Good Oral Health the Natural Way with Dr. Amy Truong

Good morning and welcome to Green Tea Conversations, the radio show that delves into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine to bring you the local experts who share their progressive ideas in the latest information and insights needed so you can lead your best life. I'm your host Candi Broeffle, publisher of the Twin Cities edition of Natural Awakenings magazine, and I am honored to bring these experts to you. Today we're visiting with Dr. Amy Truong of Pure Dental in Oakdale. Dr. Amy is the first accredited member of the International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology in Minnesota and is certified to perform safe amalgam mercury removal of fillings. Well, thank you for being with us today, Dr. Amy.

 

Thank you for having me.

 

So, we are going to start off because you have been with us before and we were able to talk about many of the different services that you provide, that you're able to provide to your patients in a natural and holistic way. But one of the things that I think so many people are interested in right now is really how covid and the covid precautions have, kind of impacted your business. So, let's start there. Let's start with covid and talking about some of the different precautions that you are taking as a dentist here in the Twin Cities to help keep yourself and your patients safe.

Yes, it's a whole new world, 2020 March covid hit and we were closed for two months and regulated by the state that. So, then we kind of thought about what are we going to do for reopenings? State guidelines had recommendations for us as well. So, there are a lot of new precautions at our office. So, some people are, you know, ask us what have we done with our office to make a difference, to help protect everybody? So, there are many things we like to social distance our patients, the first step in as we like to try to keep everyone at least six feet apart. A nice thing at our office is actually we have after covid, we did some construction. So, we now have three little waiting rooms separate. And so, it's nice to be able to keep you know, we have a family room with little TV for the kids and the families. 

And then, you know, we have a private room for adults. And if you're by yourself, so social distancing is important. Our rooms are by themselves. So, you're not in a big room with a bunch of other patients. Obviously, with the aerosols, it's nice to be able to be by yourself with whoever is performing the work on you. We do have air filters. Prior to covid, I've heard about air filters we didn't have. We just had regular air filters in our office. But now we have something called an air doctor, which is ultra HEPA. So, it helps with very small microns such as Covid to help protect us from having that in the air. We got it for the office first and now I even have it at my house because I just love how it cleans the air.

It's pretty amazing. We had some construction on the office here and we open the windows for a couple of weeks and it just kind of like sawdust. So, we got the air doctor, and actually, 40 minutes later the smell was gone. So, it's just pretty amazing that it worked that well. And it's between me and my family, I think we have like 10 air doctors. It's pretty crazy. Yeah, it's we're in love and it's that's a good thing for the filters. We do take temperatures for our patients when they come in. So, if you have elevated temperature, which we actually haven't, not very often to have elevated temperatures at our office, but because we asked our patients if you do want to cancel; if you're not feeling good, we're very open to you rescheduling. So, it's good. We take precautions.

That must be a little bit different than before because it's hard to get people rescheduled for now you have to imagine, be a lot more flexible with that.

 

Yes, absolutely. So, the flexibility is much more relaxed. We obviously want to protect you. We want to protect our staff. And if you're not feeling good or maybe you're around someone who is sick, and you're not sure if that covid or maybe they had a cold, it's totally fine. We're so appreciative of our patients letting us know if they can't come because they're not feeling good. So, yeah, it's definitely different than it was before where we're, kind of back to back to back with patients, we give a little bit more time for our patients, we want to make sure we're really safe. So, the timing for scheduling is definitely more flexible nowadays. Also, when you come in, there is a form that we have to fill out just, you know, this typical ten things about covid what you want to, if you do have a cough, obviously, if it's not something from asthma or you're not really sure why you have a cough, we probably would reschedule you. But everyone's been really, really good about it. And a lot of patients have been coming back because they feel really safe. But something that the first week we came back, we are all pretty nervous. We are closed for two months and we have extra face shields that the practitioners use, you know, a N95 Mask we change our gowns every patients. Obviously, we're always using gloves, changing our PPE, but that's something we did before as well. But our patient wrote us a thank you letter and sent an email from the first week that we came back and said, you know, we really appreciate what you've done. We can tell the difference that you've really stepped it up for covid, which was just amazing because it's hard work having to change every gown, have extra face shield and massage, which is mandated by the state for us to reopen having these Plexi-shield-glass things up at the waiting room, which is also regulated by the state. So, there's just so much stuff that we had to go through to reopen. And it's so nice to see that all the hard work that the patients do appreciate. They feel safer and they do feel safe to come back. So, which is nice.

