ORAL HEALTH REVEALS YOUR HEALTH

Posted on December 1, 2025December 9, 2025 by admin

UNCOMMON
APPROACH

December 1, 2025

your mouth is a reflection of your health.

Most people think dental care is a separate category of health, getting your teeth cleaned is something you do twice a year and then forget about. But oral health is one of the most, uncommon yet powerful areas you have the power to improve. Your mouth isn’t just where symptoms show up. It’s where many long-term health problems actually begin.

If you’ve ever dealt with chronic inflammation, fatigue, headaches, hormone chaos, weird immune reactions, or recurring infections… Your mouth might be playing a bigger role than you realize. I didn’t fully understand this myself until recently, when a 15+ year-old root canal of mine had to be removed and the process opened my eyes to how deeply oral health affects everything.

1. Your Teeth Are Connected to Organs

In holistic dentistry, each tooth sits on an energetic meridian connected to specific organs or systems.

They are literal pathways of anatomy, neurology, and lymph pathways overlapping.

Upper molars → stomach & pancreas
Lower premolars → lungs & large intestine
Front teeth → kidneys & bladder
Wisdom teeth → heart & central nervous system

So when a tooth is infected, dead, or root-canaled, it can create subtle but ongoing dysfunction within the organ it’s linked to. For over a decade, I had no idea that my old root canal could be quietly impacting my immune system, inflammation levels, or energy.

2. What I Didn’t Know About My Root Canal

When my dentist recently removed my (over) 15-year-old root canal – I had no major pain to warn me. No swelling. No obvious red flags. But I had done research and I knew removing it was the next step I wanted to take to improve my health. The moment that tooth was taken out, I am going to be honest, it felt like all hell broke loose… and I guess it made sense. The healing process honestly has been horrendous, far more involved, painful, and slow than I expected. But that’s what happens when your body has been fighting an infection for years without you realizing it.

The surgery wasn’t just removal. It was eviction of a long-term burden my immune system had been carrying and even though the healing has been hard, I already feel a shift:

My body feels “lighter”
My energy isn’t dipping as sharply
The fight or flight norm I was living with has shifted
My nervous system feels less reactive

I’m excited for the chronic inflammation to finally calm down as the deeper layers of healing begin. Because now I know: The tooth I had removed was affecting me more than I imagined.

3. Gum Inflammation Is a Whole-Body Warning Light

Gums are full of blood vessels and if anything is happening it actually impacts your whole body in seconds.

Inflamed gums can correlate with:

Heart issues
Insulin resistance
Cognitive decline
Autoimmune flares
Pregnancy complications
Hormone imbalance
Chronic fatigue

The mouth is a “real-time” picture of inflammation in the body. Had I known my long-term root canal could be silently contributing to systemic inflammation, I would’ve questioned it years sooner. It wasnt until Cole and I discovered someone like – (Michelle Jorgensen and her work that I began to think that it was possible to learn a new way of looking at oral health.)

4. The Big Three Dental Disruptors No One Talks About

People chase symptoms endlessly without knowing these hidden oral triggers:

1. Root Canals – A root canal removes the nerve but cannot fully remove bacteria. The tooth is dead and the immune system can’t reach inside it.
For some, this becomes a chronic infection site.

2. Cavitations – Unhealed bone pockets (often from wisdom teeth removal) that harbor infection. They can affect lymph flow and cause fatigue, headaches, and inflammation.

3. Low-Grade Oral Infections – Crowns, implants, or old dental work sometimes hide infections that don’t cause pain but stress the immune system continuously.

5. Oral Health Controls Your Immune System More Than You Think

Up to 80% of your immune system interacts with your mouth every single day.

