Safely remove amalgam fillings

Safely remove amalgam fillings

What are amalgam fillings?

Amalgams are metal fillings that look silver when they are placed but soon turn a dark color that contrasts with the white enamel of your natural teeth. They are made out of an amalgam (blend) of different metals that can include silver, zinc, copper, tin, and mercury (usually about 50%). Amalgam fillings aren’t placed in adults as often as they used to be, so if you have one, it may be almost as old as your teeth.

The older the amalgam, the more likely it is to be leaching toxic mercury vapour into your body. The mercury in amalgam fillings can be released through wear and tear on the filling or the surrounding tooth, from oil pulling or even hot liquids. Visible signs that your amalgam filling may be compromised include the biting surface looking shiny (from clenching or grinding), cracks, chips, staining, or decay in the surrounding tooth.

Some people get very ill from mercury exposure and others can seem to cope with it for a long time. Your susceptibility to mercury toxicity is influenced by genetics, so not everyone will have the same level of reaction.

Nonetheless, amalgam fillings leaking mercury have been linked to the (usually) gradual or subtle development of gum problems, candida, neurological issues, fatigue, breathing difficulties, joint pain, skin rashes, kidney dysfunction, and gastro difficulties to name a few of a long list of possible symptoms of mercury poisoning. (ref)

Mercury can accumulate in the body from multiple sources, so if you’ve been exposed to mercury from eating fish or in your environment, that can build up along with any mercury leaching from your fillings. 

 

 

Safely removing amalgam fillings

Do you need to remove your amalgams?

The greatest risk of exposure to mercury poisoning from amalgams is actually while the amalgams are being removed from a tooth. 

You can get really sick if it isn’t done correctly.  The risk is less if the whole tooth is removed intact, but then you have lost a tooth, which should be avoided if possible.

As long as your amalgam filling is stable and you have no symptoms of mercury poisoning, then you may be better off leaving it in place for the moment.

Tests (e.g. hair, urine, EAV) can confirm whether you have mercury buildup in your body. Tests are also important to indicate the pace at which fillings can be removed safely. Your amalgam-removal dentist should first test to see if your body chemistry and organs are able to handle an amalgam-removal procedure

 

Who should remove your amalgams?

It’s really important to make sure your dentist has the specialist training and equipment to do the procedure safely. 

The dentist should protect you during the removal procedure with equipment including

  • a nose mask for breathing oxygen
  • a rubber dam to isolate the filled tooth from the rest of your mouth
  • a cool electric drill to avoid damaging the pulp.
  • a lot of water during the drilling to capture particles and keep your tooth cool
  • special intra oral high speed suction (a specialised high veolcity vacuum cleaner with the opening placed very close to your moth to help take away any vapors and particles that the intra oral high speed suction may have missed
  • air filters in the treatment room

Your dentist should section the fillings out in chunks rather than grinding.   

Specially trained dentists will describe their amalgam removal qualifications and set up on their websites. If you don’t see them advertising this speciality then find a functional, integrated, or biological dentist (search directories) who takes amalgam removal seriously.

 Mercury detoxification

Mercury accumulates in the body, so you may not get relief from any mercury toxicity symptoms immediately after the amalgams are removed. There are protocols that can help flush (chelate) the mercury from your system more efficiently, for example by eating sulphur-rich foods (such as garlic) as mercury particles bind to sulphur to be expelled through the body’s waste disposal organs. 

I recommend working with a naturopath, nutritionist, or health coach (like me!) who has experience with guiding people through mercury detox/amalgam removal experiences.

Mercury retrograde amalgam removal

 Timing your amalgams removal

Ideally, you would remove any amalgam fillings at least six months before conceiving because if the filling is compromised, mercury can be passed to the fetus. Removing amalgam fillings is not recommended while pregnant as doing so may contribute to miscarriage. It’s also unsafe to remove amalgams while breastfeeding due to an increase in mercury excretion immediately after they are removed. (ref)

Once you have started removing amalgam fillings its a good idea to have all your amalgams removed as quickly as possible, within 30 days. However, you should try to schedule multiple mercury removal appointments on different days of the week. The body’s immune system runs on a 7-day cycle, and is better able to tolerate subsequent procedures if they do NOT fall on the 7th, 14th, 21st or 28th day after your initial appointment. (ref)

Astrologically speaking, Mercury retrogrades can be an auspicious time to review the state of your existing fillings. If you already know that you have compromised amalgam filings and you’ve just been waiting for the ‘right time’ to take action, a Mercury Retrograde is probably it. 

