Our world contains many chemicals and toxins that fill the food, water, and air. This negatively impacts our well-being and compromises our health, including our dental health, causing tooth discoloration, bad breath, brittle teeth, mouth ulcers, and gum diseases, including infections, recession, and inflammation. Additionally, some traditional dentistry practices introduce more toxins to our bodies, like fluoride, mercury, and bisphenol A, which can be easily avoided and replaced with more natural alternatives. Therefore, detoxifying your body and avoiding exposure to toxins as much as possible are fundamental for keeping a healthy body and a beautiful smile.

The concept of detoxification in dentistry and why it matters

Dental detoxification involves avoiding using materials that contain toxic substances and therefore have the potential to cause toxicity and instead using biological and natural approaches that minimize exposure to toxins. The process of dental detoxification also includes eliminating ongoing infections and restoring the balance of the oral microbiome. As dental and oral infections are a potential source of toxins in your mouth. Dental detoxification is of paramount importance, since it’s not only essential to keep your teeth healthy but also to maintain your overall health, as exposure to toxins from dental work can cause systemic illnesses.

Potential toxins in traditional dentistry

Some materials used in dentistry can expose the body to harmful substances, including:

• • Mercury in amalgam fillings: Dental amalgam is a filling material used to fill teeth cavities; it is 50% mercury mixed with other metals. Amalgam releases mercury vapor that can cause toxicity. Symptoms of mercury poisoning from amalgam filling include local symptoms like a metallic taste, excessive saliva production, and inflammation of the gum. In addition, mercury poisoning interferes with the function of your kidneys and nervous system.
  • Titanium implants: Although not common, titanium can cause toxicity in the form of hypersensitivity reactions in susceptible individuals. It was also demonstrated to cause liver and kidney injury, and it’s a known lung irritant, causing inflammation and possibly cancer.
  • Fluoride in toothpaste and other fluoridated dental products: In addition to causing dental fluorosis, fluoride exposure is connected to lower IQ and learning disabilities in children, it also can impair the function of the thyroid gland, causing hormonal disturbances.
  • Bisphenol A (BPA) and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in dental materials: Some dental materials like sealants, composite fillings, and bonding agents contain endocrine disruptors; these chemicals can cause insulin resistance, low levels of sex hormones, and dysfunctional adrenal glands.

• Dental and oral infections: The harmful bacteria in infected gums, cavities, root canals are a possible source of toxins, and these infections are linked to heart conditions, Alzheimer’s disease and more.

Our strategy to minimize toxin exposure

The environment is already full of pollutants and chemicals, and we don’t need to add more toxins to it. We care about your well-being and for that reason, we use natural biological alternatives that have no risk of causing toxicity; we use:

1. Safe mercury amalgam removal technique (SMART): This is a protocol we follow for amalgam removal; it is designed to minimize exposure to mercury when using mercury amalgam.
2. We use safer biocompatible alternatives to the potentially toxic dental materials like composite resins and ceramic implants.
3. We minimize exposure to EDCs by using high-quality BPA-free materials.
4. We use ozone therapy to address any ongoing infections and restore the balance in your oral microbiome. 

In addition to these approaches, we recommend that you try these at-home detox methods in addition to keeping  good oral hygiene, choosing your diet carefully, and avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking.

• Use fluoride-free nHA-based toothpaste and herbal mouthwashes.
• Oil pulling: swish coconut oil in your mouth pulling it between your teeth. Then spit it out and rinse your mouth with warm water; this helps to get rid of bacteria and toxins. It is not an alternative to brushing and flossing.
• Practice tongue scraping to remove bacteria and debris.

These methods complement professional help but don’t replace regular dental consultations.

The impact of environmental toxin exposure on dental health

It’s essential to understand that exposure to toxins from other sources has a major impact on your dental health. Various toxins and pollutants have been shown to cause dental and oral diseases, ranging from caries and infections to cancer. These are some of the diseases and what type of toxins can cause them:

• Dental caries and periodontal disease: Exposure to heavy metals and air pollution in the form of particulate matter, smoking, and secondhand smoking was found to amplify carious development; these toxins impair enamel mineralization, promote the growth of harmful bacteria, provoke gum inflammation, and cause the formation of plaques and biofilms, which eventually leads to caries and tooth decay. Additionally, bacterial overgrowth in an inflamed gum leads to periodontal disease and potential loss of teeth.
• Dental fluorosis: Excessive fluoride from drinking water or fluoridated dental products impairs enamel mineralization by replacing calcium in the enema; this makes the teeth more brittle and discolored.
• Oral dysbiosis: Some toxins change the oral pH to a more acidic one; a change that promotes the overgrowth of harmful bacteria at the expense of useful ones, leading to the disturbance of the oral microbiome. Oral dysbiosis is linked to a large number of dental and systemic conditions like dental infections, cardiovascular diseases, intestinal disorders, and various neurologic and psychiatric conditions.
• Oral cancer: The chronic inflammation that results from exposure to toxins, especially tobacco smoke, increases the risk for head and neck cancer.

In addition to these conditions, studies have linked toxin exposure to tooth discoloration, oral ulcers or sores, dry mouth (xerostomia), burning mouth syndrome, bad breath (halitosis), gum recession, tonsil diseases, enamel hypoplasia, oral mucosal disease, bruxism, mumps, pulpal periapical disease, and Sjögren’s syndrome.

Being conscious about what you allow to enter your body is pivotal to living as long and healthy as possible. Get in touch now, we will help you do that.

 

References

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• Zhu L, Tang M, Cai Y, Wang P. Association between exposure to environmental pollutants and increased oral health risks, a comprehensive review. Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 6;12:1482991. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1482991. PMID: 39835314; PMCID: PMC11743627. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11743627/ 
• Kim KT, Eo MY, Nguyen TTH, Kim SM. General review of titanium toxicity. Int J Implant Dent. 2019 Mar 11;5(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s40729-019-0162-x. PMID: 30854575; PMCID: PMC6409289. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6409289/ 
• Siddiqi A, Payne AGT, De Silva RK, Duncan WJ. Titanium allergy: could it affect dental implant integration? Clin Oral Implants Res. 2011 Jul;22(7):673-680. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0501.2010.02081.x. Epub 2011 Jan 20. PMID: 21251079. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21251079/
• Risk factors for periodontal disease – Genco – 2013 – Periodontology 2000 – Wiley Online Library https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0757.2012.00457.x# 
• Dewhirst FEChen T, Izard JPaster BJTanner ACRYu W, Lakshmanan A, Wade WG2010.The Human Oral Microbiome. J Bacteriol192:.https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00542-10