Holistic Dentistry and YOU

I had to go to the dentist recently because I cracked a tooth eating -- of all things -- a fig. In Southern Italy, one of the old-fashioned sweets is a fig with a nut inserted in the center. These are then dried in the sun and served as a desert. My mother-in-law occasionally makes these - which (now that I think of it) makes me wonder if she didn't stick something a little harder than a nut in the fig's center.

But I digress.

My cracked tooth prompted me to go to the dentist. AS I do not have a family dentist I started flipping through the Italian equivalent of the Yellow Pages and found several dentists. But one in particular caught my eye. A Holistic dentist.

I called the guy more out of curiosity than actual pain and was kind of impressed with the approach he takes to his given profession:

Holistic dentistry -- in layman's terms -- respects the fact that the mouth is an integrated part of the entire body, and that it should always be viewed and treated in this respect.

That impressed me. I like the fact that my dentist will treat my mouth with respect. I'm not sure if that makes the pain any less bearable -- especially when my mouth is shot full of Novocain and the dentist is wielding a drill around just millimeters from my gums. But the primary aim of holistic dentistry is to resolve a given patient's dental problems while impacting the rest of the body as little as possible.

In my mind -- pain and discomfort are equal opportunity employers all the way. Even though many patients leave the office of a traditional dentist knowing they can chew much better than before they went, a significant negative medical impact on the rest of their body will result from what was done in the dentist's office.

So I gave this guy a try. I wasn't sure what to expect -- if there would be incense burning off in a corner or what.