Mercury retrograde is an astrological transit happens about four times a year, whenever the planet Mercury appears to slow down and reverse, from our perspective looking from planet Earth.  Mercury retrograde season has a reputation for frustrating communication difficulties and annoying travel disruptions.

But it can also be a powerful time to review, revise, remove and renew, depending on the sign its retrograding in and its relationship to your birth chart. Consider timing your amalgam removal to coincide with Mercury retrogrades through Virgo and/or your first or sixth house, or with aspects to Saturn or Chiron.

What is the energetic meaning of your amalgam filling?

The meaning of your amalgam filling(s) relates to the specific tooth or teeth where they are located.  You can use my book, The Secret Lives of Teeth, to find out the spiritual/emotional/ancestral meaning of any tooth with a  filling?

Understanding the Tooth Archetype that holds your filling can help you to have a more positive experience with amalgam removal.

Plus you can use the metaphysical toolkit in Chapter 10 to help ensure an uncomplicated outcome with the removal procedure, or to maintain a healthy tooth if you are choosing to keep your amalgam in place for now.

 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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.

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. 

Dear tooth, I honour the life you shared with me and release you with love.

You can choose to turn your tooth extraction experience into a portal of profoundly transformational healing.

Download the 7-minute long MP3 audio recording to meditate with and/or use as journaling prompts.

Your Own Oral Unawareness

What's your level of oral unawareness? Are you someone who rarely looks inside your mouth, at least not further than the front teeth that show when you smile? Do you pay attention to how your teeth and gums feel when there’s no discomfort? When your teeth feel...

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

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...

Paying for a Hollywood smile- The real cost of veneers

Porcelain veneers are responsible for many perfect Hollywood smiles, but they come at a cost… not only to your bank balance but also to the integrity and long-term health of your teeth.  Before you invest in this form of cosmetic dentistry, be sure to ask some searching questions, both of your dentist and yourself.

Is it really possible naturally heal cavities with tooth remineralization?

Is it really possible to remineralize cavities naturally? The short answer is yes! Tooth remineralization is a natural process in a healthy body.  Small cavitites come and go naturally all the time Small cavities are very easy to heal holistically because your...

Metaphysical teeth: Self-help strategies for oral health

Metaphysics is the study of abstract ideas, concepts and systems.  There is more to teeth and gums than their existence as physical objects within our bodies. Economics, aesthetics, psychology, spirituality, meridians, family stories and cultural myths are just a few...

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

  Book Review: Whole Body Dentistry: A complete guide to understanding the impact of dentistry on total healthby Dr Mark A. Breiner DDS (2011)         In the small but horrifying Alt-Oral publishing sub-genre of 'what's wrong with dentistry', 'Whole Body...

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth. There’s the obvious of course...

A simple guide to online coaching

Any timezone, any place A consultation with the Holistic Tooth Fairy is nothing like going to the dentist! It's easy, empowering and even fun! All our consultations are done in online video calls which means that you can work with us no matter what country or what...

Natural solutions for gingivitis or gum disease

What is gingivitis or gum disease? Gum disease or gingivitis covers a continuum of symptoms such as bleeding gums, gum recession and gum pockets which may or may not proceed to ginigivitis and eventually periodontis.  Left untreated the consequences can range from...

Metaphysical healing guidelines for oral health

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...

How to have a tooth extraction with grace and ease

How to have a tooth extraction with grace and ease

 

Releasing your tooth with ease

 

No one wants to lose a tooth, but sometimes a tooth extraction is necessary. 

By the time you are considering an extraction, it’s usually the end of a long series of attempts to try almost every other possible way to restore and repair the tooth.

Unfortunately, eventually, sometimes you just run out of good alternatives and have to let the tooth go.

