The Mouth-Body Connection – Exploring Biological Dentistry

Welcome back, senergy listeners. We are so excited that you're joining us for today. We're in for a big treat. We have Dr. Edwards from Oxford, Mississippi joining us. She's an environmental dentist. And we're going to get into all the nitty gritty about your oral health because we know that the mouth is the gateway to your body and your oral health matters for your overall health picture. So, Dr. Edwards, we're so excited you're here.

So glad to be here.

Yes, the big frontier, I feel like environmental dentistry is where we were in functional medicine about 20 years ago, where we really didn't have accessibility, we didn't have the language around what to even call functional medicine at the time. And patients are oftentimes just looking and searching and having to go out of state for treatment. And so we're glad you're here. We're glad that you're brave and bold and willing to have this discussion with us.

So we always like to start out and get an understanding about your history. So what's your story? Like, how did you land? Cause I heard it through the grapevine. You were in traditional dentistry for pretty long time before bridging over to. Yeah. Where you are now. So what's the story?

Yeah, so I've always wanted to be a dentist ever since little girl. But then you go to dental school and you're in conventional dentistry, so I thought that that was the way to practice. So I was a traditional dentist with a lot of questions for 23 years. So things like questions didn't make sense on mercury. My mom told me not to play with a mercury thermometer and break it, and it was like a catastrophe, like, don't touch it, you know, kind of thing. And so I'm like, why am I putting that same piece of mercury in somebody's mouth? Because we were taught in dental school at the time to do mercury fillings. So that was one thing. And it kind of led me on a journey, you know, always was quite. I'm a questioner. And then fluoride, I'm like, these teeth must be made completely out of fluoride, and we must be so deficient that that's why we're getting cavities. And then when you go back and look and you're like, what is a tooth made out of? And it's hydroxyapatite and calcium and all these other things, these other minerals, but there wasn't much fluoride in there. So I'm like, what is that doing to our body? And why are they pushing it. So it's been things like, that's been a big, huge question mark that's kind of all of a sudden it got answered. And I found my people and found my answers. And now I practice biological dentistry. And it's a growing field. Some people might hear it as holistic and some biological, and then y' all use environmental. So all of those different things, some is functional. So it might be a whole bunch of different words, but it's the same type of dentistry.

And what is that? So describe that, Define that, because I do think you're right. Many people may have heard the term or not. So what does it mean?

So. So we just focus. Instead of tooth focus, traditional dentistry is just focusing on the tooth. Do I have a cavity in this tooth? Do I have an infection in this tooth? Whereas biological or functional dentistry is going to come, I have this problem. Could I have a tooth that's related to it, that could be causing it, like chronic infection? Or I have this tooth and then is it causing this? So vice versa. So I have an oral condition called oral condition cause, causing a bodily function to be dysfunctional. And then it relates the whole body. I know I see a lot of patients that will come in with gut health that is just completely wrecked. And it could be from one mercury filling that causes a complete PH change in the stomach, and that can reach all kinds of havoc in the digestive system.

So I was just telling Lori before we got on here that anytime I have a patient that I can't get their gut microbiome to correct, you know, you have that patient that you do everything and they do everything right, and it's still not working. I always go back to. And always ask the question up front, but they always tell me their mouth is fine, and I always go back to, we've got to go back to dentistry. You know, whatever's in your mouth is creating the problem in your gut. And more often than not, that is the case.

Yeah. So often, whether it's from a chronic infection, such as a root canal, cavitations, or then. Or it's the mercury filling or it's the airway so we're not sleeping, and then we don't get nitric oxide, and then that can cause some reflux. So a lot of the issues are started right here.

Yes, they are.

So when they tell us in our practice, because I'm with Kelly, they're like, my teeth are fine. I've just been to the dentist and. And I'm. And I'm good. How would we respond because, you know, right now it's. We need to look a little bit deeper, you know, you know, traditional. Unfortunately, to your point, that whole tooth thing versus holistic dentistry is if we send a patient your way with that saying, I'm just fine, and we say, but you gotta dig deeper. How do you manage that patient? Where do you start?