 

So, you said that you were closed for two months and during those two months, what what were you doing? It must have been really hard to really not know what was happening. I mean, I remember back then it was like, is this going to be a week? Is this going to be a couple of weeks? How long is this all going to last?

 

Yeah, absolutely it is. I kept telling my staff we're going to be closed for a week. I guess I didn't understand or maybe I was in denial about the whole thing, the depth of how bad this covid or how much we maybe didn't know what is going on. So, I said a couple of weeks and a couple of weeks became four weeks, and then it became two months. And then, you know, I was not sure if we'd reopen in May. But in that time, I did have a lot of people must have been like, what do you do with all your extra time? You know, you weren't working. I mean, all the products, I'm sure everybody else at home. Right?  You're at home than you think, well, I have to paint all my walls that I said I can paint or was going to paint for twenty years. Well, that's my office is like my home. I do have a home too. But my office is what I call my third baby. So we remodeled, we cleaned, you know, painted all the walls, the renovation of the waiting rooms, getting all those precautions and making sure we were ready, researching everything to, you know, make sure all of our precautions were up to par and to the standard of our patients because we do want to protect everybody. So, I was actually here probably more than patients because patients is predictable. It's every, you know, three or four days when we're here and with covid, you just don't know what the state or the virus is going to throw at you. So, we kept adapting and getting ready for reopening. So, it was definitely a busy time for us, maybe not with patients, but also to help prepare for this new world that we're at, so...

 

Well, it's really exciting to hear that you were getting some things done. There are so many things I think so many of us were in that same boat where, you know, if I only had a little time, I could do this, or if we have all these to-do lists that we had done. And so, to be able to take and go from one big waiting room into three separate waiting rooms, and that's really congratulations on that. That was (9.12). So one of the other things is with covid, you know, now you've made some changes to the way that you do business. What are some things that you think you're going to carry forward with you even after maybe the precautions are not as needed if that should ever happen?

Yeah, and it's pretty amazing now that I look back at it. It's like there were others like maybe once in our lifetime was the HIV scare where that was the new virus. And back then, actually, it wasn't that long ago, but dentists weren't even wearing gloves. So, in our lifetime, some people may remember it was then when I go to the Dentist. But you know, some patients are like my dentist used to never wear gloves, and you couldn't ever think me putting my glove, my hands in someone's mouth without gloves on, it's just, you know, you would never go to that dentist, obviously, but that's the way they used to practice. And now that I think about it, going forward, most likely a lot of these precautions will be maintained. But, you know, maybe some of them, if they're not needed, will be able to adapt to it. And as research comes out, we'll be able to adapt and see if we need to add anything or change anything. But, you know, I feel safe. I do feel safer with everything on. It's a lot of stuff. But we're getting used to it and the patients definitely feel safer. And that's why what we're here for, is for our patients. And that's what I did realize, you know, I think everybody, when you're closed for two months not working, you think about is this the right? Am I going down the right path in my life? And that's something that, you know, you just kind of just get through your day every day. But I think, Covid, that's one thing I got to think about was like, you know, this is the right path for me. I love my job. I love my patients.

 

Yes. Isn't that great? So, to learn more about the work Dr. Truong does and to make an appointment, visit PureDental.com. To read the online version of Natural Awakenings magazine, visit NaturalTwinCities.com. You can find a podcast of this show on AM950Radio.com; on Apple and Google Podcasts, on Spotify, and anywhere you get your podcasts. You're listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, the Progressive Voice of Minnesota, and we will be right back.

Welcome back to Green Tea Conversations, where we delve into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine and talk to the professionals who share their expertise on natural health with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle, and today, we are welcoming Dr. Amy Truong, who is the dentist and owner of Pure Dental in Oakdale. Thank you for being with us today, Dr. Amy.

 

Thank you.

 

So before the break, you were starting to talk. You were telling us about all the different things that you did in order to meet the requirements for the Covid-19 precautions that you had to take. And I know when you and I were preparing for our interview today, you had talked about something called the high volume suction, that this is something that you have been using more now than you had before. So, tell us a little bit about that.