I see a lot of preventative advice about how to avoid reaching the end of that road to extraction. Most dentists are quick to offer an implant to fill the gap afterward.

This article is offers support for the experience of releasing a tooth with grace and ease when it really is the best decision at a certain point in time.

Medieval painting of a woman having her tooth pulled

Pulling teeth doesn’t have to be brutal

Once pulling teeth was almost the first resort of some mid-twentieth-century dentists, and now it’s usually the last resort when you’ve tried everything else.

Unfortunately, it’s still standard practice for many orthodontists to recommend removing healthy wisdom teeth or premolars from young mouths.

When healthy teeth are removed the physical challenges may be similar to medically necessary extractions (see my tips below) but the emotional implications are often postponed for decades.

I have met with many adults filled with regret and delayed grief for the adult teeth that were pulled out in their teens before they understood the implications. 

Deciding to extract an unhealthy tooth as an adult can be an opportunity to heal the old trauma of the earlier loss of healthy teeth by releasing your old regrets and grief.

Dear tooth, I honour the life you shared with me and release you with love.

You can choose to turn your tooth extraction experience into a portal of profoundly transformational healing.

Download the 7-minute long MP3 audio recording to meditate with and/or use as journaling prompts.

Top tips for an uncomplicated extraction

After a tooth has been extracted, a clot will form over the extraction site. This clot is what will keep you from developing a dry socket (and possibly its long-term complication of cavitation) so you want to encourage the clot to stay in place for 5-10 days.

You’ll be able to see the clot in your gums as a black spot that gets smaller day by day, eventually getting lighter in color and disappearing completely. 

The following tips are all about helping a healthy clot to form a secure attachment and stay in place until it dissolves or falls out naturally.

1. Schedule at least 24 hours to rest and recuperate from a tooth extraction. You may have a very easy experience in the dental chair and feel fine afterwards, but losing a tooth is still a big adjustment for your body. Immediately after a tooth extraction is not the time to take any exercise, including walking more than half a block. If possible you should avoid lifting anything heavy, especially wriggly children. If you had a difficult extraction try to take an additional couple of days off from any kind of exertion.

2. Don’t suck, squirt, or swish anything in your mouth anything until the clot is completely gone. That means don’t drink through a straw, smoke or vape, don’t oil pull, use a mouthwash or water flosser and don’t french kiss or give oral sex until the gum has healed over and you can’t see the clot anymore.

3. Avoid ‘bitsy’ food until the clot is gone. Stick to liquids for the first 24 hours, then eat soft smooth food for at least another couple of days. After day 3 you can start eating chewier food if you want but don’t eat food with little bits, like rice, rolled oats, chopped parsley, or nuts and seeds. Avoid any foods that might scratch at the clot like chips or toast.

A portal for transformational healing

Dear tooth, I honour the life you shared with me and release you with love.

A tooth extraction can carry a heavy emotional burden of fear, grief, disappointment, anger, and/or despair which can add to physical discomfort at the time, and may linger if not acknowledged and integrated.

Creating a healing story to consciously work with the emotions of extraction, along with the meaning of the tooth’s archetype*, can turn an extraction experience into a portal of profoundly transformational healing. It’s one of the most powerful aspects of my work as a natural oral health coach.

I recorded a heartfelt guided meditation called ‘Farewell to a Tooth’ where you can hear my words as though you are speaking directly to a tooth that you need to release or have already lost.

You can stream the meditation for free on Insight Timer  or purchase it as an MP3 download to listen offline forever.

*Tooth Archetypes are the unique emotional associations of each individual tooth, described in my book, The Secret Lives of Teeth.

Dear tooth, I honour the life you shared with me and release you with love.

You can choose to turn your tooth extraction experience into a portal of profoundly transformational healing.

Download the 7-minute long MP3 audio recording to meditate with and/or use as journaling prompts.

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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.

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. 

Tooth extraction meditation

Your Own Oral Unawareness

What's your level of oral unawareness? Are you someone who rarely looks inside your mouth, at least not further than the front teeth that show when you smile? Do you pay attention to how your teeth and gums feel when there’s no discomfort? When your teeth feel...

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

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...

