Dentistry is not just about filling cavities and pulling teeth – and Dr David Roze is no ordinary dentist. Based in Dubai since 2003, he is the founder and CEO of Dr Roze and Associates Dental Clinic, the first biological dental clinic in the Middle East.
He tells The Livehealthy Podcast about this innovative field, which takes the holistic approach that what is going on with our gums and teeth affects our overall health.
What is biological dentistry?
It’s an organic approach to dentistry. The mouth is the gateway to the rest of the body. It’s where food and air come in – it’s the crossroads. Teeth are the only functional structures which are connected to both the inside and outside of the body.
Each tooth is connected to a specific organ in your body, so what happens in your mouth has an impact on the rest of your body. For example, the first upper molar is connected to the thyroid, the stomach and the knee. If you have a thyroid problem, a doctor will prescribe medicine but this will not uncover why you have an issue with your thyroid. Go see a dentist and check if your first upper molar is infected. If it is, see if your thyroid improves after the infection is removed.
If you suffer from a chronic disease or migraine or back pain and it can’t be explained medically, check with a biological dentist, who will perform a 3D scan. With two-dimensional scans it’s not always possible to see an infection and if there is one, get that infection treated before doing anything else.
How does a biological dentist treat infections?
With conventional dentistry you would do root canal treatment. In biological dentistry, you remove the tooth and clean and decontaminate the bone with ozone. It’s a sensitive subject, because this is an aggressive treatment, but you need to make sure there is no active bacteria present.
The tooth is an organ with its own blood and lymph supply and its own nervous system. Basically, a tooth is an elongation of the brain. Root canal is basically a pain treatment because in conventional dentistry you are supposed to do everything possible to save the tooth to preserve the bite and chewing capacity. But essentially you’re leaving a dead organ in the body and often a CT scan will show there is some infection visible in the root canal.
In biological dentistry, we remove the tooth and all the ligaments around it so that the brain understands the tooth has been removed. We then use biocompatible material – zirconia or ceramic – to make a new tooth. We don’t use metals.
Why not metals? People have had metal fillings for years
Amalgam fillings contain mercury, which is a poisonous metal. Unfortunately, the amalgam leaks from your mouth into the rest of the body. In 2020 the Food and Drug Administration in the US said mercury is neurotoxic because it does not stay locked in the filling but is released into the organs and the brain.
The shocking thing is that mercury was first used in fillings in 1830 and then the practice was stopped two years later because of the poisonous nature of mercury. But at some point it came back into use because it’s cheap and easy to use compared to, say, gold, and it became standard.
Mercury has now been removed from all medical use except dentistry. It’s banned in most European countries for pregnant and nursing mothers and children, but 50 percent of fillings in the US contain mercury. The more amalgam you have in your mouth, the more mercury you’ll find in the brain.
The scientific literature shows that the effect of mercury on neurons is 80 percent identical to the effect of Alzheimer’s. Mercury is still allowed in the UAE but we have lots of patients coming to get it taken out.
How do you go about removing mercury fillings?
Mercury vapour is released when removing fillings and it is very dangerous. We have special equipment and strict protocols, with nine layers of protection, to ensure neither the patient nor staff breathe in the vapour.
Is it expensive?
The cost depends on the size of the filling and the materials used. There is an additional cost of Dh1,250 for the protective equipment we use to safeguard you and the staff from breathing in dangerous mercury vapour. Most insurance plans should cover change of fillings and extractions.
What about other metals in the mouth?
They can create corrosion in the mouth and galvanic current. Heavy metal intoxication causes an inflammatory reaction in the body, which raises the temperature by as much as four degrees.
Why do you use ozone?
Ozone is a natural gas that was used 100 years ago to sterilize tissue and save arms and legs on the battlefield. The problem was that it’s volatile and it’s hard to focus it on one place. But now there is a glass probe that can disseminate ozone into a very specific area to penetrate soft or hard tissue, kill bacteria and restore the blood supply. It’s natural and non-inflammatory.
Do you use antibiotics?
They’re very good for acute infections, such as dental abscesses, but for chronic infections we prefer not to use antibiotics. Instead, it’s better to boost the immune system so that the body can eliminate the infection by itself. Of course, you have to eliminate the root cause of the infection, not just the consequences of it, but your body can do the rest.
We are taught that if our gums are too red, they’re inflamed because you’re not brushing your teeth properly. But you will get inflammation if your hormones are out of balance – if you are pregnant for example.
We hear a lot about the microbiome of the gut. Is there an oral microbiome?
Definitely. The mouth has lots of bacteria – some good, some not so good. The teeth and gums are the door between the outside and inside. That door needs to stay locked to stop the flow of bacteria from outside.
We highly recommend using oral probiotics to keep the mouth microbiome balanced.
Dr David Roze was a guest on the Livehealthy Podcast on February 17, 2021.
