Your Teeth Are Organs And They Might Be Making You Sick | Dr. Katie To | | DSH #1837

Summary

Podcast Summary: Digital Social Hour – DSH #1837

Episode: "Your Teeth Are Organs And They Might Be Making You Sick"
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Dr. Katie To
Date: February 24, 2026
Length: ~28 minutes

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Episode Overview

This eye-opening episode explores the concept that teeth are not just bones, but actual organs integral to overall health. Dr. Katie To, a biological and wellness dentist, shares personal and professional insights into the health risks of traditional dental practices, especially mercury exposure, and how dental health links intricately to issues like chronic illness, fertility, autoimmune disease, and even mental health. The discussion challenges mainstream dental and medical assumptions, offering alternatives for safer, holistic care.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Teeth as Organs and the Oral-Systemic Connection

• Definition: Each tooth has nerves, blood vessels, lymphatic flow, and a function—qualifying it as an organ.
  • Dr. Katie: “Each tooth have...lymphatic, have nerve, they have vascular blood flow through it, and they have function. So that's the definition of an organ.” (00:02)
• Systemic Impact: Every tooth independently connects to different body systems. Oral health cannot be separated from full-body health.

2. Dr. Katie’s Personal Journey with Mercury Toxicity

• Origin Story: As a dentist, Dr. Katie developed mysterious illnesses—later identified as heavy metal (mercury) toxicity due to dental amalgams.
  • “Dentistry almost killed me.” (01:26)
• Institutional Blind Spots: Dental education failed to warn about occupational and patient exposure risks, leading Dr. Katie to confront her practice’s safety.
• Pregnancy Warning: High mercury levels can be passed to children, potentially leading to developmental and spectrum disorders.
  • Doctor’s warning: “If you get pregnant right now, your kid can have a lot of spectrum disorders and conditions.” (05:40)

3. Mercury in Dentistry and Regulatory Gaps

• Current Use: Mercury-containing amalgam fillings are still widely used in the U.S., despite bans in other developed countries (e.g., Sweden, Brazil). (02:53–03:17)
• Myth-Busting: So-called “silver” fillings are actually ~50% mercury; the rest is potentially allergenic metals like nickel and aluminum. (02:15)
• Ongoing Exposure: Mercury vapor is released during chewing, tooth brushing, and temperature changes.
  • “Every day when people are brushing their teeth if they have these mercury fillings in their mouth.” (02:15)

4. Symptoms Neglected by Traditional Medicine

• Ignored Warning Signs: Chronic, unexplained illnesses in dental professionals are often dismissed as stress or aging. Even classic tremors in older dentists are “normalized.”
  • “We just thought, oh, it's just being old...but nobody taught.” (04:45–04:49)
• Dentist Suicide Rates: Chronic mercury exposure is speculated to contribute to high suicide rates and “mad hatter” symptoms among dentists. (04:29–04:34)

5. Slow, Personalized Detoxification

• Non-Universal Healing: Detox methods must be tailored to individual genetics, detox pathways, and tolerance—Dr. Katie couldn’t handle IV chelation and had to take a “slow route.”
  • “You need to learn about your detox pathway, your DNA, you know, how's your body process? Are you a hoarder? Are you excreter?” (06:02)
• Lifestyle Shifts: Ongoing detox requires diet change, sleep, exercise, sauna, specialized supplements, and professional guidance. (06:02–07:14)

6. Oral Health, COVID, and Masks

• Mouth Breathing & Cavities: Mask wearing increased mouth breathing, dry mouth, and shifts in oral microbiome, leading to more cavities and infections in both health workers and patients.
  • “I seen like a spike of cavities in my patient when they're wearing masks...” (07:44)

7. Preventive, Biological Dental Practice

• Biological Dentistry: Dr. Katie’s practice focuses on wellness, saliva testing (to identify bacteria linked to diseases like heart disease or dementia), and comprehensive oral evaluation, including scans for hidden jaw infections.
  • “We do saliva testing...because we need to understand what bacteria causing, you know, dementia, what bacteria causing heart problem.” (09:00)
• Treatment Model: Eliminate infection/heavy metal first, then restore and regenerate lost oral anatomy.