Paying for a Hollywood smile- The real cost of veneers

Porcelain veneers are responsible for many perfect Hollywood smiles, but they come at a cost… not only to your bank balance but also to the integrity and long-term health of your teeth.  Before you invest in this form of cosmetic dentistry, be sure to ask some searching questions, both of your dentist and yourself.

Is it really possible naturally heal cavities with tooth remineralization?

Is it really possible to remineralize cavities naturally? The short answer is yes! Tooth remineralization is a natural process in a healthy body.  Small cavitites come and go naturally all the time Small cavities are very easy to heal holistically because your...

Metaphysical teeth: Self-help strategies for oral health

Metaphysics is the study of abstract ideas, concepts and systems.  There is more to teeth and gums than their existence as physical objects within our bodies. Economics, aesthetics, psychology, spirituality, meridians, family stories and cultural myths are just a few...

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

  Book Review: Whole Body Dentistry: A complete guide to understanding the impact of dentistry on total healthby Dr Mark A. Breiner DDS (2011)         In the small but horrifying Alt-Oral publishing sub-genre of 'what's wrong with dentistry', 'Whole Body...

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth. There’s the obvious of course...

A simple guide to online coaching

Any timezone, any place A consultation with the Holistic Tooth Fairy is nothing like going to the dentist! It's easy, empowering and even fun! All our consultations are done in online video calls which means that you can work with us no matter what country or what...

Natural solutions for gingivitis or gum disease

What is gingivitis or gum disease? Gum disease or gingivitis covers a continuum of symptoms such as bleeding gums, gum recession and gum pockets which may or may not proceed to ginigivitis and eventually periodontis.  Left untreated the consequences can range from...

Metaphysical healing guidelines for oral health

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...

Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Bone broth is one of the most nutritious foods for oral health because it’s high in collagen for strong, flexible gum tissue and mineral-rich for remineralizing tooth enamel. It’s also inexpensive and easy to make yourself!

Whether you are a habitual bone broth brewer or you’ve never even tried, you can vary your broth to suit your priorities:

FAST? EASY? CHEAP?

It’s all good!

 

Alt oral book review

Choose the bones

The best bones come from organic or wild animals.

For fast bone broth: Fish bones (and fish heads) make the fastest bone broth. The thinner the bones, the quicker they give up rich mineral goodness and fish bones only need up to an hour of simmering for an exceptionally nutritious broth.

(Chicken bone broth takes up to 24 hours of simmering and beef bones can simmer for up to 72 hours.)

For easy bone broth: Save your leftovers. Any time you roast a whole chicken, grill some T-bone steaks, or roast a leg of lamb you’ll have bones left over at the end.

Don’t throw them out! If you don’t want to make your broth immediately, store the bones in the freezer until you are ready.

For cheap bone broth: If you know someone who hunts or fishes, ask them if you can have the bones whenever they are successful. Otherwise look out for inexpensive bags of beef bones, fish heads, or chicken carcasses in the freezer section of your butcher or meat counter.

Choose the cooking container

The bigger your cooking container, the easier it is to make therapeutic quantities of broth on a regular basis.

For fast bone broth: If you have an instant pot (pressure cooker) you can make bone broth much more quickly than any other method!

For easy bone broth: If you have a slow cooker (crock pot) bone broth can be a set-and-forget cooking project.

For cheap bone broth: Use your biggest cooking pot and simmer on the lowest heat.

Choose the additions

Add a splash of vinegar to any broth to help draw out more of the nutrients.

For fast bone broth:  Make a bland broth with nothing but bones and water. Bland broth makes a good base for smoothies and any kind of cooking where you don’t want the broth flavor to dominate.

For easy bone broth: Use whatever fresh vegetables or herbs you happen to have available.

Onion, carrot, and celery are tried and true. Add bay leaf, thyme, and parsley for a Euro-flavor profile or ginger, garlic, and chilli for a more Asian-flavor profile. Or, even easier, add a stock cube for flavor.

For cheap bone broth: Keep a big sturdy ziplock bag in the freezer to collect vegetable scraps e.g. onion ends, carrot peels, leek leaves, and parsley stalks. Add any vegetables in your kitchen that are starting to get limp but not rotten, or vegetables from your garden that are over- or under-ripe or going to seed.

