Boca Raton Holistic Dentist
One of the longest-standing ethical obligations of health care practitioners has been to "do the patient no harm." Boca Raton dentist Dr. David Kagan fully subscribes to that philosophy and manifests that with the following policies and practices.
A key element in Dr. Kagan's practice of dentistry is the conservation of natural tooth structure. He feels that there are too many dentists to eager to grind down tooth structure. As amazing as some current dental materials are at mimicking tooth structure, nothing is as good as your own natural tooth. Therefore, he believes that preventing a cavity is far better than filling one. And new techniques such as preventive resin restorations are far superior to the traditional amalgam restoration, partly because the tooth preparation can be kept very small.
Holistic Dentistry by Avoiding Toxic Materials
Traditional silver fillings are actually less than 50 percent silver. They have more mercury in them than any other material. While official sources try to assure us that this mercury in the mouth is safe, many of us are skeptical. Dr. Kagan is a mercury-free dentist. And not only are their concerns over toxicity of mercury, but silver-mercury amalgam fillings have to be larger than other fillings and require undermining healthy tooth structure in order to be held in place.
His restorative material of choice is gold, in any place where it isn't an esthetic issue to the patient. Gold fillings are the most long-lasting of dental restorative material, they don't corrode or react with anything in the mouth, and they are the best at preserving remaining healthy tooth structure.
He also uses composite restorative materials and porcelain in fillings and crowns, unless patients show a sensitivity to these materials and want to use others. Many dentists are lacking in training in bonding protocols for these materials, but Dr. Kagan is fully up-to-date with all of the latest technologies for successfuly using these low-reactivity and highly esthetic restorative materials.
Hygienic Mercury Amalgam Removal
One of the problems with patients who have a lot of silver-mercury amalgam fillings in their mouths is that amalgam filling removal causes their tissues to be exposed to high levels of mercury during the procedure. There are methods of isolating the tooth and preventing the breathing and swallowing of mercury-containing debris during your dental visit. Ask us about this if you have this concern.
Clifford Testing
Many holistically concerned patients undergo Clifford Materials Reactivity Testing. Dr. Kagan is experienced in working with these tests, and is happy to help patients avoid exposure to any dental materials that provoke sensitivity reactions in any patients.
Holistic Dentistry by Keeping Dental Work Small
If a small filling is done carefully with a precise fit to the tooth, with materials that can last a lifetime, that prevents having to replace them later with larger fillings or even with crowns. Crowns require the grinding down of large amounts of tooth structure, and should only be used when truly necessary. He also uses air abrasion to prepare small cavities. Air abrasion selectively removes only the decayed tooth structure, allowing the final restoration to be as small as possible and preserving natural tooth structure, the healthiest material you can have in your mouth.