So what you would ask them, have you ever had a root canal? Have you ever had wisdom teeth removed? Have you ever had braces? Or have you ever had a filling? And a lot of these patients, even in Mississippi, they're still placing mercury fillings. I have a. I have a little thing on Instagram where it shows where I was taking apart a mercury filling, and I got it from a dentist here in Mississippi the day before I did that post. So, yes. And insurance companies, they'll say, oh, I just want insurance to pay for whatever it is. So on back fillings, most insurance companies are still only paying or allowing for the mercury filling to be placed in there. Okay. Because they feel like the other's cosmetic. Yeah, yeah.

And I just want to say, why is that okay? Right? Why? Why is that okay?

Yeah, it's not. It's not okay. Yeah.

Is your own dental association still supporting that?

Yeah. Yeah. And it's outlawed in European countries now, but in the United States, it'll catch up one day.

Yeah, it'll catch up. It's on.

When we ask those questions, do you have those things? And they say, yes, then obviously we have to find the right dentist with the right equipment to do the evaluation. So I'm sure that your practice has evolved over time.

But.

But where do you start with them?

I'll go in. Or do we. Are we looking at focusing on toxicity and infection? You know, that would be my first. Then we'll. Or if all of that checks out, then I will go to. Okay, well, it could be an airway issue, and that will lead to other problems like your TMJ and things like that, which. That's a whole other story with the trigeminal nerve. And the TMJ is responsible for 60, sometimes 90% of neurological function in the body. So that could be an issue.

Right. So with airway. Because that's a big hot topic right now. You know, everyone's getting a sleep study. They're getting on a cpap, you know, what are your strategies for airway correction in the world of dentistry?

So I am focused on recreating the space from underdeveloped jaws. So that's what it is. Think of your teeth when you put them together as a parking garage, and what's supposed to park in there is your tongue. And your tongue is supposed to posture at the roof of your tooth of your mouth. So if it's posturing low and then you have weak jaw muscle, say it's kind of retruded, or you've had orthodontics and you've had teeth taken back from removal of some teeth, then that's going to compromise the airway. And so that tongue will be pushed in the airway. Well, you lay that patient on their back and then you. Everything falls backwards. And then we have a flaccid oropharynx and automatically we've got it, we've got an obstruction. So there's. And women like my size, your size, are having upper airway resistance issues. So it's not a full fledged apnea, but it's very fragmented sleep. So those issues are starting to arise. Or it's pain from the TMJ because they've been pushed back so far. Yeah.

So one fun fact is the first place we'll gain fat is actually in the tongue. So speaking for small females, even a small amount of weight gain can lead to some obstruction. So they don't necessarily have to be overweight to see some of that happen, especially if they already have a neurofunction.

Yeah. So if your liver isn't draining correctly and you don't have a toxic buildup in there in your tongue and in your brain. And also underdeveloped jaws is a big, the biggest deal I see is we have underdeveloped jaws because we're not breathing through our nose and we're not producing nitric oxide.

So can we talk a little bit about that? The underdeveloped jaw, I mean, do you think that's nutritional? Starting with preconception?

Preconception, yes. Yes. Those mamas are not getting enough vitamin D. Their microbiome is destroyed. Most of them have been on oral contraceptives, you know, because they probably have irregular periods or heavy menstrual cycles. Well, that's the first thing that the obese want to put them on or in gins want to put them on as a, as a birth control pill, which, you know, that depletes a lot of nutrients. Yes. And then when they're not, we're a sedentary lifestyle, we don't get out and get sun. And then we're on a standard American diet. All that is a perfect storm for not having the nutrients. Right. Necessary in the body, built to handle a Pregnancy. And so in the first eight to 12 weeks, that's when our jaws form and the tongue and that's when it starts to collapse. So if we don't have that structure, it's not going to develop there. What it's going to do is vital organs first. So the body is want to do everything it can to stay alive. Or it could be from traumas. That mama could be going through a trauma at the time when she's pregnant and that can deplete like her nutrients. And traumas are a lot tied up in the fascia which that tongue will not posture correctly. And there's a lot to it.

