Faithful to a commitment to good dental hygiene, millions of individuals schedule dental checkups several times each year. As we recline in the cushy chair and open wide, we are rarely surprised to hear about the latest options in restorative dental services such as one-stop crown visits, tooth whitening, periodontal therapy, ceramic to replace mercury fillings, and even braces for adults. However, many of us would undoubtedly be astonished to hear our dentist provide information on preventive suggestions for problems with blood sugar, bone or heart health, and excess weight. We are even less likely to anticipate a suggestion on how to correct tongue-tie or lip-tie, caused by an unusually short, thick membrane connecting the underside of the tongue to the mouth. These conditions are often seen at birth and frequently untreated; yet, both can cause a wide range of difficulties.

Mark Corke, DDS, owner of Laser Dentistry in Fort Myers, uses his laser to treat this condition that varies from mild cases to the extreme where the tongue is tethered to the floor of the mouth, affecting speech and oral hygiene.

Corke performs laser surgery not only on adults but also on newborn babies who are having problems with breastfeeding. “I first became aware of the difficulty caused by tongue-tie and lip-tie via the Tongue Tie Babies Support group on Facebook. Few women get answers or support from their pediatricians, who often deem the problem insignificant even though it is particularly painful to the mother and exasperating for the child who has great difficulty in nursing,” advises Corke, who attended a conference in Montreal to get educated on the problem as well as the surgical solution. Before Corke offered the surgery, which he finds particularly rewarding, adults and children had to travel to Tampa or Fort Lauderdale for the procedure.

 “For too long we have treated the body as a lot of separate parts and systems when in fact everything is connected,” says Corke. “For example, I released a tongue-tie for an adult who reported that it relieved her shoulder and neck pain.”

Another local dentist also goes above and beyond the conventional dental system.
More than 18 years ago, Naples-based holistic dentist William Lovett, DDS, began researching the necessary ingredients for a dietary supplement formula that could help his wife reverse her diagnosis of bilateral severe osteoporosis in her hips. The results of his six months of research was a chewable supplement that he has manufactured by a local company that upholds the quality standards of the Natural Products Association’s third-party Good Manufacturing Process (GMP). He sells his USP verified brand of vitamins and minerals with calcium, specifically designed and proven to reverse osteoporosis and osteopenia, to patients and the general public. “My wife has been free of osteoporosis for 18 years,” says Lovett, who believes in synchronizing oral health with total body health.

Lovett’s holistic philosophy paved the way for him to meet and partner with John Payne in Tucson, Arizona. Payne developed several supplement formulas, including a metabolic stabilizer, using only plants that have survived and adapted to environmental changes throughout millions of years. The two men are planning seminars and training sessions for doctors and dentists, who want to help their patients beyond the dental chair. “We plan to help shift the present paradigm to one of a whole-systems model,” says Lovett, who points out several recent studies by researchers at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry. “According to their studies, poor dental hygiene can not only lead to tooth decay, it can lead to the world’s most common inflammatory condition—periodontitis, which is considered an “osteoimmune” condition similar to osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Both are associated with bone loss.

Dr. Mark Corke, Laser Dentistry, 1550 Matthew Dr., Fort Myers. Call 239-936-5442 or visit FortMyersLaserDentist.com.

Dr. William E. Lovett, 860 111th Ave. N., Ste. 5, Naples. Call 239-593-4911 or visit DentalCareNaplesFL.net.