Every swallow, breath, and bite sends microbial information into your system. So when something is “off” in the mouth, the immune system never gets a break. Personally, i realized, my body had been fighting an infection for years, which explains a lot about why certain inflammation patterns were so stubborn. Now that the source is gone, the rest of my body has a chance to finally get a reset.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), meridians are invisible pathways or channels throughout the body that carry vital energy, or qi, connecting organs and tissues, forming an energetic network essential for health, similar to rivers for water. These channels have specific points (acupuncture points) where qi can be accessed and regulated, influencing physical, emotional, and spiritual balance, with blockages leading to pain or illness.

This tooth meridian chart that will help you evaluate your own oral connections or concerns.

6. The Mouth–Mind Connection

Chronic oral inflammation triggers chronic fight-or-flight. That’s why dental issues often create:

Irritability
Brain fog
Anxiety
Trouble sleeping
Overactive stress response

If you’ve ever felt like your body was “overreacting,” there may have been a very real physiological stressor hiding in your mouth. I didn’t realize how much tension my system was holding until that infected tooth was gone. This isn’t just a chance to blame a bad attitude on someone or something… If something like that is on going and you cannot trace its origin – I would suggest you look into your oral health next.

7. How to Start Healing the Body Through the Mouth

(Here are some things you can do right now to begin your own journey of healing…)

Reduce oral inflammation

Switch to mineral-rich toothpaste, oil pulling, red-light therapy, tallow-based oral balms.

Support the lymphatic system

Under the jaw is a major drainage point — it must stay open for healing.

Evaluate old dental work

Especially root canals, wisdom tooth sites, crowns, or lingering soreness.

Balance the oral microbiome

Stop overusing antibacterial rinses. Support *good* bacteria.

Your Mouth Tells the Truth Before the Body Does.

My own experience taught me something I’ll never ignore again: The mouth holds clues the rest of the body can’t speak. That one root canal had been creating hidden inflammation for over a decade. Removing it was awful, but also the beginning of real healing. If you’ve been dealing with unexplained symptoms, chronic inflammation, or patterns your body can’t break… Don’t just look everywhere else. Look in the mirror. Look in your mouth.

That might be where the healing begins.

You can listen to the podcast on oral health we did with Michelle Jorgensen here!

We also use her products & have a discount you can take advantage of here: (use code: wata)

pRAY Like your life depends on it - because it does.

Prayer Is As Simple As Talking To God.

The Bible highlights 3 types of prayer found in Matthew 7:7:

Asking – Bringing our requests before God, seeking His help or blessings.
Seeking – A deeper pursuit of God through devotion and relationship.
Knocking – Interceding on behalf of others, especially for their salvation.

A healthy prayer life includes all three. As believers, we may naturally go through seasons where one type of prayer is more prominent than the others, but we should strive for balance in how we talk to God in prayer.

Prayer is not about simply asking God for what we want; rather, it is a way to draw near to Him and align our hearts with God’s will.

Prayer isn’t meant to be confined to church services or Bible studies—it is something we should do daily. Just like in any meaningful relationship, spending time with God is essential for growth and intimacy. Through prayer, we nurture our connection with Him, deepening our faith and aligning our hearts with His purpose – which is the main result of praying.

The Power And Importance Of Prayer.

Prayer is essential because it keeps us connected to God. When we pray, we open our hearts to Him, allowing Him to work in and through us.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (NKJV).

I can recall many moments in my own life when, through prayer, I pressed into His presence and felt peace beyond anything I could explain. This is because prayer shifts our focus to what truly matters, helping us see life from a heavenly perspective.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (NKJV).

Prayer positions us to receive God’s peace, no matter the season we are in. Whether in joy or hardship, prayer keeps us aligned with His heart.

The Effects Of Prayer On Your life.

