Real biological dentistry
"Biological" is only an adjective.
No state license or recognized dental specialty stands behind the word. Here's what the real thing is, and how to tell it apart.
Anyone can use the word
A dentist can take a weekend course and add "biological" or "holistic" to a website by Monday. Some do excellent work. Some only changed the website.
Dr. John has practiced biologically since 1992, and he wants the field held to a real standard.
What real biological dentistry is
Conventional dentistry treats teeth. Real biological dentistry treats the person they belong to.
It brings biological medicine and dentistry together: one plan for the mouth and the body, carried out by a dentist and medical doctors treating the same patient. The body is prepared before surgery, the source of the problem is removed, the site is rebuilt so it heals into bone, and recovery is supported afterward.
A conventional dental office isn't set up for that. Dentistry and medicine are trained, licensed and paid for separately, so the two rarely meet. Dr. John learned the integrated model in Switzerland, training with Dr. Thomas Rau of the Paracelsus Clinic, and built his Denver practice around it.
The gap
| Conventional dentistry | Real biological dentistry | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts with | The tooth that hurts | Your history and your whole health |
| Before surgery | Rarely any medical preparation | Medical workup and preparation with licensed medical partners |
| After an extraction | The socket is usually left to heal on its own | The site is cleaned, filled and closed so it can heal into bone |
| Medicine and dentistry | Separate offices, separate plans | One plan, with both teams treating the same patient |
What to ask any dentist who says "biological"
- How long have you practiced this way, and where did you train?
- How do you remove old mercury fillings, and what protects me and your team while you do it?
- What happens to the socket after you take a tooth out?
- Do you work with medical doctors before and after surgery?
- Where can I read the research you rely on?
Why it should be the next recognized specialty
It is going to be the next dental specialty. I hope I see that before I die.
U.S. dentistry recognizes 12 specialties, from orthodontics to oral surgery. Each one means a defined body of knowledge, formal training and a standard a patient can check. Biological dentistry has none of that yet.
That leaves patients guessing. Anyone can put the word on a website, and no credential separates decades of training from a weekend course.
It leaves dentists on their own. Dental schools don't teach biological dentistry as its own discipline, so dentists who want it piece it together after graduation, over years, at their own expense.
And it leaves the care unpaid. Treatment that brings medicine and dentistry together takes two teams and more time, and insurance isn't built to cover it.
Dr. John's goal is a curriculum dentists can take before they graduate, and a standard the whole field can be held to.
See how he works
The BioDentist Way™ is his protocol for biological dental surgery, from preparation to healing.