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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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?

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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.

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

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

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns

I had to write this Root Cause review because root canals loom big in my life. I’ve had six root canals in five teeth, I still have three in situ. Their origins are, without exception, memorably traumatic, but their current status in my body is relatively benign.

Avoiding what would have been my 7th root canal by changing my diet seemed like a miracle that opened my eyes to the wonderful and wacky world of alternative oral health (or alt-oral as I like to call it).

In the seven years since healing that root naturally, I have become very familiar with the experts and arguments presented in the recently released Netflix documentary Root Cause.

Books by several Root Cause featured experts are on my shelves, but I don’t agree with everything they say. Particularly when their tone veers into fear-mongering, exaggerated extremes and conspiracy theories. Theories which aren’t part of the documentary, but are easy to find in most alt-oral discussions of root canals.

On one hand, it’s exciting to see the root canal debate enter mainstream awareness. Root canals are problematic and the dental profession’s excessive use of the procedure needs to be challenged, particularly when cavities or abscesses are not present.

The flip side to this is the manipulative way that director, Frazier Bailey, presents a mixture of facts, opinion and distortions lacks nuance. These very qualities are what make Root Cause so slick and watchable actually undermine the credibility of its central argument, that root canals can cause harm. And don’t even get me started on the film’s objectification of women – I’ll save that discussion until the end of this review.

Watch ‘Root Cause’ until the end

The best part of Root Cause is the second half, where some of the more sensible and balanced information and practical advice is presented. Although the ‘sexy dental hygienist’ trope was quite unnecessary.

My highlight was Dawn Ewing and Mark Briener‘s explanations of how every tooth sits on two or more meridians, which is the main mechanism for the whole body health impacts of root canals. This is incredibly useful information to apply to any oral health problem, not just root canals. I was thrilled to see it explained clearly in a mainstream context.

Almost as an aside towards the end, the Netflix documentary mentioned that everyone processes root canals differently. Some people are much more susceptible than others to being affected by toxic root canals.

Let me repeat that, because it wasn’t emphasized enough in Root Cause: not everyone gets sick from root canals.

The dangers of root canals which are explored in such great depth were eventually put into the context of the toxic overload that everyone of us is subjected to. Sustained, cumulative and insidious exposure to environmental toxins, toxic emotions, EMF (electro-magnetic frequencies including wifi), pathogens and of course junk food, overload the body which is already burdened with a root canal.

Recoiling in fear

By half way through the Root Cause documentary, my cortisol was so elevated by the graphic, gruesome root canal footage paired with a barrage of cancer statistics. So much so that it was hard to actually hear those quiet voices of reason at the end.

Root Cause uses horror genre film-making techniques (e.g. structure, filters and music) to manipulate our emotions.The sunshine and humour of the first act, contrasted with the dark intensity of main act, are all very effectively scary and disempowering.

Unfortunately fear and powerlessness, along with anger and grief, are toxic emotions which may actually exacerbate the impact of root canals on our health.

Many Netflix viewers are urgently seeking ways to remove their root canals safely because it’s almost impossible to watch and not feel scared. Unless you reject everything Root Cause says.

There’s plenty of dental professionals (a majority) who are using Root Cause’s dodgy statistics and misquotes to dismiss the whole argument about root canal risks. Mainstream dentists are publishing mocking reviews and associations of dental professionals worldwide are lobbying Netflix to take it down on the basis of poor science. Update: it appears that Netflix has now taken down Root Cause*, though it’s still available on Amazon.

And that’s the real problem, because important information is half-hidden in amongst the dramatic license of Root Cause. Root canals are to frequently recommended with little regard to the risks they may carry for some people.

Balance and tolerance

The Root Cause documentary didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know from seven years of research into root canals. I was already familiar with many of the experts that were selectively quoted. Having read widely and in-depth enabled me to put the documentary’s messages in context that many viewers lacking background knowledge would miss.

Root canals can contribute to serious health problems for some people. Most root canals contain bacteria, and along with cavitations, may be a contributing factor with some cases of chronic degenerative and/or autoimmune conditions.

