Are you aware that the health of your mouth reflects the health of your body and mind? Have you heard that preventing heart disease, dementia and diabetes start in the mouth?

That’s correct. The mouth is the entry point not only for food but also for bacteria that end up in your gut, and both small and large intestines. Ancient healers from India and China, and now from Germany look at the tongue as an indicator of stomach, kidney, lung and spleen health.

We are able to identify through a simple salivary test whether patients are harboring bad bacteria or bugs which have been implicated to cause cardiovascular disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

We are looking to transform the lives of patients who believe in getting to the root cause of the problem and who understand the work of both Bale and Doneen and Dale Bredesen.

One of the main challenges is eliminating the bad pathogens while improving or maintaining the healthy bugs. These are defined as microbiomes, which we have in our gut, mouth and brain.

The microbiome in our gut is connected in the production of serotonin which effects everything from mood to pain to sleep. It governs our immune system. I know from personal experience that my day is dependent on the well-being of my gut. Happy gut – happy body, happy mind.

At the core of our oral/systemic wellness program is inflammation. Inflammation drives dementia and cardiovascular disease and two of the main contributors to inflammation are the airway/sleep disorders and a dirty mouth.

We are committed to opening your airway, increasing oxygenation, allowing deep sleep and getting rid of the harmful microorganisms found in the mouth.

It is not by coincidence that the bad bugs in our mouths are anaerobic, meaning they thrive in low oxygen environments. When we open the airway and increase systemic oxygen, it helps to reduce these bad bugs from the inside out, lowering inflammation and reversing chronic disease.

These bacteria cause periodontal issues, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, birth complications and diabetes. In order to get rid of high risk oral pathogens we will create a personalized treatment plan, which will include treatment of periodontal disease.

After the patient is free of these bacteria, they will go on a customized oral hygiene program to help disrupt the colonization of the high-risk pathogens that threaten oral systemic health.

By working with our colleagues who monitor blood markers for inflammation, we are able to keep track of how well we are doing to bring systemic inflammation down to ideal levels.

Although it may seem trivial and completely unrelated, your oral health has a significant impact on your general and overall well-being. The term “oral” encompasses oral pathogens, the gums, tongue, cheeks, tonsils and adenoids, soft palate and throat as well as the nose and sinuses. In order to achieve this, an open airway is required from the nose down past the soft palate and tongue. Also involved is the cervical spine or neck which is the back wall of the airway.

To make matters more interesting, when our noses are congested due to a cold, allergies or a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates, our tongue becomes more susceptible to collapsing the airway. This creates negative pressure which can pull acid out of the stomach exacerbating a variety of problems due to reflux.

The system needs to stay in balance. The dental team and ENT play a huge role in maintaining this balance.

In order to ensure that patients are moving in the right direction to maintain oral/systemic wellness, we do follow up testing every 3-4 months through sleep tests, blood and saliva testing. CIMT (Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Test) is also utilized to measure carotid artery health.

We work with cardiovascular and dementia prevention practitioners as well as nutritionists and health coaches.  We also work with an array of other health professionals who share this same philosophy.

At The Gelb Center our entire team is trained in AirwayCentric® Dentistry, Oral/Systemic Wellness and Anti-Inflammatory Dentistry. We strive for uncompromising excellence by ensuring the best possible patient outcome.