EP126: From Root Canals to Root Cause with Dr. Eniko Loud and Sachin Patel

Perfect Practice

In this episode, Sachin and Dr. Eniko Loud talk about Dr. Loud’s training, background, and interest in applying functional medicine practices to holistic dental care. Dr. Loud explains there is more to dental care than treating cavities and broken teeth. Sometimes teeth break when there is uneven pressure in the bite. Dr. Loud explains how this happens. She covers what kinds of problems mouth-breathing can cause, why there is so much dental crowding and a functional problem with braces. Listen in for information on holistic and myofunctional dental therapy.

Key Takeaways:

[1:02] Sachin introduces the topic for today: oral health and beyond and introduces his guest Dr. Eniko Loud, a pioneer in the treatment of orofacial conditions. Dr. Loud provides dental care in a very holistic way using functional medicine. She focuses on the whole patient. Sachin shares more about Dr. Loud and how Joe Polish of Genius Network introduced them.

[3:33] Sachin welcomes Dr. Loud to the podcast.

[3:56] Dr. Loud was trained in medicine and dentistry in Europe. She had a passion for seeing the whole person. When she discovered functional medicine, it was a paradigm shift. She decided to get certified in functional medicine. She started making an impact on her patient’s health, with documents and dietary plans. She was excited about showing up for work.

[6:30] Dr. Loud tells how diseases of the body can show up on the tongue seven to 10 years before they show up in the body. She says bad breath is one of the biggest indicators of disease.

[8:11] Dr. Loud explains the patient's experience. The first appointment can take up to two hours. Based on functional medicine, there is a lot of listening and gathering of information. Before the appointment, Dr. Loud reviews records, diet, toxin exposure, and sleep habits. She connects all parts of the patient’s history with their oral health. Patients are amazed.

[9:38] Dr. Loud says this should be the standard of care in dentistry. Dr. Loud is a guide to her patients on their journey. She offers two ways, down the path of disease or the path of health. Most patients choose health. The patient is in the driver’s seat and makes all the decisions. Patients receive a report card after their hygienist appointment showing markers of health.

[12:15] The standard in Dr. Loud’s practice is for patients to have zero bleeding. That is how the patients can measure their success and progress.

[13:03] Bleeding gums might signal malnutrition. A lot of times, it indicates a lack of proper care. Mouth-breathing could be an issue or bacterial overgrowth even if they brush and floss properly. Toothbrush heads or mouth appliances may not be properly sterilized, spreading bacteria. Toothbrushes should be changed after two months. Dr. Loud likes electric toothbrushes.

[15:15] Dr. Loud likes Oral B iO series brushes. Dr. Loud says it rotates and oscillates so it is very effective at removing plaque.

[16:25] To tell if you have a tongue-tie, open your mouth wide and touch the roof of your mouth with your tongue. If you cannot, it is likely you have a tongue-tie. Dr. Loud explains some of the problems a tongue-tie can cause, and how the posture may be affected. Swallowing problems, sleep apnea, and snoring also may result from a tongue-tie.

[19:33] Dr. Loud describes a 3-D scan that can show abnormalities from a tongue tie. An oral surgeon can perform a frenectomy to relieve a tongue-tie.

[20:35] Dr. Loud recommends myofunctional therapy before and after a frenectomy to prepare the muscle for what it will have to do when the release is done.

[22:15] Two different things impact teeth; bacteria and forces. Most patients don’t know they have an overload of forces on their teeth. Dr. Loud explains what can happen when a crown is a few microns too high. This may change the joint position. If the forces are not distributed evenly, some teeth may be overloaded, crack, need a crown, have a root canal, and finally, extraction.

[26:11] Joint position problems may cause more extractions than tooth decay. There are different schools of thought on bite forces and the joints. It would require the dentist to start asking better questions like, “Why is this happening to my patients?” Wanting to learn to fix it may be the biggest problem.

[26:51] Dr. Loud works within a group called OBI Bioesthetic Dentistry and their focus is helping discover the root causes of dental diseases. Once they restore the natural anatomy of the teeth, the face immediately becomes rejuvenated. The focus is function. When you restore jaw joint function, muscles relax and don’t clench. There is no more joint pain and muscle tension.

[28:33] Orthodontics can aggravate the joint problem if the dentist doesn’t know what a stable bite should be or doesn’t have the knowledge to see the patterns of tooth wear. Dr. Loud explains the correct bite.

[31:13] After Invisalign, if the bite is still not mechanically correct, there are options available to correct the joint position. Dr. Loud explains the process she uses to keep the musculoskeletal system in balance. If there is tooth wear, they add back the enamel that’s missing with dental materials to restore the natural form of the tooth structure and stabilize the bite.

