Functional Medicine Approach to Dentistry with Dr. Namrata Patel: Rational Wellness Podcast 399

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Dr. Namrata Patel discusses A Functional Medicine Approach to Dentistry with Dr. Ben Weitz.

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Podcast Highlights

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Dr. Namrata Patel, DDS is a graduate of the University of California’s School of Dentistry and she specializes in Green Dentistry in San Francisco, a holistic, functional, Ayurvedic approach to dentistry.  Her website is SFGreen Dentist.com.

Dr. Ben Weitz is available for Functional Nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.  Dr. Weitz has also successfully helped many patients with managing their weight and improving their athletic performance, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111.

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Podcast Transcript

Functional Medicine Approach to Dentistry with Dr. Namrata Patel- Rational Wellness Podcast 399

Dr. Weitz: Hey, this is Dr. Ben Weitz host of the Rational Wellness Podcast. I talk to the leading health and nutrition experts and researchers in the field to bring you the latest in cutting edge health information. Subscribe to the Rational Wellness Podcast for weekly updates. And to learn more, check out my website, drweitz.com. Thanks for joining me and let’s jump into the podcast.

Hello rational wellness podcasters today. We’ll be having a discussion About a functional medicine approach to dentistry Dr. Nami patel Dr. Nami Patel is a graduate of the UC School of Dentistry. She specializes in green dentistry in San Francisco, California.  She’s a holistic, functional, and she takes a holistic, functional, Ayurvedic approach to dentistry. And part of her mission for her practice is to help to prevent chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. So, Dr. Patel. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Patel:  Oh, I’m delighted to be here. Dr. Weitz.  This is wonderful.

Dr. Weitz:  That’s great. So maybe you can tell us When did you first decide to become a dentist and why?

Dr. Patel: You know, I was actually not thinking dentistry at all I knew that I had a mission in life and I wanted to do something that was really preventative I was actually going to become a neurosurgeon so I actually went through all my schooling for neurology and then it wasn’t until the last semester in summer school.  Actually, I was taking organic chemistry because I needed to finish that up for my pre med applications. So I actually went in and my my chem partner was a pre dental student. And so she was like, hey, I volunteer at this non profit government clinic. They really need help. Can you come? And I was like, [00:02:00] you know, I mean I at first I was like not really I think I feel like mouths are really gross I don’t really want to you know but you know, she you know, she convinced me to go and it was really you know, lovely because You know, once I got there, like, I didn’t, couldn’t think about the mouth.

All I thought it was about people and it was like that people connection that really made me feel really comfortable and I really felt like I made a difference because I didn’t really do a lot, like, I mean, at that point, I basically sucked spit, right? Like I held a suction or like I held their hands or I did something really basic, but I realized the value of that.

Like people were really appreciative because at the end of the, you know, visit, they were just. like, thank you so much. We really appreciate you, especially in a non profit setting. It’s not, you know, they really felt like they got, the patients felt like they got dignity, respect, and care. And that really made me feel purposeful.

And so I decided Okay, well, you know, well, the first one, I wasn’t really much, you know, I was like, I went, I felt good. It was [00:03:00] great. And then she asked me again the second time. And then the third time, then it started just going there. And it kind of feels like dentistry found me versus me looking for dentistry.

So that’s how I got into the dental aspect. And then You know, once I got it out, I was like, I am a really purpose driven person. I’ve always been, I’ve been raised like that. I’ve been very you know, focused on like leaving, you know, really having a meaningful life. And so when I got out of dental school, I really didn’t love what I saw.

And it was really I guess upset is the right word. I was really angry with what I saw in the healthcare system. And I was really you know, just disappointed. For lack of a better word and so I started the green dental dentistry aspect and then making sure that it’s eco conscious and making sure that we’re being really mindful and then I kind of evolved it to functional dentistry.  I read dentistry because I come from a background of Ayurveda. So I do really feel like I was led to be who I am today and I do feel like it’s you know, purpose driven for sure.

Dr. Weitz: That’s great. I think it’s unusual. My experience is, generally speaking, dentists are focused on your teeth and not you as a person and thinking about your whole health

Dr. Patel: Yeah, and you know, that’s the other thing that I saw and you know What helped really much is like having that background in neurology because you I had to learn pathophysiology I had to learn How the body worked, I had to learn all of that stuff.  And so I really feel like everything kind of transpired to be where I am today. And then also believe it or not, talk about like, you know, destiny, I guess, is when I went to school, I went to USC. which is the first program for dentistry that combined medical school and dental school together as problem based learning.

So it wasn’t the traditional pedagogy from dentistry, which is like drill and fill. This was all about full body health. And you really only got clues, kind of like we get from our patients. You got a clue like, Hey, Mrs. Richardson comes in and has trouble swallowing, and that’s the only information [00:05:00] you got for a week, and you had to go study, like, what were the reasons, what could it be, and then, you know, next week you got a little bit more information.  Oh, she did say she has acid reflux and has gurgitation, and then you really started going down this path and really started looking at the entire pathophysiology of the mouth and the body and how they’re connected.

Dr. Weitz: That’s that’s awesome. So that brings us to the next question, which is Why is the mouth so important for health for longevity for preventing all these chronic diseases?

