Safely Removing Amalgam Fillings and Natural Dental Care 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 progressive ideas and the latest information and insights needed so you can lead your best life. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle, publisher, the Twin Cities edition of Natural Awakenings magazine. And I'm honored to bring these experts to you today's guest is Dr. Amy Truong of Pure Dental. A holistic dental practice located in Oakdale. Welcome to the show Amy!

 

Thank you for having me.

 

So you received your doctorate in dental surgery from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.

 

Yes, it is.

 

And you are also the first accredited member of the International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, which we might be referring to as the IAOMT.

 

Yes.

 

in Minnesota.

 

Yeah. The first accredited member in Minnesota. Yes. Yeah. It's a good organization to be part of because they give you training on safe amalgam removal, kind of holistic integrative approaches to dentistry, and being more progressive about being healthy with our mouth, not just the traditional way but alternatives to keep your teeth healthy naturally.

 

So what made you interested in that particular training, right?

 

That's a good question. So just growing up, I'm Chinese. So my parents would always tell me, instead of taking this medicine, you should take this herb or drink this really good soup or how to be healthy naturally. And going through dental school. Great school at the UM, they teach you everything traditionally, the way you're supposed to do things and going into dentistry practicing. I learned a little bit more and how to bring my background, my upbringing into how to practice dentist history is kind of a good way.

 

Also, growing up with silver fillings in your mouth, you kind of realize, oh, well, that's made out 50% mercury. Maybe I would like to be providing an alternative approach. And more and more dentists now are using less silver fillings, which are made out of 50% mercury, and more using white composite, which is a good alternative.

 

And so part of this is we're going to get into the amalgam removal. And just as somebody who has a ton of silver fillings in your mouth myself, but through the International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, you really learned a lot about biological dentistry. What exactly is biological entity?

 

Yeah. So it's connecting your whole body, like biology, your body, it's your mouth, how your body processes toxins in your body and your mouth, but also a lot of it. One of the main courses in the IAOMT, which I took to be accredited as safe amalgam removal, which is the process of the silver fillings in your mouth, how it releases mercury vapors, and then how to try to prevent the mercury being exposed to you, decreasing the mercury volume in your mouth when you're getting it removed. So we have at our office special precautions to help remove that mercury.

 

I know going to depth into that later. So a lot of that is that. But also like Chlorella, activated charcoal, things like that. So yeah. So Chlorella is actually a plant algae that actually binds to having metals like mercury. So you can get it at a supplement store. Or actually, if you break it down from an LG or seaweed, that kind of thing is chloral, and it binds to having metals like mercury and activated charcoal. A lot of people have started to hear about it, but also activated charcoal is a binder to having metals like mercury.

 

Okay.

 

We can use that to help detox the body from heavy metals.

 

So tell us, let's start off by talking a little bit about the amalgam filling. What exactly is a Amalgam.

 

Sure. They say silver filling. So amalgam is a very technical term is just like a mash of different products that become an amalgam. So amalgams, like a mix is what it is exactly. And people, sometimes you'll hear it as a silver filling because it looks silver. It's not mainly silver. It's actually 50% mercury, 35% silver, 13% to 2% copper. And tiny a bit of zinc. So it's a big amalgam. So it's like a melting pot. But yeah, exactly. That's what a mercury filling is. Well, you can call it a mercury.

 

You can also silver Sander copper because it's made out of all things. But I'm in amalgam filling as that.

 

And so any filling that looks silver is it actually an amalgam?

 

So most likely, if it looks silver. And it's one of those long things you've had in there for years. And even people do place them now, it's most likely a silver filling. They call them a silver amalgam filling made out of 50% mercury. Essentially, all the silver fillings are made out of 50% mercury.

 

What are some of the common symptoms that people might experience if they're having issues with their amalgam fillings? Because first of all, not everybody has issues that they're aware of.

 

Sure. Yeah. So every person has a threshold before you get sick. Some people can spoke ten packs of spirits and feel great for their whole life and live til Nighty. Some people you smoke one and you feel like you're going to die the next day. But for mercury, mercury is a neurotoxin. Obviously, if you break a thermometer at school, they evacuate schools. Now, what is mercury? And what are the symptoms of mercury toxicity is nervousness, anxiety, memory issues, tired, depression, physical tremors. You can think of a Mad Hatter, umm we call them Mad Hatter because they are kind of crazy back in the day.