It can reduce stress, increase hope, and even create a sense of purpose. Research Says:

Studies suggest that prayer can lower stress and anxiety levels, similar to meditation. It activates brain regions associated with emotional regulation and a sense of peace.
A study published in *JAMA Psychiatry* found that people who engage in regular prayer or meditation tend to have lower rates of depression.
Some research links prayer with improved health outcomes, including lower blood pressure and stronger immune responses.
A study in *Annals of Behavioral Medicine* found that spiritual practices, including prayer, were associated with lower inflammation and better heart health.
Prayer has been shown to significantly lower both resting and ambulatory blood pressure, reduce heart rate, promote cardiorespiratory synchronization, and influence melatonin and serotonin levels.
It also plays a role in suppressing corticostriatal glutamatergic neurotransmission, boosting the immune system, and reducing reactive oxygen species.
Additionally, for individuals with late-stage illness, it has been linked to an improved overall and spiritual quality of life.

SLEEP TRAINING MYTH...

We live in a sleep-training culture. The goal of this type of parenting is control. Submission, compliance, and fear are desired. You are the expert on your child!

A cultural shift began to take place in the 1800s during the Industrial Revolution that changed the way doctors and parents perceived infants’ sleep and feeding patterns. With more parents working outside the home and increased emphasis on efficiency and productivity, there was a growing demand for strategies to manage infant sleep and behavior.

These behaviorists viewed infants as blank slates whose behavior could be shaped through external stimuli and reinforcement. This perspective led to the development of sleep training methods that focused on conditioning babies to adhere to predetermined sleep schedules and self-soothe without parental intervention.

However, from a biological standpoint, these rigid sleep training methods go against our natural instincts.

Human infants are born highly dependent on caregivers for survival, and their sleep patterns reflect this dependence.

Anthropological studies of traditional societies have shown that co-sleeping and frequent nighttime breastfeeding are common practices, promoting maternal-infant bonding and ensuring infant safety and nutrition.

From birth to about six months of age, infants have small stomachs and rapid metabolic rates, necessitating frequent feeding throughout the day and night. Furthermore, babies are born with immature nervous systems and limited self-soothing abilities, making them reliant on caregivers for comfort and regulation. Attempts to impose rigid sleep schedules or ignore a baby’s cries may disrupt these biological imperatives and lead to increased stress and anxiety for both infants and parents.

The pioneering work of psychologist John Bowlby on attachment theory emphasizes the importance of responsive caregiving in infancy for healthy emotional development. Secure attachment is built on trust and reliability, with caregivers meeting a child’s needs promptly and sensitively. Sleep training methods that involve leaving babies to cry it out may undermine the establishment of secure attachment bonds and lead to long-term negative consequences for emotional well-being.

Many of the foundational writings and thoughts that developed this idea of “sleep training” are not only heartless, they are very dark and disconnected. It makes me sad to think that people have believed these lies that have told you to ignore your intuition to care for your child, supposedly “for their own good.” I cannot even imagine how damaging this has been to society since these teachings first began.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Historical Context

1894 Luther Emmett Holt – a physician who strongly encouraged parents to implement strict routines related to feeding and sleep.

He recommends babies sleep away from their parents, have regular sleep times, and first uses the term cry it out. In this quote, he talks about ignoring crying:
“How is an infant to be managed that cries from temper, habit, or to be indulged?” [The infant] should simply be allowed to “cry it out.” This often requires an hour, and in extreme cases, two or three hours. A second struggle will seldom last more than ten or fifteen minutes, and a third will rarely be necessary.”

Holt states that an infant should never sleep in the same bed as his mother because:
“There is always the temptation to frequent nursing at night, which is injurious to both mother and child.”
He advised that:
“Babies under six months should never be played with: and the less of it at any time the better for the infant. They are made nervous and irritable, sleep badly, and suffer from indigestion.”

1928 John Watson – Took Holt’s recommendations a step further to ensure that “routines and regulation” were implemented from day one, to not interfere with a mother’s additional responsibilities, such as maintaining the household, and caring for her husband.

“…let your behavior always be objective and kindly firm. Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap. If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say good night. Shake hands with them in the morning. Give them a pat on the head if they have made an extraordinarily good job of a difficult task”

These beliefs also shaped the idea commonly referred to as ‘self-soothing’ and the suggestion that children should be able to care for their emotional well-being as infants; any reliance on their caregivers automatically meant that they were overly dependent and thus, the parents failed.