Dr. Patel: That is a fantastic question and I love to answer it so the two most I would like to say two most important ways, you know, traditionally we’ve heard about cavities and gum disease and sure, yeah, that is important. But when we think about the oral systemic connection and longevity, there’s two more important ways.  Number one is a bacteria in your mouth, your oral microbiome. You swallow five gallons of bacteria every single day. [00:06:00] Five gallons. And that is a lot of bacteria. And just we hear, you know, there’s a gut connection. Obviously, we don’t want the enteric lining to be broken because that’s how bacteria get access to your bloodstream.

So that’s number one and your gut is your immune system. So that number one, they’re all microbiome is super important. Second is going to be the nose breathing. What happens is right on your upper jaw is your sinus. And right on your lower jaw, it’s connected is your windpipe. Now, air is the one thing we can’t live without.

So if we don’t have a functional airway, if we don’t create that nitric oxide, which helps prevent heart attack, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and gets our own body to work on its own, it’s never going to work. You know microbiome your guts in your immune system, right? Second is your functional airway the one thing you can’t live without those two most important links are the key to longevity And also the key to making sure you have a life, that is proactive [00:07:00] Something you enjoy not only that we also start looking at the emotional components that come along with Dentistry and the mouth really being able to be present Really being like when people are at the, don’t have a functional airway, they have sleep apnea, right?

Or upper airway resistance, they’re not able to sleep really well. And boy, are they cranky? You know, it’s kind of hard to be in relationship with somebody if somebody’s cranky all the time, right? So it makes a huge difference in really making sure that you know, dentistry is a critical component. And especially when you look at dentistry, we’re looking at holistic, functional dentistry in the way that I practice the oral systemic connection.  Really looking at how we are connected as quantum beings because that’s who we are.

Dr. Weitz: So I wonder how you can take a green functional approach to dentistry when Doesn’t dentistry involve the use of [00:08:00] so many? Toxic substances from heavy metals to BPA to resins, to glues, to fluoride, to, so many of these materials seem to be very toxic.

Dr. Patel: Right. And they are, you’re absolutely right. And, you know, as you know, bisphenol A is linked to so many cancers, so many different things. So many you know, especially we can find in our pots and pans and, you know, all sorts of stuff. But the reality in dentistry, you

Dr. Weitz: go to the dentist and you’re, you’re getting a crown or you’re getting a bonding or, and you’re putting all these chemicals on to glue it together and mixing up all these chemicals.  And you just know that they’re very toxic.

Dr. Patel: Right. And that used to be the case. I’m proud to report that there are definitely better chemicals out there. So a couple of things that we use in our practice we definitely use resins that are bisphenol free. So that’s number one. 

Dr. Weitz: Let me stop you one second.  There’s been a tendency to have [00:09:00] this sort of whack a mole game. BPA is toxic. No problem. BPA free. Well, we’re actually using BPS, which is more toxic. So do we know that they’re actually using non toxic products or just not using the one that everybody knows about?

Dr. Patel: Sure. I would have to say everything in this world is toxic.  So that’s the truth, right? Like the reality of it is everything’s inflammatory. Exactly. Exactly. And so what we try to do is find the least toxic. Right. And so when I go into the dental world and I look at, you know, what are my options, like for example, you know, you mentioned fluoride, so we don’t use fluoride in our practice, but we use hydroxy nano appetite.  You know, and we use hydroxy nano appetite, which mimics, you know, helps mimics fluoride activities in the ways in a healthier way, which helps enamel recrystallize and helps prevent cavities. So we really do enjoy having that in the concentration. We use it as about 8 percent 8 to 10 percent or so, and that we’re using the nano crystals [00:10:00] because nano crystals are super small and we’re recommending mostly for adults in there.

And also, even with children, we’re making sure they’re not swallowing it. So we’re not. Creating any sort of risk with, you know, microplastics or anything like that. Is there a, you know, my wish, you know, before I leave this world is going to be a stem cell that we put in and it fixes teeth, it fixes any problems that there exist, I would love that.  That would be my wish. But in the meantime, we’re doing the best we can with the products that we have and what’s available and then continuously pushing the envelope to find better, more natural products out there.

Dr. Weitz: What about some of these products? Like, for example, I had a crown recently and it was made of zirconium and the dentist assured me it was perfectly safe.  And I even researched it and, you know, let him know that it was a metal, which he wasn’t quite aware of. And and then he took it out and was kind of grinding it [00:11:00] down. And I said, Do me a favor. Don’t do that because you’re liberating, you’re liberating, you know, all this whatever the zirconium is into the air that you and I are both breathing in.

Dr. Patel: Right. And that’s actually a really good, good, good point. So in my practice, though, what we have is we have ionic suction. So everything gets Sucked up like this in the practice. So it isn’t and like even before COVID, I, the way I designed the practice back in 2000, like five or so is like what we did is we had unit directional flow, but we have suction that’s properly designed so that nothing’s being liberated into the air or not nothing, but something is being liberated, but we’re sucking out as much as we can.

