Student Spotlight
Michael Bonner, D.D.S. and M.S. in Holistic Nutrition candidate
Most of us have a filthy mouth and don’t even know it, according to holistic dentist, author and educator Mike Bonner, D.D.S. He says that tooth decay and gum disease are important clues that the body is out of balance, and that up to 90% of all American mouths are harboring periodontal disease. Due to hormonal shifts, adds Dr. Bonner, virtually all pregnant women are at risk for gum problems.
Long before our soft, pink gums begin to visibly redden and bleed, a painless but harmful inflammation begins as microorganisms overgrow, out of control. The NIH National Institute of Dental Research reports that one human mouth is populated by more microorganisms that there are people on our planet earth!
“Teeth are bones that are imbedded in ligaments that are attached to other bones that are surrounded by soft tissue.” So goes the simple anatomy but essential health message that Bonner has delivered to individuals via community lectures, to physicians via professional journals such as Dentistry Today, and now to the mainstream via national media. His new book, The Oral Health Bible, co-authored with nutritional supplement guru Earl Mindell, Ph.D., was quoted in Vogue magazine’s January, 2004 story on ‘how to achieve a super clean mouth.’
For more than 20 years, Bonner has educated one dental patient at a time on nutrition as well as mouth irrigation, tongue-scraping, and other all-natural cleaning tools, along with targeted supplementation such as the intelligent use of natural anti-inflammatories, antioxidants and digestive enzymes.
Since mouth tissue regenerates much more quickly than skin tissue, his patients begin feeling better fast. And often to their amazement but never his own, as patients systematically clean their mouths, their use of supplements seems to lead to other systemic improvements: less joint pain, weight loss, more energy, better heart health. An empowered patient is certainly a happier patient.
And as Bonner lectures to groups of dentists approximately twice a month, his colleagues are coming to realize, for instance, that for patients with arterial blockage, professional teeth-cleaning could prove deadly. The author has made lifelong friends with patients whose teeth he refused to clean, at first, according to The Oral Health Bible.
“This is not a thought question,” he quips, adding that the natural connection of oral health and systemic health is “like a stinky onion of innumerable layers.”
Rather than name too many product names, the book informs consumers to simply read the labels on toothpastes and mouthwashes. “With many of our personal hygiene/health and beauty purchases, people ingest pesticides, solvents, even anti-freeze,” he warns, citing cosmetics, shampoo, soaps and lotions as containing what his book calls “the untouchables.”
Having sold his dental practice this year, the 50-something Bonner is busy these days with speaking engagements and interviews. “I consulted with many physicians as well as researchers in writing this book, and now the doctors consult with me.”
For more information: www.OralHealthBible.com and www.mbdds.freelife.com
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