Yeah, there's a whole lot to it. One of my passions is preconception medicine. So I love working with women prior to pregnancy, kind of getting their bodies ready and anything that we can get them to do, dental wise before pregnancy pays off big as they embrace, you know, that next phase of life and having those kiddos. So I'm glad you're speaking to that. I mean we see kids now more than ever with palate expanders. You know that. Yeah, that didn't used to be a.

Bit like commercial with the, with a removable non metal palatal expander. And that's coming up. There's a lot, you know, metal is a big deal to these parents and most of the childhood cavities are associated with mouth breathing, not necessarily food because most of my parents are crunchy mamas, I like to call them. So these crunchy moms already know a lot of nutritional, you know, they've already been down that road. They're probably on the journey with you, Kelly. So they know now what they want to pass down to their children. Not a standard American diet, but we're mouth breathing and that's a, that's a huge deal. And they're not. None of my patients are fluoride people either, so.

Right. So do you advocate for mouth taping? You see a lot of information about mouth taping. Is that a valid way to.

It's a good way to start. Okay. Yeah. Some people can't because of their oral structures or the physical presentation that they, it could be where they don't need some mouth tape. But it is a good start. You can start at home just keeping your lips together. If you want to make sure you are. Before you go to bed, check yourself out, see if you can hold your, your mouth tape together. Some people are so bad where they can't breathe through their nose because it's so clogged up that they Mouth taping would probably be a dangerous thing. So they kind of have to judge that when they're awake.

So what happens to the oral ph when you are a mouth breather and why is that important?

It'll drop significantly. So then your microbiome is decreased. So I tell the patients it's like the bad guys outnumber the good guys. And so we don't want them all killed out, which is what mouthwashes and chloride does. It kills out all the microbiome in the mouth. But we want a good symbiotic relationship with those bacteria and that microbiome. So we want a lot of good guys and not so many bad guys. And how we do that is by breathing through our nose. And there's the benefit the nitric oxide is huge when we breathe through our nose.

So how do you know the good guys and the bad guys are you able to do? You know, because we work a lot in gut health. Right. We to check their gut microbiome. And very few people even think about the mouth having a microbiome of its own. So how do you know?

Yeah, you microbiome testing. So if we really see that there's a constant problem or we have periodontal disease or an inflammation and we're trying to see where we need to target because different bacteria need different targets, then we would go in and do a, a sample send off. And there's several different companies. I've played around with a few of them. It just depends on what I'm trying to target. But we'll check that microbiome out and see which bacteria we are dealing with and then we'll know how to attack them.

Is there a quicker way in the office or is there a time at which you swab just the gum line. I had a patient today who mentioned it. It was like in and out when they went and she was like, she was taken back and so excited to know that they were able to swab and see it.

Yeah.

So just the bacteria, but.

Right. Like with the microbase with the microscope. Yeah, yeah.

So let's talk about mouthwash because you mentioned that earlier. Conventional mouthwash that's alcohol based just basically wipes out the good and the bad. And with that the, the, the ability to make nitric oxide, which is really important for cardiovascular health. So let's talk about that a little bit.

So everything and a hot topic is the mitochondria as well. So nitric oxide is. Every little cell in your body has to have it. And so if it's not it's made by the little microbiome. So the little good bacteria that's in your mouth. And if we, if we. And it's in the back of your nose. So we have to nasal breathe and we can stimulate them, but we also, when we. Mouthwash is the number one way to kill out those bacteria. And those bacteria are so important for our overall gut health as well, is our cardiovascular health, our cell health. We have healthy cells, we have a healthy body, but if we have sick cells, we're going to have a sick body.

So for people that have a disturbed oral microbiome, is there a safe mouthwash like hydrogen peroxide or anything that you would recommend to use short term?

You know, I have a few products in here, but then I'm wondering, you know, why do you. I always ask the patient, well, why would you need that? Because most of the time we don't even need that. So if we're having a micro dysbiosis, well, that's when we'll have bad breath. Are we mouth breathing? Are we. Because the mouth breathing will cause bad breath? Are we constipated? Because that, that's a different bad breath, you know, so there's different compounds that will cause you to have the odor. So you could have a sinus infection, chronic sinusitis, and it's not painful, but that could be a problem. So. And that's from an improper swallow, usually, and that's from a tongue posture issue and a tongue tie. So we can go down that road, too.

