We receive lots of questions regarding our thoughts on specific dental offices or asking if we know and like any dentists in someone’s local area.
So, in our style of ‘teaching you how to fish’, we’d like to share 7 key elements that, when put together, create a ‘dream dentist’.
Realistically, you most likely won’t find a dentist in your area who has all of these qualities.
However, it’s our hope that by sharing this information, you’ll feel more empowered to decide whether or not your dentist has the mindset and training to help you and your family navigate to optimal oral health.
First, let’s walk through these ‘ideal dental office traits’ in terms of mindset. Then, we’ll shift into more technical aspects regarding the tools that a ‘dream dentist’ uses in his or her practice.
1. They meet you as an equal
This is fundamental.
If a dentist (or any medical professional) puts themselves up on a pedestal, no amount of awesome technology in their office can make up for this foundational flaw of an overbearing ego.
We want you to find a dentist who recognizes that you (not the dentist) are the most important person involved with creating or destroying your own oral health.
This point may seem obvious, but many of us have stories about dental (or medical) teams making us feel small, uninformed, and essentially unable to make an educated decision. As you search for a dentist or prepare for an upcoming medical or dental appointment, we invite you to check out our article, “How to be your own oral (and whole body) health advocate“.
In contrast to the negative experiences you may have had in the past, I’ll give you an example of what a great dentist is like…
While living in Hawaii, we had a dream dentist. When I first met him in his office, he walked into the room, stuck out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Steve” (not even “Dr. Steve”). He then sat down and patiently answered every single question I had (he even seemed to appreciate them!).
There was never any sense of, “Ugh, another question?!? I have another patient waiting in the other room!”
After we covered my extensive list of questions, then he asked if I felt comfortable with him taking a look inside my mouth.
He met me on my level.
He never made me feel uneducated or disempowered. In fact, he answered my questions at great length and with increasing technical detail as he saw my level of understanding of the subject. At the same time, he was sensitive to whether or not I understood his explanations.
Rather than having an “I know and you don’t” superior attitude, he met me where I was and together we walked forward.
2. They only work on one patient at a time
This quality is going to be tougher to find. It definitely falls into the ‘dream zone’ for a dentist, as it means that the dentist has redefined their business model.
You see, most dentists use the mainstream dental business model, so they have more than one patient in the office at a time.
This model is like ‘rotating chairs’ or a ‘revolving door’; the dentist hops from one patient to another while the dental assistant or hygienist works on various other aspects of the patient’s treatment.
We understand that this allows an office to see more patients in a day. However, when I’ve been the patient in that situation, I have never felt like my needs were being sufficiently addressed.
If you think about it, dentistry doesn’t have simple, ‘cookie-cutter’ procedures. When a dentist opens up an area, they really don’t know what they are going to find in there or how long it’s going to take to restore it.
So, back to our friend, Steve. He has redefined his business model. Most dentists bill for the number of fillings or procedures they do during your visit. Rather than ‘billing by the filling’, Steve bills for his time and materials.
If you compare the financial cost between a filling done by Steve and a filling done by another dentist, on the surface it would appear that Steve’s work is more expensive.
But is it really? He takes more time to prep a filling surface and apply the filling materials. Why?
Because he knows that if he takes awesome care of you, that filling has the capacity to last you many times longer than a conventional filling that was installed by a dentist juggling 2-3 patients at a time. By doing this, you are much more likely to refer other business to him.
We are sure there are excellent dentists who can successfully juggle more than one patient at a time. Nevertheless, we really appreciate the personalized attention that a dentist can give us when we are the only patient in their office.
Let’s keep in mind the real cost (in terms of tissue loss in your mouth).
Yes, money is important, but once tissue is removed from a tooth, it’s gone forever.
Working on one patient at a time and billing for time rather than per filling allows a dream dentist to do the very best job possible and remove the smallest amount of tissue necessary to optimally address our dental needs.
3. They are very aware of the toxic nature of dental materials
This is an easy one. If a dentist still installs new mercury fillings, we see no reason to be in that office (which is most likely housing a toxic level of mercury vapor).
Next on the continuum, if the dentist no longer installs mercury fillings but they do remove them without providing protective gear (for you, the dentist, and the staff), then they are not adequately educated in the risks of mercury in dentistry. We would also avoid this type of dental team.
It’s been known for decades that dental assistants who habitually work with mercury amalgam have significantly lower fertility rates than dental assistants who do not regularly handle amalgam.