 

And so what they found out is they use the special mercury fiber in the hat, and that would expose the Hatter who makes these hats to mercury. So it made them crazy. Essentially, it's the same thing. It's like mercury and your feelings. Some people will say, I feel maybe memory issues, tired. But maybe it's also on top of that, maybe have some autoimmune issues. So you're more prone to those issues as well. So you might have multiple feelings have not have no symptoms.

 

Or not even be aware that the symptoms that you're having are actually kind of related to that.

 

Sure.

 

They might not be symptoms that are really causing you a lot of issues. Sure. More uncomfortable and just feeling. Oh, maybe I'm working too hard. Maybe too tired or whatever the case may be, but it could actually be.

 

Sure. Yeah. So mercury is found in fish, environmental things as well. So if you're eating lots of sushi big fish, I mean, right now, a lot of the sustainability of fish, there's so much mercury, it you look at Minnesota, which has lots of fish. Do they say, Tony more than one fish a day because these toxins in them. So similarly, if you're eating lots of fish and you have silver fillings, you're getting a lot of environmental and toxins throughout your life. So adding it on compounds.

 

So it's actually like you're saying, so if you're actually getting some additional mercury into your diet, into your body through maybe even having exposure to it in the environment that can add to it.

 

Absolutely. And I feel like autoimmune issues for my patients. I've definitely seen people with autoimmune issues. Lime disease things where your body is already not feeling great. Having your body exposed to it is also not something obviously having extra mercury in your body hasn't been proven to making more healthy. Yeah.

 

So how can you make sure that the Billings that you have are actually causing you issues? Is there a test that can be given or you can take a mercury test? You can go to a natural path or your doctor. They can do a mercury test, like, usually for me, I talk as a blood urine hair test to see if you have any high levels of mercury in your body. And they can test for methyl mercury. Elemental mercury. Methyl mercury. It comes from fish. So they'll be like, maybe you should stop eating those cans of tuna. Or if it's elemental mercury that's being exposed in your body, then it would elemental mercury is mercury from your solar filling.

 

So there's different categories of mercury. So you could go to a practitioner at our office. We have a list of people that does the test, but, yeah, it's a specialized test to see if you do have mercury.

 

And do you get referrals from people who are doing the testing, too? They send their clients to you.

 

And absolutely, we get natural path medical medical doctors, many patients who are referred over that. They say we're just not feeling good. And my doctor is just trying to eliminate any causes, and I don't want any more silver fillings in my mouth either. So I want to reduce the mercury exposure in my body. Then they will come to us. And we get those referrals. Some people decide to get their silver fillings out with the precautions and even aesthetically. People don't like solar fillings in their mouth anymore.

 

It doesn't look good. So having those precautions when people want to take them out is something we can provide.

 

And now there is another product that you can use when you're putting fillings in the mouth that are white, it's white. And then you said to be careful that it's non- BPA,

 

Right. Yeah. So the newer product is a composite, which is a white filling. And there are lots of essentially it's like a plastic. So to begin with, I think prevention is the key. So we want to try to avoid fillings, but of course, you're human. We're eating raising our teeth. If we're going down to the filling route, trying to find the best product out there is the best white composite fillings. They can have the BPA in it. So at our office, we buy the BPA-free composite fillings.

 

And also we have biocompatibility test kits. So we have kits where there's different products in there that you can bring and test for your allergist or applied kinesiologists and see what products works best for you. But yeah, it's not just one composite, one white filling in the market. There's lots. So you want to make sure you're trying not to use one that has BP in it because BPA is an estrogen disruptor. So BP is what you see in plastics like they don't have it in children's baby products anymore.

 

It's an estrogen disruptor. And estrogen disruptors can have led to research where it says breast cancer, that kind of thing. So we just try to find the best product out there for our patients.

 

So how many of those types of the white fillings do you carry in your office?

 

So we on stock. We have two or three. But in our kit we have multiple. And then on top of that, if a patient tests, like five or six in our kit just for the white fillings. And if patients don't test well to any, which is pretty rare, but if they don't, we can always purchase more. We just have a huge booklet full of products we can purchase from, but obviously, we don't keep all of them on stock.