 

Yes. So, if you've been to the dentist before; if you've had a feeling then what we usually use is a high volume suction. So, if you have saliva or any spit water that we spray, then we suction it up with a... There are a high volume suction and a slow speed. So, the slow speed suction helps suck up more saliva. But Covid is more an aerosol problem. So, with that, the high volume suction helps suction up those aerosols and water. So, we used to use it more for fillings and more when you have a dental problem. And now for our hygiene appointments, so if you get your teeth cleaned and they have to produce more aerosols, let's say they're using something called an ultrasonic, which is a water spray that helps deep clean your tartar, that creates aerosols. So, now we have a high volume even it is a tongue twister for me, high volume suction to help with the aerosol. So, that's a new thing. And I definitely think it's been helpful for, of course, keeping the aerosols suctioned up and contained and then helpful for our hygiene as simple patient

 

Oh, great. So, this has really given us you know, we went two months where it was impossible basically to get in to see a dentist. And now we may be coming back into a time where Covid cases are increasing again. So, we don't know what's happening. And there are some things that we can really do, that we should be doing every day anyway. But now, more so than ever, as far as taking a look at some of the general oral health that we can be doing and how we can be doing it in a more holistic way. And so, I'm going to ask you, what are some of the things, I know, one of the big things that we hear a lot about lately is that charcoal or activated charcoal toothpaste.

 

Yes.

 

Why don't you tell people what that is?

 

 So, you can even get it at your local corner store, now, activated charcoal toothpaste. That's very popular because it helps whiten your teeth. And I do like activated charcoal for some things. Activated charcoal is very good for helping absorb heavy metals like mercury which are in silver fillings. So, we do use activated charcoal at our office when we remove silver fillings, we use the powder. But I do caution people to not use activated charcoal toothpaste for too long because it's very abrasive. So, it's like a fine sand which can remove some of your enamel, which is the protective coating of your teeth. There are lots of good natural alternatives for toothpaste and home care. So, that is maybe something I would use sparingly. I think just, yeah.

 

(16:11) in moderation even (16:13).

 

Exactly. That's right. I love my activated charcoal. Let's say you are trying to just detox, they do sell activated charcoal tablets and things like that that you know can be helpful for that. But toothpaste, you know, I like to keep things really simple so, either you can make your own toothpaste with, and I have a recipe that I give my patients if they really want to make one with like bentonite clay, coconut oil, baking soda, xylitol is the key ingredient, which if we have time, I would like to dive into that a little bit more.

 

Let's go ahead and talk about that, because xylitol is really a good alternative to fluoride.

 

Exactly. So, our offices are fluoride-free office. We don't, you know, have fluoride in any of our products. So, you would be surprised. But it's everything. I mean, if you just get a toothpaste off the counter at the store, there probably is fluoride in it unless you're looking for the fluoride-free one. The reason I don't use fluoride on my family and my kids is if you have too much of it, there are side effects, which just like we talked about, everything in moderation. But unfortunately or fortunately, I have a four and a two-year-old. Occasionally, they like to eat everything. So, I like to just keep it simple. Like, I don't need to worry if they eat swallowed that little piece of toothpaste because we use toothpaste with xylitol. So, xylitol is also very effective in helping remineralize teeth, which is naturally hardening your teeth. So, essentially, we're brushing our teeth because we're one, manually trying to clean off the plaque or tartar, any bacteria that's come up on our teeth during the day, but also trying to remineralize it harden it back up. If there were any, you know, bad snacks that we ate during the day that have created acid in our mouth. So, xylitol can help with that, it remineralizes and rebuilds our teeth. So, using that daily, twice a day, at least with your toothpaste, and then if you have a mouthwash, you can use it in that, too.

 

Can you help us understand what xylitol is if people are not familiar with it?

 

Yeah. So actually, a lot of people ask me, they like, oh, I've seen xylitol. It's in the sugar section. Doesn't it mean it's bad?

 

Right. That's what a lot would think.

 

Exactly. And I would think the same thing too. But fortunately for us, xylitol is actually the side effect, which happens to be a good side effect, is it helps remineralize your teeth and it tastes like sugar. So, it actually tastes good and it's good for your teeth, which is great, unlike regular sugar, which breaks down your teeth and causes cavities. So, xylitol, even though it tastes like sugar, it's still okay for you and actually, it's good for your teeth. But yeah, so there are different types of xylitol. So, I would caution if you're going to go buy bigger xylitol and, you know, put it in your coffee. I prefer xylitol made out of birch, so it's made out of birch bark. So, there are xylitol packets made out of corn. So, I just like the birch one. It's a little bit more natural. Like I said, keep it simple. You don't have to worry about where the corn came from or if it's corn-based.

