Ep 369 The Fertility Red Flag Hiding in Your Mouth
On today’s episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, I am joined by biological dentist and integrative health coach Dr. Toni Engram (@drtoniengram) to uncover one of the most overlooked foundations of reproductive health: your mouth.
Most people do not realize that oral health is deeply connected to inflammation, autoimmune conditions, and fertility challenges. In this eye opening conversation, Dr. Toni explains how hidden infections, gum disease, mercury fillings, and even everyday products like fluoride can quietly impact hormones, gut health, thyroid function, and pregnancy outcomes.
We dive into the science behind biological dentistry, the truth about fluoride, safer approaches to dental procedures, how the oral microbiome affects your fertility, and why preconception dentistry is one of the most powerful yet underutilized steps for preparing the body for pregnancy.
If you have been working on your fertility, supporting your gut, addressing autoimmune conditions, or simply trying to reduce inflammation and support your hormones, this episode is a must listen. Your mouth may be the missing piece.
Key Takeaways:
Oral health is directly connected to inflammation, gut health, and autoimmune conditions.
Mercury fillings and hidden infections can trigger systemic inflammation and impact fertility.
Biological dentistry uses safer materials and focuses on root cause healing.
Fluoride carries risks including thyroid disruption and neurotoxicity.
Xylitol, hydroxyapatite, and simple daily habits can safely support remineralization and overall oral health.
Links and resources:
Visit Dr. Toni’s Website:
http://flourish.dental
Follow her on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtoniengram/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flourishdentalboutique/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yourholisticdentist
X: https://x.com/DentalFlourish
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@flourishdentalboutique
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-toni-engram-11081731/
Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or fertility care.
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https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewayoffertility
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Michelle: Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Toni.
Toni: Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.
Michelle: Me too. So I always like to start with an origin story, and I'd love for you to share, um, how you got into your work, but very customized, um, dentistry.
Toni: Yeah. Not your traditional dentist, that's for sure. Um, the, how I got into dentistry is a, it's a much more boring story.
Toni: So we'll get
to the interesting
Michelle: I just wanted, I just wanted to help people and, and dentistry seemed like a, a more family friendly version of healthcare than going to med school. So that's how I became a dentist.
And man, I just wanted to be a normal dentist, that's all. Um, wanted to have a normal practice in a normal town. But thankfully God had other plans for me, and it was around 2011. I had a toddler at home. I was working [00:01:00] full-time as an associate dentist at another practice. I was in the process of opening my first practice from scratch, you know, just me solo by myself doing all the construction and that sort of thing.
And I just got super, super sick. Um, I wasn't eating well, obviously. I wasn't sleeping well. I was doing all the, the normal type A things that one does, uh, which worked for me when I, when I was younger, but then all of a sudden just did not, and I had all kinds of, you know, unfortunate digestive issues that doctors kind of blew off for a while.
And, uh, just told me it was IBS for the longest time. And finally, uh, my symptoms got so bad that. That even they couldn't ignore them or push them aside anymore. And so I was diagnosed with Crohn's colitis, which is just an autoimmune condition that affects the gut and was given, you know, just the [00:02:00] very typical.
Western Medicine Answer was, here's your list of medications that you're gonna need to take and you're gonna need to be on these for forever. Uh, or until they stop working. Uh, and oh yeah, by the way, um, there's a good chance that you're gonna need surgery at some point to remove all or part of your colon.
Toni: I've heard that before. That's so crazy.
Michelle: Uh, and I chi, you know, there were, I had no holistic biological background. That was not in my background at all. I had a healthcare background. My family is in western medicine. Like that's how I grew up. Um, and so, but I knew that that just was not at the. That couldn't be true. I was too busy for all that.
Toni: Yeah.
Michelle: I had too much to do. Um, so, and I even asked the question. I was like, well, what do I do to actually get, well, how do I heal this and get rid of this? What do I need to eat differently or do differently? And the gastroenterologist looked at me, um, and [00:03:00] this digestive illness that I had that was impacting my gut, he literally looked at me and said, Toni, your diet has nothing to do with this.
Toni: Wow.
Michelle: Yeah,
Toni: says a lot about just
Michelle: and that
Toni: current affairs. Yeah.
Michelle: seriously, um, so I thought that that was. Quite frankly. And, um, I took the medications 'cause I was, like I said, I was sick. Um, and so I did, I did steroids, I did the medications, the, the whole shebang. 'cause I needed to stop the, stop the process. And I was scared not to do what they said.