 

Okay. So for people who want to find out more or who want to make an appointment with you, what is the number that they can go?

 

It's 6517313064.

 

Great. So that 651-731-3064. And we're talking with Dr. Truong. And when we come back, we're going to continue learning about amalgam fillings and the options that are available. Should you choose to remove them? To read the online version of Natural Awakenings magazine, visit NaturalTwinCities.com. You can find a podcast of the show on AM950Radio.com on Apple and Google Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts. You're listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, the Progressive Voice of Minnesota 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 help with you. I'm your host Candi Broeffle, and today we're talking about Dr. Amy Truong, a Pure Dental, a holistic dental practice located in Oakdale. I'm so happy with us today. Amy.

 

Thank you for having me.

 

So just before the break, we were discussing amalgam fillings and some of the symptoms that people might experience who are reacting to the mercury in those fillings. So let's talk about how mercury is released from the fillings.

 

Yeah, that's a good question. So actually, once it's in your mouth considered stable, so it's inert. The worst part of the silver filling is when you're creating vapors. So when you're chewing, it creates functional vapors which are breathed in and it can be attached to your brain and kidneys is where it likes to deposit and then also heat. So you're drinking coffee or having a hot meal, it can create vapors and your silver filling as well. So the mercury is released, and that's the bad part of the filling is the mercury, which is released when they say it's little amounts of mercury.

 

But to me, I'm not really sure how much little amounts of mercury is good for you. For me, I can use every day. I'm getting older. I have two kids. I need anything to help me feel better. So for me, I would never put silver fillings or mercury and my kid's mouth. So I definitely choose white fillings instead of silver fillings.

 

And is mercury something that actually can get released from the body? Or is it something that's kind of more stored in the body over time?

 

So that's a good question. A little bit of both. So when you have your silver feelings in your body or in your mouth for a long time, your body actually deposits it. And I kind of mentioned earlier in your brain and kidneys, but when you get them newly in your mouth, it can come out of your body in different ways in your urine, and you can see it. If you had a blood test immediately and you had a lot of mercury in your body, you could see that in the results.

 

But yeah, it does store in your overtime. If you wanted to remove it, you would actually have to do a deep detox or see a natural path or a doctor to try to reduce your symptoms or toxicity from mercury.

 

So with the mercury, there's actually specific steps that need to be taken in order to ensure that you're removing them safely.

 

Right. So actually, I do not recommend people just to go down the street and get your silver fillings or mercury fillings out, because most likely your dentist doesn't do it with safety precautions. So you want to know that there are risks to taking them out. If you don't use any precautions and always your first step is ask if you don't want silver mercury fillings in your mouth before it goes in, ask make sure that you're getting white fillings, then for your future. So you don't have to think about getting silver fillings removed in the future.

 

But if you're ready to take the next step where you have a cavity and your two happens to have a silver filling, I would recommend definitely going to a holistic dentist or someone from IoMT, which helps accreditated and train dentist to use the precautions to help reduce that mercury vapor that's released when you're removing your silver fillings. So that's the bad part. So that's what a lot of dentists will say. No, you should leave your silver fillings is because they know that you're not using you don't want to expose those vapors to you.

 

So in our office, we use many steps. I'll try to briefly go over them. We use oxygen on your nose, extraoral vacuum.

 

What does the oxygen oxygen on your nose is used to do? What?

 

That's a good question, because you're breathing in and we're trying to reduce the vapors that you're breathing in. The oxygen is actually 100% option that covers your nose. And you're just breathing 100% oxygen. So you're decreasing the the amount of mercury that you're breathing in, so you want it. And then we use the extra oral vacuum that help. We put it by your mouth and it helps suck out the mercury vapors. We're trying to extract every the mercury vapors away from you and your body. So then you're not breathing it in.

 

So that's why we're trying to decrease that mercury exposure.

So you're taking the mercury vapors out and replacing it with the oxygen, the pure oxygen.

 

Yes, you got it. So that's kind of one way is one we're sucking it up, and then another is where you are breathing through your nose. You're having oxygen that you're breathing 100% oxygen instead, a rubber dam to help contain the situation, the vapors. And we use lots of section water to help keep the tooth cool. And the silver mercury filling cool.

