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Bytes of Mermaid - Bio Holistic Dentistry, Gold Coast Highway, Gold Coast (2025)

07/05/2022

It’s rare that a cavity just happens out of nowhere.

Think about it, tooth enamel is the hardest tissue in your body.

When a patient walks into my office, they generally have a ‘feeling’ that they have cavities.

Why is this? Well instead of being a purely bacterial disease, tooth decay will highly likely be considered to be an endocrine disorder.

Let’s explore why.

Chronic stress and sleep deprivation is known to link to hormonal imbalances.

A recent small study demonstrated that people with a high amount of cavities (DMFT around 10) had significantly lower levels of melatonin in the saliva.

This should open the door to explore the endocrine influence of melatonin on tooth decay.

Why does this matter? Well, bacteria and hormones are linked, and instead of purely thinking about the microbes, perhaps we should be thinking about how the hormones help balance teeth.

When you sleep, melatonin floods the body, including the saliva and bone marrow, to tell the bones to remineralize.

Melatonin is a highly lipophilic molecule that combats oxidative stress and could potentially inhibit the progression of dental caries.

It is one of the most potent antioxidants, and the inflammatory stress of tooth decay could be due to a lack of nocturnal management of oxidative stress.

Bones and teeth are living breathing entities of our body.

Bones have a living communication center, that is sensing the body, and reacting to the environment.
Osteocytes live inside the bone matrix.

They are the ‘master’ cells that signal the builders when it’s time to build or tear down the bone structure.

Bone cells are ‘looking’ at pressures through the bones through their eyes.

Bone cells ‘see’ pressures in the bone and fluid movement through the calcium matrix. When they sense these pressures, they begin to prepare to make bone in the areas where fluids are flowing more often.

So in reality, the skeletal system is a living, breathing, sleeping, balance of material, fluid, and crystalline structure flowing between different states.

To protect your teeth, you need deep restful sleep.

Have you noticed a link between low sleep and cavities?

21/09/2021

Gum disease is when your gum tissue literally sloughs away from the tooth.

Is it auto-immune?

Today we are re-thinking our ideas of what gum disease actually is.

Patients with gum disease are often given rigorous cleaning protocols and surgical procedures to try to stop gums receeding further.

Bleeding gums is chronic inflammation over a surface area that equates to the area of your forearm.

While dentists do a great job of treating the local factors that drive disease, there has been an explosion in understanding what actually drives this issue?

1) Gum disease frequently occurs with auto-immune conditions.

2) It behaves like an auto-immune condition (immune cells target the body)

3) It is progressive, and chronic

The mechanisms show that gum disease IS an auto-immune issue.

Recent research into the mechanism of auto-immune issues show that the root cause, is a leaky gut.

Your gut is the interface between trillions of bacteria and your immune system.

When the tiny, once cell thick barrier becomes ‘leaky’ unwanted messages, and toxins start to flood through.

The digestive system contains 80% of the immune system and if it is flooded with messages, it starts to send faulty messages to the body.

These messages then can become an immune response to a certain organ.

So, what causes disruption to the intestinal barrier?

1. Gluten. Zonulin is a protein secreted by the cells in the gut wall to stimulate the opening of gaps between cells in the intestinal barrier.
2. Digestive imbalance: An imbalance of good and bad bacteria living in the gut.
3. Sugar. Elevated blood glucose causes inflammation and alteration to intestinal cells that leads to intestinal barrier dysfunction.
4. Stress. Stress hormones can lead to inflammation which impacts the balance of gut bacteria
5. Nutrient deficiencies: Vitamin D deficiency and its co-factors (A K2 Magnesium) are the most profound ‘immune’ nutrients.

So, to treat gum disease (let’s call it leaky mouth), we need to consider a whole-body approach.

The same goes for healing an auto-immune issue in the body, you must always consider the mouth!

Who would vote to rename gum disease to ‘leaky mouth?”

