Bio Dentistry— Greensborough

There is a growing body of scientific evidence showing that infections, toxins, and imbalances in the oral cavity and the jaw contribute to chronic illness and pain in the head, neck and other regions of the body. The field, known as Biological Dentistry, considers biomechanical, biochemical, bioelectrical and emotional factors all to be important in achieving overall good health and wellness. Unlike traditional dentistry which treats only symptoms, a biological dentist gets to the root causes that contribute to trauma, irritation and toxicity.

Biological dentistry is based on the concept that all dental therapies should work in harmony with the body’s natural ability to heal and repair itself. It embodies the art and science of dentistry as it pertains to the uniqueness of each individual. This approach is a wonderful blend of comfort, function, beauty and longevity in a way that contributes to overall health.

Dr Manuel Bautista in April 2019 traveled to Konstanz, Germany to meet and to be mentored by Dr Karl Ulrich Volz, a world leader in the area of biological dentistry. On returning, he decided to offer this alternate approach towards dental care as a holistic biological dentist near Greensborough.

In the past, the material most commonly used to repair and fill teeth has been a silver-grey coloured amalgam made from powdered silver, tin and copper, mixed with an equal amount of liquid mercury.

For many years, there has been a vigorous debate about the safety of mercury used in dental fillings. On the one hand, while the American Food and Drug Administration continues to state that amalgam fillings are safe for adults and children older than six, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have either banned, or severely restricted the use of amalgam since 2008.

Similarly, although amalgam is still used widely in Australia and New Zealand, a 2012 report for the European Commission has recommended the phasing out of amalgam throughout European countries within the next five years.

The debate isn’t so much about the safety of mercury, which is known to be toxic at even low levels of exposure. More so, it’s whether the mercury used in amalgam is stable and contained within filling, or whether it can potentially expose those with such fillings to various health risks associated with mercury.

To remove amalgam fillings, special care needs to be taken to ensure that the patient doesn’t swallow any amalgam debris or inhale mercury vapours.

The following safeguards are used by our practitioner when removing amalgam fillings:

• A rubber dam is fitted to reduce the chance of amalgam pieces being swallowed or vapours inhaled.
• A special single-use drill is used to minimise vapour release when the amalgam is broken up.
• Maximum suction is used together with a higher-than-normal volume water spray (which also reduces the temperature of the amalgam when being drilled).
• In addition, for the procedure we use a special air extractor close to your mouth so the vapours are kept away