 

So just one more thing. So the rubber dam is placed.

 

On the tooth. Rubber dam is a plastic holder around the tooth, and then ours is a little special. It goes around the tooth, and then it has a section and attached to it, so it helps suck up the mercury vapors, and so it doesn't go down your throat.

 

Okay. And when you're removing mercury, can little pieces of it fall off. Is that

absolutely.

 

It's rubber.

 

Yeah, that's right. So what happens is if you look in your mouth, your silver feeling is pretty big, and even if you try to floss it out. It probably won't come out.

 

So what we do is we cut it into chunks and those little pieces. We want to suck it up because you don't want to swallow it. And then also you can't see it. But there's vapors aerosols that were also trying to catch before it gets into your system.

 

And then the next step you said, was the water,

 

The water. You got it. So the water helps keep the tooth cool while we're drilling on the tooth. So if you drill on the tooth, that creates heat, which creates that vapor as well. So we do lots of water to help keep the tooth cool. And the mercury filling cool and so less vapors are released. In addition, we use activated charcoal and Chlorella, which is that they both bind to having metals like mercury. So you're not swallowing it as much, and you're removing it from your mucosa, which is like your gums and vapors in your mouth. And I hope is fine for that.

And how do you use that?

 

Good question. So when we start the appointment, we use activated coconut charcoal is a black powder. We put it in your mouth. So then it's surrounding your gums and everything to help bind to it. And after we're done removing your silver filling, we give you a rinse with Chlorella in it, and it will let you rinse it around, get the excess out.

 

Oh, wow. So there's many different, many steps.

 

You got it. And then we do use the bone on your head. We use a big drape to help protect your body. So there's lots of steps that we use.

 

When you say a bonnet. What do you mean?

 

Yeah, you would wear to protect your hair when you go into a shower and you don't want your hair to get what? So then you're not going home with little chunks of mercury in your hair or in your nose that covers. So essentially, just like a disposable bonnet.

 

Okay.

 

Yeah. Really. Just a cup on it.

 

That's what I had in my mind. But I thought maybe I should ask.

 

Right, When's the last time you wear bonnet on it on.

 

Yeah. So one of the things I know, I have silver fillings in my mouth, and I've had one of them come come out before, and I couldn't get into the dentist straight away, and I was afraid I would get some nerve pain if it was exposed. So I just kind of stuck it back in there. Kind of kept moving it with my tongue to serve in place. Now I'm thinking that was probably a really bad idea.

 

Well, it's better than swallowing it, and it kind of help protect your tooth. But yeah, if it breaks off, you want to go to a dentist to be able to help clean it out properly, or someone who can take it out with the precautions. Yeah. What happens to a lot of silver fillings? They are good and bad things of everything. Silver fillings, they last a long time. Gosh if you leave it in my last do your whole lifetime.

 

Right. I'm thinking a lot of mine have been in my mouth for 40 some years.

 

Right? Yeah. And that's a good thing if you want something that lasts a long time. But then there's some people like I've been waiting for the silver filling to fall out so I can get it out.

 

So I can get a white one.

 

Yeah, but it may never fall out.

 

So for people who want to make an appointment, Dr. Truong, you can called Pure Dental at 651-731-3064. That's 651-731-3064. We're going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we're going to continue our conversation. You are listening to Green Tea Conversations on AM950, the Progressive Voice of Minnesota. To read Natural Awakenings magazine online, visit NaturalTwinCities.Com. You can find a podcast of the show on AM950Radio.Com on Apple or Google Podcasts and anywhere you get your podcasts. We'll be right back.

 

Welcome back to Green Tea Conversation, where we meet the professional street from the pages of Natural Awakenings magazine who share their expertise on natural health with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle, and today we're talking about Dr. Amy Truong of Pure Dental, a holistic dental practice located in Oakdale. So we've been talking about amalgam fillings and what you should do if you choose to have them removed. We have also been talking about the symptoms that people might experience if they're reacting to the mercury and the fillings. But there are other negative side effects that people might might experience that are not necessarily a result of the mercury itself, but rather the metals in the amalgam.

 

So one of the things that you had told me about was something called galvanic shock.

