Most dentists insist their patients receive routine dental check-ups twice a year, regardless of their dental health. During these exams, they suggest procedures you may not actually need just to make more money.
Below is a list of the top 5 unnecessary dental procedures and how to treat their associated conditions naturally:
1) Gum Graft
A gum graft is an incredibly painful procedure often offered to patients with receding gums. This procedure involves your dentist surgically removing part of the roof of your mouth and grafting it on to the recessed area. If you refuse a gum graft, your dentist might try to frighten you by telling you your tooth will fall out or the pain will just get worse until you comply with his suggestion.
This type of medical bullying is quite common. Disreputable doctors and dentists often use their perceived authority to intimidate their patients into doing what they want them to do just to line their pockets.
If your gums are in recession, you can treat the pain and inflammation naturally with sesame oil pulling. Swish a teaspoon of sesame oil in your mouth for 20 minutes and spit it into the trash can, instead of the sink. After a few weeks, you’ll notice a decrease in inflammation and sensitivity as well as whiter teeth.
You can also take CoQ10 orally to provide antioxidant protection and help regrow lost gum tissue. You can even prick a CoQ10 capsule and place the antioxidant directly on your gums to reduce bleeding and pocket depth.
2) Adult Braces
Sometimes, a simple routine dental exam can cause a suggestion of adult braces. Your dentist looks into your mouth after the dental hygienist has cleaned your teeth and chuckles. “You’ve got a bit of an overbite there. It’s never too late to get braces.” Braces often aren’t covered under insurance and the procedure can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $7,500 dollars.
If you’re in chronic pain or have trouble swallowing or eating, adult braces or even corrective surgery may be your only options. However, if you don’t even notice your overbite or those two slightly-crooked front teeth, don’t let your dentist shame you into filling your mouth with metal.
If you are self-conscious about the look of your mouth, adult braces aren’t your only option. Talk with your dentist about a spring retainer. These retainers are fitted to your teeth and tightened over time so your teeth can be straightened in natural, more gradual way.
3) Root Canals
Root canals are one of the most dangerous dental procedures offered and can do some serious harm to your health. Root canals are not only very painful and costly, they don’t do anything to “save” a healthy tooth. By the time a root canal is necessary, your tooth is dead. Leaving a dead tooth in your mouth will cause your immune system to react and attack, resulting in chronic inflammation and an infection that cannot be successfully treated by antibiotics.
Around the year 1900, a dentist by the name of Weston Price brought the incredible health risks associated with receiving a root canal. Suspicious of the chronic infections his patients seemed to come down with after root canals, he did some investigation.
Treating a woman who was wheelchair-bound for six years, he extracted her root canal and surgically placed it into the body of a rabbit. Within days, the same crippling arthritis that had plagued his patient appeared in the rabbit and it died 10 days later. The woman experienced a full recovery.
If you do not have any tooth pain or symptoms, seek a second opinion immediately. Do not submit to a dentist who insists you need some sort of emergency procedure right away or your teeth will rot away and fall out.
Your best bet is to contact a holistic dentist in your area to find out if you can save the tooth in a more natural way or have it extracted safely.
4) Dental X-Rays
According to studies, bitewing dental X-rays performed yearly were linked to a nearly two-fold increase in incidents of a type of brain cancer called meningioma. Panorex exams, which capture images of all your teeth in one film, increased the risk of this deadly form of cancer nearly five times! A Swedish cancer study also revealed that dental X-rays may increase your likelihood of developing thyroid cancer as well.
Even the American Dental Association states that dentists should only order X-rays for patients when they are necessary for diagnosis and treatment. They should not be performed every six months or even every year just so the dentist can charge you for it.
The best thing you can do for your health is find a dentist who offers digital imaging instead of standard X-rays as they emit 90% less dangerous radiation.
5) Professional Tooth Whitening
In addition to telling you your teeth are too crooked and you need braces, they may also comment on how yellow your teeth are. “Drinking a lot of coffee, I see?” <insert chuckle here> Professional tooth whitening is one of the most commonly “prescribed” dental procedures offered.
Unless you’re a professional actor, singer or real estate agent, you don’t need blindingly-brilliant teeth. It doesn’t look natural. Not only that, but if your teeth are already sensitive or you have receding gums, you could further damage the health of your mouth.
A friend of mine once told me that her dentist, in the same visit, suggested a gum graft for receding gums and then, when she refused, suggested tooth whitening. Insane!
There are plenty of affordable and safer ways to whiten your teeth at home. You can mix a paste of baking soda and water together and brush gently once a week to whiten your teeth. Activated charcoal can also help remove stains. Break open a charcoal capsule and rub the charcoal over your teeth and gums. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes then rinse and brush the rest off.
If your teeth and gums are especially sensitive, you might want to try a turmeric paste. Make a paste of turmeric and water and gently brush your teeth. Use a dedicated toothbrush as this common kitchen spice will stain. Turmeric helps relieve gum inflammation while it whitens your teeth and, unlike baking soda, you can use this tooth-whitening formula every day.
As I’ve advised in other articles, never let any medical professional bully or shame you into unnecessary procedures. Ask questions. Seek a second opinion. It could save your life.
*****Recommended Research*****
The Best Way to Protect Your Mouth Naturally
If you’ve ever spent even 2 minutes on the internet, it’s pretty clear that there is no shortage of dental advice out in the world today.
In a way, this is kind of a good thing. If someone is motivated to improve their teeth and oral hygiene, and change the direction of their health, they’ve got a ton of wonderful information at their fingertips.
But, in a way, this is a very BAD thing as well, because based on what I’ve seen on a lot of dental sites, the information is inaccurate, not scientifically based, and, in some cases, could even be detrimental to someone’s health.
That is usually where the confusion begins…and for some…the INSANITY!
If you’re not a dental expert yourself, how are you supposed to differentiate the good from the bad?
Well, I’ve got some pretty great news for you today. Not only have I found a great resource for you…jam packed with real, useful, accurate and easy to understand information…it also happens to be my gift to you!
That’s right. The following website I’m about to share with you contains a ton of great dental remedies & information you can put to use right away, including –
-Teeth whitening
-Sensitive teeth
-Bad breath
-Gum disease
-Mouth ulcers
-Cold sores
-Tongue hygiene
-All round oral health
Resources:
http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/root-canal-cover-up-exposed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20397774