Thankfully, more and more dental offices are awakening to the toxic nature of some dental materials. To learn how to find mercury-free (aka ‘mercury safe’) dentists in your area, feel free to read our article, “Helpful resources to find a qualified dentist to assist you“.
If you have doubts about the risks of mercury, we encourage you to check out our article, “How to safely remove ‘silver’ mercury fillings (without damaging your brain)“, and to watch the “Smoking Teeth” video that it contains. Our friend and mentor (and retired dentist) Dr. David Kennedy produced that video to show a mercury filling emitting mercury vapors.
Incidentally, the photo in the beginning of this article shows another dentist friend of ours who helped pioneer mercury safe dentistry, Dr. Paul Rubin (in that link, scroll down to find him). To see our interviews with both Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Rubin, check out our HealThy Mouth World Summit.
Now we’re going to shift into more technical aspects regarding the tools and protocols that a dream dental office would use.
4. They use ozone gas in the care of nearly every patient
Here’s the bottom line: ozone gas cleans the space that a dentist is working on.
Given that ozone is in gas form, it’s able to travel down the microscopic pores in our teeth (called dentinal tubules). These tubules are so tiny that fluid-based disinfectants simply can’t do as thorough of a job as ozone.
Dr. Julian Holmes, world-renowned expert on ozone in dentistry (and another expert from our HealThy Mouth World Summit), shared with us that he uses ozone for nearly every treatment. If for some reason he ever needs to practice dentistry without access to ozone, he feels handicapped in his ability to perform dentistry to the level he knows is possible.
However, you have to watch out for dental offices that are ‘greenwashing’ when it comes to ozone.
We have come across dental offices who said, “Yes, we use ozone in our office.” After asking further questions, we discovered that they were talking about third-party ozonated water that comes in little packets. Or, their practice created ozonated water in the morning to use throughout the entire day.
Here’s the problem with these strategies…
Ozone is very unstable. That means it breaks down from O3 to oxygen really quickly, and it loses its beneficial sterilizing ability in the process.
Ideally, the dentist’s tray will contain recently-prepped syringes and holding devices for ozone gas and ozonated water.
The only way to do this effectively is for the dental office to produce medical-grade ozone in their office during your appointment time.
Speaking of all this technology, dentistry lasers are also promising for many similar functions. I particularly like the idea of using ‘light beams’ in medicine and dentistry. Maybe I just watched too much Star Trek as a kid. 🙂
So, an ideal dentist will use ozone and lasers to clean surfaces prior to installing any dental restoration.
In the next point, you’ll see why this is so crucial…
5. They make sure all decayed tissue is removed before installing a filling
Unfortunately, many of us mistakenly assume that the average dentist ensures that all decay is removed before they install a filling.
A quick search for the study didn’t turn it up, so I can’t quote this, but I have read that 70% of decay is not visible with the naked eye.
So if the dentist is running a business with multiple chairs, when they prep the area for a filling or other restoration based on visual observation alone, they might miss decayed tissue.
Thankfully, there are many tools a dentist can use to help identify whether all decay has been removed from the region (provided they are willing to slow down and take the time that’s necessary to check).
You see, this process is not simple. It involves checking for decayed tissue that isn’t visible to the naked eye and removing a tiny amount of tissue. Then check again and repeat until there is no sign of decayed tissue.
It takes time to do this repeated ‘check, remove a tiny amount of tissue, and repeat’ process.
Old style ‘caries detector’ dyes are one way to identify decayed tissue. These caries (cavity) indicators stain decayed tissue, providing a visual guide of the tissue that the dentist needs to remove.
Also, newer laser technologies seem promising for identifying decayed tissue.
The bottom line here is if the dentist does not remove all of the decayed tissue, there is a very real risk of ‘entombing’ thug bugs under the filling/crown, etc.
If this happens, it spells trouble. Oral thug bugs thrive in low-oxygen environments like this, and they will continue the decay process underneath the filling.
Unfortunately, this inevitably leads to more and more work needing to be done on the same teeth.
As a spooky side note, we’ve heard many horror stories from our dentist friends about lots of mushy, decayed tissue they had to scoop out when they opened up old fillings that had been installed by previous dentists.
While it’s possible that a filling may develop a ‘leak’ at its edge (aka ‘margin’), most of the time the decay under this dental restoration work is due to ‘entombing’ thug bugs underneath the filling.
6. They use a microscope to do all of the work in your mouth
This is another big one for us. Here’s why…
Ultimately, dentistry is a very visually-driven profession. I’m sure you’ve been in a dental chair and seen the dentist wearing glasses that function as small microscopes.
