meliors Simms | Holistic Dentists, Root Canals, Toothache Remedy

FAQ : Can you recommend a good holistic dentist?

Holistic dentistry sounds like such a benign alternative to conventional dentists. My completely unscientific guess is that there a lot of people who would prefer a holistic dentist given a choice, without really knowing what it means. I’m also sure that almost all of them end up settling for conventional dentistry.

But if you’re someone who needs to avoid the mercury in amalgam fillings (or safely remove existing amalgams), or is seriously concerned about possible neurological side effects from fluoride treatments, then at some point you have probably tried quite hard to locate a holistic dentist in your area.

You’ve probably found the search for holistic dental care to be a lot more difficult than you expected.

There are all sorts of reasons you might harbour valid concerns about your dentist’s default choice of materials, procedures or philosophies.

You may have had previous over-exposure to toxins, suffer from severe allergies, live with an auto-immune condition, or have had experiences in the chair that made you mistrustful of conventional dentistry.

The point of this post is not to argue the pros and cons of these concerns (I promise to unpack these controversies elsewhere).

My intention here is to provide some guidance through the minefield of misrepresentation that you’ll get from a simple Google search for ‘holistic dentist near me’.

Screenshot of Google search for holistic dentist with drop down menu

The irresistible SEO of holistic dentistry

I’m sorry to say that the term ‘holistic dentist’ is virtually meaningless in practical terms. It’s an unregulated descriptor, so there’s nothing to stop any old dentist from calling their practice ‘holistic’ even if they only offer mainstream conventional dentistry.

As I have learned from seven years of running a natural oral health coaching business called the Holistic Tooth Fairy, ‘holistic’ is a powerful, coveted, expensive, keyword on search engines.

The people who do the marketing for dental practices know that millions of people search for holistic dentists every day. In order to show up at the top of those searches, they buy Google Ads using the keyword ‘holistic’ to get their sponsored listing displayed at the top and bottom of the first page of search results. They also salt ‘holistic’ liberally through their website copy for search engine optimization (SEO) to improve their search rankings.

Screenshot from the FAQ page on a Lumino Dental website where you can see them SEOing the heck out of their ‘holistic dentist’ keyword phrase. Lumino is a conventional dental franchise in New Zealand.

How can you tell whether a dentist is genuinely aligned with holistic values you would recognise or just cynically on the holistic SEO bandwagon?

At the bare minimum, you have the right to expect a dentist describing themselves as holistic to:

- - - Take fewer x-rays than conventional dentists
    - Discuss your medical history, overall physical health and your intentions for dental health
    - Take a conservative approach to restorations (especially root canals)
    - Offer alternatives to fluoride treatments
    - Never place amalgam fillings

If you really need a dentist who practices in a way that takes the whole body system into account, avoids toxins and minimises interventions then you are better off searching for terms like:

- - - Biological dentist
    - Integrated dentist
    - Functional dentist
    - Bio-mimetic dentist
    - Whole body dentist
    - Mercury-free dentist

Try using these search terms for yourself and see how far you would have to travel to visit the nearest one of these dentists.

Tell me you're a holistic dentist without telling me you're a holistic dentist

Unless you live in a large city in a wealthy country, its hard to find a biological/integrated/functional/bio-mimetic/wholebody dentist. There just aren’t very many of these types of dental specialists in the whole world!

To get a better idea of where such specialists can be found, bypass Google and use their own professional directories:

International Academy of Biological Dentistry & Medicine (IABDM) trains and certifies biological dentists, including safe removal of mercury fillings, dental ozone, mojuth meridians etc. Their membership directory indicates which members have been certified.

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) is a science focused research academy not for profit which investigates the effects of amalgam fillings, fluoride, root canals etc. Their membership directory indicates each member’s level of training in biological dentistry, from a single course in safe mercury removal to 500 hours of scientific research.

