Central Park Dental Spa (formerly DentaSpa) improves on traditional dental practices in many ways, one of which is that she uses a holistic approach to diagnosis and treatment.
Although most people have heard the term "holistic" – as in holistic medicine or holistic dentistry -- there are a lot of misconceptions about what "holistic" actually means.
Some of the biggest misconceptions are that holistic doctors or dentists don't use traditional methods like technology, pharmacology, surgery or even anesthesia; that practitioners only use "alternative" therapies like homeopathy, aroma therapy, or massage; and finally, that the holistic approach to healing is somehow "spiritual" or "woo-woo" and not at all logical or concrete.
But "holistic" doesn't actually mean any of these things. Dr. Ellis employs every traditional method of therapy and treatments. What holistic dentistry (sometimes called "natural dentistry") does is expand and improve on traditional dentistry in ways that are not only concrete, scientific and observable, but which can have dramatically improved results for the patient.
The primary way in which Dr. Elli's holistic approach expands on and improves traditional dentistry is that she doesn't view the teeth and gums as separate from the rest of the body or the life of the person. Rather, Dr. Ellis sees the teeth and gums as an integrated part of the body that is also very affected by the life and experiences of the person. In other words, whereas a traditional dentist looks at teeth and gums and treats them as if they existed in a vacuum, when a holistic dentist looks at teeth and gums, they also take into account the health and well-being of the body, and the experiences the person is having that is affecting them.
Why does this matter? It matters because the teeth and gums are linked in every possible way to both the body and the life of the person. For example, health problems a person may be facing are usually reflected in the health of the teeth and gums. Also, what a person eats, what medicine they take, and the amount of stress they are under can also have significant effects on oral health. The connections are endless, and Dr. Ellis takes them all into account when it comes to diagnosis and treatment.
So for example, if you, like many people, grind your teeth at night, you will eventually cause enough damage to the teeth, roots and gums to need a root canal. A traditional dentist only notices this problem once the damage is done. A holistic dentist such as Dr. Ellis will note the evidence of grinding before there is a problem, and prescribe a night guard that prevents damage and the need for a root canal. That's holistic dentistry.
Because holistic dentistry does so much more than just focus on the repair of dental disease and the resolution of periodontal problems it is preventative in nature, putting the emphasis on the maintenance of healthy teeth and gums. The concrete result for Dr. Ellis' patients is fewer painful and invasive procedures.
While Dr. Ellis uses state of the art technology in her practice, she does not use any technologies or treatments that are in fact unhealthy for the patient.
For instance, whereas a traditional dentist will employ mercury, a poison known to target nerve cells, to fill in cavities, Dr. Ellis uses porcelain or gold which have no negative side effects. Similarly, while most dentists use traditional X-rays that give unnecessary doses of radiation to the patient, Dr. Ellis uses digital X-rays that do not expose the patient to unnecessary radiation. Dr. Ellis also uses tooth colored, biocompatible restorations that are much more life-like; a dental dam that protects the patient from inhaling or ingesting pieces of old filling during removal; and biocompatibility testing of dental materials to assure that the patient does not have a reaction to any treatments.
So Dr. Ellis' holistic approach actually employs superior technology to traditional dentistry.
Ultimately, Dr. Ellis' holistic dentistry simply means smarter dentistry, and thus healthier, happier, and more beautiful patients.
What are some of the known connections between dental health and the health of the body? The essential philosophy behind Dr. Ellis' holistic approach to dentistry is that it draws the known connections between the health of the teeth and the health of other parts of the body, as well as the connections between dental health and the life and habits of the patient as a whole. The result is superior dentistry, with dramatically better results.
Some of the best examples are the connections between dental health and:
- What you eat: An average person's diet contains over 1/4th of a pound of sugar a day, which adds up to over 115 pounds of sugar a year. This amount of sugar can easily cause a costly and painful dental breakdown. A holistic dentist like Dr. Ellis assesses the diet of the patient and advises how to improve it in order to prevent dental problems.
Some examples of what Dr. Ellis advises her patients include simple steps such as replacing coffee and sugar, coke and soft drinks with orange juice, milk, diet soda and saccharine; replacing danishes, donuts and desserts with cheese, crackers, nuts and fruit; and replacing cereal with sugar and toast or muffins with jam with eggs, cottage cheese and peanut butter. She also advises to eat a healthy protein-rich breakfast, which diminishes the urge to eat sweets later in the day, and can prevent gum disease.
The result of Dr. Ellis inclusion of diet and nutrition in her dentistry practice is that it helps her patients maintain healthy teeth and gums, and prevent costly and painful problems for her patients.
- Your jaw: There are many powerful connections between the teeth and the jaw. This is seen most prominently at night when many people grind their teeth while they sleep.
You may not be aware of it, but the chances are very great that you clench, gnash, and grit your teeth at night. And this is helping to knock your teeth loose.
At night, when we think we're at peace with the world, many of us are responding to the tensions of the day. As a result our jaw muscles are clamping our teeth together with fantastic pressures, about 300 pounds per square inch or about 68000 lbs. on the tip of a cusp.
While you grind the muscles press upper and lower teeth together & from side to side. This pumping action can start melting the bone that holds teeth, away and the teeth loosen.