Yeah. So do you deal with tongue tie? Do you address that?

Okay, I do.

That's good to know. Because that affects posture.

That'll affect. Yeah, I know. Breathing and all the way your hip structure, there's a lot tied with that tongue, that tongue. The fascia from that tongue goes from the tongue all the way down to the underneath your feet, the soles of your feet. So plantar fasciitis can even be associated with a tight tongue.

So is tongue tie more common today or is it just more? Are we looking for it more?

It goes back to the development in the fetus at 8 to 12 weeks. So that's when the tongue starts to make its proper position. And if it's not formed correctly, then that's when we'll see it. And they're saying it's a little bit of B vitamins.

Okay.

That's the issue with it. So if you think back, we'll go back and circle back again to oral contraceptives. That's one of the main Displacements of B vitamins and PPIs and metformin. Yeah. Oh, yeah, the protein inhibitors, for sure. Yeah.

There's a long list that do disturb our ability to stay balanced in the way of the B vitamins, for sure. And commonly used. Not thought twice about.

Not thought twice about. Yeah, yeah. So bad. Yeah.

I wanted to go back to mercury, if you don't mind, because I just, you know, I. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that as many people are probably that have been kind of studying and more curious about dental health and its relationship to overall health, we now clearly, it should not be in our mouth. So what do we do? Like, how do we properly dispose of it out of the mouth? And, you know, is it something that requires a long treatment plan? Is it something that is, you know, one at a time? So what's that process? And then secondarily, how do people locate a dentist who's qualified to properly dispose.

Okay, so we'll go with. The patient comes in, they have a mercury filling. What do we do? So if they've been seeing someone like Kelly or going through their process, they're already with a functional medical provider. They'll probably already be opening their pathways to get rid of toxins. And that's really important, especially on a patient that is got a lot of autoimmune issues or gut issues. You want to make sure you're healthy enough or your pathways at least to clear things are open. So you, like, you've got to be able. You can't be a constipated individual. You've got to be able to eliminate bowels every. At least every 12 hours, minimum. Otherwise, I'm going to build up a toxicity in you, even the safe way I do it. It's not that, you know, you could build up that toxicity because that's where it's mostly eliminated, is through the bowels. But we want to be able to sweat, we want to be able to urinate properly and be hydrated, and we want to be able to eliminate bowels. So those things have to occur, and our pathways open. For excretory system, when they come in for the procedure, they put on a hat, this little bonnet. They'll put on kind of a little gown, a robe, to make sure that their clothing isn't contaminated. Because that vapor, it's color and odorless, and every time you touch it, every time you chew gum, every is exposure, exposure, exposure. Then when I get a drill after it, it's even more exposure. So then we isolate the particular tooth that is needing removal. There's a procedure. We do certain little drill bits. Everything has its little purpose. And we have a vacuum that's brought up in the patient's mouth. A high volume vacuum to get it out of the room. And then we wear mask. And then the patient has coverings over their face. It's a, it's. It's a whole. It's a lot.

So it's very protective.

Very protective. A lot of patients, they'll be claustrophobic and will need some kind of, a little bit of anxiety medication sometimes. And I'm not against that. You know, biological dentistry is not like having natural childbirth. We do believe in and having medications for the. So you won't have trauma afterward. So that's another thing that, you know, I think make patients. When you say Kelly or you go, okay, we've got to have. You got to go to the dentist. They're traumatized. They've had us.

They've had bad experiences.

Yes. Yeah. And so I, I get, I take that in consideration. And we, we have ways that we can combat that, whether IV sedation or oral sedation. But getting the, the mercury out is a process some people have a lot of. And then the restoration, of course, is another process of that.

So it's pre prep work. It's during. It's a specific protocol that I believe you have or should be certified in. And then it sounds like.

Right, right. And then it's post care, the iaomt. So a little southern accent and the IABDM both certify their dentist with protect protocol and then smart protocol. So those two. That's what you want to look at when you're looking for a dentist, if they use, if they're certified in those protocols for removal.