We have air doctor filters in each of the rooms. So I’m making sure that air gets we have even our furniture is you know, not off gassing, which is formaldehyde free, which is always really awesome as well. But going back to what you said about the materials, the cronium material. So I actually use a material called [00:12:00] EMAX and the reason I like that is it’s a glass particles and they don’t off gas and that’s I tend to like to use materials that are inert in the body means that they do not cause any sort of reaction.  So it doesn’t cause a positive reaction. It causes an or a negative reaction. It just causes no reaction. And that’s usually the way I decide what materials I’m going to integrate into the past. 

Dr. Weitz: Would you use for crowns?

Dr. Patel: Yeah. Yeah. So we have a 3D milling machine. So I bet when you went in, they, you know, numbed you up, prepped your tooth, put a temporary on, made you go away for three weeks, and then you had to go back.  Yeah. We don’t do any of that. The way that I’ve designed my practice is that we numb you up once, we, you go home with a permanent crown the same day. I have a 3D printer. And so that 3D printer it, Makes this crown we polish it, we buff it and we put it into the mouth and you’re done. And so that way we’re minimizing the amount of toxins that go in your body.

We’re minimizing the amount of anesthesia that goes in. We’re not creating like when you have a temporary, it creates a brewing ground for bacteria to grow and sensitivity occurs. [00:13:00] We don’t have any of that stuff. So we’re not dealing with a lot of the things that traditional dentistry had. And we’re really blessed to have technology nowadays.  I mean, we’ve got self driving cars, right? Technology is really allowed us to be able to, you know, really up level and I’m really excited

Dr. Weitz: about that because so you’re using this glass material. What about some of the other materials? What do you what about zirconium? What about porcelain? What about some of these other materials?

Dr. Patel: Sure. So the material I use is a porcelain. Zirconia is fine too, but though I tend to find it too hard. So there’s several things I look at when I’m looking at teeth. I’m not just putting like, you know, I look at what you have on the opposing side and what you have on the bottom side. Right. The reason I like the material that I use, which I called as the Emax it’s a disilicate particle.

It’s silica, right. Glass particles. The reason I like that is because it, it doesn’t where you’re like, sometimes what happens if you have zirconia. And your teeth kind of touched like this, you’re going to wear the opposing teeth down because the bottom one’s so strong. So it’s kind of like [00:14:00] in I guess, you know, when people are on crutches, you know, you, one side gets overdeveloped because it’s being utilized more.  The same analogy is you got to make sure the materials that you have are compatible. So the reason I like the Emax is because it’s not going to wear the opposing tooth down.

Dr. Weitz: It’s a material to be hard enough, but not harder than your teeth on the other side.

Dr. Patel: Exactly. Exactly. So we, I mean, obviously you want to look at the, you know, the toxicity portion as well.  We want to look at the hardness portion because remember all this stuff off gases when you’re Right. When you’re grinding and doing, so that’s why we want to make sure that we’re evaluating what materials are going in. And also making sure that you’ve got stable materials that last a lifetime, obviously.

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Dr. Weitz:  How, how does our oral health play a role in chronic diseases like heart disease? I’m sure most people have heard of the fact that. If you’re going to have a hard procedure that having your teeth worked on can be problematic because of bacteria can travel from your mouth down into your heart.  But what are some of the other ways that your oral health impacts your cardiovascular health?

Dr. Patel: Absolutely. That is a great question. So I will talk about like so what happens is remember earlier I said you have the oral microbiome, right? You have the bacteria, you’re creating saliva throughout the day and we want that saliva.  So what happens is sometimes if you [00:17:00] don’t go to the dentist for a long time, it creates bad bacteria in the mouth. I always say, you know, we want a pond. Sometimes it turns into a swamp. If we’re not cleaning it is one way. The second way that it happens is if we’re using like anti anxiety medications or something like that dries the mouth out.

The other reason it happens is with older age people are snoring or mouth breathing. It dries the mouth out, creates these bad bugs to overgrow. All of those bacteria, they’re pretty pathogenic. So what happens is when you swallow these bacteria, they go into your stomach. From your stomach, they actually break the enteric lining.

And then when they break through the enteric lining, the gut barrier kind of like we talk about in, in different gut diseases and stuff or SIBO or something like that. When they get into the bloodstream, your body sees these bacteria and they’re pathogens. And so your body attacks it. As it attacks it, it binds into cholesterol.

And as it binds into cholesterol, it starts occluding the arteries. So it actually is causative. for heart attacks. Number one. Number two is some of these bacteria are very [00:18:00] pathogenic. So they actually look at like a heart valves and they’ll grow in heart valves or in joints. And when they go into those areas, it will cause a massive inflammatory response.

Dr. Weitz: That’s just when it comes to the oral microbiome. What are some of the most common First of all, what oral microbiome tests do you like to use? What are some of the most common pathogenic bacteria? What are some of the most common commensal or healthy bacteria?

Dr. Patel: Sure. So the ones that I actually look at is, you know, there’s two ways you can look at or fix disease, right?  One is to look at what is there, or the other one is to look at what’s Not there, right? And so the way I like to approach it is because I do believe in nature. Nature is designed to work really well. We’ve survived millions of years for a reason. So I believe in that. So there’s two things I like to look at in the test I like to use personally is called oral DNA.

The reason being is that I get to customize all my care for the patient. So number one, I [00:19:00] look at their genetic risk for inflammation and chronic diseases. I look at interleukin six. Are they at high risk for heart attack, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and gum disease? Like that’s the first thing I look at.

