dentists, and taking antibiotics
Here’s a letter I got recently from a wonderful dentist who reads this blog/site. I won’t give my own response until I hear some of yours. What are your thoughts?
Dear GreenSmoothieGirl:
I think you are pretty conservative and avoid antibiotics, but I had an interesting experience recently in my dental practice that I want to share with you. You influence a lot of people to make better choices for their health, and if you agree with me and my position as a health care provider and trying to do what is in the best interest of my patients, maybe you can pass this on to your readers. The AAOS (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) currently recommends that persons who have had total joint replacements should take one dose of antibiotics one hour prior to high risk dental procedures (not a whole week of antibiotics, just one dose) to avoid bacteremias forming in the artificial joint and causing a systemic infection and possibly failure of the artificial joint. I had a patient recently who refused to take an antibiotic before a procedure because she avoids taking antibiotics in general.
I contacted her orthopaedic surgeon, and the nurse from his office recommended the same protocol for her, and she still refused. She walked out of my office informing me there was no way she was going to take the antibiotics and she would find another dentist who would do the work without making her take the antibiotics. I worry about her health and the risks she is taking. I also worry about the dentist she finds to treat her without following the standards of care, as his license may be in jeopardy for treating her this way if complications were to arise anytime down the road.
I try to avoid antibiotics whenever I can for myself, but there are times when it may be worth the major complications which could arise. I am not willing to put my license and my career on the line to treat someone who refuses to follow the written protocols and standards of care for surgeries which they have had done in the past, which now place them in a higher risk category. I don’t know if you understand what I am saying here, but let me know if you agree or disagree with me.
Posted in: Dental Health
My son was born with a serious birth defect that put him at high risk for multiple bacterial infections, so he was on antibiotics the first few weeks of his life. We felt that it would more dangerous for him to contract meningitis than for him to be on antibiotics short term. As it became evident that he no longer needed the AB’s, he was taken off of them and has never had any since. In spite of the AB’s, he was never sick during this time. Since he was an infant, the best nutritional defense was breastfeeding. He was completely breastfed (and I made high quality milk because I was drinking 3 green smoothies a day) and never had any formula. I do think that helped sustain his immunity. If my husband or I were to be in a situation where we felt AB’s were a good idea, we would continue to eat a 60-80% raw vegan diet and take the medicine only as long as was necessary. I believe in being flexible. Antibiotics may be warranted in certain situations but if needed should be used conservatively. And if you’ve been nourishing and building your body, it will be better able to cope with short-term antibiotics use if this becomes necessary.
I definitely think there is a time and place for things. It would totally depend on my “gut feeling” in each separate situation. Personally, I have had my kids on antibiotics in the past… not very often, but we have done it. I believe you have to be open minded… I think being completely on one end of the spectrum can be dangerous on both sides… absolutely refusing to take medicine or taking it at the drop of a hat. I try to live with an open mind… always going the natural route if I can first. But sometimes, we do need other assistance. It’s best to use your own judgement and your own “gut instincts” as a person and mom.
Nicky, I second your sentiments and would only ever, ever use them in dire situations alongside excellent nutritional support as you suggest with the smoothies and a raw vegan diet. Our bodies are pretty resilient but when it’s your child you don’t want to Not listen to the experts at such a vulnerable age. It’s a tough decision but you obviously made the one that felt right for you and that’s the most important thing. As for the one dose of antibiotics for the joint, if the immune system is strong to support the dose, fine but the medications are sooo acidic and toxic sometimes it can be the part of the problem. An acidic inner terrain will welcome toxins and breed infection where as an alkaline inner terrain will flush and conquer toxins. The alkaline terrain will also deter the infection in the first place even without the antibiotic. But it really is a personal choice as it depends on the state of health of the individual and their comfort zone but not everyone will avoid an infection even if they take the AB-there’s never any guarantee even with an alkaline body as so many things play into it from stress to environmental toxins etc.
I don’t know thing one about systemic infections and such to even really have an opinion, and am looking forward to learning from what everyone has to say. I just want to say I was struck by the genuine and humble nature of this doctor’s letter. He has opened up a non-confrontational, non-dismissive dialouge out of a sincere desire to do what’s truly best. How different from the experience so many are having with doctors who are resistant to anything other than the status quo.
