Homeopathic Dentistry

In ancient times, as well as in some modern-day primitive tribes, tooth mutilations have carried ritualistic or cosmetic importance. One of the most notable examples is the famous Mayan skulls which still carry teeth inlayed with precious stones.  These inlays were made of a variety of minerals of beautiful colors, including jadeite, iron pyrites, hematite, turquoise, quartz, serpentine and cinnabar.

The known history of dental implants begins more than 1300 years ago with this ancient Mayans artifact.

A 1930s archaeological dig led by Dr. Wilson Popenoe in Honduras turned up the ancient dental inlays. Similar discoveries were made when excavating ancient Egyptian artifacts. It was decades after these archaeological discoveries before the modern world caught up with the Mayans’ dental technology.

It was only in 1907 that a new and accurate method of casting gold inlays was announced by Dr. William H. Taggart. This technique was called the disappearing wax technique. He patented this technique but lost his patents when it was discovered that Dr. Philbrook of Denison, Iowa had written an article concerning gold inlay castings 25 years earlier. A copy of this article was found in the dental library of the University of Iowa.

• According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, approximately 34,000 people will be affected by oral cancer in the United States this year and roughly 8,000 will die. This translates to one death every hour of every day.

• A 2007 study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and published by the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) nowadays is strongly associated with oral cancer among people even without traditional risk factors of tobacco and alcohol abuse.

Any dental office with attention to the holistic nature of dental treatment will  now offer an important adjunctive screening test, the Vizilite, to catch oral cancer as early as possible.

An annual ViziLite Plus exam, after a conventional visual examination, represents an integral part of comprehensive oral-cancer screenings. The screenings help dentists detect oral cancer in its early stages, as well as precancerous tissue. Detection promotes early intervention and prolongs life expectancy.

In the past, oral cancer predominately struck men, adults over 40, African Americans, smokers and heavy alcohol drinkers. The new cancer-screening procedure “ViziLite® Plus with TBlue630″ is simple, quick,  non-invasive, pain-free and effective. We found that ‘Humana Dental’ will cover the screening once a year beginning April 1, 2008, and we are sure that other insurance companies will or may have already started to follow.

The white shell of enamel covering our teeth is the hardest substance in our body.

Enamel has growth rings just like trees. The growth pattern may be interrupted at any phase during the embryonic phase of tooth formation, such as an intense episode of malnutrition, emotional stress or disease, giving rise to changes in these growth rings.

Sometimes these can be so pronounced that we see them as ring-like defects around baby or adult teeth, depending on when the growth retardation occurred in early life. These defects are sometimes called “enamel hypoplasia”, and are more prone to decay.

Depending upon which teeth they are found on and which part of the tooth they are located on, we can extrapolate to the time period, within a few months, in which that interruption happened in pre-partum or post-partum life.

After a dental procedure, perhaps the most widely known remedy for bruising and soreness is Arnica, which you can take in 12, 30, or 200 potency a few times on the day of the procedure.

Depending on other accompanying symptoms or irritations, it can be combined, if taken at least half an hour apart, with

• Belladonna (in case of throbbing pain or flushed face),
• Ruta (in case of jaw soreness, sore ligaments or soreteeth due to a heavy bite), and
  
• Pyrogenium (in case of infection, fever, sepsis).

In general, the more intense the symptoms, the more frequent the dosage. Increase the potency, however, only as the symptoms become more deep-seated on the psychological or emotional character of the person.

Early Childhood Caries (ECC), sometimes also called “bottle decay” is a phenomenon we still have only poorly understood. Nevertheless, it is pretty widespread. It is frightening for many parents to notice their 2-4 year old children  developing widespread cavities on their front teeth All this in spite of the fact that they may be extremely cautious with their diet and oral hygiene.

In the past, Early childhood caries was attributed to the fact that babies were sucking on their formula milk bottle in bed and going to sleep with it, thus creating an environment for the decay-causing bacteria to thrive on the pooled and fermenting milk on the surface of their teeth.

This has changed today and there seem to be other aggravating factors. Thorough attention has to be given by parents to keep the teeth clean from the bacteria that cause this condition.

Diet, as well as proper oral hygiene, Xylitol gels, possibly combined with some homeopathic remedies, as well as proactive dentistry can all be used to prevent or slow down this condition.

Facts about Early Childhood Caries:

1. ECC develops as a result of very early colonization of the baby’s mouth with streptococcus mutans bacteria.
2. The bacterial colonies covering the teeth, known as plaque, will process sugars coming into contact with them and produce acid as a by-product, which in turn will cause enamel to become softer and porous. These white chalky lesions will then progress into the more advanced decay seen in rotting teeth, especially in upper incisors of children between the ages of 2 and 4.

Recent research has shown that neither breastfeeding nor its duration are associated with the risk for early childhood caries. On the other hand, increased risk of ECC is often independently observed in associations with  poverty, and maternal prenatal smoking. Furthermore, some ethnic groups were independently associated with severe early childhood caries.