Biological medicine and biological dentistry

Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield · Switzerland

What it is

Biological (also "holistic" or "integrative") dentistry is a dental practice philosophy, not a recognised dental specialty. Its organisations describe five core commitments: the mouth-body connection, treating "root causes" with individual plans, "biocompatible" materials, safe amalgam removal, and…

Format

• Clinic-based Swiss model. Residential or outpatient programmes in which physicians, dentists, therapists, nurses and pharmacists deliver combined individual treatment; patients often travel and arrange local accommodation.
• No source describes a psychotherapy protocol for this situation. The following phases organise the work in section 4; they run inside ordinary therapy, not as a separate course.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Amalgam removal under a protective protocol. The IAOMT's SMART (Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique) is a set of recommendations taught through an IAOMT certification course; once certified, each dentist chooses the specific measures used in their own practice. The IAOMT urges patients to review expectations with the dentist beforehand using its patient-dentist checklist. Practices describe protection for patient…
• Who practises it and how it is regulated.
• USA: dentists licensed by state dental boards; IAOMT SMART certification and IABDM membership are private credentials, not licences; IABDM meetings carry dental continuing-education credit. State boards have disciplined dentists for cavitation surgery and related practices, including suspensions, restitution orders and licence revocation.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence (root canals and systemic disease): the American Association of Endodontists states there is "absolutely no scientific evidence" linking root canal treatment to cancer, and denies links to heart disease, arthritis or autoimmune disease.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• pressure on the client to stay silent, non-disclosure agreements, fear of retaliation. Working: the client makes an informed choice about reporting.
• depression, social withdrawal, appearance-related distress after tooth loss, and turning to the next "cure". Working: reduced self-blame and practical next steps.
• avoidance of all dental care, leading to untreated infection, which the AAE describes as a greater risk than a treated tooth. Working: the client attends needed dental care.
• Irreversible procedures: removal of healthy teeth without improvement, unnecessary jaw surgery, nerve injury with chronic pain or numbness, disfigurement needing repair, repeated operations,…
• expectations of a complete cure from one step; an all-or-nothing explanatory model in which every symptom is due to the mouth; grief or trauma near symptom onset (a small psychodynamic study of…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.