Is your mouth making you sick? The Dental Connection is a book that bridges the gap between the ancient traditions of natural healing and modern dental technology. CONNECTION THE DENTAL This is the story of one dentist’s odyssey from conventional dentistry to becoming a holistic, biological, and physiologic-oriented dentist. It is also a historical and THE DENTAL to the mouth. scientific exploration of the evolution of holistic thinking in healthcare as it pertains of the causes of chronic disease and the options available to promote healing and Today, the concepts of biological medicine and dentistry reflect our understanding CONNECTION and diagnosis are based on understanding the changes in a patient’s physiology; energetically,disease reversal. biochemically, The focus is structurally, on the patient and rather psychologically. than on the disease. Examination The Role of Holistic Dentistry In this book, we focus on the principles of biological dentistry as well as our philosophy of structural integration of the mouth and the body that we call Dental in the Integrative Healing Paradigm Somatic Integration. “If I needed to remove either the medical or dental component of my clinic, I would keep the dental because chronic problems will not resolve without biological dental care.” ~ Dr. Thomas Rau, Director of Paracelsus Clinic, Switzerland David L. Lerner, D.D.S., C.Ac., L.V.I.F. C.Ac., D.D.S., L. Lerner, David ed on a journey to broaden and deepen his understanding of the interrelationshipAfter experiencing between his own the health mouth struggles, and the Dr. rest Lerner of the embark- body. studied and trained with practitioners on the cutting edge of As Dr. Lerner continued to develop his skills as a dentist, he Acupuncture to gain an understanding of the structure of the humanthe fields body of andChiropractic, how it works. Physical Therapy, Osteopathy, and bio-chemical connections between the mouth and the body with the intent of His exposure to Biological Medicine led him to explore the bio-energetic and All of this has led him to develop his unique approach to dentistry that treats the understanding the causes of dental diseases and their systemic ramifications. mouth with the body in mind. David L. Lerner, D.D.S., C.Ac., L.V.I.F. Copyright © 2018 David L. Lerner, D.D.S. Published by Performance Publishing Group, McKinney, TX. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the pub- lisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. ISBN: 978-1-946629-39-5 (print) DISCLAIMER: Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this book, we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or inconsistencies herein. Thanks to my beloved wife Marisa and our daughter Donielle for their love, patience, and dedication. To my team without whom I couldn’t get much done. To my mentors and teachers and those who came before us who showed us the way. And to the thousands of patients I have cared for over the years who taught me so much. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE: My Story . 1 CHAPTER I: Anti-aging Dentistry? . 5 CHAPTER II: An Introduction to the Holistic Philosophy . 11 CHAPTER III: Our Energy Body and the Mouth . 19 CHAPTER IV: Our Biochemical Body and the Mouth . 27 CHAPTER V: Our Physical Body and the Mouth . 53 CHAPTER VI: How We Know What Is Going On. 89 CHAPTER VII: Dental Materials . 97 CHAPTER VIII: Focal Infection . 111 CHAPTER IX: The Mouth and Breathing . 121 CHAPTER X: The Body, Mind, and Mouth as Thought and Emotion . 125 CHAPTER XI: Healing Through Holistic Dental Medicine . 133 ADDENDUMS. 137 PREFACE My Story y evolution as a holistic dentist really began way before I had Mthought of becoming a dentist. It began when I was a kid. When I was going to the dentist, I always had lots of cavities. It seemed that with every checkup, there were more mercury silver fillings to be placed. Then I needed braces. Because I had lost a tooth (a premolar) in my lower jaw due to an accident, the orthodontist decided to close the space by bringing my teeth all the way over across the front, from the right to the left. My teeth ended up looking straight, but my jaw was crooked. I had a difficult time in school. Everyone told me I was an under- achiever. (Today they might have recognized that I had a learning disability.) I had difficulty processing information that I would read—a form of dyslexia. I also had a difficult time with sports because I had poor coordination. I always had headaches and assumed that everyone did. Years later, I was to discover that this all had a lot to do with the conditions in my mouth and how the rest of my body was being influ- enced by it. 1 THE DENTAL CONNECTION Subsequent to my graduation with honors from Temple University School of Dentistry in 1978, my headaches got worse and I developed neck discomfort. Though I often had headaches as a kid, this was worse. It turned out to be related to the misalignment of my jaw. In the summer of 1980, I got a biteplate and some physical therapy, and all seemed okay. My treating doctor was Dr. Richard Pertes who was head of the Department of Craniofacial Pain at the New Jersey School of Dentistry and Medicine. Dick introduced me to Dr. Harold Gelb, a pioneer in the multidisciplinary treatment of temporomandibular disorders. I was fortunate to work in Dr. Gelb’s office as an associate for eighteen months. During that time, my wife and I were living in Ossining, New York. One winter, there was a pretty good snowstorm, and being newlyweds, we had not yet acquired all the accoutrements of a suburban household and did not have a snow shovel. Well, my car needed to be dug out of the snow. All I could find was a frying pan, and so it went. I injured my back, causing a subluxation between my lower lumbar spine and my sacrum. I was in pain! What made matters worse was I could not find a practitioner who knew how to treat me. I saw chiropractors, physicians, and physical therapists, but no one could provide any relief. As time when on, the pain got worse and spread over more of my body. Eventually, I had pain in my jaw, face, head, neck, and upper and lower back. I had pain shooting down my leg. It didn’t matter if I stood, sat, or laid down, the pain was unrelenting and wore me down. Eventually, I found Dr. Harold Briks, a chiropractor par excellence. Dr. Briks was an expert in the use of Applied Kinesiology and Sacral- Occipital Technique. Applied Kinesiology is a biofeedback technique that uses the phenomenon of muscle reflex testing discovered by Dr. George Goodheart back in the mid-60s. It allows a practitioner to diagnose disorders of the musculoskeletal system with great efficiency 2 My Story and precision. Sacral-Occipital Technique is a method of analysis and treatment of imbalances of the skull and sacrum developed by Dr. Major Dejarnette. These are discussed in more depth later on. From that very first visit with Dr. Briks, I started to experience relief. I was intrigued by his technique because with it, he would get great results for me. I started to attend chiropractic seminars on Applied Kinesiology and to study how to apply it in my dental practice. Though I was getting great pain relief, I still wasn’t feeling quite right and began to look elsewhere for additional answers. I experienced fatigue and had poor digestion. I went to a dentist named Bob Poritsky, DDS, who I knew practiced nutritional therapy. Bob was studying an interesting form of diagnosis based on the electrical conductance of acupuncture points. It was known as Electro-Acupuncture according to Voll (now known as Electro Dermal Screening). With this method, Bob was able to analyze the energetics of my body, gaining insight into the functional capacity of my organs, and determine the likely causes of stress on my system. Bob told me that a major source of stress on my body was from mercury. I had heard before of the potential for people to become ill from mercury in their fillings. I subsequently had my mercury fillings removed by Howard Hindin, DDS, and immediately felt some improvement energetically. As it turns out, this was all the beginning of what became an odyssey of many years. I subsequently worked with health practitioners in many different fields, all the while improving my health and developing an understanding of the role of interdisciplinary healthcare. Over the years, I continued my study and training, seeking to advance my skills in dentistry and keep up with advances in dental technology as well as broaden and deepen my understanding of the interrelationships between the mouth and the rest of the body. This book, The Dental Connection™, which I conceived initially in the early 1980s, is a product of that journey. 3 CHAPTER I Anti-aging Dentistry? s we get older, our bodies change. It seems pretty natural, yet for Amany of us the changes that occur are not actually aging but the gradual onset of disease. Things sneak up on us, or so it seems.