And then the second thing I look at is a specific bacteria. There’s 12 species of bacteria that actually look at. The five ones I’m most worried about. Is gonna be, and don’t ask me for the specific names, ’cause I’m gonna mess it up, you know. Okay. Not my, from my first language, , but you know, we have, we call ’em five you know, red light bacteria.

We have aa, pg fn we have TD and tf. So those are the ones. Like for example, like pg p gingival is actually found in gum disease. It’s also known to cause it’s actually causative for Alzheimer’s. Because it’s so small and it crosses a blood brain barrier and when it goes in the brain, it does the same thing what I said with a heart attack.

It actually attacks, your body attacks it and then there’s brain tissue that’s damaged. So that’s one and then AA is also [00:20:00] causative for heart attacks. So just looking at their, they’re pretty potent when we go down these and then they’re also anaerobes, meaning that they don’t survive in oxygen.

That’s how we determine the potency of them. And once we figure out exactly where they are, I personally don’t like to use antibiotics as my first method of attack. So I first always start with laser deep cleanings to remove them. And then we work with probiotics. We work with probiotics to see if we can naturally kind of give you back into health And then

Dr. Weitz: what’s your favorite oral microbiome test?  And what are you your favorite probiotics for the mouth?

Dr. Patel: So the oral dna is my favorite microbiome test and like I said, I do two things One is genetic predisposition for inflammation and then and the test is called alert two So it tests the genetic predisposition plus it Tests the actual microbiota like the bacteria that it’s signed and then money.  I have several probiotics that I really enjoy. The ones I like are lozenges. They’re the ones you suck [00:21:00] on because what I do find is that a lot of the people with the A. A. P. G. The, you know, the really potent bacteria. They tend to have some sort of a dryness in the mouth. And so the reason why I like for them to suck on that is because it gets a saliva to, you know, produce itself as well.

And so the ones I like to use is probiola P R O B I O R A. And then the second one I like to use is called from biogaia, B I O G A I A. And there are lots of this. Yeah. And so the reason for the lozenges versus, and this is a different probiotic than the one you take normally for overall health.  And the first one is from what company?

Dr. Weitz: Probiotic, P R O B I That’s the name of the company as well, okay. Yeah,

Dr. Patel: yeah. So I really like that and I feel like they’re really solid probiotics and, you know, the other thing I like to do is I like to research my companies and make sure they’re really solid and their goal is to Have you tried the one from Biocidin?

I have so biocide has been tested. So there is we actually have it. It does work. We [00:22:00] just have our preferences, like I said, and I like to get to the root cause. So the biocide in is helping you prevent like the biofilm once everything is cleaned off. But as we’re getting into balance, I feel like we need a little bit more support.

And so biocide and again has been tested against all the different bacteria that I just talked to you about and it’s not as effective as, you know, like ozone therapy or it’s not as effective as laser therapy. So we have different ways on how we customize all of our care for our patients because once we see what specific bacteria we have, we can actually create a specific treatment plan to make sure that it’s restored.

Dr. Weitz: What about the use of anti microbial herbs or nutritional strategies that can be built into toothpaste or added to maybe when you rinse your mouth or use a water pick like toothpaste. I know there’s some toothpaste on the market that maybe have clove or have [00:23:00] silver and I’ve heard of people using oregano oil or some of the other antimicrobial herbs.

Dr. Patel: Sure all of those have validity. So I will say that all of it, all of them have a validity and I feel like it’s a great start for somebody at home. Personally, I like to be really data driven. So once I figure out the specific bacteria, I look at the specific where we’re going to get the best results in the shortest amount of time, because that’s the whole reason why people want to work with a professional, right?

And then once we get the results, honestly, I like to have my patients you know, You know, I say this to patients all the time, like best dentistry is no dentistry, right? The best health is preventative health. Like, the more they don’t need me, the better it is. And the more I really don’t want them, I don’t want to like, I guess my biggest beef sometimes with medicine or even functional medicine is that I don’t want to replace a pharmaceutical with a nutraceutical, right?

I don’t want to, I don’t want to replace, I don’t want to swap it out. I want their body to work on its own. So [00:24:00] that’s really my goal and purpose. So once I get them into balance, what I find that works really well is just, you know, honestly, like a hydroxy nano appetite toothpaste. The one I absolutely love is Boca, B O K A.

It is wonderful. It has like different flavors, great for kids. It’s fantastic. That way you say

Dr. Weitz: hydroxyapatite we’re familiar with Calcium hydroxyapatite as a form of calcium. Is that what we’re talking about?

Dr. Patel: It’s nano appetite. So when you talk about the hydroxy calcium appetite, they’re big crystals. I want the nano crystals.

They’re so Microsoft Spock, I’m sorry, microscopic and so small because I want them to embed in the tooth. So what it does is, you know, in the mouth, what’s always happening is that you have this beautiful crystal and it’s Constantly getting demineralized because we’re eating and then it gets remineralized because demineralized remineralized.

So what we want with the calcium crystals is we want them to deposit and make that tooth stronger and more resistant to decay. That’s really what’s [00:25:00] happening with the hydroxy nano appetite. And the nano appetite is really the key here. Otherwise it won’t work because the other crystals are too big.