So took the medications. Thankfully went into remission really quickly on the medications. Um, but during that time I started going down all the rabbit holes online, like, how do I actually get, well, how do I heal my gut? And that was where the magic happened because, uh, I didn't have any guidance. I [00:04:00] didn't know about functional medicine at the time, but as I was learning how to actually heal myself and get well, I realized.
Man, Crohn's disease, it's all about inflammation and a dysbiosis in the gut. What do I treat every day? I help people with tooth decay and gum disease, which is all about inflammation and a dysbiosis in the very first part of your gut, which is your mouth. So I knew that if I could figure out how to get well myself.
That I had an obligation to figure out the same thing for my patients too, and to be able to help them get well, because I gotta tell you, the normal like drill and fill model of dentistry was frustrating. It was, it burned me out because people weren't getting well. Um, and so once I started. Really seeing this root cause dentistry, you know, how can we actually [00:05:00] heal patients and help them get well?
Not only did I start feeling better, but my patients started getting better and, and we're learning every day, um, how to get to these root cause issues to really achieve true healing that starts in the mouth, but really is a, a whole body phenomenon.
Toni: It really is, and it was, uh, fascinating for me to learn once I started specializing in fertility, just how important it is for fertility health. I mean.
And it is, I mean, it's important for a lot of things, but that's kind of like, um, I guess fertility health is sort of the end result of, you know, what can co what can happen if you're taking care of in, you know, inflammation.
And there's so many, the gut microbiome, like there's so many aspects that impact it, but it's almost secondary to that.
And talk to me about, um. What is it, how, how do you like, take [00:06:00] dentistry and make it root cause? And I'm assuming that that was how you became a biological dentist. And for people who have never heard of that, can you walk us through like what that means?
Um, because I think that it's, it's a new concept and it doesn't seem like it's mainstream, so
it might be like new for people to hear.
Michelle: Yeah, absolutely. And it, so a lot of people use the term holistic dentistry. We use the term biological dentistry. It's really just a more holistic, it's like the functional medicine. Version of dentistry. So what that means in real life is we are trying to minimize toxins that we use. So we're not using any of those old silver fillings that are half mercury.
Um, I'm not using any fluoride in the practice. We can talk about that later because fluoride is a pretty potent toxin. Um, we are eliminating all of those things in the practice [00:07:00] and. Focusing first on prevention. You know, if we can focus on diet and actually having a healthy terrain, that's what we wanna do.
We wanna help you avoid the, the drills and the, and the scalpels in my chair if we, if we can, if at all possible. Uh, but when we do need to intervene, we wanna do so strategically. We wanna do so gently and safely for the body in a way that promotes healing rather than adding another toxic burden to the body.
So we're very intentional with our materials, very intentional with, with what we use. Um, we do a lot of nutrition coaching. We have a, a full accelerator program where we work on resetting the, the oral microbiome to get it back to a healthy state. And again, really just testing and getting to the root cause of tooth decay and gum [00:08:00] disease and other oral diseases, and then making sure that nothing in the mouth is impairing the rest of your health.
Including fertility, uh, making sure that nothing going on in your mouth. So, you know, we're looking for hidden infections. We're looking at those old root canals, we're looking at heavy metals, all of those things to make sure that the human terrain, the biological terrain of your body is. Well prepared for all levels of health.
Um, and that's why I'm so excited to talk to your audience because fertility is such like, we just need this foundation, this preconception foundation so that you can have healthy pregnancies when you want to.
Toni: I think this topic is like so important. I can't even underscore how important it is because. That is, uh, you said something that was really key is that digestion [00:09:00] starts in the mouth.
And I think that a lot of people think about like gut. They, they think about it straight to the gut. Yes, it happens there too, but it starts in the mouth.
And I talk often about like chewing, even chewing and, you know, but this kind of sounds like conscious dentistry. It's like becoming conscious that, and I think that that's really key is, is when any kind of medicine or a medical form. Not only treats what it treats but then looks at the neighboring or, um, affecting aspects that are surrounding whatever it is, and not seeing it as an island because our bodies just don't work that way.
We're not islands and we don't have compartments that are separate from the rest of the body.
So I really, really. Love that you combine it and you really look at like everything from diet. And then one of the ways that, like, one of the reasons I've heard of biological dentistry is because my husband [00:10:00] has a mercury filling that's getting a little loose.