 

Yeah. Galvanic shock. And it sounds really bizarre when you experience it. But as someone who when I was younger, I had silver fillings. And if you've ever and I don't even know why I would put tin foil in my mouth. But if anybody has silver fillings out there and you put tin foil in your mouth, any of silver fillings, you can feel current in your mouth. So what happens is you're silver filling. So galvanic shock is a reaction, a current, a battery in your mouth. So silver fillings aren't made out of 100% silver.

 

And we mentioned that it's an alloy of different metals, 50% mercury. So galvanic shock is a battery in your mouth, and there's ions in your saliva, which creates a circuit. So some people might feel from buzzing in their mouth. Or some people might even describe it as hearing the radio or, yeah, I guess the radio in your head, which sounds crazy, but yes, if you experience it, you a piece of tin foil in mouth. You'll be able to feel that current.

 

I can't even imagine putting a piece of tin foil in my mouth.

 

No, I know.

 

It makes me cringe to even think of that.

 

So that's a reason a lot of people will say, I want all the metal out of my mouth, or I will choose not to have any more metal in my mouth. I mean, once you hear the radio or you feel like you feel a buzzing in your mouth, you wouldn't want that feeling again. And gosh, I don't know why I put info in my mouth as a kid, but you can feel it.

 

Maybe because we knew it would have those same effects. And one of the other things we used to do when we were kids, and now you just kind of look back on it and think, oh, my gosh. I can't believe that my parents actually even let us do that was playing with mercury when a thermometer broke.

 

I know I definitely did that. So. Yeah, it's very interesting. But a mercury thermometer has zero .5 grams of mercury in it. And similarly, enough, one Amalgam billing has zero .5 grams of mercury in it as well. So that's how much mercury is in it. Right now. You break one thermometer and it's toxic toxic for the whole school. Right. And I know most schools don't have mercury thermometers anymore, but if it did, it's really a hazard.

 

It's a hazardous waste. Yes.

 

It's hazardous was even at our office, we're regulated by the state that if we take out silver fillings, we collect all the mercury so it doesn't go into the environment and the sewage system. We have to collect it. And once it comes out of your mouth and we collect it, it becomes hazardous waste. We can't just toss it out the trash. We have to send the back package. It very properly. So it goes to hazardous waste. But two minutes ago, it was not hazardous waste in your mouth. But now it is.

 

So that is so bizarre to me. So it's hazardous waste. When you take it out, we're still putting it into our mouth.

 

Right? Yeah. And I understand back in the day they would put it in because that's all you had. But now people are still using it, and it is easy to use. It's very cheap. So there are reasons people use it. But for me, I mentioned everything. I always throw my patients like they're my family. I would never put a silver filling or mercury filling or anything that had Mercury it into my child would never put that into my patient. So we make the choice on what we want to use in our life.

 

And just like, if you want to choose chicken and the organic ones available, I would choose organic one for my child. Yeah. And even FDA, they classified dental mercury as a class 2 medical device, which is moderate to high risk, and they're still allowing people to use it. So it kind of worries me that a moderate to high-risk medical device is still being placed. If we can use an alternative, amalgam is banned for children under the age of 15 and for pregnant or nursing women and essentially almost the entire European Union, 28 countries and all, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia.

 

So we're still using it. It's just very interesting that we haven't maybe progressed as far as I.

 

And are they still teaching it in dental school?

 

Yes. And that's where it comes from is that we're taught that in dental school, there are actually dental schools that have phased it out completely. So specific. A couple of schools have phased out amalgam mercury fillings, but most dental schools do teach it. It is very easy to you very cheap. There's a lot of better materials out there. White fillings and things alternatives for your body.

 

So when you're learning it in dental school, when you're learning to use, what kind of special precautions do you need to use as a dentist when you're putting it in?

 

Yeah. In dental school, you don't have any precautions. It's essentially wear your gloves and we are exposed to it every day. And that's what worries me is growing up, I love fish. And then on top of that, I have silver fillings. And then on top of that, I'm a dentist. So I I'm exposed to it all the time. So I ended up getting a mercury test and they were like, yeah, you have a lot of mercury in your system. And then at first I was thinking, it's not a big deal.

 

We learned it in school, just a little bit of mercury. And then you realize once you get the test and you realize, wow. Okay. Well, I'm very young, and I want to work for another good 2030 years, at least. So we need to take care of our own self and then our future. So that's when I decided that's that I need to get the vacuums, I need to protect myself because the vacuum not only protects the patient, but it does protect me and my staff as well, which I think is very important.