8. Rethinking Dental Treatments and Cosmetics

• Conservation Over Cosmetics: Removing healthy tooth structure (via veneers, crowns) is discouraged. Some patients now seek natural health over “American Standard” bright-white, straight smiles.
• Anecdote: Dr. Katie tells of a pageant winner refusing free veneers, embracing natural dental health. (12:01–12:51)

9. Natural Oral Care at Home

• DIY Toothpaste: Dr. Katie recommends brushing with a paste made only of organic cold-pressed coconut oil and baking soda for natural whitening and a healthy oral microbiome.
  • “You can make that with two ingredients...and coconut oil also makes your teeth whiter...” (13:25–14:57)
• Fluoride: Called out as a neurotoxin; overexposure is cautioned against.

10. Tools and Techniques: Water Picks vs. Floss Picks

• Water Picks Win: Floss picks just move bacteria around (“like reusing toilet paper”); water picks with distilled water are the gold standard.
  • “The floss pick is like using the same piece of some square toilet paper everywhere.” (19:50)
  • “You can put some Celtic salt, some sea salt in there, but yes. No. No tap water in your water.” (20:51)
• Brushing & Gums: Focus on brushing the gum line, as that’s where bacteria accumulate. (22:39)

11. The Tongue Tie Revelation & Body Connection

• Tongue Tie Epidemic: 9 out of 10 patients have tongue ties, often undetected and inherited generationally.
  • “Anyone that has retainers or orthodontic treatment is because their tongue did not do the job properly.” (25:37)
• Consequences: Tongue ties can cause crowding, need for braces, improper jaw development, even posture and nerve problems.
• Personal Story: Physical therapy and tongue exercises solved Dr. Katie’s arm numbness—an issue three surgeons misdiagnosed (carpal tunnel/neck/shoulder).
  • “Eight years. I have no numbness in my arm. I did not have surgery...” (24:12)

12. Diet, Gut, and Water Quality

• Oral-Gut-Skin Connection: Downstream health issues (eczema, acne) usually start upstream (mouth, gut).
  • “You cannot biohack your way out of a sick mouth.” (17:17)
• Water: Emphasis on brushing and irrigating only with clean, filtered, or distilled water. Tap water is discouraged, and patients are advised to check water quality in their zip code.
  • “If that water is not clean...you’ll be like, that is not going to go into my mouth.” (19:22)

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Memorable Quotes

• “Dentistry almost killed me.” – Dr. Katie (01:26)
• “Every single tooth in your mouth is an independent organ that connect[s] to different systems in your body.” – Dr. Katie (00:26, 11:26)
• “Toothpaste is not replacing the brushing... it just makes your brushing experience a much better experience.” – Dr. Katie (13:35)
• “The floss pick is like using the same piece of some square toilet paper everywhere.” – Dr. Katie (19:50)
• “You cannot biohack your way out of a sick mouth.” – Dr. Katie (17:17)

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Notable Moments & Timestamps

• Introduction; Teeth as Organs: 00:00–00:30
• Dr. Katie’s mercury toxicity story: 00:41–01:42
• Mercury in fillings, global bans, US lagging: 02:15–03:28
• Connection between dentist health issues, suicide rate: 04:29–04:49
• Mercury’s impact on fertility & pregnancy: 05:07–05:41
• Personalized detox challenges & strategies: 06:02–07:14
• Masks, mouth breathing & oral infections: 07:38–08:11
• Biological dentistry practice; saliva testing: 09:00–10:00
• DIY toothpaste recipe and oral care philosophy: 13:25–14:57
• Water picks vs. floss picks: 19:46–20:50
• Tongue tie, braces, jaw development: 23:03–26:34
• Oral-gut-skin axis, water quality advice: 17:17–19:46

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Resources & Where to Find Dr. Katie

• Instagram: @drkatieto
• Location: Katy, Texas (Greater Houston Area)
• Collaborates with: Oncologists, functional medicine doctors, and other medical professionals

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Tone: Conversational, passionate, and direct, with a blend of personal experience and professional expertise. Dr. Katie’s approach is both empathetic and challenging to established norms.