Holistic Dental Association (HDA) is a broad church who set a low bar to be listed as a ‘holistic dentist’ . Some of the members in their directory indicate that they don’t use amalgam fillings or topical fluoride, some indicate that they do, and most don’t give any clue. Use this directory with caution if fluoride and amalgam are deal breakers for you.

Screenshot of Google search for biological dentist

Dental privilege

Don’t wait for an emergency before you start looking for this kind of dental care. Even if you are lucky enough to be able to find a biological/integrated/functional/bio-mimetic/whole-body dentist nearby, you might be shocked at how inaccessible they are in other ways.

The mismatch between supply and demand for ‘real’ holistic dentists make for long appointment delays. Some such dental clinics are still playing catching up with their patients after extended lockdowns. Some don’t accept new patients, or only by referral.

And make sure you are sitting down before asking about the cost of a consultation, let alone a treatment plan. If you think regular dentists are expensive, these specialists will probably put the cost of mainstream dental care in perspective. They are also even less likely to be covered by dental insurance (private or public) than conventional dentists.

Settling for a regular, decent dentist

So what should you do when there’s a yawning chasm between the value you place on non-toxic dental care and your ability to access specialists?

I suggest that for those of us hindered by geography, finances and/or scarcity it may be easier to find a conventional dentist who is flexible and respectful of your expectations and boundaries and negotiate with them to get the level of holistic care that you want or need. And that’s a challenge that my next book, The Empowered Dental Patient, is going to tackle.

Has a dentist told you that your cavities or receding gums are your fault because you are drinking too much Coke, you don’t floss enough or you need to stop breastfeeding your baby? And you know that isn’t true!

I’m a natural oral health coach and I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

I can help you to turn your oral health around with natural strategies, healthy habits and intuitive insights.

Work with me

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

The Secret Lives of Teeth is a clear and comprehensive guide teaches you a unique, complementary self-help approach to easing toothaches, enhancing enamel and gum remineralization and getting better results with necessary dental treatments.

Available as a paperback or ebook.

Read The Secret Lives of Teeth NOW

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Alt Oral Book Review: Metaphysical Anatomy

by Fatin Zainudin | Metaphysical Teeth, Root Canals

Book Review: Metaphysical Anatomy: Your body is talking, are you listening?

by Evette Rose (2012)

_{The first thing you notice about Metaphysical Anatomy: Your body is talking, are you listening? Volume One by}_{Evette Rose is that is HUGE! It’s a 1.5 KG, 7 x 10 inches, 800-page paperback that does double duty in my office as an occasional reference and a reliable doorstop.}

_{The bulk of this self-published book comprises an alphabetical guide to over 650 medical conditions. This book isn’t specifically about oral health, but Metaphysical Anatomy does not stint when it comes to the mouth, it covers abscess, bacteria, bruxism, canker sores, cold sores, gingivitis, gum problems, periodontitis, grinding, clenching, jaw problems, lips, salivary gland disorders, teeth problems, tooth sockets inflamed, root canal, TMJD, throat and tongue problems. Whew!}

Each section gives a description of the types of trauma, and trauma responses, associated with each condition. Rose offers a list of questions that could be explored in therapy, journalling, or meditation to help you recognise how your symptoms are a trauma response developed out of survival instinct.

Upfront the book explains the fundamental healing concepts in Metaphysical Anatomy (MA) as ‘a trauma-based personal development process’ which seems to be the essence of Evette Rose’s courses and coaching practice. I suspect that the book is most useful for her students rather than casual readers.

Physical, emotional or environmental trauma is the ultimate cause of most human problems. If one’s physical trauma response is not completed, it can cause disease later in life, and trauma responses can be passed on through generations. The trauma cycle is completed by discharging the retained nervous system energy of adrenaline, tensed muscle and other symptoms of stress. A trauma cycle can be completed later, or even in later generations without necessarily even knowing what the origin of the trauma was. It can be enough to recognise how a trauma response serves you now.