When you’re ready to cook withdraw a couple of handfuls at a time for a small broth batch or dump the whole bag to make a big broth. No need to thaw first.

Pro tip: chop the scraps into small pieces before you freeze them to release more flavor into the broth.

Alt oral book review

Choose what’s next

Once the broth is cooked, strain out all the solids. You can cook the bones again to simmer for another (less flavorful but still nutritious) broth.

For fast bone broth: make into a soup straight away by following your favorite recipe or adding some fresh vegetables to simmer until soft enough to blend or mash.

For easy bone broth: Transfer cooled broth to a jar in the fridge then heat up one cup at a time with a sachet or spoonful of miso paste for a hearty drink

For cheap bone broth:  Make broth in bulk to store in the freezer. Store in big containers for when you plan to make it into family-sized meals. Freeze in muffin cups for single serves or ice cube trays for when you just need a tablespoon of broth for a recipe. Transfer portions to a sealed bag once frozen so they’ll last longer.

For more simple suggestions for food to help regenerate teeth and gums check out

My delicious liver pate recipe

Cloud bread recipe

Golden milk

Alternatives to raw milk

Anti-cavity candy recipe

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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. 

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 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.

Strong Oral Health On a Plant Based Diet

Can you cure cavities and gum disease holistically on a vegan or plant-based diet? Whether you are strictly vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free or just minimizing meat, there are a suite of holistic strategies that you can use to cure and prevent cavities.  It's common for...

Fast, easy, and cheap bone broths

Bone broth is one of the most nutritious foods for oral health because it's high in collagen for strong, flexible gum tissue and mineral-rich for remineralizing tooth enamel. It's also inexpensive and easy to make yourself! Whether you are a habitual bone broth brewer...

Pleasurable eating: Foods that relieve tooth sensitivity

Sensitive and tentative I had just walked for two blissful hours along a beautiful coastline on a hot summer’s day and arrived at a beachside cafe famous for its homemade ice creams. Taking my time to select a scoop each of lemon sorbet and salted caramel, I carried...

Living teeth need living food

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Cure Tooth Decay with Cloud Bread

How does Cloud Bread cure tooth decay? (Scroll down for the recipe) Cloud Bread is a godsend for people seeking to find out how to avoid phytic acid in their diet.  In Cure Tooth Decay, the foundational book about nutrition and teeth health, Ramiel Nagel recommends...

Stabilize Receding Gums with Whole Foods

Are you growing 'long in the tooth'? The underlying cause of gum disease is nutrient deficiency in your body which causes inflammation and bone loss in gums. Gum recession is often the first symptom to be noticed.  Receding gums don't have to lead to gingivitis or...

Sexy, sacred teeth healing diet

  One of the qualities I love about the teeth healing diet (besides the fact that it saved my teeth and thousands of dollars in dental bills) is the abundance of delicious, filling foods that I once considered naughty treats but now prioritize for my health....

Yummy Gummies: The Anti-Cavity Candy

Sugar-free sweetness Why is sugar so bad for teeth? A teeth healing diet is full of delicious food options, but sweetness is not its main flavour. Everyone knows that sugar is bad for your teeth, though its a well-kept secret that the reason sugar causes cavities is...

Your Own Oral Unawareness

What's your level of oral unawareness? Are you someone who rarely looks inside your mouth, at least not further than the front teeth that show when you smile? Do you pay attention to how your teeth and gums feel when there’s no discomfort? When your teeth feel...

Cure Tooth Decay- The Bible of nutritional teeth healing

The Miracle of Teeth Healing Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition by Ramiel Nagel (2012) is of the most influential books of my voracious reading life. Not only did it save my teeth from their chronic and rapid decline, but it also cracked open...

Searching for a holistic dentist nearby

Searching for a holistic dentist nearby

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.

 

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. 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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.

Alt oral book review

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What’s the best remineralizing toothpaste?

What’s the best remineralizing toothpaste?

 

What is Hydroxyapatite toothpaste?

There’s a (relatively) new active ingredient in toothpaste town.