[33:01] Dr. Loud discusses research that reveals why dental crowding is happening in children. It may be due to diet and mouth-breathing. Dr. Loud recommends working with a myofunctional therapist and a pediatrician to remove dairy and sugar from the diet to reduce inflammation, mouth-breathing, and apnea.

[36:11] It wasn’t until after Breath, by James Nestor came out that Sachin learned the connection between mouth-breathing and dental problems. Breath is a diagnostic tool.

[38:13] About jaw size and wisdom teeth. Sachin’s relatives in India chewed on sticks to make toothbrushes. They had perfect teeth, no extractions, no braces, without having access to dentists. Soft foods and processed foods have weakened American teeth. Myofunctional therapists prescribe biting appliances to strengthen the joints and the bite.

[42:13] Dr. Loud explores functional medicine and has started a study of ayurvedic medicine. She is preparing to merge it into the functional medicine practice to address the emotional and spiritual parts of a patient, also.

[43:41] Dr. Loud shares her thoughts on the Ayurvedic principle of oil pulling. She believes it works by the effects of the herbs and the surface tension of the oil trapping the bacteria. She recommends it for people who have dry mouths. She tells the types she uses.

[45:12] Sachin thinks he should make an appointment with Dr. Loud on his next trip to Phoenix! He thanks Dr. Loud for the work that she does.

[45:52] Dr. Loud shares her contact information. See the links below.

[47:10] Dr. Loud talks about the associate she hired last year and is training her to help take care of patients. There has been a huge need since the podcast.

Mentioned in this episode

Perfect Practice Live

Joe Polish

Genius Network

Ben Greenfield Life Podcast

Oral B iO toothbrushes

Frenectomy

OBI Bioesthetic Dentistry

Invisalign

Breath, by James Nestor

Ayurvedic medicine

Dr. Eniko Loud:Dr. Eniko Loud is a pioneer in the treatment of orofacial conditions. She is reinventing the world of dental care with an in-depth holistic approach applying her extensive training in Functional Medicine. She is focused on treating the whole patient, not just the health of their teeth and gums, by examining biochemical, genetic, and lifestyle factors and how these impact the oral microbiome. She is a sought-after speaker in the world of cutting-edge holistic dental care and has appeared on podcasts such as Ben Greenfield Life and Treat The Source.”

Dr. Loud believes that providing excellent dental care is so much more than just treating the mouth, it requires treating the whole person. She acknowledges that one-size-fits-all dentistry is outdated and uses her training in functional medicine to identify disease patterns that caused oral health issues in the first place.

She is considered a “physician of the mouth” — getting to the root cause of dental hygiene issues, unique to each patient, that require disease resolution. Rather than just filling cavities, she examines the lifestyle factors, genetic, and biochemical imbalances that create disease in the mouth and guides patients to heal the underlying root cause. Her goal is to guide patients on their wellness journey toward optimal dental health.

Dr. Loud has had extensive training in all forms of dentistry as well as in functional and conventional medicine. She attended the School of Medicine and Dental Medicine in Romania, Oradea graduating with an MD and DDS degrees in 2000. In 2006 she obtained her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University and completed an AEGD residency, obtaining extensive experience in full-mouth rehabilitation and complex implant dentistry. She went on to complete a one-year Mastership in Implant Dentistry from American Dental Implant Association through Loma Linda University in 2009, then became the Dental Director for Bright Now Dental, overseeing the clinical development of 13 dental offices.

In 2013, she completed a Laser Associate Fellowship certification from the World Clinical Laser Institute, and in 2017 she completed a one-year Mastership in Implant Dentistry from the Global Institute for Dental Education. Finally, in 2019 she became a certified functional medicine provider by the Institute of Functional Medicine, one of only 3 certified dentists globally at the time. She received advanced training for applying for functional medicine in clinical practice, bioenergetics, cardio-metabolic diseases, environmental health and detoxification, gastrointestinal diseases, and hormone and immune-related conditions.

Following the completion of the IFM certification she attended the Kalish institute 12-month mentorship program for advanced lab interpretation, using lifestyle medicine and lab-based metabolic interpretations as part of a personalized medicine-based practice.

She is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health, the Institute of Functional Medicine, and the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. She is also an OBI Academy Member.

Connect with Eniko:

Website: Wholehealthdentistryaz.com

IG: @wholehealthdentistryaz

FB: Facebook.com/wholehealthdentistryaz

Phone: [phone]

More about your host Sachin Patel

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Books by Sachin Patel:

Perfect Practice: How to Build a Successful Functional Medical Business, Attract Your Ideal Patients, Serve Your Community, and Get Paid What You’re Worth

The Motivation Molecule: The Biological Secrets To Eliminate Procrastination, Skyrocket Productivity, and Get Sh!t Done