Dental/ Oral Health Los Angeles

Your oral health is more important than you might realize. Get the facts about how the health of your mouth, teeth and gums can affect your general health from Dr. A. J. Boyajian. With over 20 years experience, he has been focused on patient health that goes beyond just fixing a tooth problem.

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Dental Care While Pregnant or Breastfeeding, Pt. 3

So I’ve talked your ears off about the importance of dentally preparing before pregnancy happens, especially if your body needs to detox from mercury vapor. But, like the majority of people, you probably have not done so. Mothers and mothers-to-be, something urgent comes up and you must go to the dentist for one reason or another. What are things you should be aware of?

First off, do not mess with amalgam (metal) fillings in your teeth until you are done breastfeeding. Each case has its own individual implications, so if for some reason yours need working on, you’ll have to talk to me directly about the safest way to do so.

Secondly, most dentists use an array of chemicals in their offices for various purposes (sterilization, anesthesia, antibiotics, sedation, painkilling, etc.). I use them myself; I just prefer not to when I don’t have to. Again, these substances are generally accepted as having no ill effect on a pregnancy after short-term use. I will say, however, that NSAIDs should be strictly avoided.

For a mother, I personally am not comfortable with any exposure, period, and will avoid it as far as I can; but it’s up to you to do your research, ask questions, and be involved in the decisions made for your and your child(ren)’s health. Part of why I am so excited about using ozone in my dentistry is because it is multi-functional and completely safe, even for members of society with more vulnerable physical health. It is no-risk with fabulous results. Using it with a laser takes care of many things that dentists keep various chemicals on hand for.

Lastly, specifically for those breastfeeding, I offer practical advice. If your in this situation where you must see a dentist for a problem while nursing, there are precautions you should take. Drugs you take are passed to your milk  in concentrations of 1-3% of your dose. It may not sound like much, but it doesn’t take much to start polluting the development of infants. The drugs are usually cleared from your system in 24 hours. To avoid passing any toxins to your baby, pump extra milk at least a day before your appointment (it is a sound decision to have extra breastmilk stored anyway for situations like this). On the day of appointment after the drugs, anesthetics, etc., are administered, pump and throw away the milk you produce for the next 24 hours.

After that it is safe to continue nursing your child normally. If you notice any adverse effects in you or your child, call the doctor immediately.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Dental Care While Pregnant or Breastfeeding, Pt. 2

Most moms and moms-to-be know that dental care is recommended throughout pregnancy, since hormonal changes can cause more of a susceptibility to discomfort and infection. Dental problems also may bring to light a more serious underlying problem that these mothers should be aware of. Though it is my personal opinion that most dental evaluation and care should be taken care of before conception (a long time before conception if mercury removal is involved), I believe that light, routine dental care, such as cleanings or mild gingivitis treatment can be safe and effective during pregnancy.

Since my practice uses ozone in place of many harsher chemicals and typical dental medications, much can be done without fretting about affecting babies in utero or through mom’s milk. Healing is accelerated and accomplished more naturally when ozone is used. An already concerned mother should never be forced to compromise between “following the doctor’s orders” by getting dental care but exposing her developing children to drugs and toxins. Cleaning is harmless if there are no mercury fillings to agitate.

Many of the common drugs, painkillers, antibiotics, anesthetics, etc. used in the dentist’s office have been declared “safe,” or at least not significantly detrimental for a pregnant or nursing mother. A good dentist is cognizant of the most recent information regarding safe substances for his pregnant or nursing patients. For many patients, the reassurance that those substances are safe enough is all they need. However, others want to remain as clean and toxin-free as possible. I lean toward this side myself. Even if no adverse effects are found on growing babies, inside or outside the womb, there is no guarantee that there are other long-term consequences for dental drug exposure. Every drug is a foreign substance to the body; every drug is designed to manipulate certain functions in order to successfully carry out a medical purpose. In many cases they are lifesavers and great aids in the process of healing and managing pain.

But there is always, always a consequence, seen or unseen, for this medical/dental intervention or manipulation. It is only logical to conclude that delicately growing babies will be affected to some degree. We may not see it right away. It may remain undetected as the baby grows into childhood, then adulthood, and accumulates other health problems that would never be connected with Mom’s treatments while pregnant or nursing. The important thing is to educate yourself as best you can and make the best decisions for your family’s health.

I’ll get to the practical side of things in the next post.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

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Goals for the New Year

Happy New Year, everybody!