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Summary Suitability:
This summary captures the episode’s central message: oral health is the foundation of systemic wellness, and both conventional wisdom and standard care need rethinking. Dr. Katie’s personal journey humanizes the science while empowering listeners with preventative, actionable alternatives.

Transcript

[Dr. Katie]

When people think about teeth, they were like, oh, just pull that one out.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

Or they just kill it and make a. Do a root canals out of it. People don't think about tooth like an organ, but each tooth have like all the function of what the organ look like. So they have lymphatic, have nerve, they have vascular blood flow through it, and they have function. So that's the definition of an organ. So every single tooth in your mouth is an independent organ that connect to different system in your body. People don't see the importance of that connection. So they said something happened to it. Just take it out.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, guys, Fellow podcast host, today we are at a 4M. We got Dr. Katie to. We're going to talk about the mouth today.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

How important it is. How'd you get started in all this?

[Dr. Katie]

I actually started as a patient being a dentist for almost a decade. At that point, I thought I did really great. I had all my teeth actually have more teeth than most Americans. Most Americans have to get their wisdom teeth removed. I was so proud. I had all the space and room for that. Never had a feeling in my life. And then got really sick mysteriously back in 2018. And all my regular doctors said, everything's fine, you find nothing wrong with it. Until they find out that I actually had a heavy metal of toxicity and the source came in from my work, actually dentistry. And so I actually got a bit upset when I found out about that because I never taught about that. Right. The school never taught us, never taught us how to protect ourselves, never taught us that this could happen to you, that could affect your fertility issues, could causing autoimmune issues and things like that. And so I had to go through the journey as a patient and find out that dentistry almost killed me.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

And I have to find a way to practice dentistry or I have to quit dentistry. It's really an ultimatum of like quitting dentistry right now or you have to practice differently. And that's when I filed biological wellness dentistry, where I can protect myself from that mercury exposure, but also protect my team, my patient. Because if that happened to me, it could happen to any of the patient in the chair.

[Podcast Host]

So you were basically performing procedures on people and then the mercury was leaking into your body. Right.

[Dr. Katie]

The mercury is a heavy metal, but when you're cutting and drilling, it's actually a vapor.

[Sponsor Voice 1]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

And university in Canada actually proven and did the experiment and recording and see the vapor coming out when you actually drown in it out and it's released when you're chewing gums. And drinking water that have different temperature. So it's actually happening every day when people are brushing their teeth if they have these mercury fillings in their mouth. You know, the funny thing is they think these fillings look like silver. So you know they cause silver filling. I have silver filling. There's no silver in there. It's 50% is mercury and the rest are just a lot of mixed alloy that could cause people reaction like nickels, aluminum, things like that.

[Podcast Host]

Are they still using mercury a lot?

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. The funny thing is we are first world country and we have not make it illegal to ban amalgam mercury filling. But Europe have banned it. Country like the Sweden like banned it in 2009. Country like Brazil banned it a long time ago. And we still accept the fact that it's normal to place in the patient, especially children.

[Podcast Host]

America seems to always be behind when it comes to health banning things in the health industries too.

[Dr. Katie]

Too slow.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. The food guys are still just got banned last year. But most countries banned those years ago.

[Dr. Katie]

That's right.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So you can't really rely on regulation to be healthy. I think you need to take accountability in your own hands.

[Dr. Katie]

That's right. Either you wait for it to happen to you and then do something about it like that's what I did because I didn't know. Or you hear this message and say, oh my God, let me go check it out.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Did your co workers experience the same thing when you were working at that place?

[Dr. Katie]

Interestingly, when I start sharing my story, so many people came to me and said that's happened to me too. My face was swollen like that. I have similar symptoms and all my doctor just downplayed and said it's stress is, you know, motherhood is entrepreneurship. Like they just don't really listen and dig deeper.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

Because even just the basic evaluation from your regular doctor is never go deep enough to know like is that any environmental mole, heavy metal parasite, all of that exists around as microplastic. Right. Chemical that we exposed to. They never check that and so they can't tell what accumulations and how our body been dealing with for all this time.