20/09/2021

Your teeth are the markers of stress.⠀
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In post mortem studies, it has been found that you can assess cortisol levels in patients suffering from prolonged disorders due to the make up of their dental enamel.⠀
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During stressful experiences, our adrenal glands release the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol to facilitate our nervous system’s ‘fight or flight’ response. However, though useful during an acute stressful experience, if we are exposed to these hormones for long periods of time they can negatively affect our memory and learning as well as heighten our susceptibility to depression.⠀
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Emerging evidence suggests that exfoliated teeth may be a promising biomarker for modern medicine. They are one of the few tissues in the body that permanently record the history of environmental insults.⠀
the individual layers that build up the tooth enamel are thinner and less dense if exposed to stress, which “increases the vulnerability to dental cavities.⠀
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How does stress influence a growing child’s teeth?⠀
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Stress does not just come from excessive demands at school but also, for example, from problems with parental relationships, constant noise or even physical and/or mental abuse. The bodies of those who experience a great deal of stress produce a lot of the stress hormone cortisol. Its concentration can be measured in the blood and saliva.⠀
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Stress is linked to tooth decay due to the fact that it causes our bodies to flush out protective minerals and increase the acidic⠀
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Research has revealed that there is a connection between gum disease and experiencing negative emotions, with the severity of the gum disease increases as the intensity of the negative emotions increases.⠀
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If you're concerned about your tooth enamel, you may need to focus on exercises that may help manage stress. Factors such as diet, sleep and exercise all contribute.⠀
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Gratitude practices, where you recall three things daily you are grateful for could significantly help reduce stress and cortisol in your body.⠀
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Has stress affected your teeth?

14/09/2021

Did you know Iodine is one of the most powerful immune strengtheners??

A really easy way to remember is I(Iodine) is for Immunity.

Let's look at why.

Iodine is an essential element of T4 which plays an important role in regulating bone growth.

It is integral to the oral immune response.

Iodine also plays a critical influence on the oral microbiome, which is a regulator of the lung microbiome.

It's also the element of energy.

Fatigue and weakness are also common symptoms of an iodine deficiency. It's estimated 80% of people with low thyroid hormone levels, which occur in cases of iodine deficiency, feel tired, sluggish and weak.

Dry, flaky skin may affect many people as well as feeling cold with an iodine deficiency.

Trials have looked at the rapid bactericidal and virucidal efficacy of povidone-iodine, including PVP-I gargle/mouthwash, against pathogens causing oral and respiratory tract infections.

One study compared the efficacy of PVP-I a more commonly used chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) against six bacteria known to cause gum disease. It was found that PVP-I reduced all bacterial strains to below detectable limits within 15 seconds. By contrast, there were more than 1,000 viable colonies remaining 60 seconds following treatment with CHX3.

Extensive one-time restorative dental treatment resulted in a significant suppression S mutans levels at 6 months. Further exploration of the role of povidone- iodine in caries management is indicated.

Clinical use of iodine is one application for oral medicine. Iodine deficiency could play a big role in oral disease.

Swelling in the front of the neck is the most common symptom of an iodine deficiency.

The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. It makes thyroid hormones upon receiving a signal from the thyroid-stimulating hormone
Clinically called a goiter and occurs when the thyroid gland grows too big, however there can be subclinical presentations.

Unexpected weight gain is another sign of an iodine deficiency. It may occur if the body does not have enough iodine to make thyroid hormones.

Pregnant women are at a high risk of iodine deficiency. Those that need to be careful with iodine may have auto-immune thyroid issues, these people need support to upregulate the use of iodine.

Top sources include:

• Seaweed
• Cod
• Yogurt
• Himalayan rock salt

Do you suffer any of the signs of iodine deficiency?

14/09/2021

If you suffer from headaches, neck or jaw pain, you know how it can affect your life.

Is pain just a message about our teeth? It's hard to see that you'dhave a headache that is unrelated to your teeth.

Do you notice teeth grinding or clenching?
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Nearly all of my pateints are using incorrect muscles to support their jaw and face.
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Other symptoms may inlude:
• Jaw pain⠀
• Senstive teeth
• Muscle spasms⠀⠀
• Headaches⠀⠀
• Ear aches⠀⠀
• Difficulty opening the mouth⠀⠀
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The masseter is the primary facial muscle used for chewing solids food, which attaches to the lower jawbone and cheekbone. If you clench your teeth and feel along your jaw, you will feel a bump raise itself from the side of your face.⠀⠀
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If you use your masseter muscle and ‘clench’ the jaw at resting posture it may leave you more vulnerable to clenching.⠀
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The problem is using the wrong muscles for jaw posture. The masseter and temporalis muscle are controlled by the trigeminal nerve or (V).⠀⠀
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The muscles you should use are from your XII cranial nerve or hypoglossal nerve. These control the tongue.⠀⠀
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So, is your clenching issues to do with low tongue posture: ⠀⠀
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Constant pressure on the teeth can cause teeth to shift, become crooked, create a bad bite, and even result in habitual teeth grinding (which can create a whole host of problems on its own).⠀⠀
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Those who rest their tongues on the bottom of the mouth may suffer from more neck pain, jaw pain, and bad body posture overall.⠀