The MA approach to healing medical conditions involves completing the trauma cycle by acknowledging that a survival instinct continues holding trauma in your body.

This theory is closely aligned with my own understanding of energetic influences on oral health. However, in my experience (not having studied with Evette Rose), the discussions of oral health conditions in the A-Z section are of limited use. When I first got the book I tried it out with a couple of clients but it didn’t resonate with them at all so I quickly resumed my own, more reliable, intuitive approach.

Should you read it?

Nonetheless, Metaphysical Anatomy has occasionally been helpful for me over the years since then. When I’ve encountered a client with a condition I’m not familiar with, it is one of several books I might turn to help me build a healing story with them (although I never wholly rely on it). As a result, it has helped to influence the ‘Symptoms as Messengers’ chapter of my own book, The Secret Lives of Teeth: Understanding emotional influences on oral health.

Metaphysical Anatomy Volume 1 is a significant investment in money and shelf space for anyone who wouldn’t be using it professionally. I imagine an Applied Kinesiologist might get the best ROI. But for the casual self-help reader (who hasn’t studied with Rose), the value proposition is a lot shakier and it makes an expensive doorstop.

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

Available as a paperback or ebook.

Buy The Secret Lives of Teeth

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Yummy Gummies: The Anti-Cavity Candy

Stop tooth decay naturally

Relax your jaw for teeth relief

Sexy, sacred teeth healing diet

Getting Root Canals

Removing Root Canals

Yoga for Receding Gums

Living teeth need living food

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

10 common oral hygiene mistakes

Alt Oral Book Review: Whole Body Dentistry® by Dr Mark Breiner

by Meliors Simms | Holistic Dentists, Root Canals

Book Review:

Whole Body Dentistry: A complete guide to understanding the impact of dentistry on total health
by Dr Mark A. Breiner DDS (2011)

In the small but horrifying Alt-Oral publishing sub-genre of ‘what’s wrong with dentistry’, ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ is the best, in my opinion. Unlike most similar books, ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ is a solid, well written, well-edited and authoritative text that rationally conveys the risks associated with many mainstream dental practices.

The author, Dr Mark A. Breiner DDS, started practicing in the early 1970s as a conventional army dentist. In 1978, out in private practice, he began to question the safety of mercury in fillings while also learning about the positive impact that bite adjustments could have on whole body health. Over the following decades, he pioneered the ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ approach to resolve ‘baffling, unresolved health problems’ which don’t necessarily have an obvious link to dentistry.

In the 11 years since this book was published Dr Breiner has become well-known in alternative health media where he argues against amalgam fillings, fluoride treatments and root canals while advocating for biological and holistic dentistry.

Introducing biological dentistry

‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ was one of the earliest books I read when I started looking for a way out of my chronic dental problems and endless dental treatments. By then I already knew a fair bit about the risks of amalgams, root canals and fluoride but I devoured Breiner avidly and anxiously, learning enough about implants, cavitations, jaw bone loss, inflammation etc to keep me awake at night.

Unfortunately most of the solutions Breiner offers to the dangers he describes involve more dental interventions. Yes, biological dentistry as he practices and advocates is a less harmful, less invasive approach. But it’s simply not available to most people. There are very few dentists anywhere in the world who practice anything like Whole Body Dentistry®, and those who do almost always have long waiting lists and astronomical fees.

Should you read it?

Even though ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ is written accessibly for the lay reader, I would most enthusiastically recommend this book for dental professionals and dental students. All dentists need to know how their treatments can affect their patients’ whole-body health and more of them need to question what they are being taught in dental schools and dental conferences.

For the rest of us, is it worth reading? If you are someone with an extensive history of dental interventions (root canals, extractions or implants) and serious, systemic health problems that seem to have no explanation, then yes. It may help you unravel the mystery of your symptoms and find remedies that finally work.