In his book, Watson states: “Parenthood, instead of being an instinctive art, is a science, the details of which must be worked out by patient laboratory methods.”

His own granddaughter, Mary Loretta Hartley, had this to say about him: “Grandfather’s theories infected my mother’s life, my life, and the lives of millions. How do you break a legacy? How do you keep from passing a debilitating inheritance down, generation to generation, like a genetic flaw?”

1911 Dr. Anna Fullerton – wrote that too much holding would spoil babies or turn them into “little tyrants.”

“If a baby is picked up every time he cries, he will soon develop the habit of crying insistently each time he wakes until the mother does pick him up…. This is not a good habit for the baby or the mother. It interferes with the baby’s sleep and with the mother’s work or rest. It teaches the baby that crying will give him control over his parents, whereas a baby should learn that such habitual crying will only cause his parents to ignore him.”

Parents should “not spoil the baby by picking him up every time he cries. A certain amount of crying is not harmful; it even gives him some exercise.”
- In the 1980s, we begin to see our first glimpses of modern-day sleep training.

1985 Dr. Richard Ferber – published Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems. He advocated for a method of sleep training called “controlled crying”, or “graduated extinction”, which is essentially letting a child cry alone for longer and longer lengths of time. Today, we still know this method as The Ferber Method, or “Ferberizing”.

- According to NPR, Ferber changed his mind about sleep training and co-sleeping and now believes that sleep training doesn’t always work and was misunderstood and that co-sleeping works fine for many families. It seems his approach is now more of a “do what works for your family” kind of approach.

1987 Dr. Mark Weissbluth – published Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. In his book, he advocated for complete extinction, or cry it out.

He believed that you should put your child in their crib, close the door, and don’t come back until the morning unless there is an emergency or they need a diaper change.

Why is there an underlying assumption that a baby should sleep through the night!? **When left to their own devices, adults don’t sleep through the night.**

The curious thing, then, is why we expect adults–never mind infants–to sleep for eight or more hours without interruption.

1987 Marc Weissbluth – published Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child which advocates for unmodified extinction, cry it out.

The baby is put to bed awake, in their own room, and the door is closed at 7 pm. At 7 am the parents return. During the night the baby is not attended to unless in extreme circumstances, such as vomiting. This approach is the most extreme interpretation of Holt’s 1894 advice.

Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep written by Gary Ezzo and pediatrician Robert Bucknam (US) in 1993 brings Christianity into the mix.
- Introducing the concept of feeding, play, and sleep, the book directs parents to take charge of the baby’s feeding and sleeping schedule.

However, all techniques like these are based on the premise that infants can learn to settle themselves to sleep.

This implies behavior, not development, is the reason babies seek contact with their mother at sleep times.

Sleep training has long been touted as the solution to infant sleep woes, promising exhausted parents uninterrupted nights and well-rested babies. However, a closer look at the science and statistics reveals that not sleep training may offer significant benefits for both babies as well as parents. Here are some reasons, backed by science that you should consider before sleep training:

1. Biological Needs: Babies are not born with mature sleep patterns. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, newborns typically sleep for 14-17 hours per day, with frequent waking for feeding and comfort. Their sleep cycles are shorter, and they spend more time in REM sleep, which is crucial for brain development. Attempting to enforce rigid sleep schedules through sleep training methods may disrupt these natural patterns and lead to increased stress for infants.

2. Attachment and Emotional Well-being: Research in developmental psychology suggests that responsive parenting, characterized by promptly meeting a baby’s needs with sensitivity, fosters secure attachment bonds between infants and caregivers. A study published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics found that infants who received responsive care had lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, indicating reduced stress levels compared to those subjected to sleep training methods.

3. Long-Term Outcomes: Longitudinal studies have shown that secure attachment in infancy predicts a range of positive outcomes later in life, including better emotional regulation, higher self-esteem, and healthier relationships. Conversely, sleep training methods that involve leaving babies to cry it out have been associated with increased cortisol levels and potential negative impacts on cognitive development and stress regulation.