Additionally, bad tongue posture can change someone’s appearance and make the face take on a longer, flatter shape or cause the chin or forehead to jut forward.⠀⠀
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How to feel correct tongue posture?⠀⠀
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• Smile – The other way you can find your ideal tongue position is to smile really wide (we’re talking about really cheesy smile), raise your eyebrows, and try to swallow without unclenching your teeth. You should feel your tongue rise to the roof of your mouth into its ideal resting position.⠀⠀
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• Notice the back of the tongue and where it hits at the back of the throat. This should be sealed to the soft part of the throat or the soft palate.⠀⠀
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Do you suffer from jaw pain or headaches?

11/09/2021

Your heart-lung connection is fascinating.

Sitting between the heart and lungs is an endocrine organ called the thymus. If you are fearful, you decrease your immunity.

Our body shows beautifully, when you are calm, the immune system can form a targeted response to its surroundings. When in fear or ‘fight or flight’ the heart is stimulated to pump survival blood to the body. In these situations the immune system is turned off due to the sympathetic nervous system.

The thymus gland is an essential organ for the development of the immune system, but very few people have any idea that it exists. When you are ‘calm’ the immune system can regulate a proper response to its surroundings.

Evidence shows that the lungs are a major site of immune regulations. The lung microbiome responds to the immune cells released by thymus, and sends the messages to the gut to formulate a full immune response.

The lungs pose a significant risk of infection which is why the body is designed to have this targeted ‘attack system’ tied directly in with the delicate wiring of the heart. T-cells mediate pulmonary host defences against bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens.

Curiously, today most people are found to have shrinking thymus glands from teenage years. Whether this is normal or not is not fully understood, but it contributes to a lowered ability to form immune responses to the environment.

The thymus involutes as we age and so produces fewer naïve T cells over time. This means that older people have reduced T cell diversity, which contributes to the increased susceptibility to infections seen with age.

The gland is known to either shrink or become ‘fatty’ – which could be a pathogenic response or overreaction of the ‘fight or flight’ system. Remember, when you are calm, your body is in tune to be strong, and resistant to its environment.

Calming your heart, allows your immune response to be thoughtful and responsive.

Do you get sick when you're stressed?

07/09/2021

Have we been too focused on the outside, when we should be looking at what is inside?

Tooth decay has been classified as an infectious disease, but does this give us the full picture?

Is the host more important?

Bacteria that cause cavities, exist in our mouths during health, the question is why in some hosts, they cause disease.

Vitamin D deficiency has traditionally been associated with rickets in children, an anomaly in the mineralization of growing bone and cartilage. It is also frequently associated with variations tooth morphology and periodontal and dental abscesses with no history of caries or trauma.

Sunshine is known to affect bone metabolism.

In adults, vitamin D deficiency is associated with osteomalacia, and exacerbates osteopenia, osteoporosis and fractures. Because of its anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties, vitamin D has also been linked to reduced morbidity in a number of diseases.

INMA-Asturias birth cohort is a prospective cohort study that began in 2004 with the recruitment of a total of 494 pregnant women between May 2004 and July 2007 in Avilés Health Area III, in the autonomous community of Asturias.

They found:

• Children at ages 4 and 8 maintained this deficit, which rose as high as 51.4% at 4 years of age.

That’s half of kids found the have inadequate vitamin D levels, during some of the most important developmental years.

Authors conclusions:
1. We found a significant inverse association between caries in the child on the one hand, and 25(OH) D levels in the mother during gestation, and in the child at 8 years of age, on the other. These results are not consistent, as we were unable to observe a similar relationship with 25(OH) D levels in the child at 4 years of age.
2. The incidence of caries is related to brushing technique and frequency of sugar intake.
3. When we adjust for the brushing technique and frequency of sugar intake variables, we can observe that the concentration of 25(OH) D in the mother during pregnancy and later in the child influences the incidence of caries from 6 to 10 years of age.
4. The prevalence of pregnant women and children with deficient levels of 25(OH) D is high. This deficiency in the child at 8 years of age was consistent with that of the mother during pregnancy.
5. There is a need to promote outdoor lifestyles for mothers and children, from pregnancy and throughout childhood, to increase sun exposure for more efficient synthesis of vitamin D according to the geographical characteristics of the location; and to incorporate nutritional education into antenatal programmes.
6. Vitamin D supplementation, for pregnant women as well as children, is an option that should be given due consideration in cases of very advanced caries.
https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-021-02857-z

What should we take away? Sunlight, fatty foods, and in some situations vitamin D supplements contribute to our defence to tooth decay.

