Are you interested in holistic health and wellness? If you are, you might be surprised to find out that our dentist in Jacksonville is a holistic dental care provider. This means that we don’t just want to help you with your oral health. We want to help you with your whole body health, and getting regular dental care is an integral part of whole-body wellness.

What is Holistic Dental?

You can also associate holistic it with whole-istic. This means your dental health can affect the rest of your body. By taking proper care of your teeth and gums, you can maintain and even improve the health of your entire body.

What Does Holistic Dental Care Mean?

Holistic dental care means not performing procedures or using products that could harm you. Here at Smiles by Shields, this means that we do not use fillings that contain mercury. We also remove and replace mercury fillings with tooth-colored fillings that are comprised of non-toxic materials.

Fluoride

We don’t advocate for the use of fluoride. Traditional dentists advocate for the use of fluoride because it supposedly helps strengthen teeth and decreases cavities. The truth is that the fluoride that’s introduced into city water supplies and put into products may be harmful and toxic to your overall health. The ingestion of fluoride has been linked to certain types of cancers and bone problems while showing no actual benefit to the structural soundness of the teeth. Not to mention, ingesting too much fluoride causes fluorosis, which is white spots on the teeth.

Root Canals

Root canals are only effective if the socket of the tooth can be completely sterilized, meaning the removal of all bacteria prior to putting the crown over the tooth to help preserve it. The truth is that the tooth socket cannot be fully sterilized, and many individuals have suffered various chronic ailments because of root canals. Examples of ailments suffered after a root canal include:

• Heart disease
• Certain types of cancers
• Chronic infections in the mouth and throughout the body
• Feeling sick

The truth of the matter is that when a root canal is performed, the tooth is dead, and you shouldn’t leave dead things in your body. Here at Smiles by Shields, we don’t advocate for root canals. Instead, you should have the tooth extracted and use another method to replace the tooth, like a dental bridge or an implant.

Biocompatibility Testing

Before you get an artificial product placed in your mouth, biocompatibility testing should be performed. This includes compatibility testing for fillings, crowns, bridges, and dental implants, as well as any other material that is designed to be inserted into your mouth and remain there. We offer testing equipment on-site in order to determine if the material that is going to be used in your mouth is healthy for you, and will react well in your body. If the first material would not be good for you or your overall health, our dentist will test a different material until we find one that is compatible.

Improving the Health of Your Body by Paying Attention to the Health of Your Mouth and the Materials that Go Into It

They say prevention is the best medicine, and that is certainly true of your oral health. This means that you should strive to prevent cavities and gum disease by performing at-home oral care. This includes brushing your teeth with a natural toothpaste that does not contain fluoride, flossing your teeth once every 24 hours, and using a non-fluorinated mouthwash to help remove excess bacteria. It also means scheduling dental appointments with our holistic dentist in Jacksonville and getting biocompatibility testing for any dental appliance or filling prior to having them inserted into your mouth. By taking these precautionary steps, you are helping to ensure the health of your mouth as well as your entire body.

To schedule your next preventative care dental appointment for an examination and teeth cleaning by our dentist in Jacksonville, FL, contact us online or give us a call at 904-731-0777.