No matter what your dental hygienic history is, there is always room to improve upon how you care for your teeth and overall health. If you’re setting any goals for this year, why not add a manageable habit to your daily dental care? Not that I intend to sound cliche, but since getting a fresh start is the prevailing attitude this week, I’m going to take advantage of it.

Incorporate these small habits that yield big improvements:

  • Brush at least twice a day — once in the morning and once before bed (after all food and beverages).
  • Floss at least once a day, preferably at the end of the day before you go to sleep
  • Take a few minutes to irrigate if you have an irrigator. Irrigation staves off the vast majority of disease and infection and promotes fast healing. Irrigation keeps your gums healthy, wards off canker sores, and provides relief from more painful infections like pericoronitis.
  • Cut out refined sugar, flour, and processed foods from your diet, and eat fresh foods and green things. A lack of oral cleanliness is not the only cause of oral disease; your diet, exposure to and storage of toxins, hereditary susceptibilities, and poor lifestyle habits all contribute to disease.

You might even set goals that are a little more major in that they require more time and money. The long-term investment pays off greatly, however. Why not:

  • Invest in a better toothbrush (such as a Rotadent, the best you’ll ever find)*
  • Invest in an irrigator*
  • Replace the chemicals in your bathroom cabinet — mouthwash, commercial toothpaste, commercial ointments, gum or breath fresheners, etc. — with natural options or alternatives*. Also, examine the cause behind the need for these items. Have bad breath all the time? Get checked out!
  • Save up for and schedule that surgery you’ve been putting off. I’ve been doing many more implants lately, so if you need them, call us.
  • Have your amalgam dental work replaced. Mercury is poisonous and it slowly leaks into your body’s tissues for as long as it is bonded to your teeth. However, if you are pregnant or nursing, it would be best to delay the process until you’re done. If you are trying to get pregnant, get the amalgam replaced immediately and let your body detox before you continue trying to conceive. I will write more about that soon. For now, I use the safest protocols for mercury removal, and getting that replaced, in my opinion, should certainly be done as soon as possible.
  • Consult a nutritionist and find out how you can build the health of your teeth back up through proper nutrition. By the way, if your nutritionist thinks you can’t help your teeth by changing what you eat, find a different nutritionist!

So how are you going to take better care of your teeth this year?

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

*You can ask me about the hygienic and natural dental care products I supply.

Healing an Injured Tooth

The method of treatment varies from injury to injury and depends on the severity of the damage done. Most injuries are caused by accidents that happen quickly. Major injuries are fairly noticeable because of the bleeding, pain, or visible cracks or chips in the tooth — or maybe it has been knocked out completely. Minor injuries may not be as noticeable at first, but are just as harmful to the tooth. For example, a small crack may occur nearer to the root than the crown and cause damage to the dentin, nerve, pulp, and blood flow to that tooth. Someone may choose to ignore the pain if it is minor enough. But when the tooth starts turning gray or black because it has “died,” then it is probably too late to salvage. If the person had had the tooth closely examined and x-rayed by a dentist, he probably would have been able to avoid the slow decay.

When there is damage to the tooth’s structure, besides preserving what natural structure we can, of equal priority is to protect it from further damage. Ozone gas, of course, works wonderfully for crawling into the microscopic cracks and crannies (whether old or new), completely sterilizing everything inside and out, halting any further decay or infection, and providing an ideal site for strong repairs and healing.

A dental laser is also a useful tool when repairing injured teeth. The laser can be used doubly for sterilization and cleaning out dead tissues that may have accumulated. Shaping soft tissues (gums) and speeding up healing are more of the laser’s useful benefits. To repair cracks and chips, laser- or light-cured composite may be used, and they are much stronger, far less risky, healthier, and better-looking than amalgam. For structure damage, whether caused by poor hygiene/diet or injury, laser-cured composite actually bonds to the tooth itself unlike the silver-mercury amalgam, which will likely crack and separate because of its non-biocompatibility and sensitivity to temperature changes.*

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

*In other words, don’t consume hot things and cold things simultaneously. That’s one fast way to spring cracks and leaks in your amalgam fillings. While you’re at it, make an appointment to just get them replaced completely. It’s bad to keep mercury in your body.

Post-Mercury-Removal Recommendations

Since it’s likely that the mercury levels in your body will quickly spike as your amalgam fillings are removed, you should consider paying special attention to your health (nutrition and diet, in particular) in order to supply your body with the best ammo for serious detoxing. I have the ability to refer you to nutritionists and health specialists. Pregnant/nursing mothers should not get the procedure done until they are neither pregnant (or trying to be) nor nursing. Those with known sensitivities to mercury should consult a doctor knowledgeable about mercury and its effects on the human body before attempting the removal.