This doctor, incidentally, came to my class a couple of years ago and is an AMAZING guy, you picked up on that, mgm. He is honestly open to new information and I really like that. I am, too–and if I ever lose that and adopt the arrogance of someone who thinks she has it all figured out, I trust this forum to slap me around.
I agree, be open-minded. When baby girl was born her blood sugar was dangerously low. I DID NOT want to give her that fructose crap, at all… but I knew that sometimes you have to do what you have to do for your child. At the time I was not willing to take the risk. Incidently, I even had a feeling in the middle of the night to give it to her, and I know that was from the Lord.
I avoid antibiotics normally. I am torn by the rational here but I cannot get passed the fact that it is only a single dose of medication. I personally, after spending thousands of dollars on joint replacement surgery would not want to risk what has already been done plus possibly cause more health issues. I think there is a time and a place for everything. I would take the medication and pray. Then drink lots of green smoothies before and after the procedure to cleanse the anitbiotics out.
Everybody is an individual. In a case where a overall healthy patient didn’t want pre-procedure antibiotics, I wouldn’t insist. Being the dentist or surgeon, it might make you more comfortable having a patient sign an informed consent that you discussed it, and the risks you feel are pertinent, blah, blah, blah, and then let it go. Patients appreciate this kind of individualized care very much. Dentists and surgeons should insist on greens and pre-procedure probiotics and refused to do this procedure if patients don’t do preventitive care.
Robyn,
I’m anxious to hear your and everyone’s take on this. All of my kids have had constant severe strep throat going from one AB to the next, sometimes one right after the other. With my oldest kids I didn’t know any differently than what the doctors told me. My three oldest all ended up having their tonsils removed and haven’t had as many cases sense. But now my two youngest (ages 9 and 7) are going through the same thing and I don’t know what to do. My baby well he’s 7 but still my baby, drinks green smoothies and is my healthiest eater, including kefir but he still gets severe and rapid strep with fevers of 103 – 104. He’s got one now and he just finished a dose of AB for strep two weeks ago (I didn’t know what else to do at the time and I’m not certain what to do now). If anyone has any help I’d love to hear. I believe firmly in trusting your own insights and for some reason I’m trusting my insight to leave this comment because I never comment but I do read this blog faithfully and many of the comments and I love and appreciate all of it. Thank You.
Sue, have you ever tried other things that kill bad bacteria without nuking all the healthy flora? For instance, colloidal silver, anti-bacterial essential oils (topical and ingested), and Goldenseal & Echinacea tincture? The latter cured my last-ever case of strep when I was 27 years old.
Robyn, I have tried colloidal silver, and the essential oils but they haven’t seemed to work too well for him. I haven’t tried the Goldenseal & Echinacea tincture yet? Where can I get that and what would be a proper dose for a 7 year old? I just looked at his throat this morning and it is bright red and swollen with white puss pockets all over, it’s nasty and he’s miserable and I’m wondering if I should just have his tonsils removed as well.
Sue, I am not giving you advice, but when my child had a structural ear problem <1 year old that caused her to get repeated ear infections, I chose to get tubes rather than a SINGLE dose of antibiotic. These are not easy issues, as we have to assume that even though doctors tell us tonsils are not important for anything, we kind of have to wonder why we were all given a pair…..that said, being sick over and over and over, with constant assaults on all bodily systems from antibiotics, is a long-term issue that could cause long-term damage. Just something to think about; these kinds of issues are why being a mom is the hardest job in the world!
Herbs and natural remedies are gentle, and they're more likely to work with a person who is overall chronically healthy rather than chronically ill. With the chronically ill person, a long-term strategy of alkalizing and building the immune system through a variety of means, is going to be very important.
Here is another side of the coin…… I have a child that died from a reaction to AB (coming up on 5 yrs ago) She was sick for 9 months before she died and it was HORRIBLE and they were AB for ear infection!…. coming from that place we avoid AB at all cost. We have always said that if they were ABSOLUTELY necessary then we would use them… but I am not sure even today if it was life or death that we would use them.