And I was afraid because I know that that could be very dangerous in a regular dentistry setting be if you don't know how to remove it. And there there's a certain way to remove it. And I know that with biological dentistry there's a very, like, typically they'll know how to remove mercury in a safe way.
Am I correct?
Michelle: You are absolutely correct and if I, you know, I have this discussion all the time with people sometimes, sometimes people just can't find a biological dentist and they want to, and they're like, oh, well, can I just go to my regular dentist? So it. If you do nothing else at a biological dentist, I would say.
100% do not have your amalgam fillings removed at a traditional standard dentist only have your amalgam fillings removed with someone who knows the SMART protocol. And SMART just stands for safe mercury [00:11:00] amalgam removal technique
because you are absolutely 100% right. So those fillings, the, the old silver fillings, they are half mercury and half.
Other stuff, other metals, um, when they are in the mouth, they, they used to, they taught us in school that the mercury was bound out, bound up inside the filling, and it stayed and it didn't leach or go anywhere. But what we know now is that anytime you apply heat or friction to one of those fillings, you'll get a tiny offgassing of mercury vapor every time.
So anytime you chew or grind your teeth at night. Or a drink, hot coffee, you're going to have a tiny little bit of mercury exposure,
which for, for. Many people for a long period of time was fine because our toxic buckets weren't quite so full as they are normally now. Um, we're seeing more and more people are sensitive to these things.
Our toxic buckets are full. [00:12:00] We just don't have the capacity to handle this as much as we did in the past. Um, so you can imagine if heat and friction releases mercury vapor into the body. And Mercury likes to get stored in the brain, in organs, in fatty tissue. Uh, it doesn't just, it's not just all processed.
It likes to stay and just hang around. So when one of those fillings needs to be replaced, your dentist is going to take a high speed drill at 800,000 RPMs. What do you think is going to happen in terms of the friction and the heat that's generated from the procedure itself? It is massive. And we've seen the dentist who have done testing on this have seen that it covers the mercury vapor can be spread throughout the entire room.
So the patient is getting a very large exposure because the, all the pink stuff in your mouth is very, very absorbent. So you're gonna get a huge exposure, [00:13:00] but also the dentist and the assistant is going to get a large exposure. So then it become like, to me it's. Not just a patient issue, it's also an ethical employer issue.
It like, how are we going to expose our team, our assistants, to mercury vapor, who are typically females in their childbearing years, who are going to be the most sensitive to that toxic exposure? So. For all of those reasons, the, the I-A-O-M-T, which is a group of biological dentists, developed these protocols to minimize that mercury exposure during the procedure itself.
And so these protocols have different ways of, multiple ways of isolating the tooth. Filtering the air in the room, uh, functioning all of the, the vapor. We use special mercury vapor, um, absorbance and vacuums in the room. [00:14:00] Um, making sure that the patient and that the team is covered head to toe. It. We have layers and layers of protection that we use when we're taking these fillings out.
And then we're, you know, working with. Naturopaths and functional medicine doctors to make sure that the patient's supported on the detox side of things as well, both before and after the procedure. So I think it's highly important that if you need an amalgam filling, replaced, that you do so with a biological dentist or someone who is smart, certified and knows what those protocols are.
Toni: Yes. Super important and of course. You don't want mercury when you're trying to conceive. You want it like out of your body as quick as possible. So I think that that's just really important. And then talk to the audience about autoimmune and how your, your dental health can impact autoimmunity and inflammation really systemically.
Michelle: It's [00:15:00] such a huge issue because autoimmunity is, is. At its core, it's inflammatory. And so most of the things that happen in your mouth are inflammatory thing, like that's where things go wrong. It's with the inflammatory response. And so we see it well established in the scientific literature now that any kind of oral health issue, like an increase in gum disease, so gum bleeding, um, gingivitis.
All of that is correlated with higher rates of autoimmune conditions of all kinds. So that's Crohn's disease, that's rheumatoid arthritis, that's Hashimoto's, that's all of it. Um, and we also notice that if you are ha, if you already have an autoimmune condition, when you have a flare up, sometimes that will show up in your mouth.
Often it will show up in your mouth. And so these are conversations that. We need to [00:16:00] be having as a, a healthcare team, because if I see something, if I've got a patient who I know has an autoimmune diagnosis of some kind, if I see an uptick in their bleeding, that's the first question I'm asking is, how's your rheumatoid arthritis?
How are you doing lately? Are you, are you having a flare? If not, then you might be about to have a flare so that they can. Take notice, take action. Make sure that they're doing what they need to do to take care of themselves from a whole body perspective.