That’s why looking at toothpaste, I love the Fantastic. Cost effective does a great job. And it’s really great. The second thing I recommend patients is electric toothbrush. So I’m using an electric toothbrush. You are hitting your teeth with like 50, 000 pulsations for minutes. That is faster than Superman.

I

Dr. Weitz: mean, preference for Sonicare versus RLB.

Dr. Patel: My preference is Orly. I mean, I have to say I love Orly. And it’s because, you know, I like the circular motion of it. And I also like that I can’t hit my gums because one of the biggest issues with electric toothbrushes is people brush too hard, like on the Sonicare.

Or push it and then you end up getting a gum recession. So it’s like, well, what’s the point, right? So it’s like you fix one thing, but then cause a different disease. They’re like, okay, so I like to think it through and I feel like that you know, using the oral B for me is my favorite. And for some [00:26:00] patients, you know, I do want to share this tip if it’s okay, is that sometimes they feel like the Oral B or the is too strong.

So the second one I like is from Boca, B O K A. They actually do have an electric toothbrush and it doesn’t hit with like 50, 000 pulsations per minute. It’s like 20, 000 pulsations per minute. So people are a little bit more sensitive to that vibration. They can use that one and it works really well.

Dr. Weitz: What

Dr. Patel: about Waterpik?

Oh, I love the Waterpik. Waterpik is fantastic. And so Waterpik is really great. So what I usually recommend patients is well, I, blotting is always ideal, right? And then if not Waterpik, Waterpik is fantastic. And then you can brush your teeth. I also want to have your tongue scraped. Tongue scraper works really great.  It’s all natural. It’s not another additive, right? And then the last thing I do really find that is really useful is oil pulling. So I would say oil pulling is fantastic for mouth reasons and also for systemic reasons. Your tongue is highly vascular. So it starts chelating. So it starts pulling out all the [00:27:00] metals that you taught.  We were talking about all the toxins that are in your body. It starts really helping the liver kind of pull all of that stuff out. So I really am a big fan of oil pulling. 

Dr. Weitz: And then the last one is the one critique I’ve heard of oil pulling in the past was you have to do it for Prolonged period of time.  I think I’ve heard 20 minutes or you don’t get a benefit. Is that true?

Dr. Patel: Yes, it is absolutely true. So from the oral cavity, I mean, honestly, if you just took a finger and brought coconut oil on your gums before you went to sleep, it would be fantastic because it has natural antifungal activity. It has natural antimicrobial activity, so that would be fine with a systemic portion.

It does take 20 minutes because again, your tongue’s not that big, right? And if you want you know, you’re swishing things around to get that circulation going. And also it’s not going to be a one time thing where you’re going to see massive differences. You’re going to see massive differences once you use it for three months, six months, nine months, right?

From the systemic chelation properties. Now, if you wanted to, you know, get your [00:28:00] body be way healthier, you can do ozone IV. You can do chelation products. Pull everything out. Just as much at a faster rate, right? So there’s different products or different ways to be able to accomplish the same results.

And I just wanted to, I like that as a good additive, especially the reason being is we have so many toxins in our environment. You know, that’s one of the reasons that oil pulling is really great, especially if you can do it for 20 minutes every day, or even like start with one time a week, you know, just healthy habits.

That’s really my goal is just start with healthy habits. Anything that’s going to benefit you.

Dr. Weitz: Why do you, some patients have tooth sensitivity or sensitivity that comes and goes,

Dr. Patel: One of the major reasons for two sensitivity is gum recession. So remember I talked to you about brushing too hard. So that’s one of the biggest reasons for sensitivity.

Second reason for sensitivity is also aside from cavities and stuff like that, is going to be if people are clenching and grinding their teeth. One of the major reasons people tend to clench and grind their teeth is a lot of times their sinuses are stuffed up so they can’t breathe really [00:29:00] well so that’s one of the biggest issues the second thing is that sometimes stress makes them clench and grind more, right?

That’s another reason why the clenching grinding it causes micro cracks on the teeth and it’ll cause sensitivity basically is what happens.

Dr. Weitz: What about the sensitivity that comes and goes, like one day your teeth are just really sensitive and the next day they seem fine.

Dr. Patel: It’s the sinuses that are congested, or if somebody has sleep apnea, what happens is that their nose is blocked, so what, or their tongue falls back and they can’t breathe really well, so their jaw.

We’ll grind in order for them to be able to you know, have a functional airway. But the next day they might be fine, you know, so it comes and goes. And a lot of times you’ll hear it a lot in winter times, especially, you know, I get patients all the time thinking they need a root canal because their sinuses are stuffed up.

And I’m like, actually, let’s try to decongestant.

Dr. Weitz: You just mentioned root canals and of course, there’s this big, big ongoing controversy root canal versus [00:30:00] implant. What do you say about that controversy?

Dr. Patel: So I feel like honestly, I tend to be more natural, right? And I remember having the knowledge that I have and the way that I like to operate my, if it was my mom what I would do is there’s.

I’m okay with root canals as long as they’re done properly. The root canal is done 10, 15, 20 years ago. Crapola, get them out, right? Now there’s technology, just like I was sharing with you, like the technology we have with 3D printing. We actually have technology that we can actually use a laser beam and we can disinfect that entire root canal.

