Something to Chew On: A Mouth Map to Health

"Something To Chew On" is a Health Manual first and foremost, but it is a Health Manual with a difference. The difference is a new way of seeing, a new and deeper understanding, a new perspective. And that new perspective is the difference that makes all the difference. It has been called The Health Manual With Teeth because it is effective. It gets the job done. It is effective yet it is gentle and easy to understand. Although its primary focus is the Mouth, it introduces the Mouth as the Mirror of the body. This means that the mouth can be seen as an excellent predictor of the health of the body as a whole. Indeed the mouth maps in clear terms the overall status of health of the individual, - mind, emotion and body. In order to understand this, we must adjust our perspective. We must look at things in a different way. In all there are 7 new perspectives The First New Perspective, - The Person As Partner This approach is quite different from the usual approaches to dental disease. Traditionally the focus is on the teeth and what can be done to them. The dentist finds the problems and then fixes them. The person has the minor role while the dentist has the major one. This model serves to keep the focus on the dentist and away from the person and so tends to promote dependence rather than independence. Our approach reverses the traditional approach. This means that the person assumes the major role and the dentist, the minor one. The person her/himself becomes the key factor in management with the dentist providing a guiding and helping role. The Second New Perspective, The Person As A Whole Holistic Dentistry - Understanding The Whole Person. This approach recognises the complex nature of a human being and the many factors that may be at play in problems manifesting in the mouth. This is a key new perspective. It acknowledges and welcomes the whole person,- mind, emotion, body and spirit. Seeing in this way enables prevention of disease in ways previously impossible and truly empowers the individual as 'captain of the ship'. The Third New Perspective, - the Mouth in all its glory The mouth is often seen as nothing more than a chewing device!! This book provides a very different way of looking. This new perspective allows a completely new understanding of the mouth and all its functions. We go beyond a purely mechanical view of the mouth as a 'food chewing system'. Certainly, it is one of the functions and a very important one at that but it is not the only one. We would introduce you to the Mouth as the Gateway of the Body. As such it is the organ through which we allow all manner of food and drink into the body. It is also a gateway for pollutants as well as cigarette smoke and alcohol. In this way, the Mouth can be seen as an Entrance Gateway. Our relationship with food and drink has many and varied consequences for our health. The first and most obvious is management of weight. However other conditions such as health of heart and health of arteries as well as health of pancreas and health of bowels are all directly related to our relationship with food. Our relationship with food has effects on the stomach and the acid it produces and this can directly affect the teeth. A gateway functions in both directions so we can see the mouth as an exit as well as anentrance. So now the Mouth is seen as the Organ of Communication and Expression. Through the mouth we express our thoughts and feelings and this is as vital to our wellbeing as our intake of food. In this regard we consider our relationship with "speaking our minds". This particular relationship has implications for our psychological and emotional health as well as the health of the jaws, teeth and gums. The Mouth can also be seen as an Organ of Pleasure and Enjoyment through which we experience an infinite variety of flavours, textures and tastes. This relationship has implications for psychological and emotional health as well, in that enjoyment or pleasure (particularly sexual pleasure) is sometimes seen in some cultures as wrong, selfish or 'sinful'. While this area is vitally important, it is not one of our particular areas of expertise. We do, however, strongly encourage people to pursue a healthy relationship in this area and if necessary to consult with those professionals who work in the field. The Fourth New Perspective, - Understanding the Nature of Habit. Unless negative and unhelpful habits are understood as founded on and supported by stress, there is little chance of dealing with them effectively. This is why we have had little success to date with these problems. This is why it happens that people give up cigarettes but put on weight as they substitute food or why people give up cigarettes and begin to suffer from tooth decay as they substitute sweet things for the cigarettes. We do not realise that we are not in fact, undoing the habits but merely changing them from one form to another. The Fifth New Perspective, - Understanding Past Failure - trying to change an Effect without reference to the Cause We must stop believing that changing the light-bulb will fix the electrical fault. In the same way that we must go to the fuse-board to find the source of the electrical fault, we must go back to the mind to find the source of our habits. The cause of a problem must be clearly understood before a solution can be proposed. The book shows how we have been focussing on fixing the effects of stress without reference to the cause. This basic error increases the problem rather than solves it. The Sixth New Perspective, - Dealing with Stress as a Priority Once stress is understood as the source of the problem, our treatment becomes the dissolution of stress in all its various disguises, - anxiety, worry, fear, resentment, upset, regret etc. As we address these issues in the gentlest way our stress dissolves and the habits and behaviours that were supported and strengthened by the stress become amenable to easy change. Our dis-ease is gently replaced with ease and comfort. The Seventh New Perspective, - The Gentle Approach is a Requirement not an Optional Extra. To be gentle may sound like an option, something which can be used or not. Gentleness and patience are essential to healing because they dissolve stress and tension which produce disease in the first place. Any force or effort produces stress and tension and leads to more disease, not less.

About the Author :
Philip Christie is a native of Finglas, North Dublin and was educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S., Glasnevin. He was conferred with a Bachelor's Degree in Dental Science at Trinity College Dublin in 1980. His research in the field of Periodontology earned him a Masters Degree in Dental Science, again from Trinity College Dublin in 1995. His main interest in dental health has always been in the prevention of disease. Currently based in Waterford City, Philip Christie brings to the practice of Dentistry a holistic and people-centered approach. Through his easy and friendly manner and deep understanding of the issues that lie behind dental disease, he helps dissolve the fears and phobias which traditionally surround a dental visit. The insights shared in this work form the basis for the Integrated Model of Dental Care which this author brings to the field of Dental Science.