Toni: And if they have an active infection, um, I've seen, you know, with my patients, one, um, one patient had an active infection because there was, um, basically a cavitation
and um, an old surgery of, uh, her wisdom teeth removed and, and,
she had autoimmune conditions. And then she resolved that and she almost immediately felt better overall.
Michelle: Isn't that fascinating? [00:17:00] Yeah, it makes such a huge difference. Such a huge difference. And you're right, that's an important point too. Um, you know that the easiest inflammatory thing in the mouth to see is gum disease. Um, but it's not just that there are infections that can be hiding around root canals, infections that can be hiding within the jawbone from where those wisdom teeth or any tooth has been removed.
Uh, if the bone just didn't heal properly in that site. Then the bone can literally become necrotic and then it creates an inflammatory response elsewhere in the
body. Because also, I mean, you would think, you know, the body's so, uh, focused on fighting this, so it's constantly like draining the body's immunity or energy.
Toni: And it can cause things to go haywire just 'cause it really does, uh, everything impacts everything in the
Michelle: Yes, for sense. Um, and then as far as fluoride, uh, it is a topic [00:18:00] that I think people really should know about. Uh, it's important to know that it is a neurotoxin. So I'd like for you to explain it from your expertise. Like why, um, like how it impacts the body and why, uh, like, why dentists use it. And why it's, um, wise to avoid it now that we know what we know.
Right now that we, now that we know better, it's time for us to do better. Um. So fluoride. Fluoride is still an effective tool against tooth decay, so it gets incorporated into the tooth enamel so that the crystalline structure of the enamel is harder with fluoride incorporated than without. Um, I. Many biological dentists, many of my peers feel like even that, that hardness is a little misleading and not necessarily an indication of a healthier tooth.
Um, but [00:19:00] that, that is nuanced and can be debated. Um, it does, it lowers the risk of cavities, but we really had. An over appreciation of the benefits of fluoride over the years. 'cause what we know now when we look back is yes, when fluoride first start started being added to the, to toothpaste and added to water, um, we did see a de decrease in the amount of tooth decay in the country. But then when you go back and you look at countries that did not fluoridate their water, you see the same decrease. So we can't necessarily give all the credit to fluoride in the water. Um, and what we also know is that fluoride is, it's more risky than we once thought. So it will compete with iodine in the thyroid.
So there's a, a thyroid risk to that. Um, most of my functional [00:20:00] medicine practitioners that refer, refer to me, that's one of the first thing that they want their patients off of. Is there fluoride, toothpaste, um, and fluoride? Anything in the water. 'cause with, when it's in the water, you can't really control the dose or how much you're
getting. Um, so we know it's not great for the thyroid. It's not great for the pineal gland. There's evidence that it can calcify
the pineal gland, which is we will gland right up here. Um, and the scariest one to me is the impact on our kids. So, and this is.
Toni: The IQ
Michelle: This is not just infant exposure, this is maternal exposure.
Also, they are finding more and more evidence that increasing exposure to fluoride is correlated with a decrease IQ in our kids, which is terrifying to me.
Um, and so upsetting because all along it. Their [00:21:00] justification for adding fluoride to the water, it goes against everything that they taught us in school.
So we were taught that, that if you give something to someone to treat an illness, that that is a medication. So fluoride is added to the water to treat cavities. So it is a medication. Don't let them tell you otherwise. It is a medication. Um. I was also taught that in order to give someone a medication, you have to have proper informed consent.
No one has the ability to consent to water fluoridation. It's in your water. It's everywhere. So it, I, I have major ethical problems with water fluoridation. Um, and especially knowing that you cannot control the dose when it's in the water. So, 70-year-old grandpa that's drinking one glass of water a day, his daily dose of fluoride is going to be [00:22:00] vastly different than an infant who is drinking formula out of a bottle.
And that's their, their complete diet is formula made with tap water that's fluoridated. Dose is hugely different. So I have major, major ethical issues with water fluoridation and so fluoride in, in general, uh, is off of my recommended list. We don't need it. I have other tools that I can use and other things that I can.
Coach you on and point you towards where you don't have to use fluoride to prevent cavities. We can do it other ways. Um, and so I will be very, very glad if the, the current health and human services, uh, division is able to end that countrywide. Right now it's just local government by local government.
Local government decision, but it would, it would be just amazing if we could end that medical treatment as a whole.