 

So you went through the additional training through the IAOMT.

 

Is a very long acronym.

 

And how long would set training?

 

So it took me about two years to finish the test and then going to all the meetings and learning, they make you do a presentation and a panel to discuss what you do in your practice and how you have usable precautions now in your life and in your office. So that's why we've kind of progressed to that with my personal experience and then also going through the training, I feel confident that now I can help my patients as well, which is nice.

 

So something just came up for me, a thought and a question, which is, as a dentist, when you're using, when you're placing amalgam fillings into somebody's mouth, do you have to mix it at all? I can't remember what they do.

 

That's a good question. So back in the day, it's bizarre not using gloves and they used to actually squeeze out the mercury. So this is back old school on dentistry. But nowadays they have them little canisters. So there's actually a little bit of mercury in it and a little bit of the other metals, and then they shake it together. So then once you shake it, it starts a process of hardening. So then they place it in within two minutes and it hardens up.

 

Okay. So there's still vapors that could be released, but it's not the same as if you had to mix it.

 

Yeah. So the capsule when you open it is there are vapors released. So when you place it, you are exposed to vapors as well. So that's why I choose not to use any more silver fillings because that vapor is exposed to you, but also for patients, you are exposed to that acute mercury exposure at that point as well.

 

So if somebody wanted to have them out, if they were just thinking, I don't like the looks of them anymore, I don't want people to see all the silver in my mouth, and I just want to have them removed for cosmetic reason.

 

Sure

 

Is that can that be covered by insurance.

 

So that's a good question. Every insurance company is different. But most insurances their classes. If you have a cavity or there's a crack, then they'll cover it. So they're pretty strict about aesthetics. I wish they would be like, hey, you can all get veneers and new fillings, but usually you have to have something wrong with it. Your tooth might be cracked or have a cavity, and then they should cover that portion. Also, the precautions we use as an extra fee, but it's helpful to help per protect you from extra exposure to you in your body.

 

So what if you had the testing and found out that you had very high levels of mercury that could be attributed to your teeth, then would any kind of insurance cover?

 

So that's a good question, because a lot of our patients do come to us and say, I did have essentially mercury poisoning. They had mercury and their blood, and it was diagnosed by a medical doctor. And unfortunately, dental insurance is very limited, and they do have special classes that it's only decay or if it's broken, so that would usually not be covered. But every insurance is different. But that's kind of the general my experience, most of them would not cover that.

So for people who are interested in doing it, I just want to get it out. Maybe it'll help me feel better. Maybe some of these symptoms that I'm having could be attributed to this, or they take the test and find out that they have high levels. How much does it generally cost?

 

Sure. So usually it's we kind of estimate per two. If I it was just you replacing with the filling. And it depends, obviously, on your office, but it's kind of size anywhere from you would expect about 250 to 350 per filing is what I would expect.

 

And then there's some additional charges on that for the office visit.

 

Yeah. So for the office visit, obviously, we need to do an exam, and then the Amalgam precautions is a separate fee. Yeah.

 

So people can kind of be able to plan for that. You'll be able to take a look at that. And if they're interested in coming in and talking to you about it or interested in coming in for an initial exam, what is the number that they can call?

 

651-731-3064.

 

Great. Out of curiosity. Now I'm thinking I have in my head I need to get out my silver filling.

 

I know.

 

And I have several of them.

 

That's okay.

 

But in your practice, you also provide natural dental care. And one of the things that many people are concerned about today is fluoride. I get a lot of calls, actually, from people asking about do I know of any filtration systems that will help remove fluoride from water? So why are people concerned about fluoride?

 

So that's a good question. So the research behind fluoride is if you have a certain amount of fluoride, it can help reduce cavities. But there are some more natural alternatives out there, which will maybe touch base if we have time later. But the fluoride why people are worried about it is it's put into our water system or city water system to try to help reduce cavities. But if it's too much or you're getting more in other places in your life, then you can have fluorosis. Or essentially, it's fluoride toxicity for your teeth.

