| Using
Complementary Therapies |
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Using complementary therapies is
both fun and rewarding. The fun is in the diversity and team
involvement. The reward is being able to view patients’ oral
health in a broader perspective and being able to improve their
general health management.
We can all use complementary therapies in our
practice. Like anything new, we need to apply the time and energy to
learn. This gives an added dimension to the postgraduate programmes
we maintain to support the orthodox therapies we use every day.
‘Many people are
concerned when questions are raised about their routines, perhaps
due to fear of change. We instinctively enjoy routine and habit; it
helps us feel more secure but is often the barrier to introducing
new concepts to our practice. The reward for overcoming this fear
can be the freedom of thought that allows us to advance.
Routine preventive care relies on basic
principles. What is needed is good hygiene and a healthy diet. The
same diet that protects teeth and gums, protects against heart
disease and cancer. Oral hygiene is based on reducing the number of
micro-organisms, not on reducing their quality, which is controlled
by the body’s health balance. These same concepts used in oral
hygiene apply to the whole body. The basis of holistic care relies
on the natural principle of reducing the number of noxious stimuli
and encouraging the body’s own health balance.
Understanding comes with knowledge and leads
to an enhanced perception and greater insight. Thomas Edison once
said, ‘Our journey through life, exploring knowledge and gaining
experience, often leads us back to the place where we first started.
When we arrive there we often find it hard to recognise it as the
same place’. With knowledge and experience we view things
differently..
Orthodox medicine is not complacent and is
continually searching for answers. It is often unsurpassed in its
ability to deal effectively with acute ailments. Yet there is a
degree of disillusionment felt by many, especially those plagued
with chronic conditions. Much of this shortfall may be effectively
addressed by natural medicine.
Dentistry has always embraced
innovation. It has contributed a lot to healthcare, from
anaesthetics1 to natural medicine2. What we should be careful to
avoid in dentistry, like all specialties, is the temptation to
narrow our perspective. The well-being of every cell is shared and
influenced by the fate of all the others. It is said that each cell
is a hologram of the entire individual. By reminding ourselves of
this, we can easily shift our focused concept of the oral
environment to a broader concept of health and disease. The oral
environment and the individual’s general environment are
inseparable.
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