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EmailWhat makes a Biological office Different?
Well many of the services are easily incorporated into a traditional office. It is the beliefs that are different. The willingness to go the extra mile is there in most dental offices where the occasional needy patient comes in. In a Biological or Holistic office MOST of the patients are needy, sick and that is why they have come to your office. You have to put forth that extra effort and even more for some patients by creating a unique safe environment for that patient. The Biological office focuses on the root of the word “Bios” which means “life”. They do everything to promote the ease of living. They believe there are toxins that are dental in nature and try to minimize them. This may involve air and water filters, use of dental materials that are Mercury free, free from fluoride, latex free etc. The way mercury fillings are removed may be different in a biological office. They might be quartered and taken out in a specific sequence based on galvanic readings that were taken prior to the removal. They may have a rubber dam used during the removal process and a mask for either nitrous or breathing air. A biological office uses minimally invasive dentistry which includes digital x-rays, inlays and onlays vs. full crowns, air abrasion vs drilling where possible. The emotional component is addressed by using color, sound, and homeopathics. This may be color therapy glasses, the music choice in the office. Although aroma therapy is huge, many environmentally ill patients can not tolerate smells, so a biological office may be fragrance-free. Treating periodontal may be different in a biological office with use of a microscope to identify flora, use of lingual ascorbic acid test, etc.
Questions to ask when looking for a “Biological” dental office:
1. Are you a mercury-free practice?
If yes, how long? Where did you get your post graduate training in proper protocol of mercury removal? (This is NOT taught in dental school)
2. Do you use a rubber dam for mercury/amalgam removal?
This does not stop mercury vapor but does reduce your swallowing the pieces of the amalgam as it is removed.
3. Do you use an ultra high speed suction?
This is placed behind the rubber dam to capture the mercury vapors and reduce exposure to them at the time of removal.
4. Are fillings quartered into large pieces to remove?
This is the accepted method as the mercury vapor created from drilling out the entire filling is hazardous.
5. Do you have a mercury vapor collectors in the treatment rooms?
You would like to hear that they do.
6. Do you have water filters on each water syringe and handpiece?
They may even have a “closed system”. Only bottles of sterile water are used in a closed water system.
7. Do you provide a nosepiece for breathing oxygen or air during the amalgam removal?
This prevents your breathing the mercury vapors as the amalgam is removed.
8. Do you use an amalgameter to measure the galvanic current coming off each filling?
You would like to hear that they do. Do you do sequential removal? This is based on the current readings taken from the amalgameter as there is a galvanic reaction from the use of dissimilar metals in your mouth bathing in your electrolyte filled saliva.
9. Do you provide compatibility testing of all materials that may be used in my mouth?
There are several ways to do testing on materials just be sure that they provide this.
10. Do you have more than 6 choices of composite materials available to use?
A biological office knows that not everyone is compatible with the same materials so they will offer many choices.