 

You could get white spots on your teeth. There are other symptoms that you can also see, but mainly on your teeth. You can see that your teeth can get pits modeled teeth or things that are wrong with it. So that's a very wide concern about fluoride. And actually, it's interesting because the article just came out with our snowstorms  in Utah. The city puts floor fluoride into the water and the city accidentally, they didn't have water flowing. And then the fluoride ended up having too much fluoride in the city water.

 

And now there's a big problem because people had fluoride toxicity. So if you had reverse osmosis, I mean, this is such a rare incident. But if you had fluoride removed already, you have your own reverse osmosis, then you would not have that issue. It's very rare incident. But that is exactly the government is putting in this fluoride, which is a prescription. And we didn't actually sign up for this prescription, did we? But everybody's getting it. If you're drinking the city water.

 

What would be like a symptom of toxicity?

 

So there were actually people who got really sick when they had too much fluoride additions to the fluorosis. Would you see the spots on your teeth? If you're a kid developing teeth and you have too much fluoride, you'll get white spots or Brown spots.

 

Okay.

 

Yeah, but you can feel physically sick and you'd have to go to the hospital if you have fluoride poisoning.

 

Okay. So when we come back, we're going to talk about what are some of the alternatives that we can use to fluoride?

 

Sure.

 

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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 help with you. I'm your host, Candi Broeffle, and today we're talking about Dr. Amy Truong of Pure Dental, a holistic dental practice located in Oakdale. So you are sharing some of the natural practices and products that you recommend for your clients, or we're going to start talking about that now.

 

But just before the break, we were talking about fluoride. And you said there are some alternatives that people can use instead of fluoride.

 

Sure. And that's the great thing is that there are now more things that you can use. So I really like Xylitol. It's made out of Birchbark, and it helps reduce cavities. The Xylitol. You can even get it at Target now or the store high be down the street. So Xylitol helps reduce cavities. You'll find it in your toothpaste, find it if you just look on the back of some of the gum, Xylitol is in that as well, which helps reduce cavities. You need the Xylitol to be the first ingredient for it to be effective, and you need to use it multiple times during the day. So brushing your teeth, they sell Xylitol mints. So that's one good thing. I really like.

 

Let's talk about that a little bit more of those. So you need to have it multiple times a day like five times,

 

Three to five times, at least where fluoride the researches, you can one dose is enough. But that was all you have to do a little bit more homework. But it's also natural, and it's also a less risky ingredient to use. If you have a two-year-old like me, two year old is an out to spit, she wants to eat all the toothpaste. It's toxic if she eats a whole bottle of toothpaste today. But if she eats Xylitol toothpaste, she's not going to have any health issues.

 

So you can find it in your toothpaste. You can look for it in mouthwash and mints and gum. And it's also a natural sweetener. I can put it in your coffee.

 

You got it right. And some people are like, oh, if it's sweet, it means it must be bad. This one, actually, even though it tastes sweet, it's still good for you and not bad for your teeth, which is amazing.

 

That is really neat.

 

Yeah.

 

So what's another type of alternative as well?

 

This is a big word, Nano hydroxy appetite. So I really like that. They sell it in some toothpaste in Japan. Boca is a Minnesota dental product, and they sell toothbrushes toothpaste. And their toothpaste has Nano hydroxy appetite, which reduces cavities sensitivity. And they have great toothbrushes as well, which is what we give out at our office. They have activated charcoal toothbrush Bristol, which are super soft, and they are helpful for antimicrobial purposes. So I really like that one. And it just feels really good on your teeth.

 

But the Nano hydroxy appetite, so that one you have to special order online. But also.

 

Do you carry it in your auto a toothpaste. You can come in there and get it right.

 

Yeah. and that's Boka B-O-K-A-I love that product. And the third one is MI paste. They have their own thing where it's calcium and phosphate. You have to get from a dentist usually. But they can also help reduce cavities with the MI paste, which is calcium and phosphate.

 

And do you carry that as well?

 

We do. Yeah.

 

So now you were also telling me Boka also makes a toothbrush telling us, and it's made with activated charcoal.

 

Yeah. So with black Brussels because it's activated charcoal embedded in the bristles. So actually, they're going to be starting selling it and they sell it online right now, mainly. But some Walmarts are going to be having it. It's a really good brand. And at collapse things like that, it's very nice for your teeth.