So, Dr. Edwards, you mentioned earlier autoimmune conditions and how dental issues can contribute to the overall inflammatory burden of those patients. And mercury also contributes. It's one of the big factors in driving of autoimmunity. How do other metals play into that, like stainless steel, aluminum, arsenic? Because some of the bonding agents contain those materials if the dentist isn't careful about how they choose the materials that they're using within their practice. Is that right?

Yes. You have to be very diligent. That was one of the things that when I opened up this practice, I had to go through and make sure that all my little dental materials were the most biocompatible. Yes. With patients. And then we go in through metals. No, metals should be in your mouth, you know, and a lot of women will have metals on my. And they'll have inflammation around their gums. And I'm like, are you allergic to nickel? Yeah. And I'm like, well, that's what's in your mouth all the time surrounded by saliva. So especially with implants, we may think nothing about them. The titanium implants, you know, that's why I do ceramic implants, that, that's more biocompatible. But so if you have titanium implants, you have a porcelain to metal crown, mercury, all of those things combined. And some patients have every one of those. So there are like a walking antenna metal composite. It's a mess. It's basically a mess. It's. It's sad that people have that many metals or. And then we'll throw gold in there. So they'll have a little bit of gold. Yeah. So.

So do you do bio. Biocompatibility testing when you're considering what.

Yes. So if a patient comes in very, very healthy, I can probably be okay with what products I use. But if they're very sensitive, their mast cell production is through the roof and they've got autoimmune disease, then I highly suggest before I put anything else in there that makes sure that what I'm going to put in there is compatible. So we take their blood, send it off to biocompatibility labs. They'll give me a result and it'll say highly reactive or moderately reactive or low reactivity. And then they have a list of all of my products and they'll. And they'll flag mine if. If that patient. If it's not good for that patient.

So yeah, the cost of that test.

Approximately it's about 300 and it's not too bad. It'll last for probably six years. They'll update your test while you're. So it's not like you have to go get that tested every year or two. It'll be good for you for about five to six years.

Do you ever have a patient that lights up to everything?

No. But most of the stuff in their mouth that they light up to. Yes. So. Huh. Yeah, it's sad.

Yeah. My understanding is dental materials have come a long way in the last 20 years as far as what is biocompatible. You know, I guess 20 years ago there really weren't products to choose from. And now to your point, you can stock your practice and feel pretty confident with the average patient coming in that you're not going to create a problem. It's that super sensitive patient that you really want to know kind of where the landmines are and how to stay away from the things that they're going to be reactive to.

Right. Especially if they're going to invest all their money into getting well. I sure don't want to make them sick again and I don't want any product to go in their body that would compound the issue. We want to work forward, not backwards.

Yes. So can we dig into fluoride? We mentioned it earlier, but I want to talk a little bit more and then talk about some alternatives for fluoride. Yeast, you've mentioned the hydroxyapatite, so I want to know a little bit more about that. And I mean, it seems to be pretty accessible. And toothpaste, you know, you can go on Amazon and find several options for toothpaste, it looks like with that ingredient in there. But I want to know from a dental perspective, is that safe? Is it effective? Does it take the place of fluoride? Like how does that, how does that work?

So as long as your microbiome is balanced, that that's the key. And then the diet is that, that's another. And if we have sunshine, nutrition, rest, we're going to have good teeth. Now if we take one of those out, we're not going to have good teeth. So technically we look at it, we really don't need flora. I mean toothpaste, it's kind of like a little cosmetic icing on the top. We can just brush our teeth without anything and just get the biofilm out. But if our saliva is the right consistency, it should be self cleaning. If we're on a Weston Price type diet, we're on a good diet. It's going to be self cleaning. So those things help. But I do like toothpaste. I like to brush my teeth. It's that good fresh feeling. So there's plenty of different products out there. I've tried every one of them from Boca to Roswell to there's one little tablet called no B.S. that's one. And there's Earth paste, there's the mineral, you know, the powders. There's all kinds and they're all really good. So it just depends on what that patient wants and what, what works best for them. I know kids usually tend to like my bokeh toothpaste. Then some people have issues with xylitol. Xylitol is a controversial a little bit on some people. So I have a private product called Revitin from Dr. Kiritola that's doesn't have any xylitol in it, but you can just use baking soda if you would like.