Toni: [00:23:00] Yeah, because it's not like, um. People can't go out and buy flu, uh, fluoridated toothpaste
if they wanted to, um, on their own free will. So,
Michelle: Yes. With informed consent, you know, with guidance from their personal dentist.
Toni: Yeah. And then as far as re mineralization, I know that there's, um, they do have, like you can see sometimes you'll find a toothpaste that have another, I forget what it's called.
It's like a heart's pronounced.
Name, um, of
Michelle: calcium hydroxy, What is it?
calcium hydroxy appetite.
Toni: So,
but then I was reading about that and because it's like nano, um, that can have, uh, issues too. So I, I have no idea. Um, so what are other ways that people can remineralize if they have very, like, clear, you know, a little bit more like, um, I don't wanna say see through, but like they can see that their teeth are not like [00:24:00] super solid.
Michelle: Yeah, it's, and I will tell you it's there, there's some sort of weird information war going on where what's, what's healthy is not healthy. What's toxic is not toxic. It, it's very strange and confusing. So what I will tell you is there are two ingredients that are the most effective. Uh, aside from fluoride at remineralizing teeth and those two ingredients are calcium, hydroxyapatite, and xylitol, they have a great track record of effectiveness that rivals fluoride in terms of effectiveness
and what I you said,
And xylitol?
Toni: that, that's in gum. I have xylitol
gum.
Michelle: Yes. Yeah. It's in a lot of the more natural toothpaste too. Um. Great data on it. And for both of those ingredients, they [00:25:00] have now been studied for decades and they have decades of good safety records, which is more than we can say for fluoride. So in terms of safety and effectiveness, those two ingredients are
Toni: They could both help with the Remi Remineralization. So
probably the easiest way is either having, um, something with xylitol, you know, toothpaste or, or gum.
Just chewing gum with that would help.
Michelle: Absolutely. So xylitol is cool. It works in two different ways, so it immediately will increase the pH of your saliva so you can stop that acid attack of whatever you just ate or drank. Um, but over time. The bacteria that cause cavities will ingest it because it's close enough in structure to sugar.
It's a sugar alcohol from plants. Uh, they'll ingest it, but they can't metabolize it. So those bacteria will start to slip [00:26:00] off the teeth and you'll get this really nice gentle shift in the microbiome over time. Um, so it's fantastic. It's most effective when you use it five times a day. Which seems like a lot, but that's not hard at all because most of them run, they run out of, um, flavor in two seconds, so, you know, it's very easy to want another one.
Right. That's so true. That is so true. Uh, so usually what I'll do is I'll have my patients do a remineralizing toothpaste morning and night. And so that'll have hydroxyapatite and xylitol typically. Um, and then pick whatever their favorite xylitol product is, whether it's a spray or candy or mints. And I'll have them do that after meals.
Um, and that really gives us the most bang for the buck that's so easy
to do. Um, and I, I love that you brought up there is controversy around hydroxyapatite as an ingredient. Um, I [00:27:00] love, love, love that we can have the discussion because I think the discussion is what's often been missing in the fluoride con conversation.
Uh, we're allowed to discuss it seemed like. Um. So it's a valid discussion to have. And some of the worry is around the smaller particle, the smaller nanoparticle, hydroxy appetite and certain shapes of these nanoparticles. 'cause sometimes they were like needle shaped, a little pointier. So the concern was can these cross the blood brain barrier?
Can they, there are nanoparticles, so where else can they go besides the teeth? And what we know based on what's actually. Quite a lot of research right now. Um, and, and this has been very well studied by the authorities in the European Union who tend to be a little stricter on the products that they will, um, that they will let the public have access to and what they won't.
So the European [00:28:00] Union, European Union, um, the work that they did, the research that they did. Found, and this is very, very recent, um, they, where they originally had co concerns with the needle shaped nanoparticles, they were able to find that if it was a nanoparticle that was spherical or cylindrical or rod shaped, that these particles were just fine.
They, they dissolved in the digestive system really quickly if they were swallowed. They, if they were absorbed into the bloodstream, it was very little and it dissociated into its subsequent particles very easily. Um. It passed very easily. There was nothing significant crossing the blood brain barrier.
So all of their research found that it, it is really very safe. Um, so is there as much research on hydroxy appetite as fluoride? [00:29:00] No, not quite as much. But also I would say that the, the tilt of the fluoride research was always to prove fluoride is effective. It was. Only more recently focused on the safety of fluoride, whereas Hydroxyapatite has, for one, it's been around for a long time, even in nano form.
