Choose Healthier Options for the New Year - Visit a Holistic Dentist

It's time to set those 2014 New Year's Resolutions! Unfortunately for most of us, our resolutions to change and enhance our lives are abandoned within just three months! This year, prepare a list of resolutions you can stick with, such as taking steps to seek out a healthier mouth and overall well-being.  

Improve Your Dating Life with a Smile Makeover

What is the first thing you notice about someone you're meeting for the first time? Physical features make an enormous first impression, especially in the dating arena. In fact, 48 percent of people surveyed said that a smile is the feature they remember most about meeting a new person. Teeth can make or break your social life!

What Your Oral Health Says About Your Heart Health

There is growing evidence of a significant link between oral health and heart health. In fact, some doctors now think that gum disease, tooth decay, and missing teeth are as symptomatic of potential or impending heart disease as is high cholesterol. So don't be surprised if your cardiologist grills you about your last dental check-up.

And vice versa. Your dentist may want to discuss your heart health before performing a dental procedure on you. Some dentists will delay dental work – even a simple cleaning – if you are experiencing significant heart issues or have just undergone a heart procedure.

4 Things That Set Holistic Dentists Apart from a Regular Dental Practice

Mainstream medicine can make you feel like a robot that's been returned to the factory for repairs. Holistic dentists change that. Instead of mechanically treating symptoms, a holistic dentist looks at the effect your teeth have on your whole body's health – and the effect your body's health has on your teeth.

Holistic dentists look beyond treating the mouth. They know that mercury fillings and dental x-rays can cause serious health problems in the long run. Holistic dentists look at your oral health in relation to your other health issues and use that knowledge of your whole body to solve your problem.

Make the Healthy Choice: Visit a Holistic Dentist

Many people are unaware of the many different options available when it comes to choosing a dentist. If you want to approach your dental care in a more holistic manner, then going to a holistic dentist is a great solution. Below are just four of the ways holistic dentists stand out from traditional dental practices.

6 Benefits of Composite Tooth Fillings

A “filling” is used to replace and restore tooth structure that was removed due to decay or fracture of tooth material. Thanks to technological advances in the field of dentistry, patients and dentists today have a number of choices when it comes to selecting materials to fill cracks, chips, and cavities in teeth. Natural tooth-colored composite fillings are the safer choice, and what you will typically find in a holistic dental office. Composite fillings are made of acrylic resin (a type of plastic) reinforced with powdered glass. They can be used as new fillings or to replace old amalgam fillings.

Dental Implants: The Smart Choice to Replace Missing Teeth

The use of artificial tooth replacements – dental implants – is one of the most effective ways to counter tooth loss. Although there are numerous methods for restoration of missing teeth, dental implants have proven to be the most effective and functionally durable way of giving you a brand new beautiful smile.

What Are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that is inserted into the jawbone to replace the missing root of the natural tooth and support artificial replacement tooth. A dental implant is typically made of titanium. It acts as an anchor to hold the replacement tooth or teeth in place.

4 Common Cosmetic Dentistry Procedures to Transform Your Smile

First impressions mean everything. Having a beautiful smile can boost your confidence at work and in your social life. Cosmetic dentistry can improve every aspect of your teeth. Whether you want a brilliant Hollywood smile or simply want to repair the damage done by age and lifestyle, there is a cosmetic dental procedure for you. Here are four of the most common cosmetic dental procedures used to transform your teeth.

Eco-Friendly Design Solutions of a DC Holistic Dentistry Practice

As a holistic dentistry practice in Washington, D.C., we have employed several eco-dentistry solutions in our office to provide a safe, environmentally friendly environment for our patients and our planet.

Eco-Dentists Use Safer Digital X-Rays 

Traditional X-rays can be dangerous to people and the environment due to their levels of radiation. Digital X-rays produce less radiation, less waste, and faster results to improve your dental treatment and heighten your safety.

Practicing Holistic Dentistry: 4 Restorative Dentistry Procedures

Focusing on your oral health as part of your overall well-being ensures that any dental treatment is in alignment with your body’s needs. This is why it’s so important to find a holistic dentist in Washington, D.C. that understands that restorative procedures are not limited to the mouth or teeth, but rather impact the entire body. 

Holistic Dentists Understand Your Needs

Restorative dental work isn’t just about preventing further tooth decay or ensuring your oral health is in tiptop condition. Rather, your holistic dentist understands that your mouth and teeth align with your entire body’s health.

4 Ways a Holistic Dentist Can Treat Sports-Related Dental Injuries

High-contact sports like hockey and football can expose your teeth to danger. Some sports are more likely to cause dental injuries than other. According to the American Academy of General Dentistry, soccer players are more likely to sustain dental-related injuries. This is because soccer, like basketball, softball, and pick-up games of touch football, are sports where face masks and mouth guards are not mandatory, which increases the odds for face and mouth injuries. Apart from causing dental trauma from direct impact, sports may also prove quite costly for people who have had extensive cosmetic dental work or braces.

Benefits of Eco-Dentistry: Mercury-Free Fillings

Mercury makes up about 50% of amalgam fillings used in ordinary dental clinics. In 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a report detailing the ill-effects of mercury to human health. It was written that exposure to all forms of this metal can lead to permanent damage in the nervous and reproductive systems, not to mention physical abnormalities in babies.

Your Silver Fillings Poisoning You

Are Your Silver Fillings Poisoning You?

You wouldn’t willingly allow a poison to be permanently placed within your body, would you? Unfortunately, far too many people are carrying a toxic substance in their mouths – amalgam fillings. Silver amalgam fillings, typically comprised of about 60 percent mercury, are constantly releasing toxic vapors into your system. A holistic dentist is concerned with your teeth, but also takes your overall well-being into account, which is why it’s recommended that any amalgam fillings you still have be carefully and properly removed and replaced with composite, tooth-colored fillings.

The Toxicity of Amalgam Fillings

Dental amalgams contain an extremely high concentration of lead and are typically combined with at least one other metal such as silver or tin. Make no mistake about it, silver fillings are strong, which is why they have been used for so long to repair cavities. But they are also noxious. The more silver fillings you have, and the bigger they are, the greater your exposure to mercury.

How Mercury-Laced Fillings Affect the Body

When you chew, drink, grind your teeth, or clench your jaw, you exert a great deal of pressure on your mercury dental fillings. These actions, combined with the warm temperature of the human body, gradually allow the mercury in amalgam fillings to vaporize, be inhaled, and quickly spread through the bloodstream.

The side effects of mercury poisoning can include serious cardiac problems, long-term nervous system damage, high blood pressure, and other health complications. Think one little filling can’t possibly be doing you any harm? The World Health Organization reports that the mercury in dental amalgams is responsible for putting more mercury into a human’s body than any other sources combined. And a recent study focusing on mercury absorption found that the mercury from silver fillings is ingested a rate that is 10 to 50 times the level noted as “safe” by the U.S. Public Health service.

The Alternative to Amalgam Fillings

You can eliminate your exposure to mercury immediately by opting for composite, tooth-colored fillings instead. But it’s important to visit a DC holistic dentist who safely removes existing amalgams from your mouth by following the proper protocol, including expelling mercury vapor carefully and using a mercury separator to filter mercury from waste water leaving the dental office.

Not only are composite fillings a safe, durable, mercury-free alternative, these tooth-colored fillings simply look better than a mouthful of unsightly silver fillings. Contact the mercury-free DC Dentist Dr. Terry Victor at (202) 544-3626 or online to make your amalgam-filling removal appointment or discuss other treatment options.