Maybe also a yes, if you are considering an extensive treatment plan and want to be a more educated self-advocate with your dentist. It’s one way to learn the language and concepts for communicating with your dentist on their own territory.

However, from my perspective as a holistic oral health coach ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ can be a disempowering read for people who are already living with a mouthful of dental work. I’m concerned that reading it without discernment could generate unnecessary anxiety because it doesn’t adequately explain that not every root canal turns toxic and not every extraction generates a jaw bone cavitation. And by presenting his very techno-focused and literally trademarked solution, Dr Breiner offers little hope for low-income readers in particular.

Is Whole Body Dentistry worth reading?

As a book, ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ does what it sets out to do, which is to introduce biological and holistic dentistry to those unfamiliar with it, and explain why such alternatives are needed. ‘Whole Body Dentistry®’ does this job better than most similar books but it’s still too easy to come away with the impression that your mouth is a ticking time bomb and the only way to defuse it is out of your reach.

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

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Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

by Meliors Simms | Cure Gum Disease, Metaphysical Teeth, Reverse Tooth Decay, Root Canals, Toothache Remedy

Metaphysical Meanings of Molars and Premolars

The metaphysical meanings of molar and premolar teeth are different for every individual. However, there are some common themes and widely accepted frameworks for interpretation.

Molars and premolars are your most powerful teeth, the grinders and chewers.

Energetically, these big back teeth help you to process the challenges in your life.

Meridian meaning of molars

The meridian system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treats molars and premolars differently from the rest of your teeth. The meridians for each pair vary according to whether they are in the upper or lower jaw and the right or left side.

Upper molars and lower pre molars are on the Stomach and Spleen meridians on the left side or Pancreas on the right side. These meridians are associated with emotions including anxiety, self-punishment, hate and low self worth.

Lower molars and upper premolars are on the Lung (associated with grief and sadness) and Large Intestine meridians (associated with feeling compulsive, trapped, controlling or overcritical).

When you are trying to understand what is going on metaphysically with a molar or premolar, it’s helpful to take into whether it’s on the top or bottom jaw, and right or left side.

Learn more about the meanings of each quadrant of your mouth, and some important general advice for working with metaphysical meanings for oral health here.

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolar teeth

Psychosocial meanings of molars and premolars

Dr Michele Caffin’s psychosocial framework relates each type of tooth to a particular aspect of your life. You can explore each of these interpretations in more detail by cross-referencing with the meanings of right and left, upper and lower quadrants of the mouth explained here.

The first premolars (teeth numbers 5, 12, 21, 28) relate to your ego, your identity and your desires.

It’s common practice for orthodontists to extract the first premolars of young teenagers with crowded teeth. But metaphysically, missing these teeth can weaken your sense of self and may result in submitting to authority figures even if you don’t want to.

The second premolars (4,13,20,29) relate to your creativity, hobbies and children.

These teeth can start to experience problems when the responsibilities of adult life, particularly parenting start to crowd out your own interest.

The first molars (3,14,19,30) relate to status and expression.

These teeth can be affected by how you speak up for yourself at work or at home.

The second molars (2,15,18,31) relate to relationships and daily life.

There is a close relationship between these back molars and wisdom teeth (which I’ll focus on in the next video and blog in this series).

——————————

But these two frameworks (TCM and psychosocial) are just starting points for understanding and healing your teeth and gums, they are not sufficient by themselves. You need to be a detective, investigating the unique personal influences on your own teeth and gum symptoms.

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

Available as a paperback or ebook.

Buy The Secret Lives of Teeth

Are mouth infections and abscesses influenced by anger?

Making sense of symptoms

Chronic oral health symptoms can be the embodiment of an emotional or psychosocial pattern. It’s common to be able to trace your adult teeth and gums problems back to patterns that emerged in childhood or adolescence as a survival strategy.

You may have spend years consciously try to change the emotional pattern with therapy, trauma healing or emotional expression, yet the physical pattern can persist in your mouth.