It's been used overseas for 40 years now. Um, and it has always been, all of the research has been focused on safety and effectiveness, so I feel like it, we're having more of these important conversations, and so far it's doing very, very well. And I'm much more comfortable with the safety profile of Hydroxyapatite than I am with fluoride.
Toni: Got it. And so does it only come in nano uh, form or does it have other ones? And which one do you recommend or does it make a difference?
Michelle: It, that's a good question too, because it, um, the [00:30:00] micro form is going to be a larger particle than the nano form, so you can get microparticle hydroxyapatite. Usually if it's micro hydroxyapatite, they're just not going to say. They'll just say calcium hydroxyapatite on the ingredient list. Um, if it's nano, they'll often say it, uh, or it'll be somewhere on their website or in their marketing materials that it's a nanoparticle.
So you'll, you're, you can usually
tell, um, the micro particle, those larger particles will still be effective at remineralizing, but not as much. The nanoparticle absorbs into the tooth and is able to be incorporated into the tooth structure more easily because it's smaller.
Toni: Um, I remember getting a powder,
uh, where you put, basically you wet your toothbrush, you put it in the powder, and then you brush your teeth.
And that as a remi, mineral mineralization,
because I don't have fluoride in my toothpaste,[00:31:00]
so I wanted to have something else. Um, is that something that you recommend, like something like that?
Words of
powder or, yeah.
Michelle: Those are great. The only thing that I would be careful of is, um, like when you're using just straight powders. 'cause I've got a lot of patients who have lots of allergies and chemical sensitivities. So if you're using just a straight powder that's like straight baking soda or something, then I would just say be careful with the, the grittiness used frequently.
Um, so sometimes. If it's just a plain, single ingredient powder, sometimes it can be a little too abrasive for the enamel. But if you're using like a specific tooth powder, it's usually going to be, um, bentonite clay or activated charcoal. And it's a lot of times going to have some kind of calcium product, whether it's hydroxyapatite or calcium carbonate.
And those are typically fine. Typically the powders are, um. Are [00:32:00] finer and are less gritty, so totally fine. Um, but if you see any kind of irritation at all, then you might wanna back up just a little bit and do it, you know, maybe three times a week alternate to where you're not being just too aggressive with the gum tissue and with the enamel,
Toni: Or do toothpaste.
Michelle: or do Yeah. Um, awesome. And then root canals, you had talked about that. Um.
Mm-hmm.
Toni: As it impacts, I guess, inflammation.
Um, is it kind of similar to what we talked about or is there anything else that people should be aware of?
Michelle: I mean, they are, root canals are their own special beast because it is, it's so great if you are in pain and hurting a root canal is such a great way to keep a tooth and not feel like you wanna punch somebody's eye out for for a while. If you've ever had a toothache, it can be [00:33:00] horrible. Um, it can send people to the emergency room and does frequently all the time.
So while it can save the structure of the tooth and often the function of the tooth, it does come with its downsides. And so one of the downside of removing the nerve of the tooth is that you also remove the blood supply. And when you remove the blood supply, then the whole microbiome in the area changes.
In and around
the tooth. So instead of the, the normal bacteria that's automatically going to be there without blood to provide oxygen, now it's just the creepy crawly bacteria. The ones who don't like, like oxygen that are going to be there hanging out. And again, kind of like. With mercury, with our toxic bucket, like for, for many people it's just fine and they don't notice any ill effects from that at all.
But it is, it does create this [00:34:00] mild inflammatory response. It could be an immune system trigger for some people and for some people it can, it can be the thing that might trigger other symptoms elsewhere in the body. Um. Not saying that it's the direct cause or the one and only cause or anything like that, but it can be a trigger just like anything else.
That's a toxic exposure. So it's important to know that it will create a stress on the body. It is adding to that toxic bucket, not taking away. Um, and so I think it's something that. We should embark on as a, as a patient, it's something that we should embark on carefully and knowing all of our options, and it's something that we can try to avoid if possible.
Um, and know that there are other options. It, it's just that sometimes those options aren't fun. When it comes down to it. Sometimes it really is a choice between. Doing a root [00:35:00] canal or losing a tooth and then deciding, you know, whether you wanna just have a missing tooth or have an implant or something like that.
So it's not an easy discussion that we have, but it's one that unfortunately we have to have with patients every day.
Toni: And biological dentists, they pretty much do the same things.
