Misconception #1: Holistic Dentistry Is More Expensive
The biggest request when patients come to me about holistic dentistry is “Is it going to cost me more?” And what you have to realize is that holism, a holistic dentist is about doing less is more, prevention is better. And what a holistic dentist is going to do is tailor your mouth to fit your body and your body to your mouth because your body and mouth are connected. And if your body is healthy and happy, your mouth is a lot of times healthy and happy.
The misconception that holistic dentistry is expensive—yes, some of those materials that I buy that are more biocompatible and safer are a little bit more expensive, but a lot of times I’m not going to recommend a crown when somebody else is. I’m going to say, “Let’s see how we do. This is not that big. Let’s be more conservative over here.” So, you’re saving money a lot of times by coming to a holistic dentist because less is more and we’re recommending less and asking you to just be healthier with your diet, with your supplements, with your nutrition in general.
Research confirms this conservative approach saves money long-term. While biocompatible materials may cost slightly more initially, holistic dentists use less invasive and more conservative treatment plans, which keeps costs low over a patient’s lifetime (Is Holistic Dentistry More Expensive? Costs & Benefits | Rejuvenation Health).
Misconception #2: Only “Kooky” People See Holistic Dentists
Now, another misconception is that only kooky people go to the holistic dentist. It’s got to be those people who are outside of the mainstream and they’re looking for the healer or something. And I got to tell you, I have tons of patients who have no idea I’m a holistic dentist. They’re referred to me because they came to my church or they went to my mom’s work and she told them about me.
And when they come in and we face something together that is a treatment need, I give them a holistic and then a general dentistry side. And you won’t believe how 95% of my patients pick the holistic side on how to treat even when they’re not holistic because guess what? It ends up being more conservative, it’s more preventative, it’s less aggressive, if I may.
The Difference in Materials We Use
I think another misconception is that traditional dentistry uses certain materials in dentistry and certain materials are still okay in dentistry like amalgam, like formocresol. Formocresol is a fixative we use that we put in the pulp of children—it’s mainly for primary teeth, so children’s teeth—and it kills the nerve of the tooth. If the nerve has been infected we leave the dead nerve in that tooth, we just fix it.
Concerns about formocresol are well-documented. Formaldehyde, the active component in formocresol, was classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2004, raising questions about its continuing use in children’s dentistry (The obsolescence of formocresol | British Dental Journal).
I have a lot of “no’s” there. One of them is I don’t want to put formocresol in the mouth of a child so that they could swallow a fixative. It’s a lot like chloroform. And another “no” is leaving the dead tissue in there even though it’s been fixed. I don’t like leaving that. So sometimes when a tooth has been damaged enough and it’s a baby tooth, we go ahead and take it out.
So the way to treat and different materials we use—we use biocompatible materials. We won’t use damaging materials to try to treat teeth. And so that’s a difference between traditional dentists and holistic dentists: the materials we choose.
The Whole-Body Approach
I really feel like traditional dentists don’t interview their patients or get into their patients’ history enough that they talk about nutrition and oral hygiene and supplements. And we spend the first 30 minutes talking about how you’re going to change your ways and use this or do that to make your body as a whole better. And that’s something that is lost and misconceived by the traditional dentist. They don’t treat that. And you’re getting a lot more health and nutrition guidance from a holistic dentist.
This whole-body perspective is supported by research. Emerging research continues to highlight the connection between oral health and systemic diseases, with periodontal inflammation linked to cardiovascular issues, diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and even Alzheimer’s disease (Holistic Dentistry: A Whole-Body Approach to Oral Health).
The holistic approach recognizes that your oral health doesn’t exist in isolation. What you eat, how you sleep, your stress levels, your overall nutritional status—all of these things affect your teeth and gums. And conversely, infections or problems in your mouth can affect your overall health. We’re looking at the big picture, not just drilling and filling.
The Bottom Line
So when people think holistic dentistry is more expensive or only for “alternative” types, they’re missing the point. It’s about smart, conservative care that respects your body, uses the safest materials available, and focuses on prevention and education. Most of the time, that approach actually saves you money and saves your natural tooth structure. And that’s something everyone can appreciate, whether they consider themselves holistic or not.