Angry Abscesses

Abscesses and infections in your mouth may indicate a pattern of suppressed frustration or anger.

The abscess may flare up if you are triggered into anger in your current circumstances, or it can be a long low simmer from earlier in your life.

Look at the particular teeth adjacent to the infection to help you make sense of it.

For example, on your left side molars or premolars an abscess may be in response to a toxic intimate relationship or unhealthy family dynamic.

Infected molars or premolars on your right side are more likely to be assocated with work related frustration or injustice in the public sphere.

Is gum health influenced by security and stability?

Gum insecurity

Gum problems around molars and premolars may indicate a lack of stability or security in relation to the particular issues governing those teeth.

Gum issues adjacent to premolar #5 could relate to insecure employment, unemployment or underemployment.

Gum issues around molar #19 may relate to insecurity in a romantic relationship, such as feeling jealous or betrayed.

Misaligned molars

When your upper and lower molars aren’t vertically aligned enough to chew properly, it may represent a resistance or block to deeply engaging with life challenges, either in the past or as an ongoing pattern.

For example, if your lower jaw skews to your right indicate that you have avoided emotions, or not been processing issues, around family and intimate relationships.

Or if your lower jaw is skewing left perhaps you have avoided career or economic responsibilities or had difficulty with pursuing your professional or academic ambitions.

Could your crossbite be influenced by emotional avoidance?

What’s next?

Please don’t take these suggestions about how to interpret your molar and premolar issues too literally.

They should be considered as prompts for self examination, and not acted on as a reliable diagnosis for yourself and especially not for anyone else.

Explore your own unique personal symptoms by journalling, in safe, therapeutic conversations with a counsellor or coach (like me!) or read my book, The Secret Lives of Teeth: Understanding emotional influences on oral health.

This blog is part of a series which explores ways to work with the metaphysical meanings of specific teeth such as wisdoms, canines and incisors and how to interpret different kinds of symptoms in your teeth or adjacent gums.

To help speed up the process you can watch my free Listen to your Teeth masterclass where I take you through a guided meditation for listening to your teeth.

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

Available as a paperback or ebook.

Buy The Secret Lives of Teeth

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free.

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

Metaphysical teeth: Self-help strategies for oral health

Political Teeth

How to heal decaying baby teeth

Natural solutions for gingivitis or gum disease

How to get rid of cavities naturally, for FREE

Spiritual Reasons for Gum Disease

A simple guide to online coaching

My 5 Best Websites for Natural Oral Health

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

Metaphysical healing guidelines for oral health

by Meliors Simms | Cure Gum Disease, Metaphysical Teeth, Reverse Tooth Decay, Root Canals, Toothache Remedy

Metaphysical Healing for Teeth and Gums

Metaphysical healing teeth and gums can help boost the effectiveness and sustainability of dental procedures as well as natural approaches to oral such as health herbs or diet, anatomical adjustments to your breath or jaw muscles, optimising your oral hygiene rituals… or a necessary dental procedure.

In this video I lay out some guidelines for applying spiritual healing concepts to teeth and gums. There are strengths and limitations of using existing frameworks of metaphysical meanings to symptoms, which I explain in relation to the four quadrants of your mouth: the upper and lower jaws and the right and left sides. Finally I’ll provide some practical examples of how to work with metaphysical meanings to help with healing your own symptoms.

This video series is all about the metaphysical or non-physical, influences on your oral health, but its important to remember to provide physical support for your teeth. If you have intense or constant pain, or other serious symptoms please visit a dental professional.

Interpreting the quadrants of your mouth

Metaphysically and dentally, you can divide your mouth horizontally into upper jaw (maxilla) and lower jaw (mandible); and vertically into right and left sides.

Upper Jaw

Your upper jaw is about dreams and intentions, it represents what you want and wish for, the upper jaw is where you set goals and visualise the future. Having symptoms concentrated in your upper jaw can indicate a problem with knowing or accepting your dreams or desires.