[Podcast Host]

Makes you wonder because dentists had the highest suicide rate for a while. Right?

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Makes you wonder why.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. Because mercury exposed exposure chronically like gave you the symptom like a mad hatter. Right. And I actually witnessed a lot of my professor in dental school have like tremoring.

[Podcast Host]

Geez.

[Dr. Katie]

And we just thought, oh, it's just being old.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

You know, you cannot have tremor at 56 or like 60 years old. But they accept that's a norm because nobody taught.

[Podcast Host]

That's terrible. I feel so bad because these people are going into med school, spending hundreds of thousands to become a dentist, and then they're getting sick. It's terrible, right?

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. And no one really teaching them how to protect themselves. And a lot of us kind of blame ourselves when something happened, even to our kid. Because it's proven that if you have loaded with mercury and you have children, your children could have a lot of medical issues. In fact, when I was trying to get pregnant in 2019, when I'm a year out of my treatment, at that point my doctor actually sit me down and say, do not get pregnant. Your mercury level in your system is too high. And if you get pregnant right now, your kid can have a lot of spectrum disorders and conditions.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

And I was like, no one told me that, you know, and they even told me that if you try to get pregnant, you can't because your level is too high. Your body won't, you know, having successful pregnancy. And so just knowing that just scary. Because how many people are struggling with infertility these days?

[Podcast Host]

A lot.

[Dr. Katie]

But they have no idea.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, a lot of people. How did you get the mercury out of your body?

[Dr. Katie]

You know, interestingly, this is coming to like personalizations. It's not a one side fit all. We know that about medicine. So at first they try to do it with chelation. So it's just very similar to chemo. You get hookup to an IV for a few hours and then know supposed to do that about 10, 20 times. My system just shut down. Because you need to learn about your detox pathway, your DNA, you know, how's your body process? Are you a hoarder? Are you excreter? Right. So that experience was painful because I realized I cannot detox that quickly. So I had to do it slowly through lifestyle changes. Which is a lot of people thinking like, oh, I just do that for 30 days and I'll be good. No, as a permanent lifestyle changes and then detox through, you know, saunas, working out, changing your diet, focus on your sleep. Things that actually people doing with biohacking and longevity. And that would help your body detox slowly. On top of that, you had to work with medical providers. A lot of them is actually here. I use cellcore products are using a lot of product that naturally but help you detox through open the channels, your kidney, your liver. While you actually see the different and feel the difference after the detox, I'm still in the process of it, even eight years later.

[Sponsor Voice 2]

Geez.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Because those plastics, right. They stay around forever so much.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

And every time you fill the cavity, there was plastics flying all over the place.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. And people don't think about that. You know, they draw anything, they do anything. And they think wearing the mask would protect them from that. We all know that during COVID Yeah,

[Podcast Host]

that was straight cap, the mask. Yeah. I can't ever look at a mask the same anymore. You know what I mean? It doesn't protect. No, not even close.

[Dr. Katie]

It's actually make people breathe through their mouth more. Yes.

[Podcast Host]

And now getting oral infections.

[Dr. Katie]

That's right. I seen like a spike of cavities in my patient when they're wearing masks because they could not breathe very well through their mouth. And so they know it's actually. So they use their mouth to breathe. And the microbiome, the dry mouth, the bad breath, that's just like bonus. But the.

[Podcast Host]

The.

[Dr. Katie]

The dry up of the saliva in the mouth causing bad microbiome to thrive. And so people like, I actually got sicker. Like. Yeah, you're doing that by breathing through your mouth.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. So that must suck for doctors and nurses that have to wear a mask all day at work, huh?

[Dr. Katie]

That's right.

[Podcast Host]

And their mouth breathing. And then they probably have a ton of cavities.

[Dr. Katie]

That's true. Because I have medical doctors in my family and they have the most cavities.

[Podcast Host]

It's ironic, right?