Take special care of your diet before and after the procedure to help your tissues detox. Also pay attention to your physical health and alert your physician and/or dentist about anything negatively out of the ordinary.

As you can see, this is serious stuff! Mercury poisoning is no frivolous matter. Here are a few helpful links with content directed towards patients about the whys and wherefores of mercury and removing it.

http://iaomt.org/patients/index.asp

http://dentalwellness4u.com/breaking/breaking.html

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Removing Mercury Holistically and Safely

Once you’ve decided to have the mercury in your mouth removed and replaced, some important precautions need to be taken:

  • Be aware that even when correctly removed, a mercury filling or crown releases astronomical amounts of mercury vapor and even visible debris. Sometimes, inevitably, there is a rise in mercury levels in the human body. However, now that the source of mercury is gone and the body will continue trying to detoxify itself, the amount will decrease over time.
  • It is important not to swallow while getting the amalgam replaced. This is probably the most uncomfortable aspect of the process, but should not be much of a bother considering the great service you’re doing for your health in the long run.
  • The time and effort involved in amalgam removal depend on how much mercury is in the mouth. Some may have one small filling; others, several crowns and fillings. It’s too bad that conventional dentists are not hesitant to pump mouths full of the stuff. Getting it back out is so much less convenient than putting in in.
  • I like to use the Isolite system for a hassle-free mercury removal procedure. An Isolite mouthpiece provides light, suction, and a tongue barrier all in one. An Isolite helps protect much of the oral cavity (your mouth) from flying mercury debris.
  • As an extra precaution, I use a powerful suctioning machine that stands nearby and safely “vacuums” up the mercury debris that may be released while the amalgam is removed. This machine is very important. When mercury is broken into pieces and removed, not only does the patient need to be careful of exposure, but the entire rest of the office does, too. Microscopic traces of mercury could very well go undetected, causing a toxic environment for everyone.

In the next post, I’ll go over what should happen after mercury is removed.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Overview of Mercury-Safe Dentistry

Holistic dentistry calls for not using metals or toxins when treating patients. However, sometimes patients come in, previously having had fillings or crowns using mercury placed in their mouths by another dentist. It is imperative that patients have this work removed and redone as soon as possible, and I’ll explain why in a second.

Some dentists proudly tout their positions as being mercury-free offices. But there’s a difference between mercury-free and mercury-safe dentistry. Mercury-free dentistry does not incorporate mercury into any part of its practice; however, that does not automatically include the priority of removing/replacing preexisting mercury from regular patients.  And even then if it does, does its staff know how to do it safely?

Mercury is most toxic to the human body when it is vaporized, because that is the form of mercury most easily spread and embedded throughout the tissues. Mercury vapor is constantly emanating from amalgam fillings, set off by body heat, movement during speech, chewing, teeth grinding, etc. Even when perfectly still, low levels of mercury vapor still leak into your system. Some people feel its effects sooner, and others later; those effects may be drastic or occasional inconveniences (migraines out of nowhere, for instance). Unfortunately, mercury poisoning is usually misdiagnosed for other illnesses because its range of symptoms is so wide. Thus mercury toxicity hides under the radar for long periods of time, in many cases for life. Mercury is particularly threatening to brain and nerve health. Pregnant or nursing mothers and children should take the biggest precautions to avoid exposure to mercury.

The human body is always in a state of cleansing or detoxifying. The standard American diet, along with the general exposure to daily environmental toxins, chemicals, drugs, and dangerous materials, already puts toxic burdens on our bodies that are too heavy to bear. Our bodies are accumulating more toxins faster than we can get rid of them. Why compound the problem by tolerating mercury in our teeth?

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

Thinking Ahead

After taking into consideration that what goes into your body is going to affect the long-term health of your teeth, what do you think needs to happen so your dental work will last just as long?

Having already reviewed some damaging effects of invasive dentistry, you now know that “invading”/intervening with the natural tooth’s structure is not what you should pursue if you want your teeth to last (and maintain great condition) as long as your life. Remember:  if you lived to be 100 years old, choose sustainable dentistry that will last you just as long. If you are eating well and taking care of your body in all other ways, your body and, therefore, your teeth will be strong, healthy, and functional for a long time. Sounds like a good plan for the later years, right? Save yourself as many physical, emotional, and financial burdens associated with bad health as you can now. The cure for any disease is to avoid it in the first place!