Lower Jaw

Your lower jaw is about action, speaking your truth, and qualities of courage, authenticity, decisiveness. Symptoms in your lower jaw can suggest you have held back from speaking out or taking action.

TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint)

Your TMJ joint, the hinge between upper and lower jaw, represents the connection between your desires and your actions. It can embody your fears, your impulsiveness or your hesitation. Symptoms such as TMJ disorder, a clicking jaw or teeth grinding can indicate resentment or anger.

In many healing traditions the Right side of the body is associated with masculine energies or your relationship with your father while the Left side is associated with feminine energies or your relationship with your mother.

However, I find it’s not usually helpful to take such a gender-essentialist interpretation of these associations with the sides of your mouth.

Instead, the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang can be more meaningful.

Right side of your mouth

The energy of the right side of your mouth may tend to be more yang: active, outward, professional, career, logical thinking.

Left side of your mouth

The energy of the left side of your mouth may tend to be more yin: inner world, intuitive, family, children, hobbies, creativity.

But knowing the traditional associations with different parts of your mouth is just a starting point for spiritual healing, not a solution or cure in itself .

Metaphysical meanings of the quadrants of your mouth

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

Available as a paperback or ebook.

Buy The Secret Lives of Teeth

Guidelines for spiritual healing

As a holistic oral health coach, I may refer to existing metaphysical frameworks such as Traditional Chinese Medicine’s meridian system, Dr Michele Caffin’s psychosocial system and correlations identified by Louise Hay, Evette Rose and others as starting points for understanding the metaphysical influences on your oral health. These frameworks are most helpful when inspiring what questions to explore, rather being relied on for answers.

Think of these existing associations as story prompts that can help you explore your own childhood and adult experiences, your family patterns and ancestral lineage.

Parts of your unique story might come to you in a dream, or as a memory from a past life.

Your story can emerge from your visioning, or be picked up from the wider culture.

Finding your healing story this way can give you a delicate, imaginative tool for healing.

For the purposes of healing, it doesn’t necessarily matter whether your healing story is true or accurate in order to transform your relationship with your oral health.

However, it can feel intoxicating to finally make sense of your symptoms with a compelling metaphysical interpretation.

That intoxication can lead you to give your healing story more weight than it can hold.

It may not be wise to use your healing story to determine your identity, and you should certainly be very careful before going public with blame or claims.

Before you take your healing story out of the safe space of your healing work, (ie before you share it anywhere beyond your journal or a confidential therapeutic conversation) ensure you have receipts.

Without corroboration, or evidence, going public with your healing story could potentially cause further harm, if not to you, then to others.

Find your unique oral health healing story

Your unique metaphysical meanings

Journalling can be one way to help you develop traditional associations into a healing story that can help you to relieve your symptoms and transform your oral health.

Think of your symptoms as metaphors you can apply to the associations. Make a list of words that describe your symptoms:

eg blocking or eroding or aggravating, deep or shallow, nagging, intermittent, subtle, overwhelming, irritating, invasive, unbalanced, stuck etc…

Once you’ve written down the words that describe your symptoms, reread each word and think about the non-symptom experiences in your life that those words could also be metaphors for. A thesaurus or synonym search might be helpful.

Understanding the metaphysical meaning of your teeth issues can be like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with a picture that is mostly blue sky. You have to test many possibilities to find the right fit.

With relaxed curiosity and a playful spirit you can test your symptom’s metaphors against the associations of their placement in your mouth.

A throbbing toothache in your upper left jaw

For example: if you have a throbbing toothache in your left upper jaw… think about anything in your personal life that feels overwhelming, or a nagging desire that remains unfulfilled. Have you had any relationships that feel like this, or felt like this in the past, especially within your family or intimate circle?

A throbbing toothache in your lower right jaw

If the throbbing toothache is taking over your lower right side consider whether your work life is demanding or whether you’ve made a career move you regret. Are you uncomfortable now or in the past with anyone in a position of authority, or anyone in a fatherly role or acting in domineering way?