However, everybody is different. We all have a different ability to tolerate a root canal.

Most people will not develop heart disease, cancer or chronic fatigue from their root canal. But for some people, removing the root canal may help you to recover your health.

Many people are able to tolerate a root canal without health problems for many years. Comparing a root canaled tooth to a toe with gangrene that must be amputated is inaccurate and unhelpful.

Not every case of breast cancer can be blamed on a root canal. The commonly quoted statistic that 90-something percent of breast cancer patients have a root canal on the same side cannot be traced to any published research. Even where a cancer patient does have an infected root canal, it not necessarily the cause.

Review of Netflix Documentary Root Cause

A broader holistic context

I’m a holistic oral health coach. When clients come to me with concerns about their root canal we also take into consideration the non-physical and energetic impacts of getting, removing or keeping it.

In addition to oral and whole body health impacts, we may explore:

family history
emotional issues
dental trauma,
social/professional consequences of extracting a tooth
the cost and accessibility of the procedure.

Root Cause follows the story of the director, Frazier Bailey. A white Australian man with the privilege of trying dozens of alternative therapies in his search for a cure to his mysterious malaise (the film includes a montage which seems to cover every new age modality- in mocking rhyme).

Once convinced that his root canal is behind his symptoms there seems to be no practical obstacles to getting it removed. Bailey never mentions the cost, or any difficulty in finding a co-operative dentist.

A safe removal and replacement of a single root canal can cost $10,000 and it’s common to need multiple appointments over 3-6 months. The removal process can also include:

the preliminary scan
tooth extraction
ozone cleaning of the jaw
rebuilding the jaw bone (if needed), and
installing an implant 3-6 months later.

That’s if you can find a dentist who will do it!

Not many dentists are willing to do this kind of procedure without evidence the the root canal has failed, so it’s not unusual to have to travel, sometimes internationally, if you are determined to have your root canal tooth extracted.

Removing a root canal safely is not an easily accessible option for many people, and this documentary has left them feeling scared for the root canals they have little choice but to keep.

There are holistic strategies, including herbs, homeopathics and energy healing that can help to mitigate the physical and metaphyscial impacts of root canals, so that the body can tolerate them well.

In conclusion

Admittedly, Root Cause set my teeth on edge from the very beginning with its sexist montage of women in bikinis. I tried to put aside my objections to the objectification of women’s bodies that cropped up all too often throughout the film… because what does the gratuitous male gaze have to do with root canals?

I squirmed to see another condescending montage, as the main character rhymed his way through alternative therapies with no regard to the cultural context from which many of modalities have been extracted… because all those therapies weren’t the point of the documentary either.

Nonetheless, I kept watching, despite my discomfort with Root Canal‘s tone, because I want to know why so many people have suddenly started requesting my Root Canal Decision Checklist. This checklist is a free resource available on my website that didn’t get much attention until Root Cause was released on Netflix.

But in fact, the casual sexism and cultural insensitivity of Root Cause are completely aligned with its fear-mongering central message presented through a lens of privilege.

Mainstream dentist’s patronising and negative Root Cause reviews find plenty of material in the film that is deserving of valid criticism. So by itself the documentary is unlikely to sway any dental professionals currently committed to root canals.

The only way that the dental industry is ever going to look critically at the consequences of root canals is if a sufficient mass of their customers expect their concerns to be taken seriously.

Thanks to Netflix, mainstream dental practices are experiencing an increased number of patients refusing root canals, requesting removals and ultimately seeking more sympathetic providers.

Root Cause, for all it’s many flaws, is provoking a new wave of consumer demand that dentistry continues to dismiss at its own peril.

___________________________________

*Update: On the day I published this post, Root Cause was suddenly removed from Netflix. It was unexpected; Root Cause was not included in Vulture’s list of 42 movies planned to be removed from Netflix in February 2019. As yet, there is no explanation for this removal. Why did Netflix take down Root Cause? Was it responding to pressure from dental associations?