Michelle: Mm-hmm.
Toni: It's just, um, in a different way. So like if
somebody needed, um, a bridge or, you know, just other dental work, you guys
offer that. Mm-hmm. A hundred percent. Yeah. We still do traditional dental procedures, but there's that where we know it's going to. Be a burden on the body. We try to do less of them. Um, and root canals is one of those things where you probably will see some difference among different biological dentists, um, because it is a specialized procedure.
Michelle: So my philosophy in my office is that if I'm, first, I'm going to give you proper informed consent. [00:36:00] So I'm going to give you the pros, the cons, tell you all your different options, tell you what what's likely to happen if you do nothing at all. Um, and then if you decide that you want to have a root canal done, again, it's your decision, it's not mine.
Um, then I want that to be the best root canal possible, and that means it's done. With a microscope with, you know, more than just normal, general dentist equipment. It's done with a microscope and it's done in the hands of a specialist and not in the hands of me, your general dentist. So I have one group of endodontists and in my, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
That, um, that uses ozone and is more holistically minded. And so I have one office that I will refer my patients to when they choose to have root canals and they do a fantastic job.
Toni: And then my other question actually is, um, what are your thoughts [00:37:00] on, uh, x-rays? Because I know that you guys are aware a lot more than, you know, the mainstream.
Uh, And I would imagine that would like this pushed back a lot. Yes. to me about that. The benefits, uh, you know, it's kind of, it's always benefit versus risk.
Michelle: Um, yes, it is always benefit versus rescuer. Absolutely. Right. Um, so we still, uh, for one, there's the legal issue is I am still a dentist with a license, and so I still have to practice according to the standard of care. And so if I saw you without. The, you know, a minimal appropriate amount of x-rays, then I wouldn't be doing my job and my license would literally be at risk.
Um. So that is, that is one part of the conversation, but also just the ethical, and I wanna take care of my patients question is I really can't see a lot of these issues [00:38:00] without some kind of x-rays. So we, we talk through different options on how can we minimize it, how can we make it work to where it's not so many, um, we can have these conversations, but we, but it has to be a conversation.
I can't. Not take any x-rays ever, or I, I wouldn't be doing my job and I would be risking my license. And as much as I love you, I need to keep my license so I can keep helping you. Um, so when patients need x-rays, especially if there are are other health concerns or they're worried about the radiation exposure, then we go through, um, different things that you can do to mitigate the exposure to radiation.
So making sure that you stay hydrated is first and foremost, that's most important. Um, antioxidants are your friend because radiation is oxidizing to the body. Um, and so we want to have antioxidants that [00:39:00] we then have to support the body afterwards. So that means, you know, if we're talking. Minimalist then eating lots of brightly colored fruits and vegetables is a great way to go.
If you want to supplement. Then we carry some supplements in the office, and those, again are, are really good antioxidants. So liposomal vitamin C, um, glutathione and, uh, we use a, a form of vitamin E, a delta fraction. Tocotrienols is an antioxidant that we keep in the office. And then when we can get it,
it's a little harder to, for fertility too,
so there you go.
Yes. We gotta protect ourselves from the free radical damage and, uh, and sometimes we can find homeopathics and sometimes we can't. But, uh, but homeopathics are another option too. It's the, the kind that was most readily available is a little harder to find now. So we have to, we don't always have it in stock ourselves.
Toni: Yeah. [00:40:00] Interesting. And then, um, what are just some tips that you can give people? Like if they're listening, what are some things that people should really consider? Either on a daily basis on taking care of their teeth, flossing, anything that you can kind of give also one, one other thing is, uh, I know that certain flosses, the actual or the picks they have like, um, a type of plastic that's not great,
you know, so there's all kinds of things I guess you can talk about, but what comes
Michelle: If you can, if you can find a, a more natural fiber floss, then that is ideal. Um. If you can avoid the, the ones that are like Teflon coated, then that would be ideal. Some of the, the floss sticks are actually coated in fluoride, believe it or not. Um, so if you are wanting to avoid fluoride, just know that you gotta look at packaging.
'cause sometimes even your floss has fluoride in it, stuff is everywhere. Um. [00:41:00] So, so yes, getting something to clean in between your teeth is crucial. More than just brushing. You've gotta have something in between your teeth. Um, if it's, if you just know, if you just know yourself and you know that flossing is not gonna happen, then then get a water pick.
