Most people reading this article are likely to be familiar with the concept that non-beneficial bacteria 
resides in our bowels. Functional medicine and naturopathic doctors call this condition “gut dysbiosis.” Although it is not an official allopathic or conventional medical term, the concept of “microbial imbalance of the gut” as a disease state has finally taken hold. In fact, SIBO, or small bowel bacterial overgrowth, is now a “thing.”
Surprisingly, few dentists fully appreciate the concept of bacterial imbalance in the mouth as the primer of both tooth decay (caries) and gum disease (periodontitis). By understanding this, one can follow the trail to the root causes for each individual’s oral dysbiosis.
For years, I was perplexed as to why people with meticulous oral hygiene, who brush and floss after every meal, still get tooth decay, while others, who seem not to know which end of the toothbrush to use, have no cavities at all! Same goes for gum disease. Unfortunately, when I employed the conventional dental model I was taught in school, I was poorly effective at best at truly helping my patients to eradicate these two most common diseases of the mouth. All I had was chemicals, like fluoride and chlorhexidine. I was taught to deal with the symptoms: drill and fill and slice and dice. And these were not effective at all in stopping these diseases.
Disruption of the normal beneficial microflora of the mouth can have many causes, including the wrong diet, improper eating frequency, mouth breathing, sleep apnea, bad dentistry, tooth crowding, and using the wrong oral rinses or toothpastes. An astute and alternatively educated doctor, who knows how to follow the clues, can help patients figure out the root cause of their mouth disease.
Just drilling out decay and filling the holes or cutting open the gums to drill and scrape away diseased bone is nothing more than dental carpentry. And while dealing with the symptoms or damage of oral disease is important, it is just as important to stop the disease process in the first place so that people are not life-long victims of oral diseases.
At Long Island Center for Healthier Dentistry, we have developed patient-specific tooth-decay-reversal and gum-disease-reversal protocols that patients can follow at home. We take an integrative approach to our patients’ health care by merging the best of modern dental technology, techniques and materials with natural medicines and alternative healing techniques, such as homeopathic, ayurvedic, Chinese, folk and herbal medicines.
By naturally weeding out the bad microbes and replacing them with our normal beneficial microflora, we can begin the process of healing the mouth to its healthy state. In addition, improving or changing the diet, addressing physiologic and anatomic problems, making the teeth and gums more resistant to oral disease, and aiding the mouth in its natural healing mechanism, today we can create an individualized program for our patients to get rid of their unending mouth problems once and for all.
For more information, call Dr. Alex Shvartsman at the Long Island Center for Healthier Dentistry at 631-361-3577 or visit SmithtownSmiles.com.