Yeah, I've heard baking soda and a little bit of salt.

Yeah, you can. That, that's, that's very economical and will help. We don't just want that sodium chloride, table salt. But I would go with like more of a Baja Gold, right. Real salt or Celtic salt or something like that that's got all those minerals in it. But you know, fluoride is in so many things. I was. You can go on the I AOMT website and then you go to fluoride and it'll talk all about fluoride. So patients want a lot of articles, information on fluoride. There's plenty there. But it's in drinking water, bottled, some bottled water. It's in beverages, you know, wherever the bottling plant is. And they make. The beverage usually comes from a municipal water source that's fluoridated. So you get it there. Toothpaste, all dental products. I have to be very careful with my selection on products because they all contain some kind of fluoride. If I'm not careful. And then your pharmaceuticals, the amount of pharmaceuticals with fluoride in there or fluorine is Cipro, one of the black label ones. And then we can get to, I think it was Prozac has fluoride in there. There's several. There's a whole list of those that are associated with fluoride. And then we have it in foods.

So it's overexposure of fluoride that creates the major problem.

If it was just the Crest toothpaste every now, now and then, but it's just too much. And even a little bit now is just toxic because our world's so toxic. You just, if you can cut out one thing that's toxic, cut out fluoride. I mean.

Yeah. So two things I want to say on that is around here they give it out like candy. And I think our patients feel somewhat obligated to say yes because it's being, it's being expressed, expressed to them or asked of them when they're entering into a practice that they're established with and they trust. Right. So they're assuming that, well, if I'm being offered it, it must be good for me. So.

Yeah. Okay, so let me, let me give you a little information on the inside scoop on that. And I'll probably get a. I don't know, but I'll say it anyway. These insurance driven practices are focused on insurance. So they have made a contract with an insurance company that they're Going to get X for a cleaning. So in order for them to make that money up because it's the overhead fees are so high on these practices that a $25 or $30 fluoride application makes up for that deficit that's created from that contract with that insurance company. So yeah, so it's a, you can kind of see why they, they want, want to do that. But they think they're doing good. And I was there, believe me, I was there. I was on that side before and I get, I see it. But you can say no. Now that the, the American Dental association does have a code for a fluoride. Fluoride free varnish. And they make them. It's called their feed. Your good guys is one of them that has it that it's a fluoride varnish. And now the. There is an ADA code. So if there is an alternative. So those practices now have an alternative for those patients who are concerned or do not wish to have a fluoride treatment. But they do want something on their teeth. So I think that's a good step in the right direction. And for those patients, so they can go to an office that has fluoride alternatives for sure. And it's okay to say no. It's your body.

That's right.

Speak it loud. Yeah. I mean it's your body. Say, say no. I mean if they're offended, that's on them. So speak up for yourself because nobody.

Else is going to and know the risks. You know, that's what we're doing and that's why we love doing things like this is because bringing on experts in other fields and speaking to that to really educate and empower people to make their health decisions. The, you know, our, our clientele and our listeners, we're, you know, we have to demand and we, we speak to them about take power and control of your health. You know, you are the CEO of your health.

Nobody's going to care as much as you do about your body. And you've got. That's where we've allowed other people to take care of it. Now it's time to take control of it yourself.

Absolutely. Yep. So we have to go towards root canals because I'm super curious about what's the big deal anyway? Because it seems like those are quite popular as well.