Those glasses can be helpful. However, they’re nothing compared to the level of sight that a dentist can achieve when they are trained to use a big microscope that’s mounted to the ceiling of their treatment room.
These are the same microscopes that eye surgeons use. That’s the type of precision you want when a dentist is permanently removing tissue from your body.
After all, once the tissue is gone, it’s gone for good. The better the dentist can see the microscopic level of their work, the more precise they can be and the less tissue they will remove.
7. They are very aware of the whole-body nature of dentistry
This almost goes without saying, but our dream dentist must fully understand how the mouth and body are connected.
Our culture (the general public as well as dental/medical professionals) tends to over-compartmentalize the body. For example, there is a general belief that we can treat the mouth separately from the rest of the body.
Here’s an article that explains how a simple filling can impact the health of various internal organs.
Dr. Mark Breiner is another expert dentist who participated in our HealThy Mouth World Summit. In his awesome book, Whole Body Dentistry, he eloquently states that we must get over this myth that we can treat the parts separate from the whole.
Here’s a link to an interactive tooth chart that allows you to click on a tooth and see the internal organs and body parts that are associated with it. It can be very eye-opening to take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with a Meridian Tooth Chart like the one in that link.
Putting the pieces together…
So, let’s recap here. This dream dentist treats you as an equal, spends as much time as is needed to answer your questions, and has structured their business model to allow them the extra time that’s necessary to really care for your needs.
They are willing to listen to you, and they are willing to act as an educated adviser to help you achieve your oral health goals.
Yes, they may sometimes share some opinions which may contrast with your plans. However, they will never belittle you for believing that you can achieve something that isn’t in the dental text books (the modern ones, at least 🙂 ).
After all, you are paying them to share their expertise with you. So, if they believe your thinking is off, you want them to (respectfully) tell you.
They are going to help you look at the big picture and identify any dietary or lifestyle habits that may be affecting your oral health. They’ll also explain how you can apply whole-body immune support to create greater oral health.
Once they finally get into actually caring for the inside of your mouth, they lower the risk of entombing decay under restorations by using technology like ozone and other tools to find and address all decaying tissue.
When they do any drilling, they use microscopic precision in their work. Also, they choose to work with biocompatible dental materials that are known to be less irritating to the immune system.
Bonus info…
Speaking of compatibility with immune systems, a blood test is a great way to determine exactly which dental materials might work out best for your body.
Here’s a link that explains more about dental materials blood compatibility tests. The cost is around $300, and you only have to do it once in your life to find out which dental materials will irritate your immune system less than others.
And finally, a dream dentist sends you home with an herbal or homeopathic remedy like Hypericum to help soothe any overstimulated, frazzled nerves from the day’s dental work.
For more information on how to evaluate dental teams, feel free to download our FREE Guide to Safe Dentistry, which explains what questions to ask to find a great dental team.
Whew! What a day at the dentist!
How about you? Do you know of a dentist who uses any of these strategies? What do you consider to be important criteria for dentists you’ve worked with? Please share your story in the comments below.
As always, if you know someone who would benefit from this information, please help us help others by sharing this article with your loved ones.
Helpful, Related Resources:
Guide to Safe Dentistry [free eBook download]
How to be your own oral (and whole body) health advocate [article]
Helpful resources to find a qualified dentist to assist you [article]
How to safely remove ‘silver’ mercury fillings (without damaging your brain) [article]
Can a Simple Filling Impact Our Whole Body Health [article]
Whole Body Dentistry by Dr. Mark Breiner [amazon link]
Meridian Tooth Chart [interactive chart]
IAOMT’s “A practical guide to compatibility testing for dental materials” [resource for dental materials compatibility testing]
Healthy Mouth World Summit [expert interviews product solution]
when dental hygienist remove tartar/calculus/plaque from teeth dont they cause damage to the teeth whith there metal tools they use ?
Hi Yoav,
Great question. Yes, I do think that it’s possible that a dental hygienist use the metals tools too heavy handed and cause damage. That said, we like to hope that they err on the side of caution and use a light hand.
This is why I really like the idea of using laser for cleaning and drilling teeth. While lasers also present risks, at least it’s not metal on tooth :).
thank you for your replay.
i realy want a dental hygine to clean my teeth from tartar/plaque or calculus only whith laser but i called 3 dentistes that use lassers in there job and they said they must use lasseres AND ultrasonic tool for removing tartar ….? are you sure your dentist uses only lasseres for tartar removal ? what should i do ? i really dont like that feeling of metal tools…. thank you! you are awsome!!