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. And they never got thought about, you know, the proper nutritions. Right. So you go to the pantry and you see all the snacks and you're like, oh my goodness.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

They'll just munch away.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. They are healer. But they actually not know how to heal themselves.

[Podcast Host]

Nope. I never go to doctors for preventative advice. You know, it's like a last resort

[Dr. Katie]

thing because, you know, not only that 50 that we taught in school already wrong. By the time we graduated.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Dr. Katie]

But it's also that the school taught us to like patching the work and more like emergency. It's not about, hey, this is going to keep you lift longer and healthier, you know?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. So what you do is more preventative now, right?

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. So we focus on wellness. Obviously, in our practice, we divide into two phases. Most people come in, they have no idea of what bacteria they have in their mouth. We do saliva testing for that because we need to understand what bacteria causing, you know, dementia, what bacteria causing heart problem. And we work with a medical doctor and say, hey, this is the saliva test from your patient. And this show high we're going to work on it. And so we have to focus on bringing them back to wellness, right to health first. So eliminate bacteria overgrown the mouth and also any of the material like the heavy metal with mercury filling and in any infection because a lot of infection in the mouths are not as simple. It's asymptomatic, you don't feel anything. People just walk around with jaw infection have no idea. So CBCT for example to show the area of that the infection is hidden. So those are the first stage to make sure that we know everything about your mouth and how that connects to your body. And then we get a game plan to get back to wellness. And then once you achieve can't focus,

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[Dr. Katie]

Quantumupgradeio that then now you can focus on about hey, let's rebuild what I lost. If you have to, you get some bone loss. Let's see how we can preserve and regrow that. And and then also how to keep that longevity, how to be able to keep the teeth of bones. You know, is something wrong with your fingers? And you're like hey, let's just cut it off. But you don't think about that like nobody do that obviously. But when people think about teeth, they were like oh just pull that one out.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

Or they just kill it and make a do a root canals out of it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

So people don't think about tooth like an organ. Each tooth have like all the function of what the organ look like. So to have lymphatic, they have nerve, they have vascular blood flow through it and they have function. So that's the definition of an organ. So every single tooth in your mouth is an independent organ that connect to different system in your body. So people don't see the importance of that connection. So they said something happened to it. Just take it out or just kill it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It's crazy to me that people just put a crown or a veneer over it too.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. Because that's something that you grind or you take it away and you cannot grow it back.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

At least for now we can grow the enamel, the tooth structure back. And so a lot of time people don't understand, but when I notice that people are educated, they listen to, you know, informations and they're like, oh, I don't want to do that itching story. I have a really, you know, famous patient and she's would get veneers and, you know, all this cosmetic work done for free because people would just want to walk around with their product. She actually did research and came to our office and say, I don't want to have this veneers on my teeth. And I want you to look at my teeth and say how I can improve that in terms of health and wellness. And someone like her who can get free treatment. Right. Who can have a better smile according to American Standard, which is white and straight and bright. She's actually did her research and still went on and win like international contest because she's a natural beauty.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

So I love and respect that. Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Good for her.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

I like natural beauty. I don't like the fake stuff. There's so much fake stuff these days and it's crazy.

[Dr. Katie]

Take a lot more to maintain that. And you also notice that your teeth help you to taste and choose food. And so when you don't have that confidence or that longevity, it's hard for you to be in social setting. Right. And also like how many times in your lifetime you have to do that to maintaining that. So yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Everyone in America at least does seem the white wants white teeth. Have you seen anything work naturally for that?

[Dr. Katie]

Absolutely. Amazingly, it's actually very cheap to do it. You can just have need two ingredient, which is organic cold pressed coconut oil and baking soda.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Dr. Katie]

You know, when patients come to me and say, oh my God, Dr. Katie, there's toothpaste all over the market from, you know, the big box store to online, you know, from $5 a tube to like a hundred dollars or two. Which one should I use? I said, you know, toothpaste is not replacing the brushing. It's just like you can do all the supplement if you don't move your body, you don't do the work. It's not going to work the way it's supposed to. So toothpaste just make your brushing experience a much better experience. It doesn't replace the brushing itself. So you still have to brush, massage the gum, brush the gum and the teeth. So the best toothpaste is what make that experience better without introducing you to more chemicals and toxins.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Dr. Katie]