4. Parental Well-being: The pressure to sleep train can take a toll on parental mental health. A survey conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that parents who reported high levels of stress were more likely to engage in harsh parenting practices, including sleep training methods that involved ignoring a baby’s cries. Choosing not to sleep train can alleviate some of this stress by allowing parents to respond to their baby’s needs in a nurturing and supportive manner.

5. Cultural Variations: It’s important to recognize that attitudes towards sleep training vary across cultures. In some cultures, co-sleeping and responsive nighttime parenting are the norm, and babies may naturally transition to sleeping through the night at a later age without the need for formal sleep training.

6. Long-Term Outcomes:
Research suggests that infants who receive responsive care and secure attachment in infancy have better long-term outcomes in terms of cognitive development, emotional regulation, and social skills. Conversely, sleep training methods that involve ignoring a baby’s cries have been associated with potential negative impacts on cognitive development and stress regulation.

It’s essential to recognize that every family is different, and what works for one may not work for another. Some parents may find that a gentle approach to sleep guidance fits their parenting style and their child’s temperament. Ultimately, the decision to sleep train or not should be based on individual circumstances, and is hopefully informed by both scientific evidence as well as personal intuition.

1977 Penelope Leach – author of Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five (1977) viewed infant care from a different perspective. She wrote, “To me, the most important thing one can give a child is genuinely unconditional love. That is what self-esteem and self-confidence are founded on. The more you push a child to do things early or to be the best at gymnastics or dancing class, you imply, ‘I love you more when you win.’ That is very damaging. The reason babies raised on strict routine regimens go to sleep, usually with less and less crying, is because they are quicker and quicker to give up. Their brain have adapted to a world to which they are not responded to. That kind of early-induced anxiety may relate to anxiety right through adult life.”

Sleep training has become a widely debated topic among parents seeking solutions for their baby’s sleep troubles. While the promise of uninterrupted sleep may be tempting for exhausted parents, it’s essential to consider the potential consequences of sleep training on babies’ well-being. Responsive caregiving, based on meeting a baby’s needs promptly and sensitively, aligns more closely with infants’ natural biological rhythms and fosters secure attachment bonds.

UNCOMMONAPPROACH

your mouth is a reflection of your health.

1. Your Teeth Are Connected to Organs

In holistic dentistry, each tooth sits on an energetic meridian connected to specific organs or systems.

They are literal pathways of anatomy, neurology, and lymph pathways overlapping.

Upper molars → stomach & pancreas

Lower premolars → lungs & large intestine

Front teeth → kidneys & bladder

Wisdom teeth → heart & central nervous system

So when a tooth is infected, dead, or root-canaled, it can create subtle but ongoing dysfunction within the organ it’s linked to. For over a decade, I had no idea that my old root canal could be quietly impacting my immune system, inflammation levels, or energy.

2. What I Didn’t Know About My Root Canal

The surgery wasn’t just removal. It was eviction of a long-term burden my immune system had been carrying and even though the healing has been hard, I already feel a shift:

My body feels “lighter”

My energy isn’t dipping as sharply

The fight or flight norm I was living with has shifted

My nervous system feels less reactive

I’m excited for the chronic inflammation to finally calm down as the deeper layers of healing begin. Because now I know: The tooth I had removed was affecting me more than I imagined.

3. Gum Inflammation Is a Whole-Body Warning Light

Gums are full of blood vessels and if anything is happening it actually impacts your whole body in seconds.

Inflamed gums can correlate with:

Heart issues

Insulin resistance

Cognitive decline

Autoimmune flares

Pregnancy complications

Hormone imbalance

Chronic fatigue

4. The Big Three Dental Disruptors No One Talks About

People chase symptoms endlessly without knowing these hidden oral triggers:

1. Root Canals – A root canal removes the nerve but cannot fully remove bacteria. The tooth is dead and the immune system can’t reach inside it.For some, this becomes a chronic infection site.