Slight irregularities on the chewing surfaces of your teeth trigger clenching. People clench a high spot to grind it down, or to find a comfortable place to fit the jaws together.
Bite adjustment, to equalize pressures and spread forces evenly and to remove interfering high spots, is the answer.
Sometimes a "night-guard" splint helps, because it covers trigger irregularities.
If 1 out of every 4 people in the U.S. has no teeth in one or both jaws, and if this stress is a major cause of tooth loss, it makes good sense to have your bite checked.
So diagnosing and preventing grinding is a powerful way to maintain your teeth over the course of your whole life.
- Your dental bills
Holistic dentistry is preventative in nature. The main aim of holistic dentistry is to do away with the very need for itself.
But it not only saves teeth, maintains dental health and improves your appearance, holistic dentistry costs less, far less. After all, having a dental breakdown of any kind costs a lot more than effective prevention.
- Your face: Though it can be easy to think that your teeth only affects your appearance when you're showing them.
But that's not true.
Healthy, well maintained teeth supports your facial tissues, and prevents the aged, collapsed look by keeping creases from forming. That keeps your face looking young.
Your teeth also affect the symmetry of your face. Did you ever notice the faces in fashion magazines? Some of them might not be your 'type', but they are always symmetrical, balanced, and even on both sides. Eating on one side develops good tone on that side, but the other side sags and gives one's face a lop-sided look.
Clenching and gritting caused by small irregularities of the teeth initiates and perpetuates the tension cycle. Clenching creates tension lines that age the face.
So if you want your face to look young and beautiful, the first place to start is with your teeth.
- Your heart: Dental health is not limited to the health of teeth and gums. In fact, dental health can affect major organs, like the heart.
The two principal diseases involving the teeth and their surrounding tissues - caries and periodontoclasia - are, for all practical purpose, entirely preventable. Prevention of these dental diseases should also prevent those diseases of the heart in which the infection comes from such foci. Under these circumstances the health, welfare, and even life itself, of persons who have heart conditions which predispose them to infection may depend upon prevention and control of dental disease.
So if you want a healthy heart, you need to have healthy teeth.
- Your gums: When most people think of dental health, they think just of their teeth. But healthy gums are necessary for healthy teeth.
Patients are usually unaware that periodontal conditions are developing because there is no pain or other warning in the early stages. Sore gums that bleed, food impaction. and bad breath are advanced signs. Progress is so insidious that symptoms are not often recognized by patients with much alarm at least not until the opportunity for remedy has passed and the teeth have to be sacrificed. If these symptoms are not attended to in time, the bone supporting the teeth becomes weakened and destroyed. Teeth loosen, and the disease progresses. When neighboring teeth are lost and are replaced, these loosened teeth are called upon to support new appliances. This further tends to weaken their support, which causes more tooth loss.
So if you want healthy teeth, you have to have healthy gums too.
- Your bite: Proper occlusion - or bite - is essential to good dental health.
First, it is important to understand that to save teeth the supporting structures - that is, the gums and bone - must be maintained in good health.
When these supporting structures are weakened, periodontal disease results.
The American Dental Association has stated that after age 35 more teeth are lost because of periodontal disease than any other cause.
When teeth do not come together properly on closing of the jaws, the health of gums and bone is threatened. Thus, main purpose of bite relation adjustment are:
- To reduce strain on teeth
- To improve eating and chewing efficiency.
- To retard further supporting bone loss.
- To help prevent food impaction.
- To retard gum recession.
- To promote comfort.
- To preserve teeth and youthful appearance by preventing subtle facial collapse.
When the bite is adjusted the primary stress contacts, which are points which initially collide on closing of jaws, are eliminated. Scientific studies show that this pressure can be tremendous, subjecting the offended teeth to severe shock. Because of our ability to adapt to stress, we are seldom aware of this shock until the supporting bone may be weakened and destroyed.
In bite adjustment the interfering cusp relationships that cause lateral stress that loosens teeth are modified. This correction makes for smoother chewing and amazing comfort.
Cusps that may force food to become wedged between teeth of the opposing jaw are also reshaped. This correction helps prevent both cavities and gum irritation. It goes far in keeping your breath clean - so important in business, social and even family relationships. Reshaping teeth also helps to make them more efficient. This leads to more effective chewing with less strain on the teeth and jaw muscles; it also helps to preserve supporting bone.
For these various reasons it is important to have harmonious bite relationships. This coordination of the bite promotes comfort, a benefit in itself.
So what a bite adjustment means is less strain upon the supporting bone through improper collision of the teeth. It means that the bone's integrity and health will be preserved and that the teeth will remain firm.
Teeth loosened by neglect of these factors can also lead to facial changes with premature collapse and skin creases detracting from one's appearance. Attention to bite relationship can help maintain facial youthfulness.
Bite relation adjustment helps your teeth to function more smoothly, promotes comfort and assures better oral health and appearance.
- Your tongue: In holistic dentistry, observation of the tongue can provide a gateway into the health of the patient. Based on a Traditional Chinese Medicine model, Dr. Ellis can observe a patient's tongue and can diagnosis everything from stomach ulcers and pregnancy to cardiac issues and side effects from medication.