So obviously we don't want more fluoride. We're going to expose to so much of it. And it's a neurotoxin. We also don't want to have things that make it foamy, but it make your, you know, microbiome destroy. Right. People abuse toothpaste and mouthwash for that. Yes. And so for us, we like, hey, make your own toothpaste. You can make that with two ingredients. And baking soda actually make your teeth whiter. And coconut oil also makes your teeth whiter so you have healthier. Right. And healthy ingredient is just two. You can make it at home, make it into the consistency that you like. And then if you want some of healthy flavor to it, you can put some essential oil. You know, we talk a lot on

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[Dr. Katie]

Anything that you want to put in there and, and make it your own toothpaste.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna try that.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah, definitely. You actually will see your ticket writer. Really?

[Podcast Host]

Really?

[Dr. Katie]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Yours are looking very white. I did the red light.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

On them. It hurt a lot though. I'm not going to lie. I was so sensitive for like three days after that.

[Dr. Katie]

Oh, wow.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. You know which one I'm talking about? Where they shine a light on your teeth for like 30 minutes.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. Because what it does is actually irritate your teeth and dehydrate your teeth. That's why your teeth was sensitive or painful. The next few days it's just an inflammation response.

[Podcast Host]

It was whiter. But I don't know if I'd want to do that all the time. You know, just did it before.

[Dr. Katie]

You want something that low maintenance but beneficial at the same time.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

That's what biohacking or stacking is. Right. We get like sit in a sauna and then put the red line and then reading like we can stack so many things in one one.

[Podcast Host]

I'm all about it.

[Dr. Katie]

That's right.

[Podcast Host]

Love stacking.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. Yeah, I can see how efficient you are.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I'm all about efficiency.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Where's your practice? Is it personally or.

[Dr. Katie]

So my practice in Katy, Texas. Dr. Katie and Katie. And it's just right outside Houston.

[Podcast Host]

Got it. Houston.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. But we're very blessed because we are in greater Houston area. So we have access to a lot of open mind, like minded medical professional that become a huge network of. We work together. So for example, we have a lot of oncologist, functional medicine doctor on the team because they understand the importance of the mouth and the body connection.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Dr. Katie]

Because we plan to dumb into the patient that anything above the neck is like an upstream. Because we are an upright human. We're standing up. We're sitting up. So anything in your mouth would drain the downstream, which is your hormone, your gut. And so you have hormonal gut problem, which is a lot of us do. Then you have to look at the mouth because you cannot by hiking your way out of a sick mouth. If you have bacteria, you're having mercury, you're having infection in your jaw, you. You gotta have it check out because your body not gonna be able to optimize when you have roadblocks that in the upstream.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. Yeah. The. The body's linked. Right. Each organ is tied to the mouth.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. Because a human we heal from the inside out and then top down. That's why you see people with eczema or skin problem. It's actually a good problem.

[Podcast Host]

That makes sense.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. So anytime you see any of the symptom or conditions downstream, you have to look at the upstream and where is it coming from.

[Podcast Host]

What about acne?

[Dr. Katie]

Acne is also is a gut problem. You know, whatever you eating that causing the inflammation because people usually Been taught treating it topically. Yeah, that's what dermatologists like, oh, use this cream, doing that. But when you are treating it, does the body just try to help you to contain that? That's why acne is right. Or different kind of like lesion on the skin, just like contain that to make sure it not spreading. So when you see that, you have to treat the root cause, which is look at the top, from the bottom, upstream, downstream. And honestly, look at what you're exposed to every day. Not just food, water. Right. People drink water thinking water is good, but not all waters are the same.

[Podcast Host]

Most tap water is terrible.

[Dr. Katie]

I'd rather not drinking it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I'd never drink it. But even showering in it, you need a filter. Right.