 

And when you're looking at getting some xylitol, is it typically you can get it at health food stores, the ones that are made out of Birch?

 

Yup. Health food stores, the Vitamin Shop has it or even just on Amazon. So, it's very, very simple to get. But usually, it'll say like xylitol made with birch.

 

And of course, we always recommend - go to your local health food store, go out and support your local co-ops and the privately-owned health food stores as much as possible.

 

Absolutely, perfect.

So, when we come back, we're going to continue having our conversation with Dr. Truong. To learn more about the work Dr. Troung does and to make an appointment visit PureDental.com or call 651-731-3064. You can find a podcast of this show on AM950Radio.com, on Apple and Google Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcast. You're listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, the Progressive Voice of Minnesota, and we will be right back.

 

Welcome back to Green Tea Conversations, where we delve into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine and talk to the professionals who share their expertise on natural health with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle. And today we're talking with Dr. Amy Truong, of Pure Dental in Oakdale. Thank you for being with us again today. Before the break, we were starting, you were starting to give us some really great tips on holistic health care we can do at home. And so, one of the things I want to start off with talking about is the importance of our diet in helping us to maintain good oral health.

 

Yes, that is really important. We are what we eat is what I like to say and we want to support good oral health. And the first thing is what we're putting in our mouths. So, I know that the easy one is sugar, right? We always say sugar, sugar, sugar. It can cause cavities. But really anything a lot of things, not anything, but a lot of things break down into sugars. So, diet-wise, it's also inflammation. If you have more inflammation, it can cause, you know, so many things. You know, if you have a gluten allergy, then you have gluten, it's inflammation that's causing you to feel awful. So, that's the same thing. Even though it may turn into cavities or diet, we want to reduce sugars. This is number one, an easy one, but also, you know, refined, anything refined, you know, corn, things like that can be, it can be hard on our body. We can process it. I believe our autoimmune system can only take so much, though. So, sometimes too many bad foods and not enough good things can harm our teeth and our body. And if your body doesn't feel good, your mouth will not feel good, which is all related, which a lot of people might forget. So, diet, make sure you eat really well. So, now that we're heading into the cold season. So bone broth is really important. There's a lot of calcium in that. Our household always has... It's a little bit embarrassing. Always a couple of pots of bone broth, maybe pork bones and then chicken bones. Why are you always getting the scraps at the grocery store? Because we're always making bone broth and the calcium in it is so good and it just takes great. So your kids love it and, you know, put a little bit of that soup in your rice. And it's not just rice anymore. It's it's calcium-rich rice. And your kids love it. Your family will drink it.  So, I definitely recommend that.

 

What are some tips that you can give us for making bone broth, because a lot of people hear about it, but they've never made it.

 

Yeah. So, there are a lot of ways now; one, they even sell it premade, which I was amazed. It was like, wow, I guess I never thought about that. So, let's say you make a chicken breast and you still have the chicken bone. So, you just take the chicken bones, you boil it down, you can put some herbs. Depends and actually, so my family is Chinese and so they know a lot about herbs. So, I would look up herbs as well because you can add it to that bone broth. Herbs if you're maybe not feeling like you have a cold. So, there are herbs that you will put in to help with the... And it tastes good too, which is great. Different herbal medicines you can put in with the soup to make a special bone broth breath for that. Or if you have acne, my mom has a specialty that she makes for me and it makes you cool down. So, then you don't have acne because acne essentially is an inflammation. It's making you hot. So there are hot and cold, things in Chinese medicine. So, but what I would recommend is finding a good source, a local source for the meat and the bones. And then you boil it over eight to ten hours. It's the best I can really make a great soup putting some vegetables in there as well, depending on what you need.

 

Great. I think that the important thing is that it takes a while in order for you to really get all the good out of there. So, it's not something that you just boil for an hour and you call it good. It's eight to ten hours of good simmering going on. Great. So, diet is really important, and it does, what about some of the hidden sugars we may not be aware of?