A water pick will change your
Toni: Are there ones you recommend? Because brands like, um, 'cause I've looked into them and my daughter's very resistant to the one that I picked. She's like, it's really annoying. It's hard to do. And so, I don't know, is there anything that you recommend?
Michelle: How old is your daughter? She must
Toni: She's a teenager. Um, you know, it's like you would think she's old enough to like figure it out, but you know, doesn't always happen.
Michelle: Yeah. I have two teenage girls. I completely understand. Uh, so I like the water pick brand. Uh, but really it. Whatever you can find that is, is used is going to be my favorite, but the water pick brand works [00:42:00] really well.
Um, let's see. Other question? Oh, I would say, you know, aside from everything else, uh, if most of your audience is concerned with fertility and making sure that we have a healthy pregnancy.
I really, really, really want everyone to understand the concept of preconception dentistry because I really believe that preconception dentistry is so vitally important. If you are, if you are struggling with fertility, struggling to keep a pregnancy to term, then absolutely it's not too late. Please come and, and see a, a dentist, a, a biological dentist if you can, because so many of these issues that are impacting pregnancy are directly related to what's going on in your mouth.
There are specific bacteria that we will find on a saliva test that's really easy to do. [00:43:00] There are specific strains of bacteria that are directly correlated to fertility problems, a higher rate of miscarriage, um, to low birth weight. Um. All of these things that are just so, so important. And if you can get ahead of it and if you can take care of before you're trying to get pregnant, then that is ideal.
Um, because once you, once you do get pregnant, then it's, we still need to take care of things, but the, then we have to worry about timing of what we're doing. You know, we don't wanna do certain things in first trimester if we can't like it. It gets more complicated after you're pregnant. So preconception care.
I just hope everyone, everyone remembers it. That if nothing else from today is a smart, certified dentist for your amalgam fillings and preconception care, uh, to make sure that your mouth is healthy and supports you having a [00:44:00] healthy pregnancy. Um, and then in terms of what you can do at home, it doesn't have to be complicated.
So a simple clean toothpaste is. Totally fine. You know, if it's got the, the fewer ingredients the better usually. So you don't need fluoride. You don't need a ton of like weird antimicrobials. You don't need to kill germs with your toothpaste. Just something simple. Is totally fine. Use something in between your teeth and then you don't need to have a mouthwash, especially if it's like a really strong alcohol based mouthwash that's like bright blue or bright
green. You don't need that stuff. Um, if you feel like you absolutely have to have a mouthwash, make your own, um, it could be literally just salt water that you keep in a little mason jar by your sink. That's one way to do it. Um, it could be salt water with a [00:45:00] little bit of baking soda and a little bit of powdered xylitol that you can keep by your sink, and that could be your mouthwash.
Like it doesn't need to be fancy. Um, uh, and really just keep it simple. Like everything, go back to basics, all, all the normal things and make sure that your, that your diet, your hydration, all those things are, are on point too.
Toni: And what are your thoughts on meme?
Michelle: I like it.
I like it. It can be effective. It's effective at soothing some of the inflammation and the gum tissue. So I like meme products and, and meme oil. Although I think, if I'm remembering right, it's been a while since I've used it. It doesn't taste all that No, you're right. Yeah. It's like a, it's like herbal medicine, but you know, it is, uh, it's an Ayurvedic, um,
Toni: uh, herbs and herb and it's really beneficial. But, um,
this is
Michelle: Kind of like oil pulling, like the, the traditional Ayurvedic method of oil [00:46:00] pulling is with sesame oil. Um, and ew, like I, I did it once just so I could. See what all the hype is about. That's the only method of oil pulling that's been studied in the literature. Uh, so I like the idea of oil pulling with coconut oil.
That is much more pleasant to the palette, much less disgusting in my personal opinion,
Toni: Yes.
Michelle: but it hasn't been studied as much. Right. so so also, and we've got cause it's like the idea is the same. It's really just getting oil to
Toni: kind of like remove any gunk
between your teeth,
Michelle: Yes. And coconut oil. Oil has its own benefits. It's antifungal it, all the good stuff. So yes,
Toni: Awesome. Well, they gotta start doing some studies on that.
Um, but this is great. This is such a, I think it's a really important topic that. Can often be overlooked. So thank you so much for your expertise and [00:47:00] great tips and uh, I'm sure a lot of people are learning so much from this, just listening to this.
So thank you so much Dr. Toni, and um,
Michelle: Oh, you're so welcome. it was a great conversation.
Thank you for having me.