[Dr. Katie]

So when patient come in, we asking what kind of water do they use at home, what they brushing and shower with? And they're like, why does that matter? I said, because you're brushing with that water twice a day and if that water is not clean and you actually can go to EWG.org and type in your zip code and you would stop drinking that water, you'll be like, that is not going to go into my mouth. So we're actually asking patient to brush. Like if they have the city water especially know exactly what in the zip code, then have either distilled water for their water pick. Because it's a medical procedure, you irrigate your mouth or sinus ring, they have to use distilled water. Because people thinking every water is the same and you know, brush your teeth at least have to be a filter or spring water.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. You like the water pick more than the floss picks.

[Dr. Katie]

I love the water pick. Okay. I think people wouldn't get so gross to apologize for that. But the floss pick is like using the same piece of some square toilet paper everywhere. So one, we have a microscope in the office. So when patient come in, we do a face contrast microscope. We take a sample of saliva and bacteria under the gum and put under microscope. And people freak because they start seeing these bugs and parasites swimming. So you think about if you are taking the, the flosspic and you go from one area which is your upper right, then go to the upper left all across go down. You are just smearing those bacterias around.

[Podcast Host]

Oh my God. I'm going to, I'm going to throw all my not. So I got to get a water pick done.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes, yes.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

Because the water pick actually will help also breaking down the biofilm. And the biofilm is what actually you Know increase inflammations and make your body want to attacking it.

[Podcast Host]

You've sold me. Yeah. So water pick with distilled water.

[Dr. Katie]

That's right.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. You can put some Celtic salt, some sea salt in there, but yes. No. No tap water in your water.

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[Dr. Katie]

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[Dr. Katie]

Wow. And no. No floss pick.

[Podcast Host]

I thought I was doing something.

[Dr. Katie]

Flosspit can be for emergency, right? You can put in the pocket. You have one spot that bothering you. You can do that and throw it away.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Dr. Katie]

But just think about a toilet paper comparison or analogy. Once you hear that, you're like I would never reuse that or use it on different area in my mouth.

[Sponsor Voice 2]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Electric toothbrush or regular electric toothbrush for

[Dr. Katie]

people that don't have the hand skill and the manual toothbrush works just as fine if you are brushing long enough. So it's not about what you're using, is about how long you're brushing and are you brushing your gum? Because most people brushing the teeth, but they don't understand that the, the contact between the gum, the teeth is where all the bacteria is living.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Dr. Katie]

That's what we see on the microscope. That's what we see on all of the. We actually have a protein diet that we put in the patient man. We can see where all this biofilm located and it's always right at the end of the tooth and beginning of the gum. So people have to brush that area and massage it. Because people are like, oh, I don't want to brush my gum, it hurt. Well, you have to because you have to bring the circulations and remove the biofilm in that area.

[Podcast Host]

That's good to know. I might get my tongue tie cut too.

[Dr. Katie]

That's a good thing that you bring it up.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

So you actually have a few decade of that tongue being tied. Right. Since you was born. So if you want to release it, you got to have to have myofunctional therapy, which is a therapy for the tongue, to stretch it to build the new muscle memory on the tongue before you release it. Because if you go and release, it's a quick five, ten minute procedure, painless because you'll be numb, but your tongue won't know where to go. It doesn't have that new memory to go to where it's supposed to, which is the roof of the mouth.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Dr. Katie]

And personal story because I'm always feel like I'm the patient before I became a healer is I had really bad numbness on my arm, on the right arm. And I was told that I have a carpal tunnel syndrome, which is very common for dentists. And then I get a second opinion. And they said, oh, actually you're shorter. And I said, weird. Two surgeons have two different diagnosis. And I went to the third and they said, no, actually your neck. And I'm like, okay, now I'm kind of lost trust because I don't know which diagnosis is true because all of them require surgery.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Dr. Katie]