And we can also use ozone gas to get underneath there and make sure that entire cavity is sterile. If we can make sure that entire cavity is sterile. Sterile. I’m okay with a root canal. Why don’t they just put bleach in? Yeah, see, that’s old style, right? You don’t have to do that anymore, right? You don’t have to do that, and what we do is you know, there’s so many different materials out here now, and they’re updated, and there’s a lot of [00:31:00] science and data that it really works.

And my main reason for trying to save a tooth, just so you know, is that at the root of the tooth there is something called the periodontal ligament that houses that actually is a little bouncy spring that you’re, you can chew with, right. And that actually contains stem cells. So I’m a big proponent of keeping as many stem cells as possible.

And I feel like that is one of the best things I would much rather keep a tooth.

Dr. Weitz: So you brought up the question of root canals and there’s a big controversy. Is it better? To have a root canal and one of the arguments for a root canal is that you’re keeping your tooth arguments against the root canal as a tooth is dead.

You can have bacteria in there. It’s much better to get a implant and yet you can argue an implant. Is putting a piece of metal in your mouth? And is that really better? And who’s to say that you’re not gonna have bacteria in there with the implant? So [00:32:00] those are a couple of my thoughts. But tell us what you think about root canal versus implant.

Dr. Patel: My honest opinion is if root canals are done properly, they’re safe. So Just like I mentioned earlier, we have machines that make 3D printing and does you know, biocompatible restorations. I would recommend seeking a dentist that uses specific technology for root canals. And what we’re doing with that is we’re using lasers that actually go into the root canal all the way down to the bone to disinfect it.

So we’re getting rid of the biofilm number one. Number two, we’re using gases like ozone and things like that to get all the way underneath it to make sure that because the gas can penetrate in areas in so many different areas, right? So we utilize a gas that gets in there and cleans things up very nicely.

And then we’re putting get a project, which is a, which is a inert means that has no reaction. And, you know, there used to be a big problem with sealers. We don’t even have to use that much sealers anymore because we can actually melt the gutter perjure down because technology’s evolved so much [00:33:00] that we have rare, rare amounts of sealer that is needed in order for a root canal.

And the reason why I am a pro root canal person is because at the roots of the tooth, there’s actually peritoneal ligament and that actually houses the stem cells in them. I’m a big fan of keeping your natural tooth. Now You sure, you know, if there, if there’s not an option, you already had a root canal, things aren’t great and you need to go towards our implant, so be it, but implants can fail, especially if you have low vitamin D.

Sure, you put the implant in right away, it’s fine, but 10 years down the road. Because as we get older, all of us become more vitamin D deficient it’s gonna, you’re gonna lose that implant, right? It also causes you know, microfilm or a biofilm to develop and they’re very hard to clean. And especially when you eat food it tends to pack a lot of foods in between.

The purpose for a tooth is to keep the bone in place. So I tend to be a big fan of doing root canals properly, [00:34:00] making sure that it’s safe and the risks are mitigated because the biggest risks we have with root canals is that they can cause cancer and things like that when they’re not done right, right?

And that’s really the issue is when they’re not done right. When they’re done properly, it’s absolutely okay.

Dr. Weitz: Right. And who’s to say when you get an implant, you’re drilling this hole into the bone that you’re not going to get microscopic amounts of bacteria in there as well.

Dr. Patel: Yeah, you absolutely will. And then around the implant, right?

Because the implant is like, you know, it has like a bottom portion and there’s around this area at the ridge because It’s connected to the oral cavity. You’re always going to get bacteria around it So even if it’s an implant, you know us, you know humans tend to want like like a pill right or a solution, right?

One thing that takes care of everything but it really is really important That we start really thinking things through and deeper and really thinking for things long term. There is no easy solution We have to brush and floss,

Dr. Weitz: We have to exercise You also [00:35:00] mentioned the immune system and I think the thing that’s often Overlooked is it’s not a question of whether or not you get exposed to microbes because we’re always going to be getting exposed to microbes.

The question is, why didn’t your immune system take care of it? And that’s, if you have a healthy immune system, then getting exposed to bacteria is generally not a problem.

Dr. Patel: Right. Absolutely. Exactly. And that’s the whole thing. You know, when we talk about toxins and all that stuff, our bodies are designed to work, right?

Our bodies are designed to have certain amount of inflammatory response. In fact, we want it to because that’s how we know it’s working properly. It’s just that we don’t want like mycotoxins. We don’t want you know, like amalgams. We don’t want any things. These are completely inducing a massive response.

That’s all we’re trying to do. And to say that, you know, there’s, Things that will never cause that it’s not real, right? It’s we just have to maintain that balance and that’s what we’re doing and that’s how we increase longevity. If we control the microbiome, we get rid of the bad [00:36:00] bugs, we let the good bugs survive, we put good multiminerals and vitamins and things like that in place, we get good functional breathing in, everything works really, really, really, really, really well.

Dr. Weitz: What what about strategies to whiten the teeth? Are those healthy?

Dr. Patel: Yes, there are certain things that are really great. The easiest one is coconut oil. Oh my god, coconut oil is amazing at whitening your teeth. It works really, really, really well. So I always say the first method of, you know, whitening your teeth, get a good scrub, get a good cleaning, go to the dentist.

