Are you looking for a new dentist in the San Diego area? If so, then consider working with a holistic dentist.

We understand that many people don’t know or have different ideas about what a holistic dentist is. Once you do understand, though, we think you’ll agree with us: holistic dentists are the best!

What Is a Holistic Dentist?

If you’re confused about what a holistic dentist is, it’s not surprising. There are many different definitions used. To make it easier, we will talk about what holistic dentistry means to us.

Holistic dentists take your mouth as a unified part of the whole of your body. Because your body and mouth are parts of a single whole, health effects flow in and out of the mouth system, with mouth disorders adversely affecting your overall health. The reverse is also true: an unhealthy body can lead to an unhealthy mouth.

Get Treated as a Whole Person

Too often, modern medicine can feel like it’s cutting you apart to the point that you’re not a whole person, just a collection of organs. A holistic dentist doesn’t look at you that way.

At Irresistible Smiles, we treat every patient as a whole person.

Have Additional Options

In addition to many of the traditional treatments used by traditional dentists, holistic dentists can offer additional treatment options. Often, these are treatments designed to reduce the impact of dental materials on your body. Other times, the treatment options foster improved overall health by eliminating infection, toxic substances, and other sources of poor health.

Your traditional dentist may not know about many of these treatment options.

Non-Toxic Dental Materials

Understanding that what goes into your mouth will eventually enter the rest of your body, holistic dentistry tries to reduce or eliminate the toxic substances in your dental treatment. This can help avoid or reverse some of the potential negative effects of traditional dental materials.

The worst culprit in traditional dental materials is metal amalgam fillings. These fillings are half mercury by weight. Mercury is one of the most toxic metals, and it doesn’t stay in the fillings. It migrates through your body, accumulating in your tissues and your blood. As part of our commitment to holistic dentistry, we don’t use metal amalgam fillings at Irresistible smiles.

Minimally Invasive Approach

Holistic dentists understand there is nothing better than your natural teeth, so we do what we can to preserve your natural teeth whenever possible.

  • We don’t pull a tooth if we can restore it.
  • We don’t use a crown when a filling will do.
  • We don’t use a filling if lifestyle changes and hygiene can reverse damage to your teeth.

Watches for Jaw Problems

Your holistic dentist understands that dentistry doesn’t just mean teeth. At Irresistible Smiles, we also consider the health of your jaw system. This means looking at how your joints, muscles, and nerves are all working together.

This helps us identify and treat temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ or TMD), which cause many symptoms throughout your body. You might notice headaches, neck pain, back pain, tingling or numbness in your fingers, as well as symptoms related to your teeth and jaws.

Can Help Improve Your Sleep

Holistic dentistry can use dental treatments to address major health problems. Sleep apnea is a potentially deadly condition. While the common treatment—CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure—is very effective, not everyone tolerates the treatment. This causes them not to use their CPAP, which means they continue to suffer the risks of sleep apnea, including poor heart health, inability to stay awake, depression, and more.

Our approach to holistic dentistry means we offer sleep apnea treatment for our patients. Oral appliance therapy is a comfortable, convenient alternative to CPAP that most people find more appealing.

Can Improve Your Overall Health

Understanding how poor dental health can contribute to poor overall health means that holistic dentists can provide treatments that don’t only improve dental health. They also improve your overall health. For example, treating gum disease can help you regulate your blood sugar and improve your heart health.

Holistic dentists are also apt to recognize the impact of health problems on your teeth. For example, we might note tooth erosion caused by GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or the wear caused by stress-related teeth grinding. We mention these so that you can seek treatment.

Ready to Work with Other Healthcare Providers

We understand that all your body systems work together, and we know that many conditions respond best to a team approach. We are prepared to work with your other healthcare providers to treat your health problems and achieve these best results.

We can work with doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, sleep physicians, and more to help ensure you enjoy the best health of your life.

Meet with a Holistic Dentist in San Diego

If you think a holistic dentist might be the best choice for your oral and overall health, our San Diego holistic dentists are ready to help you. Please call (619) 656-6785 or email Irresistible Smiles in Chula Vista today for an appointment.