 

And you were telling me when we were preparing for the interview today that also they have very soft, super soft bristles.

 

Yes.

 

So a lot of people think that bristles need to be kind of hard or stiff in order to make sure that they get their teeth cleaned.

 

Yes. And that's a common misconception. I wish at the stores they wouldn't have those hard bristles. They really even soft bristles are almost too hard. What can happen if you use hard bristles or you're too aggressive at brushing, you brush your gums away. And that's called recession. I know. And I'm a very type a person. So if I had a hard brush, I would have no gums left. Yeah. So people really like hard brushes, but I would recommend not using a hard brush using a soft brush, but using the right technique, getting to all the corners can naturally. Really, we could brush with no toothpaste and just water. And if you're eating the right diet and your you're brushing and flossing, you really wouldn't have any cavities. It's just that we have so much in our life where it's refined sugar starches, which break down into sugars and they break down your teeth. That's why we have that issue now that we want to help with fluoride or Xylitol. But yeah, actually, I would recommend if you are a good brush and floss. You don't need any of those. But unfortunately, we're all eating and we're all living in real life. Yeah.

 

Drinking coffee is I am doing so. One of the other things that you were telling me about out, which I think is so interesting is coconut oil pulling. What is pulling?

 

I love coconut oil. Or just in general, you can use it for cooking. It's the coconut oil you get in the cooking aisle. Really? So coconut oil pulling for your mouth is I call it like, a lotion for your mouth. So what it is is vitamin A and E. And what we recommend is that you run it for three to 20 minutes, and it can really help nurture your gums. To be healthy. Of course, they still recommend you get your cleanings or brushing and flossing. But this is a good addition to it.

 

And there has been research that shows that if you do the coconut oil pulling or compared to other types of, for instance, like a chlorhexidine rinse is just as effective to help with your gums. Decreasing the bacteria. The bad bacteria is called Streptococcus mutants, and that bad bacteria can be cleaned out with the coconut oil as well. If you're switching also, that motion and of switching, if you can switch for 20 minutes, you're going to be getting some kind of bacteria. Right.

 

Imagine..

 

More homework. I'm always giving you more homework, right. But yeah, it's great. And it smells good. So halitosis, which is bad breath. It can help with bad breath, too. I mean, who doesn't allow us to smell of coconuts?

 

Yes. So when they call it pulling, what is it actually pulling it through your teeth? So that's always been kind of confused.

 

Right? Yeah. So a lot of people will think, well, is it pulling toxins for my teeth? Not necessarily. It's not really pulling the toxins from your teeth. But it is if you have bacteria that's stuck on your gums or your teeth like plaque, it can help remove that bacteria. so is pulling. If you call a bacteria toxin, which I would say is a toxin, then yeah, it's pulling the bacteria from your mouth. And then you can split it out at the end.

 

And you can also use it for so many other things.

 

Yes. Absolutely. Cooking. I actually use it on my face. My friends laugh at me, but then they'll say, oh, your face looks really good. What's that really expensive lotion. I like coconut oil.

 

It's a multi-purposes that you can use it for. And then we were talking about also, hellitosis, you just kind of mentioned that a you said if you have halitosis, it could be an indication of.

 

Sure. Yeah. So halitosis is bad breath. There's multiple levels to it. It could be you just eat garlic yesterday. So you smell like garlic. Or it could be that you might have a gut or reflux issue if your gut isn't feeling good and you're burping up acid or you have acid reflux that isn't controlled. It can make you smell bad. Halitosis bad breath.

 

So good. Gut health is always so important.

 

Eating the good bacteria would be great. So like Probiotics probiotics.

 

Well, Dr. Truong, thank you so much for being with us today and providing us with so much great information. It was nice having you in the studio.

Thank you for having me so to learn more about the work.

 

To learn more about how you can work with Pure Dental go to PureDentalMN. Com. You can make an appointment, Dr. Truong, by calling 651-731-3064. Thank you for joining our conversation today as we awaken to Natural Health to read the online edition of Natural Awakenings Magazine, or to check out our complete online calendar of events, visit NaturalTwincities.Com. You can find a podcast of this show on AM950Radio.Com on Apple or Google Podcast.

 

You've been listening to Green Tea Conversations on Am 950 and I'm wishing for you a lovely day!