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.

Yummy Gummies: The Anti-Cavity Candy

Stop tooth decay naturally

Relax your jaw for teeth relief

My 5 Best Websites for Natural Oral Health

by Meliors Simms | Cure Gum Disease, Holistic Dentists, Metaphysical Teeth, Oral hygiene, Reverse Tooth Decay, Teeth Healing Diet, Toothache Remedy

When you narrow your search down to natural teeth care, it’s a bit like entering a parallel universe dominated by alt-oral clickbait. You have to navigate through minefields of conspiracy theory and wacky home remedies to find the nuggets of gold.

I try to make sure that the Holistic Tooth Fairy is one of the best websites for natural oral health. If you like this site, you might also like this personal selection of my five favorites:

1. Healing Teeth Naturally

Healing Teeth Naturally is comprehensive in covering natural, holistic and conventional approaches to oral health in a well-organised manner. The site is all text, few images (except of crystals) and no videos. It’s published in English but translations of some pages are available in German, French, Greek, Spanish, Slovene and Italian. Ulla Schmid describes her site as ‘humanitarian’ and she isn’t selling anything.

Hippy friendly.

2. Ora Wellness

Ora Wellness offers tons of excellent information about natural oral health, and lots of useful but low-fi videos. Will and Susan Revak have developed their own range of natural products for teeth and gums, which I haven’t tried because shipping from Hawai’i to New Zealand is stupidly expensive.

Family friendly.

3. Wellness Mama

Wellness Mama is a natural living website with a smattering of very good blog posts about oral health, including home made toothpaste and toothpowder recipes. Katie Wells is a solid researcher backed by a team, and she has built a substantial business with her natural living blog, books and podcast (while home schooling six children). There’s plenty of valuable free content grounded in her genuine passion for natural teeth healing, just sometimes it’s buried in a mountain of affiliate promotions and advertising.

DIY friendly.

4. Cure Tooth Decay

Cure Tooth Decay is the website of the book of the same name (which I reviewed here). The site covers a lot of the same material as the book and is easier to search, though still heavy reading. This website was my first experience of alt-oral, and even before I read the book I was able to prevent a root canal by following the dietary advice I found on the site. The book’s author, Ramiel Nagel, sadly passed away last year, yet I find it slightly creepy that his online bio hasn’t changed since he was alive.

Carnivore friendly.

5. Holistic Dentist

Any dentist can call themselves ‘holistic’ even if their practice is entirely conventional. Because it’s a coveted search term with no regulation, finding a holistic dentist you can trust can be tricky. When you are searching for a local dentist who is truly holistic, try comparing their website to Evolve Dental. Not many dentists have a blog as good as Evolve’s but if their services and philosophy are similar (e.g. safe amalgam removal and a dietary approach to prevention), then they are probably genuinely holistic.

‘Looking for a holistic dentist’ friendly

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.

FAQ : Can you recommend a good holistic dentist?

The irresistible SEO of holistic dentistry

Dental privilege

Settling for a regular, decent dentist

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

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.

Root Cause is the Netflix documentary stirring up root canal concerns

Watch ‘Root Cause’ until the end

Let me repeat that, because it wasn’t emphasized enough in Root Cause: not everyone gets sick from root canals.

Recoiling in fear

Balance and tolerance

However, everybody is different. We all have a different ability to tolerate a root canal.

A broader holistic context

Once convinced that his root canal is behind his symptoms there seems to be no practical obstacles to getting it removed. Bailey never mentions the cost, or any difficulty in finding a co-operative dentist.

Removing a root canal safely is not an easily accessible option for many people, and this documentary has left them feeling scared for the root canals they have little choice but to keep.

In conclusion

But in fact, the casual sexism and cultural insensitivity of Root Cause are completely aligned with its fear-mongering central message presented through a lens of privilege.

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

1. Healing Teeth Naturally

2. Ora Wellness

3. Wellness Mama

4. Cure Tooth Decay

5. Holistic Dentist

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

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