2. Cavitations – Unhealed bone pockets (often from wisdom teeth removal) that harbor infection. They can affect lymph flow and cause fatigue, headaches, and inflammation.

3. Low-Grade Oral Infections – Crowns, implants, or old dental work sometimes hide infections that don’t cause pain but stress the immune system continuously.

5. Oral Health Controls Your Immune System More Than You Think

Up to 80% of your immune system interacts with your mouth every single day.

This tooth meridian chart that will help you evaluate your own oral connections or concerns.

6. The Mouth–Mind Connection

Chronic oral inflammation triggers chronic fight-or-flight. That’s why dental issues often create:

Irritability

Brain fog

Anxiety

Trouble sleeping

Overactive stress response

7. How to Start Healing the Body Through the Mouth

(Here are some things you can do right now to begin your own journey of healing…)

Reduce oral inflammation

Switch to mineral-rich toothpaste, oil pulling, red-light therapy, tallow-based oral balms.

Support the lymphatic system

Under the jaw is a major drainage point — it must stay open for healing.

Evaluate old dental work

Especially root canals, wisdom tooth sites, crowns, or lingering soreness.

Balance the oral microbiome

Stop overusing antibacterial rinses. Support *good* bacteria.

Your Mouth Tells the Truth Before the Body Does.

You can listen to the podcast on oral health we did with Michelle Jorgensen here!

We also use her products & have a discount you can take advantage of here: (use code: wata)

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UNCOMMONAPPROACH

pRAY Like your life depends on it - because it does.

Prayer Is As Simple As Talking To God.

The Bible highlights 3 types of prayer found in Matthew 7:7:

Asking – Bringing our requests before God, seeking His help or blessings.

Seeking – A deeper pursuit of God through devotion and relationship.

Knocking – Interceding on behalf of others, especially for their salvation.

A healthy prayer life includes all three. As believers, we may naturally go through seasons where one type of prayer is more prominent than the others, but we should strive for balance in how we talk to God in prayer.

Prayer is not about simply asking God for what we want; rather, it is a way to draw near to Him and align our hearts with God’s will.

The Power And Importance Of Prayer.

Prayer is essential because it keeps us connected to God. When we pray, we open our hearts to Him, allowing Him to work in and through us.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (NKJV).

I can recall many moments in my own life when, through prayer, I pressed into His presence and felt peace beyond anything I could explain. This is because prayer shifts our focus to what truly matters, helping us see life from a heavenly perspective.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (NKJV).

Prayer positions us to receive God’s peace, no matter the season we are in. Whether in joy or hardship, prayer keeps us aligned with His heart.

The Effects Of Prayer On Your life.

It can reduce stress, increase hope, and even create a sense of purpose. Research Says:

Studies suggest that prayer can lower stress and anxiety levels, similar to meditation. It activates brain regions associated with emotional regulation and a sense of peace.

A study published in *JAMA Psychiatry* found that people who engage in regular prayer or meditation tend to have lower rates of depression.

Some research links prayer with improved health outcomes, including lower blood pressure and stronger immune responses.

A study in *Annals of Behavioral Medicine* found that spiritual practices, including prayer, were associated with lower inflammation and better heart health.

Prayer has been shown to significantly lower both resting and ambulatory blood pressure, reduce heart rate, promote cardiorespiratory synchronization, and influence melatonin and serotonin levels.

UNCOMMON
APPROACH

1. Root Canals – A root canal removes the nerve but cannot fully remove bacteria. The tooth is dead and the immune system can’t reach inside it.
For some, this becomes a chronic infection site.

Stop overusing antibacterial rinses. Support good bacteria.

UNCOMMON
APPROACH

A study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that people who engage in regular prayer or meditation tend to have lower rates of depression.

A study in Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that spiritual practices, including prayer, were associated with lower inflammation and better heart health.