GREAT NEWS!!!
I saw my first holistic dentist today. I purposely refrained from mentioning any previous diagnoses on the paperwork or during the exam until the dentist mentioned his findings. We discussed the differences in suggestions from the traditional perspective and the holistic perspective. The root canal never came up, so I had to bring it up myself!!!
I have one crown and that crown has been one source of constant discussion with every dentist since. Sigh. This dentist brought it up again
but in a different way. His concern is for the type of metal under the porcelain and the adhesive holding it in place. I need to call the dentist who did the work to ask some questions. (This constant source of discussion with dentists has made me not so eager to do anymore crowns.)
I have one very large (composite) filling that is the other source of constant discussion with every dentist I've seen. Sigh. This dentist says it is a judgement call because it is borderline crown-worthy and that he also does fillings like this for patients when finances prevent a proper crown. However, he tells patients to think of it as a "temporary filling", which I was never told by the original dentist who did it. I do recall that dentist explaining that he would rather do a crown and that I couldn't afford one at the time, but specifically explaining that it would start to crack and break down within five years.... No, he never told me THAT. (This composite filling replaced an amalgam back in the Spring of 2005 and I was already shelling out a lot for all my amalgams to be replaced, which the holistic dentist said that dentist did a good job.)
So, the end of the exam comes and he never mentioned needing a root canal. He was very thorough on so many other things besides the above two issues, so I felt the need to discuss it with him. He had my xrays (digital) up on the computer screen and we went over them again and he said he saw nothing to indicate the need for a root canal. His best guess is that traditional dentistry would flag that large filling as root canal material. He also told me that I would *KNOW* I needed immediate dental attention due to the pain.
I didn't tell him, but I already experienced that excruciating pain a couple years ago (on the tooth the last dentist said needed a root canal) and I had an abscess in the gum right above that tooth. I saw two Ayurveda practitioners (one went to India for further training) for this and other health issues and we worked on my internal health overall. When I went to the dentist who said I needed a root canal in January 2009, they scared me into taking a round of antibiotics. I took probiotics before, during, and after, as well. About mid-year, I swished virgin coconut oil around my mouth - concentrating on the abscess - and it went away. (I had also tried other home remedies and they also made it
temporarily go away. The VCO effects seem to be permanent at this point. Or perhaps it is cumulative?) I recently switched to healthier salts and we've been doing bone broth for over a year (maybe close to two now?). In any case, I saw both xrays - last one with shadow indicating infection of root, so they said, and this one showing normal shading throughout - and to my untrained eyes, that area looks different now than before. YIPPEEEEEEE!!!!!
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Unfortunately, the composite filling doesn't provide the same "benefit". For large cavities, composite is not often effective long-term.