They, they are. They're very controversial. I think it's an option if a patient is healthy. I don't perform them anymore. And I used. Let me just confess. We'll do confession times and I'll Spill the tea. I used to love root canals. I loved doing them. They were just like, oh yes, I get to do a root canal. And I was good at them. But once I see the problems that they cause and we can't get it that clean, no matter how hard I try, no matter how many courses I go to, no matter all the things, a laser, an ozone, a piezo, all these things, you can get a microscope, but you're still not going to get all of that tooth fumigated and cleaned out. And then at the end of the day, it is a dead organ that's remaining in your body. So what happens is that dead organ, it might be good for right now. And I tell patients, I'm like, if you want to go, I'll send you to Dr. That does that. But know this, know how your body is today. Take a note, see how it is. If this, if it starts to decline, you've got a problem. But that tooth, that's dead, we all have these different good and bad bacteria. It's just that when you get too many of the bad or give it something that the bad like, like a toxin or infection. So that tooth, you get sick and then that or your body gets depleted of nutrients, say. But those microorganisms that are in the body, like Lyme or tick borne illnesses or Epstein Barr, they'll go and they'll seek out a dead organism because that's the organisms in nature. There's organisms to break down dead things and we have them living in us, but they're usually not a problem. But when we have a root canal tooth and then we get a little chronic illness or we get a little sick, they'll go to that root canal tooth and the one that was good for a few years, it'll have a chronic infection. And so, and it's the chronic infection doesn't hurt. So a lot of these patients that I see that have a lot of health issues, maybe even a breast cancer or autoimmune disease. I'll do the CBCT scan, I'll go to the root canal tooth and every one of them I can find a pocket of inflammation on there.

What is that scan again? I want to hear that again.

So people, a cone beam or a CBCT or a 3D X ray.

Okay. Do most dentists have those or. No, that's the specialty type.

A lot more are getting them now because the two D X rays are. There's not very much price difference, so. But they've got to know how to read them. And a Lot of them do not know how to read or scroll through and what they're looking for. So they'll. Because I've even had some patients come to me. Well, they said I didn't have any. And I'm like, well you, it's right here on this, the combine that you just brought to me. And it's right here. And I'll take a screenshot of it and show them. And they were like, they didn't say that was there. And I'm like, they're just not taught to look right. So, so is that a cavitation at that point?

The infection at the end of that root, is that a cavitation?

Is that a cavitation is where they have wisdom teeth removed and their body wasn't ready for that surgery. So say they were low in nutrition with minerals and vitamin D so that bone couldn't heal correctly. So when the bone doesn't heal correctly, it's kind of dead bone, it's necrotic. And so that's where that dead bone again, those same bacteria that was for that root canal will go to that space where that, that tooth was removed. And it happens all the time with wisdom teeth because that probably that young girl or that young guy had a bad diet. And when they got those wisdom teeth taken out, they may have had a dry socket or something like that. It heals, but it doesn't heal properly. And then it'll be fatty, degenerative, wispy bone. Like when we go in there and clean it out, it's just billowing out with inflammation.

But those can be corrected, they can be treated, clean, treated, ozoned, healed.

We just go in there and clean that out, clean all that bad bacteria out, place ozone, platelet rich fibrin, do a laser treatment, I do all those things and then we suture it up and make sure that body is prepared. Before I have that surgery, I have to have a vitamin D level. It's optimal as 60 to 80.

That's our optimization range as well.

If it's not, then we're not gonna do the surgery until we're ready to go. We're taking our magnesium, we're taking our vitamin D, we're taking our vitamin C. We're doing those things that were optimal health and nutrition. Before I do all the surgery or it' the, it's pointless because your body won't have the ability to heal like it should.

So that's why I think it's so important. I mean, first of all, I just want to thank you for you know, taking just the approach that you take and being brave and courageous, as we talked about a little bit earlier, to do what you do. And I do want to also say it's so important, it seems, to have a collaborative relationship. You know, we always say, who's on your wellness team? We're always asking. On your wellness team. Right. Because it takes an army to live well.

It does to live well. And it takes a lot of learning. A patient needs somebody to coach and to learn and to guide them until they're ready to go, especially if they've been in the system with a lot of chronic illnesses. It's so important to have good functional medicine people to come right beside you, to guide you, to be there, to support your nutrition and your habits. And because you've got to turn it. Everybody thinks a diet, but it's not. It's a complete turning away of your whole lifestyle and going into a different direction. Because if you. If you cannot get well in the same environment that you were. Got sick in, and it takes. And it takes a. It takes a little bit, but you. You got to take care of yourself. That's the only thing you can have. You know, you can spend money on clothing or cars or anything like that, but that's pointless if you don't have your help.