And I actually recommend every three months versus six months because it keeps that oral microbiome super healthy. Second, electric toothbrush. When you hit that toothbrush with, you know, 50, 000 pulsations per minute, it’s going to make the, you make your teeth super nice and white. The third one is coconut oil, rubbing coconut oil on there.

You can also use charcoal toothpaste. The one I recommend to you earlier is boca boka They actually have a charcoal toothpaste as well that you can utilize and it works really well.

Dr. Weitz: Okay Charcoal is definitely a popular product these days

Dr. Patel: Yep, it is.

Dr. Weitz: When it comes to gum disease, what are the best ways to improve our gums?  We know about flossing. I looked at your website and you talked about something called pinhole gum rejuvenation.

Dr. Patel: So gum disease, easiest way to prevent gum disease is gonna be to flossers. Brush your teeth, come into the dentist. Always hands given, right?

Dr. Weitz: By the way, let’s say if your oral hygiene routine includes brushing, flossing, water pick, what should you do first and last?

Dr. Patel: So I always say flossing would be first. The reason I like to floss first, it gets rid of all the bacteria and you can brush them away. Like you take them out from in between the teeth and then you can use an electric toothbrush to brush them away. And then I say scrape your tongue, right? That would be the next thing that I would recommend.  And then you can [00:38:00] oil pull after that or water pick after that is fantastic.

Dr. Weitz: And then brush at the end.

Dr. Patel: No floss first brush your teeth. Okay. Scrape your tongue. And then you can use a water pick. Okay.

Dr. Weitz: Okay. I’m sorry. Go ahead on gum disease.

Dr. Patel: Yes. So gum disease, best way to prevent that is going to be, you know, obviously going, doing home care regularly, kind of like going to the gym regularly.

It’s really important to do it on a daily basis. And then going to the dentist for routine cleanings maybe every three months to six months, especially if you’re over 40, every three months. If you’re younger, you can probably get away with about six months but after 40 hands down every three months, because we’ve got so many hormones changing, we’ve got so much stuff that’s changing with our body that it really makes sense to do it every three months.

And then the biggest thing, a couple of things you can do at home for preventing gum disease. You know, I mentioned the coconut oil, which is fantastic mouth taping. So that way you are close. Your mouth isn’t dry. So it’s not making bacteria overgrow. That’s [00:39:00] huge. And then also, you know, people sometimes forget, should you just brush once a day or twice a day?

I always say minimum twice a day and morning and at night, at night really making sure all the bacteria is out of your mouth. So that way you’re not leaving this you know, film around and then also, you know, overnight why there isn’t a lot of salivary flow. Nope. So those would be some things I would say would be really great.

Now, treatment wise, there’s something called the pinhole gum rejuvenation. Now, that is an amazing product because we, or a service, we actually use your own body to work really well, or to induce your own body to make more collagen. It’s not needed for everyone. It’s needed for patients who have exposed root surfaces.

So if you have exposed root surfaces, kind of like the people I talked about, maybe brush a little too hard exposed root surfaces, that’s what you need pinhole gum rejuvenation for. We can add, create a better thickness around the gums in order to make sure they’re looking good, they’re working properly and helping you keep your teeth for a long time.

So that’s pretty [00:40:00] fantastic. But as far as gum disease goes, gum disease means there’s loss of bone, which can be from bacteria, which can be from brushing too hard, or it can also be from clenching and grinding. So we always want to take a look at those pieces too.

Dr. Weitz: All right. It’s another controversial topic.  As you’re thinking changed on fluoride what do you think about fluoride either in toothpaste in the water, et cetera?

Dr. Patel: You know, I have always been fluoride for me is it’s a neurotoxin, right? So I’m not a big fan of it. And that’s one of the reasons I love the, you know, Boca, which is a hydroxy nano appetite version.  So I really, really, really do enjoy having the Boca in my practice and different materials I use. for hydroxyl. A

Dr. Weitz: lot of dentists are schooled that fluoride is beneficial and it should be promoted.

Dr. Patel: The main reason they recommended having fluoride and the thing with fluoride is also the concentration, just like we talked earlier and you said, you know, everything’s inflammatory.

It just depends on which one is more than the other, [00:41:00] right? So yeah, the dosage is really critical. So at one part per million, technically it’s safe because we’re getting it more in like different foods, like potassium or milk or something along those lines versus The, the problem that I have with fluoride is in a lot of lower socioeconomic societies or communities, they were prescribing fluoride pills.

Now, that fluoride pill is like a thousand times more than one part per million, you know, and what that was doing was causing brittle bones. It was causing neurotoxicity and all these other things that are, you know, that are You know kind of side effects right of having fluoride and just like with you know, my husband says this funny phrase It’s like moderation including moderation

Dr. Weitz: The problem is when it comes to fluoride They might say put a certain amount in the water and go.

Well that level’s safe, but you drink fluorinated water You use fluoride toothpaste They measure the amount of fluoride based on a tiny [00:42:00] amount that you’re supposed to put on your brush, as opposed to people covering their entire toothbrush with toothpaste, they swallow the toothpaste and it, which you’re not really supposed to do.

And then they’re using a mouthwash with fluoride on it. So now you’re talking about a total amount of fluoride.

