Homeopathy for Home Dental Care
Joette Calabrese,HMC,CCH,RSHom
Published in Wise Traditions, Winter 2011, “Homeopathy for Home Dental Care”
It felt like a defeat on the battlefront to Mrs. Winski ever since she finally understood that she had chosen the wrong dentist and permitted her daughter to be subjected to what she now calls “archaic” medical measures. Amalgam fillings, antibiotics for a repeated gum boil, general anesthesia because of Margo’s overwhelming anxiety, and powerful painkillers were all used without much thought of their consequences. Yet the heaviest burden of guilt that Mrs. Winski bore was the fact that Margo’s dental problems took years to resolve, plus she developed food sensitivities as well as additional cavities after the last dental visit two years ago. Not unlike other mothers, she’s hard on herself.
INTERVENING WITH HOMEOPATHY
Advancing her mothering homework, however, which she now takes more seriously, Mrs. Winski learned that not only might homeopathy have helped heal her daughter's dental infections, but likely could have allayed Margo’s fears and anxiety, and perhaps even helped to prevent future dental caries.
The silver lining in this story (pun intended) is that now Margo’s mom has become shrewd at finding the proper remedies for her child. First she bought a few homeopathy books, then attended a seminar and also met on the phone with a homeopath, but much of what she’s learned has been a direct result of her tenacious search for answers. Once Mrs. Winski decided on a plan of action, her strategies were rewarded with Margo’s improved dental health. Margo's teeth no longer readily showed decay, abscesses healed and never resurfaced, and her child became calm during dental visits. Here is the protocol Margo’s mom implemented:
• The first choice she made was to incorporate Calc phos 6x and Calc fluor 12x. These remedies are part of a special category of homeopathy called cell salts or tissue salts. They have a reputation for building bones and teeth. The family initiated a program of dissolving four pills of each in four ounces of water. Margo learned that she was to take a sip (about one teaspoon) three times every day. Of course, she also initiated dietary improvements, taking her daily bone broth and raw milk kefir. • Now that Margo only visits a holistic dentist she will no longer receive amalgam fillings, and ifthe dentist must drill, Margo often doesn’t even need a local anesthetic. The potential pain is lessened by her mom’s strategy of using Hypericum just before entering the dental chair. • Margo’s anxiety no longer appears to show itself thanks to the remedy Aconitum. Her mom gives her a dose the night before the dental visit, the morning of the visit, and finally just before entering the office. • Mrs. Winski learned that Nux vomica 30, administered twice daily for one week helped with Margo’s ensuing gastrointestinal problems. Mrs. Winski believes the problems were brought on by the use of antibiotics. Nux vomica abolished stomach pains, newly acquired food intolerances and sleeplessness, and was crucial to Margo’s well being because it allowed her body to heal from the destruction of gut microorganisms.
It’s been two years since the new dental approach has been implemented in the Winski household. After years of caries, Margo has not had another since the time the family instituted their program. The abscesses never returned despite the previous antibiotic mistakes and Margo can even have wheat on occasion without regrets. But it’s that terrible anxiety and fear that she used to feel—now barely a memory—that makes this story end with a holistic smile.
Medicine ought to be our work horse, not oblige us to suffer through side effects and suppression of symptoms, only to have illness return once the body yields to the drug. Homeopathy is a medicine that belongs in the hands of mothers and others. It will not take the place of highly skilled holistic dentistry, but is a vital adjunct and may even save trips to the dentist’s office.
LET HOMEOPATHY WORK FOR YOU
It goes without saying that homeopathic remedies are unique in that they carry a big punch but are what I like to call “the polite medicine” as they carry no side effects. How great is that? Medicine that works and is also safe! It is crucial, however, that the correct remedy, potency and frequency be administered, otherwise the result may be less than desirable. I have included as much as I can so that you may proceed at home with some confidence, but when I don’t mention the potency, (the number and letter after the remedy name) it is because a more thorough understanding of this science is required in relation to the person receiving the dose. In that case I urge you to contact a homeopath or make a point of studying posology (the study of dosages) in greater detail.
If you decide to learn only two remedies to begin your homeopathy dental journey, here are the most important:
ARNICA MONTANA
This remedy is often the first studied by students of homeopathy and is the exemplary go-to choice for trauma. If used in a low potency, such as 30C, it can help the sufferer in a rather modest way; however it becomes a powerhouse when used in a higher potency, such as 200 and above. As I caution my students, however, if you intend to use higher potencies, you need to strictly adhere to the rules of homeopathy and gain some sound experience with this medicine or contact your homeopath. The practice of using Arnica 200C is now so common in dentists' and surgeons' offices in the U.S. that local newspapers are reporting the phenomenon. This is the protocol I teach my students. Offer the remedy morning and night on the day before surgery. Then repeat the morning of and just before entering the chair. Arnica is used to prevent infection, minimize shock to the system, reduce swelling, suppress hemorrhage, and often calm the patient. This protocol is repeated as soon as possible after surgery and administered every 2-3 hours from that time, then repeated as often as required to eliminate pain. If pain is persistent, dose more frequently, perhaps every hour or two.
HYPERICUM
I’m reminded of the time when a tooth filled over thirty years ago finally gave way and cracked. The fracture had disturbed the integrity of the structure and the tooth had to be extracted. While in the chair, the dentist also discovered a small abscess on the bone. He removed the ligament and scraped the bone so that the infection wouldn’t spread. No problem. No pain. . . well, until the local anesthetic wore off. Then the pain was beyond anything I had ever endured. I went, no, danced about in pain, to my homeopathy chest and sought out Hypericum 200. I knew a 30 potency would do nothing because of the severity of discomfort. In fact I should have begun with an even higher potency, but I wasn’t thinking very well at the time. Pain can cloud acumen. I won’t tell you what potency I used because it was so high that it is necessary to have quite a good deal of expertise in using it. I will share, however, that as long as I used that high potency of Hypericum every few minutes or so, the pain was gone within an hour! When it returned, I repeated the dosage. Within the first twenty-four hours, I took a dose every fifteen minutes. After that, I was able to reduce the time to every one to two hours. By the second day, the need was only occasional. I was able to conquer the pain from this surgery without anything but a reliance on my bottle of Hypericum.
Hypericum is for extreme pain, particularly when a nerve is injured. The more extreme the nerve pain, the more specific Hypericum becomes. Hypericum also helps deter infection and calm the nerves. No antibiotics, no pain relievers and no Valium. The cost of my bottle was twenty-two dollars, and I still have enough should someone else in my family experience severe nerve pain.