 

Yeah, there are so many hidden sugars and you know, you think, oh, I'm just going to eat this, this cracker, and that one has no breaks down into sugars as well as potatoes. Thanksgiving is around the corner. And it's, I think we just feel so awful after Thanksgiving, right? It looks so good. But you feel so awful because we're eating these... Even though they are whole foods, they are starchy foods, even legumes or, you know, green beans, things like that, soybeans are actually really bad for you, even though they taste so good, there's so much inflammation. And also where your sourcing it from. If it's not a local farmer where there's a lot of pesticides, your body has to process that, and it causes more inflammation in your body, and your gut, which some people will come into the office for a dental appointment and say, you know, I have (26.22) or I have a lot of inflammation in my gut. And you can see that in their mouth where they're really struggling to keep the plaque down, even though they brush and floss because it multiplies. When you have an aesthetic environment in your mouth, the bacteria multiply more, and then it causes more cavities. So, even though you're trying your best, it's what you put in your body which comes out in your mouth, and your body and makes you feel good or bad. So, there are things that you might want to talk about our supplements as well to help with reducing the inflammation.

 

Yeah, sure.

 

Yeah, okay. So, some things we talked about diet-wise, but if you can't get it all through diet now, you can get some turmeric. A lot of our patients like to do turmeric smoothies, which are really good, but I caution that turmeric does stay in your teeth. So, they might do it for a while, and then like, okay, you know, maybe I need to take turmeric supplements as well. So, turmerics anti-inflammation, you know, there's no one cure for everybody. So, I do like to reference our local natural paths and nutritionists and a lot of people specialize in helping find the right supplement for you. I know. Now, it's like I think one of my patients said there's one online that you tell them what your symptoms are and you can get the, you know, the specific supplements you need. But I really like our local you know, we have a list of practitioners that we refer to if someone really needs to get supplements and they're just so helpful because you can't do everything on your own.

 

Great. Yeah. So, what about, what are some other supplements that help besides turmeric.

 

Yeah. So, some things that depend; so, at our office we specialize in the removal of silver fillings, so doing it safely. And one thing you want to do after that is help actively detox. So, if they don't go to a specialist, one thing that we use in our office and also recommend afterward is activated coconut charcoal. You can get it in tablets or you can get it in powder. And at our office, we get it in a powder, and then we put it in your mouth when we're doing the procedure so, it helps absorb the heavy metals in your mouth that are being removed. Some other things, chlorella, which is also similar, like spirulina, which is also very good. So, you can also take that as a supplement. A lot of people put it in their green smoothies, but very good for anti-inflammation and actually it helps detox heavy metals as well. So, you know, those are two. The top three are the chlorella activated charcoal and the turmeric in our office.

 

Excellent. Now, one of the things that you also recommend for people is something my mother always made us do whenever we had a sore tooth or a sore throat was saltwater. So, why is saltwater so important?

 

Yes, salt-water rinses are very important. You know, if you have like a tooth infection or you're trying to, one by swishing it, it can manually dislodge. Maybe if you had something stuck in your gums that would be helpful. But also, let's say you just had a cleaning. Your gums are a little sore, bleeding a little bit. So, it's salt water, you know, twice a day. Spit it out. It could be helpful and healing and inflammation as well. Gargling it a lot. Now, you know, there's a lot of things about, tonsil stones are a big thing. So people, as the season gets into the cold season, when you get sick, what happens is your tonsils and people may not even know this, their tonsils get little crêpes and like little holes and the bacteria sits in your tonsils in the back of your throat. So, people wonder, well, how could I take it out or how do I prevent it? Actually, gargling with salt water can help reduce that. And it's cleaning it out. It's helping neutralize your mouth. So, it's very helpful gargling swishing in your mouth or even helps prevent tonsil salts, which is really cool.

 

So, is there a certain amount of salt that you recommend that people put into the water?

Yeah, so, it's not a huge science to it, but I usually do half a glass of warm water and then a pinch of salt into it and then stir it around and then swish and then spit out.

 

So you give just a pinch. My mother used to do a pretty heavy.

Oh yeah. You can go heavier and it depends like if you have, let's say like an Apostolis ulcer, which is like a canker sore. If you put a lot of salt into it, it can be a little irritating, kind of burn. I personally like a lot of salt, so, I do a quarter teaspoon at least of it. But I know everybody's levels are a little different, so at least a pinch but I'm on board of putting more.