Dr. Patel: That’s exactly my point. Thank you. I loved it. That was fantastic. You kind of said what I was saying to begin with. This is fantastic. It’s the dosage, right? It’s the dosage that’s an issue. And especially like, it’s like, why even use fluoride when there’s so many other options available?

You know, let’s get, you know, let’s like look at stuff that’s available. Let’s, you know, be more conscious of our health. Let’s be more proactive. There’s no It was

Dr. Weitz: just a meta analysis that was just published this morning in the Journal of Pediatrics. That found that higher levels of fluoride are associated with lower IQ in children.

Dr. Patel: Yeah, it’s very true. That’s very true. So, you know, I guess I could say this and these I’m [00:43:00] not a big fan of fluoride. I don’t think that we need it especially in especially in toothpaste and in mouthwash and things like that. You know, unless it’s like a super severe case of something I don’t, unless somebody has like something called amylogenesis imperfecta where they can’t make enamel or something like that was a genetic disease.

I don’t really see a need for fluoride in the dental industry at this time. Honestly, I feel like currently there’s so many great options available that are fluoride free, including mouthwashes, including toothpaste, that it’s just not necessary anymore. And I couldn’t even find them like writing a pill, you know, a prescription for fluoride too.

It’s not needed, you know?

Dr. Weitz: What about mouthwash? You just mentioned mouthwash.

Dr. Patel: So mouthwash is great. You technically don’t need it. You know, like I said, if you’re a philosophers, brush your teeth, all of that stuff, scrape your tongue, you should be in good shape. The reason why not, I don’t want to add too many things onto the oral hygiene.

Less is more, right? I want you to be more effective with doing less. Now some mouthwashes can have alcohol, so which dehydrates the mouth and [00:44:00] also kills some good bacteria, so we don’t want that. But if you needed to have a mouthwash, it’s sometimes it just really honestly gives you the feeling of being fresh, right?

That’s just a psychological marketing feeling that mouthwash is

Dr. Weitz: saying, it’s not really important for oral health.

Dr. Patel: No, not for everyday person. There are some patients that I recommend you know, mouthwash for they’re usually going to be my cancer patients. There are some patients that have oral systemic disease, something else that’s going on.

They may need a mouthwash, but you know, Regular everyday people who don’t, they’re just looking for, you know, proactive, being easy and stuff like that. It’s not needed. If there’s no dry mouth, it’s not needed. It’s not needed for a lot of patients. So why would cancer patients need a mouthwash?

Because when cancer patients you know, they’re using chemo, what it does is it kills all the actively dividing cells and it’s not specific. So salivary gland is an active dividing cells. So kill that off. Yeah. So you won’t, they won’t create saliva. And if they don’t create saliva, all [00:45:00] the bacteria that builds up, they’re not able to wash it out.  So we use a product called OraCare, which I absolutely love. It’s fantastic. It creates a chlorine dioxide gas and it gets into little surfaces and cleans everything up. So that’s the mouthwash I recommend for cancer patients. But other than that, like, I mean, I don’t use a mouthwash every day.  You know, if you are brushing your teeth and scraping your tongue, you really should get that. Fresh feeling off the back. There’s no need for additional

Dr. Weitz: scraping

Dr. Patel: the tongue. Why is that

Dr. Weitz: so important?

Dr. Patel: So earlier we also talked about like, you know utilizing you know coconut oil to help detox the body our body actually detoxes to our tongue In ayurveda, we look at the tongue to be able to diagnose disease We look at the tongue in Chinese medicine to be able to diagnose disease as well.

So when you the tongue actually has a layer of bacteria on top, so you want to get rid of it every single day. Not just bacteria, but fungus as well, right? So again, in order to keep that balance getting rid of that bacteria by scraping the tongue [00:46:00] really make sure that our oral microbiomes is balanced for the good versus the bad. 

Dr. Weitz: So that’s great. Final thoughts and then give us your contact information.

Dr. Patel: Sure. Final thoughts is, Dentistry is huge and it has a massive impact on longevity and helps you live a longer, richful, joyful life and i’m delighted to be part of it. I’m delighted to be here with you.

This was a great conversation. Thank you And then if anybody wants to get in touch with us, we’re at S. F. Green. S as in San Francisco and F as in obviously San Francisco. Green. G R E E N. Dentist. D E N T I S T dot com. We are based in San Francisco. We do telehealth. We are happy to help in any way we can.  I also have courses if you want to learn more about the oral systemic connection and really how all of this stuff comes together. You can purchase the courses. You can ask us any questions that you may have. Be happy to help.

Dr. Weitz: That’s great. Thank you so much, Dr. Patel. Thank you.

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Dr. Weitz:  Thank you for making it all the way through [00:47:00] this episode of the Rational Wellness Podcast.  For those of you who enjoy listening to the Rational Wellness Podcast, I would very much appreciate it if you could go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and give us a five star ratings and review. As you may know, I continue to accept a limited number of new patients per month for functional medicine. If you would like help overcoming a gut or other chronic health condition, and want to prevent chronic problems, and want to promote longevity, Please call my Santa Monica Weitz Sports chiropractic and nutrition office at 310-395-3111.  And we can set you up for a consultation for functional medicine. And I will talk to everybody next week.