Thank you for informing me that a great dentist makes sure that they remove all decay from a tooth before they try to fill the cavity. About a week ago, my sister moved to a new home with her 3 kids. She wants to be prepared for everything so she is thinking that she will need to find a dentist that can take care of her and her kids. I will have to show her your tips as we look for dentists.
Aloha Greta!
You are very welcome! We’re honored to share information to help empower you and your family on your path to greater oral health. 🙂
Here’s link that your sister might find helpful as she looks for a dentist: Helpful resources to find a qualified dentist to assist you
I had a root canal tooth, #14, removed a year ago and got a Carlson Bridge. I could not be happier. I am familiar with the Meridian tooth chart and did research for 4 months when I realized the issues root canals can cause. I interviewed 7 dentists. My first question to prospective dentists now is: Do you do root canals? If they do, they are off my list. On further research I would not go to a dentist who thinks implants are ok either. I had this infected root canal in my mouth for probably 30 years, in fact I can probably track my sinus issues starting with the placement of the root canal. I started breathing easier the minute the dentist took out the root canal tooth. This tooth was sent to pathology and had some bad bugs in and around it. It seems that my chronic sinus is gone! I felt no pain in this infected tooth because it was dead. I’ve read that 100% of root canals have infection because there is no way to sterilize the environment or material. The knee pain that was getting worse over the years is gone! I am 59 years young and could not accept my lagging energy as a result of “getting older”. I can feel the strength of my immune system getting stronger everyday. I enjoy your newsletters. Keep spreading the word.
I love your articles but disagree with one point and would be happy to discuss further……..
Removing ALL the decay in a tooth.
You should familiarize yourself with the academy of biomimetic dentistry. In many cases, removing ALL the decay will eventually lead to pulpal exposure and eventual root canal. There is research that supports leaving some decay, especially when using ozone, over the deep pulp will not lead to further pulpal issues.
I do this routinely and have had no teeth lead to root canal that I can think of.
Hi Dr David,
Thank you SO much for posting here on our blog. We appreciate any supportive words and particularly appreciate it when professionals are willing to come here and help us (all) learn more from one another.
We would LOVE to learn more about biomimetic dentistry from you. Are you open to an expert interview to explore the distinctions this niche within dentistry brings to light?
Please advise.
Thank you!
Thank you for the informative article. I’m considering to get my amalgam fillings removed by a biological dentist who adheres to the IAOMT guidelines and replace the fillings with bio-compatible material. Xrays have confirmed that I have tooth decay under 2 of my fillings. Are there any risks associated with having amalgam fillings replaced?
Thanks a lot and all the best in your journey to helping people.
Aloha Rene,
Thank you for reaching out to us to ask your excellent questions.
It sounds like you are heading in the right direction regarding having your amalgams removed. Be sure to still ask questions regarding the protocols the dentist applies even if they are IAOMT accredited. Ideally, the dentist uses ozone in their practice to optimally stop any decay under the filling prior to placing the new composites.
The risks of having amalgams replaced is almost entirely on the procedure used to remove the old fillings. If done improperly, this can liberate quite a bit of mercury vapor and cause a substantial hit to the immune system.
I hope this helps.
I am thinking of having 3 root canals removed. I also have amalgam fillings, which I don’t know if I want to have them removed or just pull the teeth. I live in Los Angeles, CA. Would you happen to know of any dream dentist in this area? Appreciate your help and thank you for all your helpful information.
Aloha Ella,
Thank you for stopping by to ask us. We are honored to offer what we can to help.
Please check out this link to another article we wrote to help find a good dentist. You’ll find several databases there that will be a good starting point on your search.
Also, you may want to check out the Complete Wellness Bundle where we contributed a handbook titled ‘Questions to ask your Dentist’. Here’s a link to the bundle. The sale ends Monday night, so if you are interested in the Questions to Ask Your Dentist handbook, check it out soon.
We hope that helps! 🙂
Hi. Do you know a “Dream Dentist” in San Francisco, CA?
Also Will, do you hold any sort of seminars or events at your office and to be educated and/or experience a dental appointment?
Aloha Melissa Ann,
Thank you for asking! I’m sorry for my late reply!
I encourage you to look on the databases we have listed in another article on our blog here titled “Helpful Resources to Assist You to Find a Qualified Dentist”. In that article, we list several databases that can help you find a dream dentist in the bay area. I’m sure you have options in your area!
We haven’t given any seminars etc physically but we appreciate the compliment that you would appreciate this option! That’s why we put so much effort into online educational materials, so anyone around the world can benefit.
Thank you and Aloha!