 

Well, then that's probably why I had such a hard time with it when I was a kid because it was always way more than that.

 

Yes. Yes.

 

One of the items that you recommend for people is something called coconut oil pulling. And I want to get into this a little bit now. We may have to come back to it, but why don't you go ahead and talk to us about coconut oil pulling and what that is.

 

I love coconut oil. It's not only great for your oral health, which I'll get back to you, but it's the coconut oil that you get to cook with so some people say is this a special one like the dactyl oil. It's not it's the cooking, coconut oil and it can help because it has vitamin A and E in it. So, it can be used for swishing. But actually, I'd like to customize it to our patients where if you have a toothache, you can actually put a drop of clove oil in it like an essential oil. Yes. And then the clove oil is actually very soothing and numbing. So, if you have, like a toothache, that's a good place to start with that.

 

Great. Well, when we come back, we're going to continue our conversation and you're going to tell us how we do coconut oil pulling. I want to take a moment right now to mention how much we at Natural Awakenings magazine appreciate the support Dr. Truong and our other advertisers provide us. It is because of them that we are able to provide a free monthly publication that is focused on the well-being of you and your family. Inside our pages, you'll find topics on sustainable living, parenting, pet care, spirituality, natural health, and more. It is also because of our advertisers and the support of AM950 Radio that we are able to bring you this weekly radio show. We simply could not do it without the financial support of our advertisers. So please, reach out to them, purchase a product or service and let them know you learned about them on Green Tea Conversations or from Natural Awakenings magazine. It means a great deal to them to know that their marketing dollars are bringing value not only to their business but to you, our community members. And if you are a small business owner who wants to get your business in front of people interested in natural health, sustainability and well-being, while also ensuring that this type of programming continues to be available to everyone, give me a call at 763-270-8604 or visit our website at NaturalTwinCities.com to learn how you can advertise your business with us. As a reminder, Dr. Truong owns Pure Dental, which is located at 6230 10th Street North in Oakdale, Minnesota. To learn more about her practice and to make an appointment, visit PureDental.com or call 651-731-3064. You're listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, the Progressive Voice of Minnesota, and we will be right back.

 

Welcome back to Green Tea Conversations, where we delve into the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine and talk to the professionals who share their expertise on natural health with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle. And today we're visiting with Dr. Amy Truong, of Pure Dental in Oakdale. So, just before the break, we were starting to talk about coconut oil pulling. And you had mentioned about clove oil on sore teeth, which on our break, you and I were talking about how that was something my mother always had us do too if we had a toothache, was to hold a piece of clove on our tooth, kind of bite it with the upper tooth if it was on a lower one. So, I can imagine that is very helpful. It was always helpful to us. But tell us about coconut oil pulling and what it is.

 

Yes, that's so interesting because people wonder, like, oh, I didn't know that clove oil can do that and/or they wonder where you get the clove, I was like, well, technically you can just use clove and fight on it. Like you did. So, remedies that worked 30 years ago, you know, they still work today, but...

 

Oh, you're generous. 30 years ago is a little more than that.

 

Yeah. So, coconut oil is great. I love it. It's like I was talking about you could use it for the mouthwash, I like to put it even a chapstick container, use it as a lotion for your face because what I find is I know we're going beyond dentistry here, but like things have so many ingredients in them and my face is very sensitive. And coconut oil is gentle on my face, helps moisturize it for cold winters. And that's exactly how it is for your mouth. What I find is things that are very, mouthwashes on the grocery store aisle are so toxic. When I use it, it burns my mouth and I don't even think I am that sensitive about my mouth.

 

So, I love coconut oil for that. They do recommend using it for three to twenty minutes. That is a very long time. I find it's very difficult. But, you know, some people don't have any issue with that. The longer you use it, obviously, the swishing motion helps, more because it is absorbed longer. You can add clove oil to it if you have a, maybe sensitivity or a toothache. An option is to use a cotton ball and dip it in malted coconut oil already and then put a drop of clove oil.

 

Don't put too much because essential oils very strong and you don't want to put essential oils directly to your gums or in your mouth because it can burn. So, you need a carrier like Coconut oil and then you can put it by the tooth that's hurting. It won't reverse the infection, but it'll definitely help soothe it.

