Oral health is an integral part of overall health. Oral health conditions, such as periodontal disease, can lead to lower quality of life. Periodontal disease is the inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the teeth. As this disease progresses, inflammation can affect the supporting bone around the teeth, creating pockets and eventually leading to tooth loss. With recent studies, serious systemic illness like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke have been linked to periodontal disease. Due to this association, maintaining a healthy oral cavity can help to prevent systemic disease. This interconnection of the mouth and body is just one of the many beliefs that holistic dentists possess. In holistic dentistry, dentists focus on proper nutrition, prevention of infection, and the use of nontoxic materials. Traditional dentistry is based on a problem-oriented model and often focuses on just the head and neck region. For years, traditional dentists have treated periodontal disease, but some treatments have led to negative outcomes. Conventional periodontal therapies have involved scaling and root planing, irrigation with antibiotic agents, as well as the administration of antibiotics, and invasive gum surgeries. In holistic dentistry, there are several noninvasive alternatives to treating periodontal disease. Such alternatives include a modified, safer approach to scaling and root planing, irrigation of ozone and other nontoxic agents, and laser therapy. In addition, holistic dentistry emphasizes the importance of disease prevention. Such practices include proper oral hygiene, incorporating supplementation to avoid vitamin deficiencies, and oral probiotics to promote a healthy oral microbiome. For patients suffering from periodontal disease, it may be beneficial to consider biocompatible periodontal therapy. This kind of therapy not only treats periodontal disease and addresses the cause of the problem while supporting the body’s natural healing process. Further research on holistic periodontal treatment, which has demonstrated success in a variety of studies, will continue to benefit both the oral cavity and overall wellbeing of patients.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/36619 |
| Date | 14 June 2019 |
| Creators | Teixeira, Manuela |
| Contributors | Davies, Theresa A. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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