And that mean you'd be out of work for a long time, plus a scar, plus a complication. And so I went to my physical therapist and I said, hey, in the meantime, I need to work this to make sure I can see patients, make sure I'm not be able to I be able to sleep at night because the numbing was so, so severe. And then he said, you know what, your posture is leaning forward. Have you ever get your tongue checked? I'm a dentist. You know, dentists also don't get the dental care like what we tell patients. We CU so busy. Right. We just only do it when we have time. And especially working by yourself, like no one looking at you unless you make an appointment at your friend office and go there. So I said, oh my gosh, what do you mean tongue? He's like, well, your head is pulling forward. The tongue tie. The ties connect all the way to your tip of your toe. So if you fix that, that will release your neck, that release your shoulder, and also releasing the numbing on your hand. Wow. And I said, you know what, I had nothing to lose at that point. Surgery, surgery, surgery. Or go ahead and do that tongue exercise first. So of course, you know, I have the proper support getting the myofunctional therapy myself, doing all the exercise. And magically it's been eight years. I have no numbness in my arm. I did not have surgery in the wrist, no surgery in the shoulder, and no neck surgery. And how many patients I see have all that surgery done without any proper evaluation from the mouth?

[Podcast Host]

That's crazy.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. I would say nine out of 10 patients we see every day have tongue tie.

[Podcast Host]

That's a lot.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes, because it's generational, because of industrialization, because of the food, the soy, the water. So you were born with that condition. It's not your fault your mom has a tongue tie. Your grandma probably have a tongue tie. Your great great grandparents may not, but it kind of passed down. And so that's the reason why most American children have braces. But the tongue tie prevent the jaw from expanding naturally. And so you need someone to expand your jaw or fitting the teeth in the right places. So anyone that have retainers or have orthodontic treatment is because their tongue did not do the job properly.

[Podcast Host]

That's crazy. I never knew it was connected like that. I had braces as a kid.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. As an indication. So anyone tell me like, hey, I had braces when I was younger and then if I don't wear my retainer, my teeth move. I know immediately without even looking at them and say you have tongue tie. And the tongue tie is so common. To the point, if you have tongue tie, more likely you have an mthfr.

[Podcast Host]

I have that too.

[Sponsor Voice 2]

Man, you're reading me like a book.

[Dr. Katie]

Right? Because now they're not detox properly. No wonder they have all this gluten sensitive and these dairy problems and you know, these skin problems. It's because they also don't detox and they bombard it with chemical and exposure to all these toxins. So yeah, I think growing up in this world is hard in this day and age. Like our kid is so work so much harder to be healthy than generation before us.

[Podcast Host]

I think so too. Yeah. 66% of their diets processed foods now.

[Dr. Katie]

And it's affecting their mental health. I mean, they can't focus well if they don't sleep well. Right. Most kids with tongue tie also mouth breathing.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I'm a big mouth breather. That sucks. I've been trying to like fix up.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes. So when they mar, guess what? They have more cavities. Yeah, they have more cavities.

[Podcast Host]

Seven cavities last couple months, man. You know me so well.

[Sponsor Voice 1]

That's so crazy.

[Dr. Katie]

So when we see parents come in and say, oh, my God, I. I don't feed my kids sugar. I do everything this time. And he still have cavity and the first thing we ask is like, okay, mouth breathing. Oh, yes. How do you know that? And so even parents, it's like, pediatrician don't get education on that. They have no idea. And they're supposed to see Kit once a year, Right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. I was eating so good too. Yeah, I was shocked. Yeah, it's gotta be the mouth breathing.

[Dr. Katie]

The mouth breathing. And you know, pediatrician don't even do blood work on children unless they get really sick. And so how do you know what to supplement them if you don't track it?

[Podcast Host]

They're just guessing.

[Dr. Katie]

That's right. If you don't test it, you guess it. Yeah, exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. Well, I need to come to your office anytime.

[Dr. Katie]

Hey, when you come to the biohacking event in Texas, come by.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, go to Asprey's event. I'll try to stop by.

[Dr. Katie]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

This was so great. I learned a lot. Where could people find you?

[Dr. Katie]

Yeah. So Dr. Katie to on Instagram and social and of course, I'm from Katy, Texas, so you can just type it in. And we love to take care of and answer any question. I know a lot of questions from the viewers, so I'll be happy to answer them.

[Podcast Host]

Perfect. Shoot her a message, guys. Thanks for watching. See you next time. Peace.

[Sponsor Voice 1]

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[Sponsor Voice 2]

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