If anyone knows a dentist like this in the Southwest Florida area, please let me know!!
Aloha Melissa,
Check out Dr Ray Behm in the Tampa area. He knows what he’s doing. I’d go to Dr Ray if I lived in that area.
In the resources you provided, I couldn’t find one dentist in the Boise Idaho area that meet any of the above qualifications. None! That’s sad!
I hear you Kim. Unfortunately, sometimes we have to travel to get to a dream dentist. Even we have to! 🙂
It would be nice if you could provide a referral list of holistic dentists.
I looked at the chart connecting teeth with body organs. Nothing for sex organs? Also, How does having teeth removed effect the body?
I had my molars removed before I found out about this link.
Aloha M,
Thanks for stopping by to ask.
Here’s a link for an article we wrote that has several databases for holistic dentists. Full disclosure here, just because someone is on one of these lists doesn’t mean we should just trust everything they suggest. We still have to have our thinking caps on while dealing with any medical professional.
Having teeth removed doesn’t negatively impact the organ relationship with that tooth. What we want to avoid is any ‘impedance’ of the flow of energy through that region. Impedance is caused by a dead tooth, metal filling, implant, cavitation, etc.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Aloha
I am not sure if my original email went through so I am resending.
I was wondering if the beautiful color chart you provide in “Dream
Dentist” is available for download. I have used your interactive
meridian chart but would love to be able to make copies of this one.
Thank you
Deborah
Aloha Deborah,
Thanks for stopping by. I’m not sure what chart you are referring to. 🙁 Please clarify as I just rescanned the article and didn’t find what you were talking about.
Holler back if you like and I’ll see if I can help.
Aloha!
Hi,
I am very much interested in learning more about how I can remineralize my teeth. I have very “bad” teeth, numerous root canals (most of them done while pregnant!), and I have done serious damage due to grinding of my teeth for years on end. I wear a mouthguard now, but the damage is done. My gums have started to collapse on one side and my dentist warned me that I would need extensive reconstructive work done at a university teaching hospital if I choose to correct this. I cannot afford to do this procedure and I am wanting to do all that all that I can naturally to hopefully remedy this on my own. Are there any “recommendations” that you could suggest to me that I could try to somehow reverse my situation? I also have numerous cavities that my dentist diagnosed about a year ago, but due to financial issues I have not been able to take care of them. We also moved and I have yet to find a new dentist… Thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have for me.
Blessings,
Leslie
Aloha Leslie,
Please go sign up to receive our free video tutorial course, the 5 steps to a health mouth. There is so much info in that series that can help you move well along your goals you share with us here.
Here’s a link to the 5 steps sign up page.
I hope that helps. 🙂
Never in all of my 70+ years with many dentists did I find one that could be called a dream dentist. None even meet most of your criteria. Because of this and all the additional problems they have created in my mouth, I hate dentists and gave up going to one 2 years ago.
Aloha Rachel,
I hear you and empathize with your experience. I’m sure more people reading this have more horror stories with dentistry than positive ones unfortunately. However, these dentists do exist these days. I wish you well on your journey! 🙂
Will and Susan mentioned something that I have found very important and revealing: the dentist billing by the time and materials rather than by the named service (e.g. 2 surface composite filling.)
I have learned to request that the dentist bill me for time and counsel. Generally, they and their staff resist. Finally I realized that those dentists are not invested in helping people intelligently take charge of their oral wellness (or physical health, generally.) It is a very simple, non-insulting clue that this is not at all the dream dentist I am looking for.
God bless them for not wanting to bill for services which they cannot provide.
I am finding some rare ones in Canada and in Mexico. However, even those who are respectful and emotionally supportive of my self-care have very little to offer in terms of practical advice. On the other hand, Will and Susan are an extraordinary source of good dental advice. I have researched some of what I consider the most important issues they address, studying the professional literature for myself, and am more than satisfied that they are doing their homework and getting it right. Very impressive. I now look to them first when I have a question, and generally need go no further. I trust them.
Realize and respect that OraWellness.com and the dream dental professionals whom we seek are bucking the current money-motivated dental/pharmacosurgical system, and often take a whipping in dental peer circles, societies, and journals. We will, too. It is vital to know who to trust.
Dr. Scott Stewart in Lakewood, Colorado is a “dream dentist”.
He is also a naturopathic doctor. The whole office staff is amazing.
I have had many, many horror stories, am so relieved to find him.
Thank you for sharing about Dr Stewart with us Eileen! Isn’t it an amazing feeling when we have someone in ‘our corner’ who really can help us like this?!?