Keep brainstorming metaphors and experimenting with associations. Don’t be afraid to extend your pool of possible healing stories by drawing on memories, dreams, insights from other people, even song lyrics that catch your ear!

Spiritual Healing Guidelines for teeth and gums

Recognising your own healing story

You won’t always recognise your story right away.

Sometimes you will think: not this old trauma, surely my 20 years of therapy and healing resolved this by now.

Sometimes you will think: that’s too trivial, I don’t have enough emotional attachment for this to explain my symptoms.

Sometimes it can take weeks of chewing on these ideas before you get clarity.

To help speed up the process you can watch my free Listen to your Teeth masterclass where I take you through a guided meditation for listening to your teeth.

Learn how to interpret the metaphysical messages of your teeth and gum symptoms!

Available as a paperback or ebook.

Buy The Secret Lives of Teeth

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.

That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.

My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free.

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Is your jaw clenched right now?

by Meliors Simms | Cure Gum Disease, Holistic Dentists, Metaphysical Teeth, Reverse Tooth Decay, Root Canals, Toothache Remedy

If you had to stop to evaluate whether or not it was clenched, noticed that it was, and then had to manually un-clench it – this article is for you!

We are in an unprecedented moment.

Not only are we adapting to a complete change in daily life, but we are in a time where taking care of normal, routine things like oral health may just have fallen to the wayside.

Many dental associations around the world are advising their region or their country to suspend regular dental services and only provide emergency dental care.

There will likely not be any non-emergency dental treatment available in most places for quite some time.

And so, in some ways, we really are on our own.

That makes this a great time to bring natural oral health into the mainstream conversation about how we care for our teeth.

Your mouth is a vulnerable place.

The mouth is very vulnerable to infection, and it is part of our immune system.

The complex system of our mouth – the saliva, gums, mucous membranes, teeth and jaw – all of that is within itself an immune system, which is connected to the bigger immune system of our body. It’s very close to our nose.

Our mouths are one of the vectors where we can potentially inhale little droplets of virus that might stay in the air for up to three hours, so we really do need to be taking good care of our mouth.

This means being extra careful with brushing and flossing. It means not causing bleeding if you can avoid it.

It helps if you can keep the jaw relaxed so that you’re not risking cracking or chipping a tooth, or even losing a filling because of tension.

Stress and tension is markedly high.

On top of the limitations for professional dental care, stress may be at an all-time high for us.

We may be taking on the stress of others as well as our own. Did you know that we sometimes actually store stress in our jaws and teeth?!

All of this fear around the pandemic may lead to people clenching their jaw even more than usual, which can cause cracks, chips, and toothache nerve pressure.

Jaw tension is then being exacerbated. With conventional dental care unavailable to handle non-emergency situations, it becomes even more important to do some jaw self-care.

You’re not powerless in this.

Fortunately, there are some simple, basic things we can do on our own at home to reduce the need for dental intervention.

A fabulous way of mitigating both our oral health needs, as well as the intensified stress we may be under, is to practice jaw massage and relaxation.

You can relax your jaw every evening with jaw massage.

I recommend that you go slowly, mindfully and gently. Pay attention to your breath.

Notice how your jaw, and your psyche, are feeling as you go. Think of this as a loving act of self-care, as well as prime support for your oral health and well-being.

As you proceed through the steps below, imagine that there’s a healing light coming out through your fingertips like a spotlight shining through the tissue of your cheeks, into your jaw and into your gums.

Here are the steps involved:

1. Massage the TMJ joint (the hinge between your upper and lower jaw, in front of your ear)

2. Massage along the upper jaw line

3. Massage along the lower jaw line

4. Massage underneath the lower jaw line

5. Massage around the eye sockets and temples

6. Massage over the ears, and follow base of skull to the occipital bone where the spine enters the skull, and extend the massage to your scalp, neck and shoulders as desired.