It’s called hydroxyapatite which is actually the main mineral component of teeth. More than 90% of tooth enamel (the hard surface layer) and 70% of dentine (the layer underneath the enamel) consists of hydroxyapatite. 

Nano-hydroxyapatite is synthetically manufactured to be bioidentical to the hydroxyapatite found in our teeth. This is the most common form used in toothpaste, toothpowder or tooth tablets.

Microcrystalline hydroxyapatite is derived from animal bones, usually, cattle but sometimes fish (so it is not vegan). It is a slightly coarser powder than the nano form. Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite is more commonly found in supplements for bone support.

 

Remineralizing toothpaste

How remineralization works

Your body naturally keeps your teeth remineralized, mostly from the inside out. 

Teeth are made up of tiny tubules running from the root to the enamel surface.

The tubules carry a solution of mineral molecules extracted from nutrients in your food.

The teeth nourishing solution is pushed through the tubes by dentinal flow which is highly responsive to stress and blood sugar levels. 

When your nervous system is stressed or your blood sugar is high the dentinal flow gets switched off, the teeth can start to demineralize and those tiny tubules on the surface of your enamel start absorbing molecules inwards instead of pushing them outwards.

 

Hydroxyapatite toothpaste

How hydroxyapatite toothpaste remineralizes tooth enamel

As a toothpaste ingredient, hydroxyapatite can remineralize decay and small cavities in enamel.

When nano-hydroxyapatite toothpaste is brushed onto your teeth, and left to sit (not rinsed off) it can penetrate and seal the enamel’s tiny tubules with almost exactly the same minerals that have been lost through demineralization.  

By blocking up your teeth’s tubules, hydroxyapatite toothpaste can help stop the inflow of bacteria from your oral microbiome into teeth. 

 

Remineralizing toothpaste

How does hydroxyapatite compare to fluoride and Xylitol?

Hydroxyapatite toothpaste’s outside-inwards remineralization helps to protect the nerve in the centre of your tooth. Sensitivity is reduced, along with sensations of pain stimulated from the surface of the tooth.

Hydroxyapatite is particularly effective in reducing tooth sensitivity, so it’s a great alternative to Sensodyne toothpaste, in which the active ingredients are analgesics that minimise the discomfort without actually strengthening teeth. 

Scientific tests have found hydroxyapatite is better at reducing sensitivity than fluoride. Hydroxyapatite works to help to protect teeth against caries and dental erosion making it a great alternative to fluoride, without any neurotoxin risks.

Hydroxyapatite is biocompatible and safe enough to swallow, making it a much safer alternative to Xylitol (which can damage your gut). 

It’s encouraging to see that there’s increasing research evidence that hydroxyapatite offers low-risk protection and repair.

You might still have to go out of your way to find a toothpaste brand that include a therapeutic proportion of Hydroxyapatite as an active ingredient, but I think it’s worth it! 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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. 

References here, here, here and here

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 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.

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

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Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

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.

 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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. 

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. 

The Secret Lives of Teeth cover

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. 

Meliors Simms headshot

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

.

 

Root Cause Netflix Documentary Review

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How to heal decaying baby teeth

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Any timezone, any place A consultation with the Holistic Tooth Fairy is nothing like going to the dentist! It's easy, empowering and even fun! All our consultations are done in online video calls which means that you can work with us no matter what country or what...

Metaphysical meanings of molars and premolars

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...

Horse teeth vs human teeth

This is a guest post written by my good friend Trisha Wren from Equine Energetics. If you don’t have a horse, or haven’t spent much time around them, you may not have given much thought to their teeth and how they differ from human teeth. There’s the obvious of course...

Is there a Spiritual Meaning to Your Toothache?

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How long does it take to remineralize cavities?

How long does it take to remineralise cavities?    How long it takes to remineralise cavities, reverse decay or regrow receding gums depends on three factors. Your symptoms, how severe they are and how long you've had them for How wholeheartedly you are able to...

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What do Nazis have to do with your teeth? A holistic approach to oral health doesn't stop at the boundaries of our bodies (or even at the edge of our aura).  We exist in communities that are connected globally in real time and our mouths are not separate from what is...

Is your jaw clenched right now?

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