Is Holistic Dentistry Really A Misnomer?
2016
Depending on how you look at it, or your perception of the procedures involved, holistic dentistry might actually be a misnomer. For those who are not aware, a misnomer simply means an inaccurate or an incorrect name that is used to infer something else. Basically, the entire concept of holistic treatment comes from the fact that the parts that make up a complete system are in one way or the other interconnected.
A quote from a well-respected San Diego Dentist: “A holistic doctor is therefore a doctor whose role is to treat not just a given disease or the symptoms, but to treat the entire body. There are so many things that holistic doctors will consider, including the psychological and social factors like the diet, exercise or any other applicable issues before they prescribe some form of treatment for the patient.”
Handling the confusion
When you think about it, the concept of holistic dentistry can indeed be confusing. This is because in most cases, we assume that dentists are only supposed to work on your dental cavity. However, here we have a dentist who is supposed to be working on your teeth, while looking into the rest of your body as well. In as much as this might be a bit confusing, it is actually the best term possible for you to describe a dentist whose role is to diagnose, treat and maintain your health, while at the same time considering your overall health.
There are other considerations that come into play too. You would not expect to see your holistic dentist making use of certain chemicals. Of special emphasis here are things like fluoride or filling material that normally contains mercury. In fact the entire premise of holistic dentistry is built around helping you avoid the use of mercury, which is a toxic component.
There are dentists who use these products in their practice, but eventually they only end up causing you more harm than good. There are serious consequences of using them for your health. For this reason, a holistic dentist will actually not even use them in the first place. In fact, a good one will even advise you on some of the risks that you are exposed to when using them.
When your dentist says they are looking into your whole body, what this means is that they are also looking at things like the diet you are on, your overall health and so forth. In this case there will also be an examination to determine whether your periodontal health concerns could be as a result of systemic conditions or not.
To further emphasize the point, holistic dentists are so many things, and can offer you a lot, but the term holistic on its own is pretty much incomplete. So far, it is however the only proper way for us to address a dentist who really does care for your health, and uses non-toxic materials throughout the procedure, while at the same time making sure that you are healthy all round.
Source: http://holisticdentist.org