Biological Dentistry: The Safest Form of Dentistry

By Cate Cummings FNP IFMCP

This month I would like to share with you the importance of working with a biological dentist to maintain healthy teeth and gums and a healthy oral microbiome (which is the balance of microbes within our mouths).

A most fortunate aspect of my Texas location is that I live about an hour away from one of the very best biological dentists in the United States. His name is Dr. Stuart Nunnally and his practice is called Nunnally Freeman & Owens. Healthy Smiles For Life. He is located in Marble Falls, Texas. Dr. Nunnally has been both my dentist and my husband’s dentist for the past several years. Our health has greatly benefited from his dedication to helping people have healthy teeth and a healthy oral microbiome!

Dr. Nunnally has clients come to his Texas office literally from all over the world! He has a genuinely kind and friendly personality and is an expert at helping people restore their oral health back to an optimal state. By doing so, his great work has positive impacts on many other seemingly unrelated human disease conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc.) and autoimmune disease (1, 4). That is because our oral health is so impactful on the rest of our body’s health.

As a biological dentist Dr. Nunnally is a very special kind of dentist. Dr. Nunnally and his three other wonderful dentists are experts at safely removing mercury amalgam fillings from teeth according to the standards set forth by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT). Dr. Nunnally’s office only restores teeth with safe materials that are bio-compatible for each individual person. Every time we go to his office and get our teeth cleaned, the Dental Hygienist checks to see if we have any ‘undesirable’ bacteria living in the deep sulci around each tooth by doing a special microbial check under the microscope. They are always looking out for you and your long-term health as well as helping you find relief from any type of acute dental problem. You really could not ask for anything better in a dental office!

The scientific dental organization that Dr. Nunnally recommends is the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT). This is a world-wide not-for-profit network of dentists, scientists, and other health professionals who promote the advancement of safe dentistry. They understand the risks of important dental topics such as mercury amalgam fillings (and how to remove them via the SMART protocol which stands for the Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique), fluoride, osteonecrosis of the jaw, and root canals. IAOMT’s mission is to educate dental professionals, the general public, and policy makers about safe dentistry. This is very important because overall there is a big knowledge gap about how humans are being harmed by certain common dental practices (2).

I am writing this article to help promote safe dentistry. I am not a dentist, but I am highly grateful that there are these outstanding dentists who day after day help people experience their best health. As a functional medicine practitioner, I have learned how crucial it is to have a healthy set of teeth and a healthy oral environment!

Our mouth is in close proximity to our brains. Because of this and the fact that mercury amalgams have been shown to release vaporized mercury, it has now been suggested that mercury contamination of the brain may occur from the degradation of mercury amalgams in our teeth (1, 3). Every time we chew, brush our teeth, or drink hot liquids, these actions can cause the release of mercury vapor from our amalgams in our teeth which may then be transported into our brains (5, 7).  Researchers have isolated mercury from within the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients and the abnormalities associated with Alzheimer’s Disease look very similar to those of mercury toxicity on a biochemical level (6).

In addition to inorganic mercury being a possible co-factor in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Dementia, it has also been shown that oral pathogenic (undesirable) bacteria can actually get into our brain tissue and have a role in creating neurodegenerative changes within our brains as well (9, 10). Interested in learning more about brain health? Click here to learn about the makeup of our brain and the steps you can take to keep it healthy.

When we have an imbalanced oral microbiome, we are also setting ourselves up potentially to have cardiovascular disease. Researchers have found that the undesirable microbes commonly found in the mouth are also located within the atherosclerotic plaque within arteries! (8),

As you can see from these examples of serious and common diseases that plague the human population globally, biological dentistry is here to help you obtain your best dental health as well as your best whole body health!  You can go to the IAOMT website and locate a biological dentist nearest you. Or you can come to central Texas and receive excellent biological dentistry services from Dr. Nunnally and his team! You can visit their website at https://www.healthysmilesforlife.com/.

As it is our constant goal at BWC For Horse Lovers to help you achieve your happiest and healthiest horse-lover self, please consider working with a biological dentist!

References

  1. Cariccio VL, Samà A, Bramanti P, Mazzon E. Mercury Involvement in Neuronal Damage and in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2019 Feb;187(2):341-356. doi: 10.1007/s12011-018-1380-4. Epub 2018 May 18. PMID: 29777524.
  2. International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology. https://iaomt.org/about-iaomt/
  3. Mutter J, Naumann J, Schneider R, Walach H. Quecksilber und Alzheimer-Erkrankung [Mercury and Alzheimer's disease]. Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr. 2007 Sep;75(9):528-38. German. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-959237. Epub 2007 Jul 12. PMID: 17628833.
  4. Bjørklund G, Peana M, Dadar M, Chirumbolo S, Aaseth J, Martins N. Mercury-induced autoimmunity: Drifting from micro to macro concerns on autoimmune disorders. Clin Immunol. 2020 Apr;213:108352. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2020.108352. Epub 2020 Feb 4. PMID: 32032765.
  5. Edlich RF, Greene JA, Cochran AA, Kelley AR, Gubler KD, Olson BM, Hudson MA, Woode DR, Long WB 3rd, McGregor W, Yoder C, Hopkins DB, Saepoff JP. Need for informed consent for dentists who use mercury amalgam restorative material as well as technical considerations in removal of dental amalgam restorations. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 2007;26(4):305-22. doi: 10.1615/jenvironpatholtoxicoloncol.v26.i4.70. PMID: 18197828.
  6. Siblerud R, Mutter J, Moore E, Naumann J, Walach H. A Hypothesis and Evidence That Mercury May be an Etiological Factor in Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 17;16(24):5152. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16245152. PMID: 31861093; PMCID: PMC6950077.
  7. Mutter J, Curth A, Naumann J, Deth R, Walach H. Does inorganic mercury play a role in Alzheimer's disease? A systematic review and an integrated molecular mechanism. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;22(2):357-74. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2010-100705. PMID: 20847438.
  8. Boillot A, Demmer RT, Mallat Z, Sacco RL, Jacobs DR, Benessiano J, Tedgui A, Rundek T, Papapanou PN, Desvarieux M. Periodontal microbiota and phospholipases: the Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST). Atherosclerosis. 2015 Oct;242(2):418-23. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2015.07.039. Epub 2015 Jul 22. PMID: 26282947; PMCID: PMC4862208.
  9. Miklossy J. Alzheimer's disease--a spirochetosis? 1993 Jul;4(7):841-8. PMID: 8369471.
  10. Dominy SS, Lynch C, Ermini F, Benedyk M, Marczyk A, Konradi A, Nguyen M, Haditsch U, Raha D, Griffin C, Holsinger LJ, Arastu-Kapur S, Kaba S, Lee A, Ryder MI, Potempa B, Mydel P, Hellvard A, Adamowicz K, Hasturk H, Walker GD, Reynolds EC, Faull RLM, Curtis MA, Dragunow M, Potempa J. Porphyromonas gingivalisin Alzheimer's disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment with small-molecule inhibitors. Sci Adv. 2019 Jan 23;5(1):eaau3333. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3333. PMID: 30746447; PMCID: PMC6357742.

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