(For full step-by-step instructions on jaw relaxation, have a peek at my video on this)

This is truly self-care at its best.

If you practice this jaw relaxation daily, you can greatly reduce the likelihood of clenching and grinding. You can avoid the potential risk of unnecessary damage to your teeth and jaw.

And this practice helps to center you. When you add in your own healing intentions, it connects you more deeply to your body and overall sense of well-being.

Not only does this help stop the clenching and grinding, but can even support cracks in the teeth to heal whilst avoiding chipping in general.

It’s so lovely to do just before you go to sleep at night. You can relax the jaw for the night so that you don’t clench or grind in your sleep. It allows you to release the tension of the day.

Jaw relaxation another tool for you in your dental health self help regimen. Combine this with a dental nutritional protocol and overall dental hygiene, and you can reap the benefits afforded by better oral health.

You can physically reduce stress and tension to help foster greater relaxation, which we all need a bit more of at the moment, don’t we!

I’m not going to blame you or shame you.
The underlying causes of your oral health issues are not your fault!

Nature or nurture, ancestry or environment, free will or systemic oppression, unconscious emotions or the degraded food system

These are the factors that make your teeth and gums vulnerable to disease.

Even though your tooth decay and gum disease is not your fault, it is within your power to change.

You can turn your oral health around with natural strategies and healthy habits.

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Metaphysical Meanings of Molars and Premolars

Energetically, these big back teeth help you to process the challenges in your life.

Meridian meaning of molars

Psychosocial meanings of molars and premolars

The first premolars (teeth numbers 5, 12, 21, 28) relate to your ego, your identity and your desires.

The second premolars (4,13,20,29) relate to your creativity, hobbies and children.

The first molars (3,14,19,30) relate to status and expression.

The second molars (2,15,18,31) relate to relationships and daily life.

Making sense of symptoms

Angry Abscesses

Look at the particular teeth adjacent to the infection to help you make sense of it.

Gum insecurity

Gum issues adjacent to premolar #5 could relate to insecure employment, unemployment or underemployment.

Gum issues around molar #19 may relate to insecurity in a romantic relationship, such as feeling jealous or betrayed.

Misaligned molars

When your upper and lower molars aren’t vertically aligned enough to chew properly, it may represent a resistance or block to deeply engaging with life challenges, either in the past or as an ongoing pattern.

What’s next?

Please don’t take these suggestions about how to interpret your molar and premolar issues too literally.

They should be considered as prompts for self examination, and not acted on as a reliable diagnosis for yourself and especially not for anyone else.

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

Metaphysical Healing for Teeth and Gums

Interpreting the quadrants of your mouth

Upper Jaw

Lower Jaw

TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint)

Right side of your mouth

Left side of your mouth

Guidelines for spiritual healing

Finding your healing story this way can give you a delicate, imaginative tool for healing.

It may not be wise to use your healing story to determine your identity, and you should certainly be very careful before going public with blame or claims.

Without corroboration, or evidence, going public with your healing story could potentially cause further harm, if not to you, then to others.

Your unique metaphysical meanings

With relaxed curiosity and a playful spirit you can test your symptom’s metaphors against the associations of their placement in your mouth.

A throbbing toothache in your upper left jaw

A throbbing toothache in your lower right jaw

Recognising your own healing story

Sometimes you will think: not this old trauma, surely my 20 years of therapy and healing resolved this by now.

Sometimes you will think: that’s too trivial, I don’t have enough emotional attachment for this to explain my symptoms.

Sometimes it can take weeks of chewing on these ideas before you get clarity.

Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.

We are in an unprecedented moment.

Your mouth is a vulnerable place.

Stress and tension is markedly high.

You’re not powerless in this.

You can relax your jaw every evening with jaw massage.

This is truly self-care at its best.

About The Holistic Tooth Fairy

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