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Doing It Different

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020: What Your Oral Health Reveals About Your Overall Health with Functional Dentist Dr. Burhenne

Oct 6, 2020

Cavities aren’t a rite of passage. In fact, common oral health issues often allude to larger health problems that conventional doctors aren’t trained to find.

Many people don’t understand that oral health is a big indicator of your overall health. For example, your tooth and gum health is an indicator of what your diet and lifestyle look like. Similarly, bacteria and gum disease have been increasingly linked to system diseases as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and even heart damage. 

In this episode, Dr. Mark Burhenne - a functional dentist in Silicon Valley - joins us to shed some light on these issues. Dr. B teaches us a daily practice for optimal oral health, the difference between a conventional and functional dentist, and we dive into controversial topics such as the use of fluoride and root canals.

Be prepared, you're going to want to call your dentist and schedule a checkup ASAP after hearing this.

Enjoy!

Episode Highlights: 

  • 3:07 Why Dr. Burhenne chose dentistry and his early fascination with finding the root cause
  • 5:35 Dr. Burhenne ’s shift from a conventional to a functional dentist
  • 8:30 How your oral health can give clues as to whether you’ll be diagnosed with sleep apnea years down the road
  • 12:57 What a visit with a functional dentist looks like and why they won’t recommend mouthwash
  • 17:46 How traditional oral healthcare products are causing systemic disease
  • 20:27 Oral health indicators that expose hidden health imbalances
  • 23:06 Why mouth breathing is detrimental to your health
  • 27:17 How to tell if you are a nose breather or a mouth breather
  • 31:14 What to do if you fail the mouth tape challenge
  • 34:02 The perfect childhood upbringing for having great oral health
  • 38:49 What the food, fertilizer, and fluoride industry all have in common
  • 41:36 Daily practices for great oral health
  • 44:43 Why Dr. Burhenne chooses a fluoride-free lifestyle
  • 48:16 The current lawsuit against the EPA to lessen the fluoride in water
  • 54:16 How a poorly done root canal can wreak havoc on your body
  • 56:49 What to do if your teeth are acting up after a root canal
  • 59:15 How to get in touch with Dr. Burhenne and find a functional dentist near you

Links and Resources: 

Guest Bio

Dr. Burhenne (pronounced Ber-HEN-uh) is the creator and author of AsktheDentist.com and the #1 bestselling author of The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox. He is a family and sleep medicine dentist whose advice regularly appears on TV, radio, and magazines, including NPR, The Doctors, and CBS News. He received his degree from the Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco and is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), Academy of General Dentistry (Chicago, IL), American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH), and Dental Board of California.

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