Have you ever been vitamin D deficient?

03/09/2021

Traditional medicine approaches the body by isolating single organs and dividing them up into medical specialties. Yet, by seeking to identify the root cause of symptoms and correcting imbalances, long-lasting healing can be attained.

In a recent mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, I spoke with Dr. Cynthia Li about how a trip to the dentist’s office led to valuable insight in her journey through autoimmune disease. I also spoke with Dr. Todd LePine about the important link between oral health and systemic health.

Take a listen here: https://bit.ly/3DuUVYk

02/09/2021

Personally, neck and head movement and mobility has been critical to maintaining better back and spinal posture.

If you look at the picture you see that each tooth has a personal drainage system.

The lymphatic system functions to drain tissue fluid, plasma proteins and other cellular debris back into the blood stream, and is also involved in immune defence. Once this collection of substances enters the lymphatic vessels, it is known as lymph.

To summarise, the lymph nodes of the head and neck can be divided into two groups; a superficial ring of lymph nodes, and a vertical group of deep lymph nodes.

The deep (cervical) lymph nodes receive all of the lymph from the head and neck. They are organised into a vertical chain, located within close proximity to the internal jugular vein within the carotid sheath.

The lymphatic system depends on this changing pressure to pump lymphatic fluid through the system with valves that keep fluids moving in one direction. The flow through these nodes is what drives our capacity to both mount an immune response and to sound the alarm for other needed immune cells.

Any sort of movement practice (gentle or vigorous) can act as an important pump for this system.

For two beginner twisting exercises try these two at home:
• Standing twist.
1. Stand straight feet hip width apart
2. Start turning to one side
3. Place one hand behind back and one on the opposite hip.
4. Look as far over your shoulder as you can exhale and inhale
5. Inhale one more time and as your exhale twist and repeat to the other side.
6. Repeat 10 times.

• Sitting Twist:
1. Sit up straight with both legs out in front of you.
2. Cross your right foot to the outside of your left thigh and bring your left foot back beside your right hip. Place your right fingertips behind you and hug your left knee into your chest. Inhale, sit up tall. Exhale, twist to the right from the base of your spine.
3. To increase the intensity of the pose, bring your left elbow to outside of your right knee. Inhale, lengthen your spine. Exhale, twist a little deeper.
4. Hold the pose for 3 breaths on each side.

Do you ever feel your lymph nodes swell up?

18/08/2021

Are you accessing all of your body's capabilities?

In humans, nitric oxide is generated within the blood vessels and regulates blood pressure, and prevents the formation of clots and also destroys potential toxins.⠀
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There is a link between low NO levels and many diseases. Here are a few of the diseases associated with low Nitric Oxide: high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, digestive tract issues such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Alzheimer’s, and erectile dysfunction,

Proper ventilation is essential for maintenance of sinus integrity, and blockage of the ostium blocks the flow to the sinuses.⠀
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Humming has been applied therapeutically for the treatment of chronic sinusitis. A case study of a patient who had been unable to nose breathe due to chronic sinusitis for a month was able to achieve a clear nose and breathe easily through his nose after 4 days of intensive humming (one hour the first day and 120 hums 4x per day). ⠀
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The authors hypothesized that the effect was due to the increase in nitric oxide produced by the humming.⠀
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A small 10 person study looked at nasal NO was measured during humming and quiet single-breath exhalations at a fixed flow rate. NO increased 15-fold during humming compared with quiet exhalation.⠀
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Humming exercises have been used in yoga for many thousands of years. To really experience the vibration of humming through the sinuses you can try this bee breath exercise while blocking the ears.
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1. Sit up straight in a quiet, well ventilated corner with your eyes closed. Keep a gentle smile on your face⠀
2. Place your index fingers on your ears. There is a cartilage between your cheek and ear. Place your index fingers on the cartilage⠀
3. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, gently press the cartilage. You can keep the cartilage pressed or press it in and out with your fingers, while making a loud humming sound like a bee⠀
4. You can also make a low-pitched sound but it is a good idea to make a high-pitched one for better results⠀
5. Breathe in again and continue the same pattern 3-4 times.⠀
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How did this exercise feel for you?