 

If it can get you through the night, you know, that's always a good, helpful way. You can also; if you just have some inflammation of your gum, eucalyptus (37:14)... are good anti-inflammation items, too. So, you can put that in the coconut oil if you're having that kind of issue. So, coconut oil is great.

 

So, I really like that. We kind of talked about how you have a toothache. If you have a toothache or a sensitive tooth, every tooth is related to a Meridien in your body. So, kind of like acupuncture. So, if you push a point maybe at your neck you might feel a little tingle by your toe, the same thing with your teeth. It seems bizarre, but everything is related. So, for your teeth, it's a nice thing at our office, we have our tooth meridian chart.

 

Some people will actually be referred here by their medical doctor or a naturopath saying, hey, I'm pretty sure this person has an infection because their gut is not, you know, something in their body is not doing really good. And then they looked in their mouth and, you know, there's an infection going on.

 

Can you look at it? And it's all beholds like their front tooth has an infection and their kidney isn't functioning very good. And on the tooth meridian, the front tooth is related to your kidney. So, it's so important to make sure, you know, if you're trying to heal your body, that your teeth are also being healed, because if you, you know, are not healthy in your mouth, that's all going to contribute to your body because it's all connected. So, the tooth meridian is something that's very interesting that you would want to relate to and we could find at our office, so...

 

Oh, excellent. Yes. And that is really interesting. It'd be good to see what other parts of your body are related to what tooth.

 

Yes, exactly.

 

I'm going to go and take a look at that.

 

Yes, I know it's always an aha moment when you look at it and you're like, oh yeah, I definitely don't feel good with that, that one tooth and then that one body organ. So, it's very interesting, but it helps us guide us to getting better in our life.

 

Excellent. So, we are going to have; one of the things that you shared with us was the homemade toothpaste. And I just want to let our listeners know that we're going to have the recipe for that on the website. And I will put it also in the description of this podcast so people can get a link to it to get to the website and find that recipe. So, one of the things that you guys have at your office that's newer is the ozone. What is ozone used for?

 

So Ozone is an antimicrobial, it could come in a vapor. So, we make it fresh in our office using oxygen and it helps reduce bacteria. Let's say you had a gum infection and your gums are infected. We did a deep cleaning. We would maybe some ozone around it to help with healing those gum. So, Ozone is a very good option for so many things. You can use the vapor around your gums or let's say you had a tooth infection or a tooth cavity that we're trying to save the tooth without a root canal. We can try to use some Ozone around it to help heal that naturally as well. So, there are so many different things you can use ozone for because our teeth are unfortunately areas where there are lots of bacteria and then we get lots of infections. So, we just try to keep everything at bay, use the antimicrobial with Ozone to keep everything safe and healthy.

 

Are there any dangers to it at all?

 

No, we use a very localized in the area and some people even use it for; if you have sinus infections, they'll do Ozone vapors in their nose. We don't do that at our office, but it has essentially no side effects to it. So, it's always a good addition to your dental work.

 

Excellent. Now, the last time you were with us, we had quite a long conversation about safe amalgam, mercury removal, and we have a couple of minutes left, so maybe we can talk a little bit about that. And then I'm going to refer our listeners to our previous interview so that they can get more information about that as well. But many of us, especially many of us who grew up in the 70s and maybe had some struggles with dental care back then we have the amalgam Mercury; and how do you know if it's mercury filling or not?

 

So, usually, if you see a silver filling in your mouth, most likely it's made out of 50 percent mercury. Yeah. So, in our office and the reason I decided to become accredited and do this safely, removing the mercury fillings is personally I had silver fillings and once I realized that there is mercury in it and you know, I want to have kids and I want my family to be healthy, I realize this is not the way I would want myself to live my life for my kids. So, we have the safe amalgam removal, we have vacuums, extra precautions. So, when you have your silver fillings removed, you're not exposed to that mercury compared to just having it removed at the local dentist without precaution. So, you just want to be more careful. So, it's good to have that precaution available here.

 

Well, thank you so much for being with us today, Dr. Amy. It was so nice to have you on the show again. And for people who want to learn more about the safe amalgam mercury removal, you can find the previous podcast on AM950.com. To read the online edition of Natural Awakenings magazine or to check out our complete online calendar events, visit NaturalTwinCities.com. You can find a podcast of this show on AM950Radio.com or Apple and Google Podcasts. You've been listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, the Progressive Voice of Minnesota, and I'm wishing for you a lovely day!