We don’t know exactly why this lady didn’t want to do AB but maybe that factored into it, maybe she has had a similar experience to what I have….. Allergy to AB is not something you can be tested for, it just happens when you take them. Furthermore, allergy to AB is quite common…. just look up Stevens Johnson Syndrome, but be forewarned’ it is very awful what you will see.
I am not going to say whether I think she should of taken them or not, but I will say that every person is different with different ideas, feelings and experiences than other people….. And that always factors into what we do in situations.
I really like Dr Denise’s comment… we need more Drs like this! Thank you, Denise.
When you use it for perio cleaning that are every three months, it adds up. There are studies that say it really doesn’t always protect you. The issue is are the facts there for all cases. It is protection for the dentist, however it isn’t always protection for the patient.
I think freedom of choice is so important. I do think Doctor’s should inform patients of what protocol is and the possible risks involved and let the patient choose what they think is going to be best for them. At the same time I think the Doctor should have the freedom to get signed forms from the patient stating this was their choice or if the Doctors feels it is just to risky for them to want to do they should be able to tell the patient to find another Doctor who may be better qualified or understand other forms of prevention. Freedom is such an important principle here but I am also basing it with the assumption that everyone involved is getting true accurate information and not fear based propaganda.
My husband is a conservative dentist, he encourages people to take care of their health and teeth with methods that overall are conducive to a greensmoothie girl lifestyle. However, in the case of a surgery or serious incident he says he sides with the dentist on this one because some abscesses in a person’s mouth can be deadly if untreated or not treated properly. I use colloidal silver, essential oils, etc for as much as I can. Part of being open minded includes being humble enough to accept that some times we don’t have all the answers and we need to trust in others to help us. When something is highly risky and could result in death, you only get one chance to do it right.
Robyn, I don’t mind if you give me advice or not. I will take it and figure out for myself what is right and best it just really helps to get info from people I trust. My son had tubes too when he was 6 months old and his first case of strep before he was even 2 years old (which I hear is rare) he’s had strep at least 2 times and sometimes up to 4-5 times a year since then. I’ve been trying lots of natural remedies since I learned about them not quite a year ago. I recently got and absolutely love my life ionizer and am working at alkalizing our systems the best I can. But I wonder if it’s going to be enough right now cause I also hear and worry about all the potential dangers of strep with scarlet fever and heart problems (I have a friend who’s son had that reaction) and also the reactions to AB I myself have had severe allergic reactions to the two most commonly perscribed AB’s out there. How do I best build his immune system and how long is a long-term strategy and what do I do in the meantime? I know ultimately the answers are all up to me but again I appreciate any insights.
here’s one for you. i commented on here long ago about my daughter that was suffering from impetigo. well, it has been almost a year since her first symptoms… took me a long time to figure out what the heck was going on. my husband is a physical therapist and works in a nursing facility. we have recently figured out that we are all fighting some sort of staph infection. i am prone to yeast infections as it is… and i’m not clear if they are related at all. but my husband started with it… some small sores in his nose that take forever to heal, and come back regularly. then my daughter had a small patch by her mouth, then went to a sore behind her ear that would never heal all of the way, then bumps on her bum. (this was all almost a year ago). we finally figured out it was impetigo or staph. so she started on antibiotics. long story short… we eventually found a nature path who had her on nystatin (3 different rounds), also while taking probiotics… her symptoms are gone for right now… but we just finished her 3rd round of the nystatin. any way to get rid of all of this? seems like my entire family needs to cleanse! i recently, started getting the stores in my nose also… and they clear up with some bacitracin stuff, but then come back… we just recently started figuring out that we think these are all inter-connected!!!! any solutions to help cure staph infections… in adults as well as a 2 1/2 year old (these are OBVIOUSLY systemic and obviously came from my husband’s LOVELY work place!) i know some people commented on what i should do before, but i can’t remember. i felt we needed to do the antibiotic route, but i am assuming my daughter’s symptoms will probably come back shortly. and for my husband and i and our darn noses. anything to clear the system completely? including little kids?!?!