Right.

And so in the biggest investment I can tell patients is healthy food and healthy body. You know, that those things you can do and quality.

Yeah. Kelly, you're very lucky to have someone in your neck of the woods.

Yes. I did a little dance when I heard about you, Dr. Edwards. I'm not gonna lie. So I was really excited to have a way to refer and get patients taken care of, because it is not easy out there navigating the dental portion of your health, especially when you're struggling with your health. And I shared a little bit earlier, I had a major health challenge related to some dental issues. I had a facial injury as a kid, softball to the mouth, and had some reconstruction with root canals, had some stainless steel post some crowns to bud. I had a gold crown in the back. Because the tooth was so small, they couldn't get anything else to adhere, and so they put gold in there. So I had gold, I had nickel, I had root canals, all in the same mouth, and at the same time, exposed to an environmental toxin in my workplace with water damage.

Oh, wow.

And so I really found myself in no man's land when it came to my health. But I was lucky that I found through a patient, Dr. Stuart Nunnally, in Marble Falls, Texas. And he took amazing care of me. And his team was just incredible. And I can't say enough about the experience itself. I felt very taken care of, very heard, very educated on what was going on and what the solutions were. It was about a two and a half year journey for me in getting the oral piece all put back together because it wasn't just removing nine root canals and all of the teeth, but it was the reconstruction that had to happen after as well. So I appreciate what you do. I mean, I just, like I said, I can't say enough about how excited I am that you're here in our community and that you're educated and that you have such a passion for our patients, because it does make a big difference.

Thank you. And I am so blessed that God has brought me into this journey, into this space and gave me this download of information and the desire to learn and to be with these patients. Hopefully one day that this will be mainstream dentistry.

Yes, it will be.

We won't. We'll be all doing, practicing this way. I think it's coming about and, you know, patients have that choice and I want them to know, demand it, start. It comes from the consumer. Change is happening with the consumer, just like in medicine. Medicine is really finding out that functional medicine is what people want and they desire. And they don't want to go to the doctor, they don't want to go to the regular allopathic medicine, they want to go to somebody who cares. And it's going to look at those numbers and actually get them well. And the same is happening in dentistry. And I'm excited to be a pioneer and a part of it.

I'm excited, too. And I will say this, I have several dentists in my practice currently that I'm treating and all of them are super interested in ongoing education as it relates to environmental. And one of the things that I tell them is I don't want you exposing yourself or your team. Think about all the things that you've been exposed to throughout your career. I want to make sure you're protected as the dentist. Right. And that your team's protected because you guys are exposed every single day. And so making those changes within the practice, they're not easy changes, but there's plenty of courses out there. Dr. Stewart, not only I mentioned him earlier, he does some training in his office in Marble Falls. So dentists can actually go out there and get trained in some of these environmental techniques. So we count on you. Dental health is so important and we need an environmental dentist. On every corner. 100% for sure.

And as we say, we're stronger together. Right, Right, right. We're much stronger together. So thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to have this conversation with us. It's a very important conversation. We know the relationship between oral health and overall health. I mean, we've kind of solidified more of that today and we only covered a fragment of all of the stuff that I imagine that you actually treat. So we might have to circle back for a deeper conversation on some other things too, if you don't mind.

Yeah, I would love that. It's been wonderful talking with everybody. They can catch me if they want to find me. Yes, they can find me on Instagram at Grove Dental Oxford, Facebook. We'll post things and then tick tock. And I don't do as much with that one. I'm still trying to learn. And then they can go to my website at Grove Dental Oxford dot com.

Excellent. Well, thanks again for everything and thanks for being out there. Courageous and brave, as I said earlier, and willing to have harder conversations and take a chance on converting practice too, because I know that's all. That financial side too, of shifting a practice isn't easy. Kelly right there did the same thing from insurance based practice to. To what she does today and not looking back. But the journey wasn't easy.

Yeah, no, but it's. It's fun.

It's worth it.

Yes, right.

It's worth every penny of it.

Well, thank you.

Thank you so much. Thank you, guys.

The Synergy Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor patient relationship is formed. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.