17/08/2021

It’s rare that a cavity just happens out of nowhere.

Think about it, tooth enamel is the hardest tissue in your body.

When a patient walks into my office, they generally have a ‘feeling’ that they have cavities.

Why is this? Well instead of being a purely bacterial disease, tooth decay will highly likely be considered to be an endocrine disorder.

Let’s explore why.

Chronic stress and sleep deprivation is known to link to hormonal imbalances.

A recent small study demonstrated that people with a high amount of cavities (DMFT around 10) had significantly lower levels of melatonin in the saliva. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8342951/

This should open the door to explore the endocrine influence of melatonin on tooth decay.

Why does this matter? Well, bacteria and hormones are linked, and instead of purely thinking about the microbes, perhaps we should be thinking about how the hormones help balance teeth.

When you sleep, melatonin floods the body, including the saliva and bone marrow, to tell the bones to remineralize.

Melatonin is a highly lipophilic molecule that combats oxidative stress and could potentially inhibit the progression of dental caries.

It is one of the most potent antioxidants, and the inflammatory stress of tooth decay could be due to a lack of nocturnal management of oxidative stress.

Also, bones aren’t static, it’s extremely limited to think of hard tissues as, static.

Bones and teeth are living breathing entities of our body. We think of them as a ‘dead’ rock-like structure, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Bones have a living communication center, that is sensing the body, and reacting to the environment.

Osteocytes live inside the bone matrix. They are the ‘master’ cells that signal the builders when it’s time to build or tear down the bone structure.

Bone cells are ‘looking’ at pressures through the bones through their eyes. Bone cells ‘see’ pressures in the bone and fluid movement through the calcium matrix. When they sense these pressures, they begin to prepare to make bone in the areas where fluids are flowing more often. It’s how bones remodel to pressure.

They are also governed by endocrine hormones like testosterone and estrogen.

So in reality, the skeletal system is a living, breathing, sleeping, balance of material, fluid, and crystalline structure flowing between different states. It is connected to every cell in the body and bends when we need them to bend.

To protect your teeth, you need deep restful sleep.

Ok, let’s get some real-world anecdotes in the comments.

Have you noticed a link between low sleep and cavities?

14/08/2021

Chronic teeth grinding, called bruxism, affects up to 1 in 3 people!

Many people are unaware they grind their teeth yet suffer from chronic migraines, TMJ issues, neck, and back pain.

Patients who teeth grind often present with a similar set of symptoms.

These include:
•Poor sleep
• Digestive issues
• Fatigue
• Headaches and migraines
• Cold hands and feet
• Depression or anxiety

Teeth grinding at night is associated with an airway issue and an undiagnosed sleep disorder.

Tension in the jaw is created by the brain pulling the tongue out of the airway to open up volume in the airway.

The syndrome is called Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome.

A functional dental exam can discover what exactly is causing this issue (high narrow palate, swollen adenoids and tonsils, or low tongue posture for example).

One remedy that helps most people is to strengthen your tongue posture.

Teeth grinding disturbs the cranial nerve communication to the jaw. Muscles of chewing, which are activated by the Trigeminal nerve are activated.

However, if your postural tongue muscles are activated, the Hypoglossal nerve is activated.

Proper tongue posture prevents you from clenching your teeth during the day, which hinders the communication between your Trigeminal nerve and your brain.

I always tell patients that we need to strengthen our tongue muscles.

Here’s an exercise to help relieve teeth grinding and strengthen your tongue. It’s a great hypoglossal and vagus nerve activator too.

1) Keep your tongue pressed against the roof of your palate when your mouth is closed.
2) Your teeth should be slightly apart and jaw relaxed (this is resting posture)
3) Swallow sealing the tongue to the roof of the mouth
4) Without removing the tongue from the top of your mouth, swallow again
5) Repeat 10x (or build up as many as you can).

You should feel a deep strain in your neck. That’s the deep postural tongue muscles, that should be actively holding your neck open when you sleep.

You need to support your airway!

Could you do the exercise? Have you noticed teeth grinding?

Bytes of Mermaid - Bio Holistic Dentistry

07/05/2022

21/09/2021

20/09/2021

14/09/2021

14/09/2021

11/09/2021

07/09/2021

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