What if you have already had work done on your teeth that is not sustainable? Well, if it includes mercury-saturated amalgam, it is best to get that replaced immediately. Not only will it need replacement after a handful of years — over and over again until there is no more tooth, but a stub needing a crown — but it will also infiltrate tissues throughout your entire body with poisonous mercury. No matter how well you take care of yourself, mercury constantly leeching into your body from your teeth will never allow you to progress towards complete wellness. As your body degenerates with age, mercury poisoning will speed that process up and bring on a host of symptoms that will (almost universally) lead the average doctor to the wrong diagnosis. It will be left untreated, you will be left confused and miserable, and there won’t be enough time left to detoxify.

Don’t put mercury in your mouth!

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

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How Dental Implants Work

There has been a lot of dental surgery going on around here. The information I collected at the AAID seminar has been put to good use!

If you are new to the entire dental implant procedure, the next few posts will be helpful for you to read. Every implant surgery is unique to the individual receiving it; every case is different. Dental implants require more than drilling a hole in your mouth and sticking an artificial tooth in that hole. (Ugh, that sounds like cruel torture stated so bluntly!) That is basically what dental implantation is; however, because we are not cavemen and have all kinds of brilliant technology and intelligent doctors* handling your oral ailments, you can be assured that such a surgery will be done with the utmost care and precision with long-term sustainability in mind.

Let’s say, in a “simple” case, a tooth has been extracted, lost, or missing for years. There is no tooth — or no healthy tooth — and the doctor determines that an implant is needed. After several careful measurements; x-rays; sizes; ways, shapes, and forms are recorded, the drilling begins. Don’t worry; you’d be under anesthesia. The place for the tooth in your jawbone or facial bones, depending on where the tooth is going, is drilled into and prepared for the implant base that will be twisted, screwed in, and anchored.

Side note: I have mentioned one-piece implants here before, but I will not bring that up just yet. Just imagine for a second that we’re using typical, two-piece implants.

After the base is screwed in nice and tight, the second piece is anchored onto it. This second piece is what the crown of the artificial tooth will fit onto. When the below-the-surface hardware has healed and integrated into the surrounding bone with no complications, the crown is installed. The crown, by now, has been formulated by the doctor after more measurements and math. In my holistic practice, it would be important for me to be sure this new tooth isn’t just some standard tooth that looks good alongside the others. This tooth must fit into the body’s naturally designed chewing system so that it does not interfere in any way with other teeth or the whole jaw. If it were to interfere, it could break, cause other teeth to wear down or break, or change how you chew in a way that might be detrimental to your jaw joints. I’ll go on about this later.

So finally, that crown is inserted and anchored into the implant site, allowed to heal, and there you have it: a brand-new tooth.

This is a problem-free version. Questions patients might have include:

What about if there is not enough bone to drill into?

What if multiple teeth in a row need to be adjusted?

How long does the entire process take?

Does it even look good afterwards?

I’m terrified of this procedure, but if I let my condition worsen, I will be infected and in pain the rest of my life. Which poison do I choose?

Oh, we’ll go over it all. Thanks for reading!

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

 

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Icon Dental Treatment

There’s a very new kind of treatment recently released for early-stage cavities. This treatment is fabulous in that it uses no drilling or anesthesia for halting and even reversing growing pre-cavities. If you happen to discover white spots on your teeth, see the dentist. A white spot is actually an indication of enamel weakness and where a cavity will eventually develop. Icon gets rid of these, not only restoring the enamel, but also the tooth’s consistent pearly-whiteness.

The treatment is a quick step-by-step process where the tooth and damaged area are cleaned and kept dry (easy for me with my handy-dandy ozonating machine); a series of Icon’s special gels are applied, each left to sit for a designated activation & infiltration time, then carefully cleaned off; the teeth are polished; and that’s it! The entire process can be as short as 15 minutes with absolutely no painful drilling or invasive removal of natural materials. Immediately after the procedure, dramatic cosmetic improvements will be noticeable.

Check out Icon’s demonstration on YouTube… and if you are one of those individuals who are dentist-phobics, don’t be alarmed. None of this feels as weird as it looks, by far. If you still can’t get past the atmosphere of the place and letting someone prod around your mouth, I have that covered too.

Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles

www.dentalwellnessarts.com

P.S. By the way, “caries” are going to be mentioned a lot in the video. Caries is just another name — the sciencey, dental-world name — for cavities. Enjoy!